Kansas City SEO and SEM » Ebay and PayPal - Who Wants to Be My Friend?

I found this video when cruzing the inbound links to my site and I ran across the SEO Contest 2008 site. The following video was posted on January 17, 2008 on the SEO Contest 2008 site. First, this video is funny and uses adult language. It confirms that the internetworkings within different online social and business services translate to a party!

In the beginning of the video, there is an Ebay, PayPal reference and this one connection in the video speaks volumes.

I was researching Ebay and the ability to create stores, when one of my friends; “Ebay Informant” mentioned his/her dissatisfaction with Ebay and PayPal as a way to move products.

The informant stated, “It started before and after the postal rate increased on May 14, 2007. I noticed the international customers, were not receiving their items on time.”

After the Ebay Informant investigated more, he/she realized discrepancies’ within tracking numbers and the service policies associated with shipping international items through Ebay and the UPS (United Postal Service).

The Ebay Informant stresses the frustration with the ability for buyers to file complaints of Ebay non-receipt because the product is in transit or has been declared as lost.

When the buyer files a complaint to PayPal of “non-receipt” or “item not as described” and the item is $100 or more, PayPal will automatically hold the funds until the dispute is resolved.

If the buyer files a complaint of “non-receipt” or “item not as described” as a seller you are not eligible for seller protection.

PayPal and Ebay have the tracking mechanism to verify shipping status. However they use the tracking information to make decisions on the non-receipt claims.

The problem with this business process is both the buyer and seller are left at the mercy of delayed information and the lack of Ebay and PayPal customer support.

Warning, do not ship international using Ebay and/or PayPal!