Paypal disputes exposed

ASK SUNFORGED

Q. Hello. I have a quick Question about PayPal. I bought an item on eBay, I never received the item so I opened a claim. It was ruled in my favor but the seller did not have sufficient funds in his Paypal account. What happens now? Do I lose the rest or will Paypal give me what is owed?? The dispute in my Paypal account says closed, so I am confused. Please help. Thanks.

A.In my personal experience: I have won disputes against fraudulent sellers who seemed prepared to lose as they knew they were in the wrong and had quickly removed funds and/or cancelled connected bank accounts.

So although the dispute was decided in my favor since the seller did not have the funds in Paypal and either removed or lacked funds in connected account, I never received a cent.

My next step was to contact my credit card company and dispute the charge I was credited the funds by my cc company. (Chargeback) Most banks and credit card companies have consumer friendly chargeback policies relating to online fraud.

In any future disputes my first step will be to dispute the charge before even bothering with ebays/paypal dispute console.

BUT, as long as a seller has a long history of transactions, you are not likely to have this happen again – it is in a sellers best interest to maintain a positive standing and feedback level, and with a high transaction level it is unlikely that they will have a paypal account that is not funded and current.

eBays buyer complaint policy:

General. PayPal’s Buyer Complaint Policy covers goods that are purchased and not delivered, and goods purchased on eBay and paid by using PayPal that are “significantly not as described”. For payments relating to eBay transactions, this Policy may apply if the buyer complaint is ineligible for coverage under PayPal Buyer Protection. Buyer disputes must be filed within 45 days of the payment and, even if the buyer’s claim is justified, the buyer will receive a recovery only if there are funds in the seller’s account. RECOVERY OF YOUR CLAIM IS NOT GUARANTEED.

Paypal is notorious for being on the sellers side and conducting sketchy business including account freezes and lost funds. Research claims against PayPal via the BBB to get an understanding of this.

I am a seller and even I use a prepaid debit card to protect myself, I am completely honest in my transactions and as a result and trust my own judgement above ebay/paypals.

eBay now has a buyer protection guarantee, you will see this on eligible listings

Long story short – contact you cc company and request a chargeback, here is the relevant info from Paypal/eBay

If you close your dispute or it is otherwise closed, or if you cancel your claim or it is denied or results in no refund, you may still be able to pursue your card chargeback/reversal rights. In many cases, your credit card company will allow you to file a chargeback for 90 days or more after the date of payment. If PayPal resolves a claim in a buyer’s favour but the buyer does not receive a full recovery of their payment and if the time for processing of a claim results in the buyer’s loss of chargeback rights, then PayPal will provide a full recovery to the buyer.

https://www.paypal.com/uk/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/gen/ua/policy_buyer_complaint-outside

My suggestion for prepaid debit card to use as added protection.

Informal Q&A – For Professional and Aspiring Artists

-some typos and such, my apologies, the final products will be flawless.

Hello Creative Types

take the time to answer, discuss these questions, create your own.

send them back to me and I will publish and promote across our network.

This is a pet project of mine, i am very interested in the minds that create, I hope to complete 2 such articles per week as time allows.

There are no deadlines and no right answers.

If the header, artiist, drew your attention then you are who I am looking for.

Begin here=
———————————————-
John Sloan in Gist of Art, 1939

“Many intelligent people have accepted the false idea that accuracy in representing visual facts is a sign of progress in art. Such imitation of superficial effects has nothing to do with art, which is and always has been the making of mental concepts. Even the scientist is interested in effects only as a phenomena from which to deduce order in life.” … “‘Looks like’ is not the test of a good painting. It indicates merely visual similarity and shows that the artist has not put his brain to work.
” *

Discuss this statements relevance to your own artistic philosophy

Feel free to skip and dodge any questions that bore you.

Have you always been an artist, as a boy/girl were you drawn to the act of creation?

what are your earliest memories of art?

What have been some positive influences in your development as an artist?

