ELIGIBILITY AND TYPES OF ACCOUNTS:

2.1 Eligibility. To be eligible for our Services, you must be at least 18 years old and a resident of the United States or one of the countries listed on the PayPal Worldwide page. This Agreement applies only to Users who are residents of the United States. If you are a resident of another country, you may access your agreement from our website in your country (if applicable). (PayPal states the service is for users 18 years of age or older, but does nothing to verify the ages of its users upon signup. PayPal will then limit or freeze an account then asking for further documentation. When the underage user cannot provide it, PayPal keeps the money. Why is this important? If, through no fault of your own, you do business with a person who is not of legal age, you automatically HAVE NO BUYER OR SELLER PROTECTION POLICY!)

Seller Protection Policy: (This is the SAME seller protection policy PayPal publicly admitted it had "limited ability" to comply with)

11.2 Coverage. The Seller Protection Policy is limited to the following payout amounts per year for combined eligible Charge backs and Reversals: (There it is! 100% protection? No. You get only up to $5,000 coverage PER YEAR. For a seller that does a lot of business, that amounts to almost nothing. One transaction could reach that limit, then the seller would have NO protection for the entire year)

(There it is right there: Not only has PayPal admitted it has limited ability to comply with its own seller protection policy, you give PayPal permission to limit how much coverage you have per year! If you are a business, or a high volume seller, one potentially large charge back could leave you without seller protection for the rest of the year! Plus, the amounts PayPal gives here is good IF YOU QUALIFY for the seller protection policy!)

Please note that the combined annual total may not exceed the limit for any one currency.

A Charge back is covered if it was due to non-receipt of merchandise, or an unauthorized payment. A Reversal is covered if it was due to an unauthorized payment. The Seller Protection Policy does not cover Claims for Significantly Not as Described or for non-receipt of merchandise, or sales of intangible goods, services, or licenses for digital content. (You are not covered if you sent an item to a scammer, and he or she claims the item is not as described and initiates a chargeback! This is one of the biggest scams that PayPal helps perpetuate. Either way, in most cases, as PayPal already wrote in the user agreement, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE for any fees and chargebacks. PayPal will not take the loss. You will!)

11.3 Qualification Requirements. In order to qualify for coverage under the Seller Protection Policy, you must meet the following requirements: (PayPal makes it very difficult in the first place to even qualify for seller protection! Even if you manage to qualify for protection on one item, it does not mean you will qualify for it with the next transaction!)

