PayPal Now Requires Online Verifiable Tracking Number

by: COVID-19

Seems like these money transmitters and "venues" such as eBay are always thinking of new ways to make small sellers more and more vulnerable to buyer-run scams.

Maybe it's time to leave PukePal behind too. The younger generations already don't even use it. They prefer newer transmitters such as Chime, Ring, Ding or whatever else.

by: Michael in BC

Like most sellers who deal in old postcards, many of which sell in the $8 to $50 apiece range, I just take a chance that regular lettermail will work, i.e. without tracking.  To ship anything from Canada to the US with tracking, costs around US $18, often more.  A buyer paying $10 for a postcard is not going to pay another $18 for shipping.  At some point, eBay and other venues will REQUIRE that anything sold on their sites must be trackable, irrespective of the selling price, as their vig on the higher shipping will boost the bottom line.  Cue another great exodus of ''small sellers'' (noise) heading for their own websites and selling at local shows.

by: Rexford

PayPal just found a way to weasel out of protecting some sellers out of Seller Protection.  Another payments company sticking their nose where it doesn't belong.

I would like to see the fine print on this one.  Does the tracking info have to be provided at the time of shipment, or can it be provided once a case is opened?  We use Pirateship which keeps better records than some of these ecommerce sites.  We can export a report of every package you've ever sent but if we show this proof to PayPal and USPS no longer has a record of it will we be covered.

Yep, PayPal just created a Gotcha.

by: leavingNY

And when the tracking shows the item was forwarded, Pay pal blames the seller and made me show/upload a letter from the USPS to prove delivery.  

by: Jono77

Is this new policy applicable to PayPal worldwide or just USA? Does any company provide an offline non verifiable tracking number? I thought they were all online.

by: frankie

Here's what I have done in the past: Ship low-value items without tracking as most are being delivered without any problems. Should a problem arise and the customer opens a case right away, I'll simply reship the item and provide a tracking number.

by: fusgeyer

@Michael in BC, Buyers will pay $18 in shipping for a $10 item. I sell vintage sewing patterns on Etsy and buyers glady pay upwards of $25 in shipping (international from US) for patterns ranging $5 to $20 USD. It depends on how in demand your items are and what the buyer is willing to pay.

If I need something, and I can only get it in one or two places, then I will pay whatever shipping I need to pay. If I can find it almost everywhere and have the ability to shop around, I am less likely to pay for shipping.