Do you have a favorite artist, or school of art?

Did you receive a formal education in arts, if not how did you learn to use the materials and mediums that you choose?

What is your opinion of arts education? Is an artist born or made – or both?

What do you feel most influences your current attitude/style in painting/media.

i.e. Do you find reference and inspiration from pop culture, philosophy, the human body, wonderful vistas etc.

has your passion for art detracted from your success in other areas (i.e.
have you had to “suffer” to do what you love)

If someone asks you “what do you do”, how do you respond?

what are you currently working on, how is it different from past works.
?

do you feel you evolve as an artist?

describe a day in the life of you, the artist:

How important is the company of other artists and creative individuals to your well being and creative output.

Do you dislike/disdain the works of other artists?

Do you display your works? If so, where have you displayed.

Do you have any words of wisdom for artists trying to “break out” and begin to learn the business of art.

Do you find that the practical aspects of selling,promoting and marketing yourself as an artist detracts from your creative process.

What is the goal of art!

what are your goals as an artist.

We are more than what we make, what other activities do you enjoy.

what do you do to get over the visual equivalent of “writers block”

In 20 years, what are your aspirations, what would you like to achieve.

have you done any commercial, public or commissioned work.

if so, how do you feel about your vision being directed by third parties.

Do you have any opportunities to offer other artists (collaborations, gallery space, friendship etc.
)

favorite writer, favorite song, favorite inspiration

what is the most beautiful thing in the world?

what is beauty?

How has the internet changed your promotional activities.

Do you have any favorite resources you would like to share?

Where can one view your work online?

tell the truth, do artists make better lovers?

___end_________________________

I wouldnt expect every question to speak to you or be relevant to you, feel free to add anything you think may be missing.

I will be using a similar arrangement of questions for all the interviews, most likely laying the interview out in Q-A form with some minor poetic license.

Before actual publication I will send the final copy to you, as i would not want you to feel misrepresented.

Include any personal portfolio links you would like to accompany the interview and tell me which works I can post directly with the piece.

At your request: I can include a link or note that contains your resume/cv or project history -any bio info that you would like presented can be included.

Interviews will be posted at:

myspace.com/sunforged
myspace.com/sunforgedonline

in the blog section

They will be posted as bulletins across both networks during the first week after creation:

at sunforged.wordpress.com

http://www.blogger. sunforged. com
http://www.blogspot. sunforged. com

at http://www.sunforged.com/yourname. htm , w/ corresponding links through out the pages

at associatedcontent.com

and will be included in the Sunforged e-newsletter

subscribe here:

http://www. gmailinglist. com/subscribe?uid=4d5a2aaf-117e-434a-8d67-21fd26f6ba92

I just typed these links off the top of my head, I may have missed a dot or two
but you get the idea.

I can watermark or limit res on any included artworks at your request.

By having your name and related keywords at so many locations your placement on Search engines will jump.

Although, your requested pages will be linked, please also include whatevr contact info you feel comfortable sharing, keep in mind that you DO not want your most personal email address to be posted as spam bots/harvesters will collect it and it to their lists.

Thanks for taking the time to read and respond!

This will be an ongoing project and I will be posting this message continuously as to attract attention, sorry in advance.

-Josh

eBay Power Seller Secrets – Exposed vol 1

eBay has opened up a new venue for small businesses across the world to expand their sales, markets and exposure. Depending on ones prior experiences the tasks needed to expand successfully into this venue are either seen as dauntingly complex or misleadingly simple.

I recently purchased a rather expensive book that was marketed as exposing PowerSeller secrets, unfortunately I did not discover any new information from this source so I have decided to share my apparently uncommon knowledge with cyberspace.

In truth, PowerSellers jealously guard their secrets in hopes of keeping competition out.

My eBay businesses are focused on passions of mine and involve high ticket items as a result I am less worried about loss of volume that the competition may create.