1. You must have a Verified Business or Verified Premier Account at the time of the transaction,
2. The transaction must be between a US, UK or Canadian buyer and a US, UK or Canadian seller, (You automatically have NO SELLER PROTECTION if you complete a transaction with somebody from France, Germany, Italy or another country that is NOT the U.S., U.K., or Canada! PayPal claims their service is a "business solution," but limits your protection options to only three countries, while PayPal leads the average user to believe that protection applies to any country PayPal has on its "approved list" of where you can send and receive money)
3. The payment must be listed as "Seller Protection Policy Eligible" on the “Transaction Details” page, (It is virtually impossible to know if it is "eligible." There are NO eligibility requirements listed on the site. If you are a high volume seller, you must check this page each and every time. PayPal makes this difficult so that YOU WILL NOT CHECK and hence not be covered!)
4. You must accept a single payment from one PayPal Account for the purchase,
5. You must not charge a surcharge for accepting PayPal, (PayPal can deny your claim for seller protection right here by claiming your "handling" fees were to high and that constitutes a "surcharge" for accepting PayPal)
6. You must ship the purchased item to the address listed on the “Transaction Details” page, and that address must be identified as a Confirmed Address, (YOU have no idea what the confirmed address of a buyer is. Plus even if you manage to ship it to the "confirmed address," a scammer can forward the package to another address! When you provide PayPal with a tracking number, the tracking number will show your package was delivered to a non-confirmed address. That means you loose. Lastly, the confirmed address must also be the same address used for the buyer's credit card! A buyer can still have a "confirmed address," but that confirmed address could be different from the address that the buyer has his or her credit card statements sent to)
7. You must ship the item to the buyer within 7 Days of receiving payment, (Ship it on the 8th day, and you will loose. If the 7th day happens to be a Sunday when you cannot ship, you still loose!)
8. You must have trackable online proof of delivery from an approved shipper to the address on the “Transaction Details” page. For transactions involving $250.00 USD or more, you must provide a proof of receipt that was signed or otherwise acknowledged by the buyer and can be viewed online, (If you paid in a currency other than US dollars, the following amounts apply for this section: $325.00 CAD, €200.00 EUR, £150.00 GBP, ¥28000.00 JPY, $350.00 AUD, 330.00 CHF, 1,600.00 NOK, 2,000.00 SEK, 1,500.00 DKK, 800.00 PLN, 55000.00 HUF, 6,000.00 CZK, $400.00 SGD, $2,000.00 HKD, $380.00 NZD), and (If you do everything right up to this point, BUT you use a shipper not approved by PayPal, you loose. Second, for any items shipped valued at $250 or more, you must provide proof to PayPal that the buyer signed for the item personally! Not only is this service an extra cost that most sellers don't even know about, the package must be send "restricted" delivery. If your buyer is not home and it takes a few days extra for the shipper to get the signature, you LOOSE. Why? You failed to deliver the item within 7 days of receiving payment! Scammers know this. A UPS or FEDEX driver release saying the package was delivered to the right address will not suffice. There are many ways in this portion of the protection policy where you could go wrong and end up not covered by the policy! Finally, the tracking verification number must be viewable online.)
9. You must respond to PayPal’s requests for information within the time period PayPal specifies. (PayPal might tell you that you reply to requests for information within 7 days or within two days. If you fail to reply within that time frame, you automatically loose your appeal or application for coverage under the seller protection policy!)

(All of these requirements MUST BE MET on each and every transaction a seller makes in order to be qualified for the seller protection policy. PayPal makes it intentionally difficult to meet these requirements. Additionally, even if you manage to "qualify" for the seller protection, it is NO GUARANTEE YOU WILL RECEIVE ANY MONEY SHOULD YOU BE SCAMMED or otherwise separated from both your item and your money!)

Please note that in order to qualify for our Seller Protection Policy you must ship the item as required in this section. If you hand deliver an item, or provide delivery in any manner other than required in this section, your transaction will not qualify for the Seller Protection Policy. (Yet another requirement to fulfil in order to qualify. Forget about saving some money and helping out customers that might live in your city!)

11.4 Process. If there is a Chargeback or Reversal, and the seller’s account is a Verified Business or Premier Account, we will place a temporary hold on the transaction amount, and evaluate the transaction to determine whether it is eligible for our Seller Protection Policy. If the seller’s Account is not Verified, or is a Personal Account, then the amount of the payment will be automatically debited by PayPal, and PayPal will transfer the funds back to the buyer’s Account, as appropriate. If we determine that the transaction qualifies for Seller Protection, we will lift the temporary hold and restore your access to the funds. Please note that eligibility under the Seller Protection Policy is not a requirement to win a Claim filed by a buyer under section 13. (You are giving PayPal permission to limit or freeze your account. That is what happens often. It is rare when PayPal will actually freeze DISPUTED FUNDS, they often freeze ALL of the funds in your account in order to protect PayPal from any losses...not you! If you are the victim of a chargeback, and are NOT verified or you are not a business or premier account, PayPal automatically gives the buyer his or her money back! And that is BEFORE the buyer sends you your item back. You have to hope that the buyer is honest and will send you your item back AFTER the buyer gets his or her money back too! A great environment for scammers to prosper in!)

