If you’re not able to resolve a disagreement directly with the seller or buyer you can open a dispute, which must be done within 45 days of paying for your item with PayPal. To be eligible for PayPal Buyer Protection you must escalate the dispute to a claim within 20 days from the date the dispute was opened. To find out about the PayPal dispute resolution process please sign in to your PayPal account and go to the Resolution Centre.

Sellers are not allowed to discourage buyers from using any of the payment methods listed for an item. If a seller attempts to do this you should report the seller to eBay.

No. Feedback scores and percentages do not affect the amount of protection available. PayPal Buyer Protection is available for transactions made through PayPal of up to AU$20,000.

PayPal Seller Protection is provided to protect sellers on eBay.com.au from chargebacks and other losses they are not responsible for.

What’s eligible?

PayPal Seller Protection protects eligible eBay sellers against payment reversals due to:

• Unauthorised payments (eg payments made with stolen credit cards)
• Claims or chargebacks resulting from buyers who say they haven’t received their item

PayPal Seller Protection applies to the various ways these payment reversals may be initiated, including:

• Claims buyers file through the PayPal Resolution Centre
• Credit and debit card chargebacks buyers file with their card issuers
• Bank account payment reversals buyers file with their banks

No extra charge

PayPal Seller Protection is included at no extra charge as part of PayPal’s service to you.

What to do

To be eligible for Seller Protection:

• Sell on an eBay site and accept payment to your Australian PayPal account
• Post the item via an approved postage service to the address specified by the buyer on the Transaction Details page
• In the event of a chargeback or reversal, provide proof of shipment
• See full terms and conditions for eligibility

What’s not eligible?

• Local pick-ups or deliveries made in person
• Digital goods, services, or intangible items, quasi-cash, gift certificates, downloadable or streaming content, licenses for digital content or motor vehicles (including cars, motorcycles, boats, and planes)
• Claims that items are significantly not as described
• Unauthorised reversals or chargebacks for items not sold on eBay
• Multiple eBay items paid for through separate PayPal payments, combined into a single shipment
• More than one payment for a single eBay transaction

For more information see the PayPal Seller Protection policy or view the PayPal Seller Protection online demo.

PayPal Australia does not allow surcharging (passing on PayPal fees) so you need to take into account all costs when setting your starting or Buy it Now price.

eBay recommends you accept bank cheque with ID or cash when a buyer chooses to pay and pick up their item in person.

No. The Seller Protection policy requires proof of shipment which is not available for face to face transactions.

PayPal must be offered on all listings including those with pay on pick up. There are a few exceptions to this rule for cars, motorcycles, aircraft, boats, caravans, trailers, trucks (commercial), services, real estate and businesses for sale.Learn more about the exceptions.

Most listings on eBay.com.au must offer PayPal as a payment method but there are a small number of exceptions. Items listed in one of these categories are not required to offer PayPal as a payment method.

These listings can offer PayPal AND/OR pay on pick up: Cars, Motorcycles, Aircraft, Boats, Caravans, Trailers, Commercial Trucks, Services, Real estate, Businesses for sale

If the listing offers PayPal then Visa/MasterCard is also an option for buyers without a PayPal account.
If you choose to pay on pick up it is recommended to inspect the item or receive the service before making a payment.

To further reduce the number of disputes, PayPal may delay the release of funds for up to 21 days or until a buyer leaves you positive feedback. This is targeted at a very small percentage of items which pose the greatest risk. The overwhelming majority of sellers will not be affected.

Sellers will be notified at the time of listing that their payment may be held. Having one payment held does not mean that all the seller’s payments will be held. Each transaction is treated separately.

The status of the transaction will state ‘On Hold – Ship Now’ if you are selling an item and the funds are placed on hold. Clicking the Details link on the payment in the My Account section of PayPal will provide further information. If you’re selling an item you will be notified before you’ve completed the listing if the payment may be put on hold.

A seller may still use the Refund link to send the payment back to the buyer.

The entire payment will be placed on hold. Sellers are advised to post the item to speed up the process leading to the release of funds.

Chargebacks occur when buyers ask their credit card issuer to reverse a transaction that has already been approved. You may be protected from chargebacks with PayPal Seller Protection. Learn more about chargebacks.

For lower value items you may prefer to use a cheaper postage option than Registered Post but bear in mind you won’t be eligible for PayPal Seller Protection.

An eCheque is a non-instant payment. It is processed by the buyer’s bank and transferred into the seller’s PayPal account. This process usually takes up to 5 business days, depending on your bank. You can check the status of eCheque payments in your PayPal account. We recommend that sellers wait until the funds clear into their PayPal account before posting any items.

eCheque payments could be sent when the buyer does not have sufficient funds in their PayPal balance to cover the entire transaction cost, and they don’t have a back-up funding source, such as a bank account, credit or debit card.

Yes, a buyer can make a claim irrespective of the method used to post the item.

PayPal requires proof of shipment from an approved postage service showing the buyer’s address. Unfortunately Express Post receipts don’t fulfil all criteria for proof of shipment and are therefore not acceptable for PayPal Seller Protection claims.

You can use any postage options that work best for you.
If you want to be eligible for PayPal Seller Protection you will need to use a method that provides proof of shipment, such as:

• Any international shipping service that supports door-to-door tracking viewable online, such as UPS, TNT, FedEx or DHL
• Australia Post Registered Post or Registered Post International
• eParcel
• For lower value items you may prefer to use a cheaper postage option but bear in mind you won’t be eligible for PayPal Seller Protection.