For this first installment I will share links to many seller resources that I have found helpful in my sales, research and consultations. Once this series is completely composed and organized I will be moving it to a members area of my website.

http://www.sunforged.com

Links you will find useful in your growth:

1. Never sell an item without knowing its approximate worth

Terapeak Price Report

2. Know your target market, close your items when your customers are shopping.

3. Use research tools to take advantage of sellers who fail to follow appropriate scheduling and BIN pricing and use eBay as a sourcing tool for inventory.

4. In order to accept payments you must have a Payment Processing Service, ie Paypal. As of October 20, 2008 eBay will no longer allow checks or money orders as payment options, Fortunately, they will not enforce this rule until January 2009. Other payment solution companys are expected to be named in the next few months. As of this time the only other solution is ProPay

5. If your monthly sales are good and consistent you will save money in listing fees by opening an eBay Store.

6. Or you may want to weave your eBay inventory with an e-commerce solution that integrates your pre-existing merchant account with Paypal and has a recognizable interface

7. Your success continues to grow? You may want to consider purchasing your own domain and cross marketing your online presence.

GoDaddy is the service for web hosting and domain registration, all of their interfaces are easy to understand, There FAQ sections are thorough and customer service is easily accessed, easily understood and quick to answer.

Customer Service was able to easily walk me through a domain transfer and setting up the free hosting account that comes with all domains. This is the number one most important aspect in selecting a host when you are not an experienced guru yourself, you will have lots of questions, GoDaddy actually answers them !

8. You will become uncomfortable with the fact that PayPal is constantly connected to your accounts, and has the power to hold, take and refund payments if you lose any bidder arbitration.

Be sure to have a seperate seller and buyer account, use a prepaid debit card as your funding source, paypal will never be able to seize or hold assets against your will, that simply do not exist.

Keep your connected seller account starved of funds and only connect a pre-paid debit to your buyers account.

Keep in mind that I suggest only the most honest and professional conduct as a seller on eBay, but I do not trust Paypal and eBays arbitration system to make any decisions for me regarding returns, refunds and problem buyers. So a back up plan is proper.

9. Try to personalize yourself to the buyers, print up thank you cards or coupons to include with every shipment, promote your brand and encourage repeat customers.

It is also about time to have a presentable business card to present possible suppliers, customers and to prove legitimacy to those who think “Oh, he sells stuff on ebay, ”

What makes Vistaprint stand out is their Free business card offer, they of course sneak in a handling fee, but for about 8 dollars you can get your first set of business cards.

These business cards are watermarked with a small vistaprints logo on the back.

As your business grows, you can continue to use the free business card offer to print your thank you cards and coupons.

Take advantage of seasonal deals like free shipping to continue to purchase your business cards, if your not constantly reordering them, you are doing something wrong. Spread your cards around at every opportunity.

10. Continue to search for sourcing. Many eBay sellers buy larger lots here and then resell on ebay.

This is the first rough blog of PowerSeller Secrets and Tips.

Learning WordPress

Day 1: Registered wordpress site

Day 2: Created header image in Photoshop, selected theme and created page hierarchy. Learned that I will be unable to migrate page to http://www.sunforged.com as I originally planned without beginning a new Linux based Hosting account.

Day 3: Began to experiment with incorporating ebay widgets that show my current listings, but alas wordpress.org does not allow java based widgets on their servers.

Day 4: I am quite put back by the inability to use java based widgets as I had planned on incorporating ebay design, development and products throughout this site. I have learned that I will be able to use the Flickr Widget in conjunction with rss feeds to display my portfolio of artworks that are at this time viewable at sunforged.com and various online portfolio sites

Day 10: I have put off design and function issues in order to focus on a massive amount of content that I have backlogged. I have found some workarounds relating to using built in rss widgets and text boxes to include content and links that I previously considered impossible to include due to free hosting constraints.

I will be purchasing paid hosting soon and then I can focus on a more visually appealing page, but for now it will be content driven

The page has changed dramatically though and I will be including a new screenshot.

Screenshot of page as of Day 4

Day 10