ERRORS AND UNAUTHORIZED TRANSACTIONS:

12.1 Identifying Errors and/or Unauthorized Transactions. You can inspect your transaction history at any time by logging in to your Account on the PayPal website and clicking the "History" tab. It is very important that you immediately notify PayPal if you have reason to believe any of the following activities have occurred: (i) there has been an unauthorized transaction from your Account; (ii) there has been an unauthorized access to your Account; (iii) your password or PayPal Mobile PIN has been compromised; (iv) your PayPal ATM/Debit Card or PayPal Mobile-activated phone has been lost, stolen, or deactivated, or (v) someone has transferred or may transfer money using your Account without your permission (collectively called “Improper Account Access”). (Enforcing your rights under this section practically guarantees PayPal will freeze your account. You will be treated like the criminal with PayPal scrambling to limit their losses while showing little concern for you)

12.2 Notifying PayPal of Errors and/or Unauthorized Transactions. To notify us if you believe there has been or will be an error or unauthorized transaction on your Account, telephone PayPal Customer Service at (402) 935-7733, contact us using this report form, or write to PayPal, Attn: Error Resolution Department, P.O. Box 45950, Omaha, NE 68145-0950. If you initially provide information to us via the telephone, we may require that you send your complaint or question in writing within 10 Business Days after the phone contact. Please complete the affidavit form and submit it online or mail it to PayPal, Attn: Error Resolution Department, P.O. Box 45950, Omaha, NE 68145-0950. (If you think your account might have been hacked into, or somebody stole your information, PayPal "may require" you mail your complaint to them within 10 business days. Meanwhile, your money is gone and PayPal is playing games)

12.3 Review of Reports of Errors and/or Unauthorized Transactions. We will advise you of the results of our investigation within 10 Business Days after we receive your notice (or 20 Business Days for transactions done at a point of sale terminal or outside the United States). If we have made an error, we will correct it promptly. If we need more time, however, we may take up to 45 Days to investigate your complaint or question (and 90 Days for transactions made at a point of sale terminal or outside the United States). If we decide that we need more time, we will provisionally re-credit your Account for the amount you think is in error within 10 Business Days after we receive your notice; so that you will have use of the money during the time it takes us to complete our investigation. If you initially provided information to us via the telephone and we do not receive your complaint or question in writing within 10 Business Days after your oral notice, we are not required to provisionally re-credit your Account. (PayPal make take up to 45 days to investigate your complaint! PayPal claims they will re credit your account for the disputed amount, but if you loose, PayPal takes the money back. At this point, your account could very well be limited or frozen. So any actions that PayPal takes could come too little too late.)

At the end of our investigation, we will advise you of the results within 3 Business Days. If we determine that there was no error, we will send you a written explanation and we may debit any provisional credit that we previously credited to you in relation to the alleged error. You may ask for copies of the documents that we used in our investigation. (After the 45 days PayPal could need to investigate, PayPal has another three days after that to let you know what is happening. 48 days! PayPal claims they will provide you with the documents that they used for their investigation, but you already agreed that PayPal can charge you $10 per page!)

12.4 Liability for Unauthorized Transactions. If you report and we verify that there has been an Improper Account Access related to your Account, we will reimburse you in full for all unauthorized transactions sent from your Account that occur within 60 Days of the time that you knew or should have known about the Improper Account Access. If you do not report the Improper Account Access to PayPal within 60 Days of the time that you knew or should have known about it, we will still reimburse you in full for all unauthorized transactions that took place within or before that 60-Day period, but you may be liable for all unauthorized transactions resulting from the Improper Account Access that occur on Day 61 and beyond (if we can demonstrate that we could have avoided any losses if you had notified us in a timely manner). (If you have been victimized, and PayPal finds in your favor, after 48 days, PayPal will then take up to 60 days to reimburse your account! That is 108 days for PayPal to reimburse you for a mistake that they made or for an unauthorized transaction made on your account)

12.5 Errors. If we discover a processing error, we will rectify the error. If the error resulted in your receiving less money than you were entitled to, PayPal will credit your Account for the difference. If the error results in you receiving more money than you were entitled to, PayPal may debit the extra funds from your PayPal Account. If the error resulted in our not completing a transaction on time or in the correct amount, we will be liable for your losses or damages directly and proximately caused by this failure, unless: (Here it comes...)

