Are your domain sales protected by PayPal?
PayPal has received criticism all along, for not supporting cases of fraud involving “intangible assets“, such as domain names and software.
Effective July 1st, a change in PayPal rules expands coverage to intangible objects such as software, but mostly protects the buyer – not the seller.
A long thread over at NamePros describes the plight of a domain seller, whose buyer opened a PayPal dispute a few days after the sale. The transaction had completed on Flippa.com.
The dispute involved not some type of violation by the domain seller, but a clear demonstration of “buyer’s remorse” by the buyer, who sent this note before filing a dispute:
“I bought the domain XXXX.com from you a few days ago, but I’m in desperate need of money and that $XXX was the only amount I had saved up. I need it for emergency reasons.
Do you think I could get a refund? I’ve been feeling very anxious and depressed about this to the point that I cannot get out of bed.
I don’t know where else to get the money from. Do you think you could possibly refund it to me? I’m in an emergency situation right now.”
These types of claims typically get declined by PayPal, but unscrupulous buyers always seek ways to twist the rules.
This incident is one such example of a lack of protection by PayPal towards sellers.
While some claim that disputes can be filed through one’s credit card “years later,” most US credit card providers only allow charge-backs to be placed up to 60 days later.
When dealing with a buyer that you cannot determine their honesty, always use the services of a qualified escrow service.
Click here to read the lengthy exchange on NamePros.com.
I’m surprised paypal hasn’t get into the escrow business, seems like all the infrastructure is already there