1. through no fault of ours, you did not have enough available funds to complete the transaction, (If that was the case, why would PayPal's system even attempt to let you complete such a transaction?)
2. our system was not working properly and you knew about the breakdown when you started the transaction, (Again, why would PayPal let you conduct a transaction when PayPal knows their "system is not working properly?" or
3. circumstances beyond our control (such as fire or flood or loss of Internet connection) prevented the transaction, despite our reasonable precautions. (While "acts of God" is a defense, PayPal must make minimal protections against such incidents such as fires and floods!)

DISPUTES BETWEEN BUYERS AND SELLERS -- BUYER PROTECTION PROGRAMS

13.1 Buyer Protection Programs. If you buy an item using PayPal and either do not receive the item or receive an item that you believe is Significantly Not as Described by the seller, we encourage you to open a Dispute with the seller in our Resolution Center. By doing so, you will initiate our Online Dispute Resolution Process—a step-by-step system designed to facilitate communication between you and the seller in order to get resolution of the issue. If your dialogue with the seller fails to produce a satisfactory result, you can then escalate the Dispute into a Claim that we will evaluate for reimbursement under one of the following programs: (When a buyer -- or a scammer -- utilizes these options, it will eventually lead to the limitation or freezing of somebody's account)

• PayPal Buyer Complaint Policy - Our best efforts program to reimburse Users for losses only to the extent we are able to recover the funds from sellers.(There it is. PayPal will not cover buyer losses if they are unable to get the money back from the seller. If a buyer has been scammed by a seller that PayPal itself has verified, PayPal will not cover your losses)
• PayPal Buyer Protection Policy - Our program to reimburse Users for losses for up to (i) $2,000.00 USD (Top Tier Coverage Amount) for eligible items purchased on eBay and (ii) up to $200.00 USD (Basic Tier Coverage Amount) for all other eligible items purchased on eBay and for eligible items purchased outside of eBay that PayPal processed through the ATM debit network. Please see section 13.9 to determine whether Top Tier Coverage Amount or Basic Tier Coverage Amount applies to your eBay purchase. (Again, this is meaningless. PayPal has already said that whatever protection you do have is only based on PayPal's ability to get the money back from the seller!)
• Buyer Protection for eBay Express - Our program to reimburse Users for the full amount of losses for items purchased on eBay Express.
• Extended Buyer Protection with PayPal Credit - Our program to reimburse Users for the full amount of losses for items purchased using the PayPal Credit Card or PayPal Buyer Credit. (Federal consumer laws come into play here. PayPal must cover all losses in THIS CASE because a credit card was being used -- in this case a credit card issued by PayPal)

These programs only cover payments for tangible, physical goods. All other payments, such as payments for intangibles, services, airline flight tickets, or licenses and other access to digital content are not covered by any Buyer Protection Program that we offer (but may be covered by Chargeback rights). (PayPal limits protection to "physical goods." If you bought a website domain name, web design work, an ebook, etc. you are not covered. HOWEVER, if paid using a credit card, then you are covered with your credit card. However, as you will see later, if you use your legal consumer rights and do a chargeback, you risk your account getting limited, frozen or suspended!)

13.3 Filing Deadlines. We will not grant any Claim unless you first initiate a Dispute in our Resolution Center within 45 Days of the date of the relevant payment and then escalate the Dispute into a Claim within 20 Days of the date you file your Dispute. It is your responsibility to keep track of the deadlines under this section. (PayPal is going to make this a long, difficult process. You have to go through the entire dispute process. This could be difficult and drawn out if you are dealing with a scam seller. After that point, you must escalate to a claim. If you fail to meet the deadlines that PayPal imposes, you loose automatically)

13.4 Online Dispute Process. Once you file a Dispute as a buyer, PayPal will notify the seller of the Dispute, and while the Dispute is open, you and the seller are able to access the details of the Dispute via the Resolution Center and post messages to each other in connection with the Dispute. Any message you post is viewable by PayPal and the other party to the Dispute. If the Dispute is escalated to a Claim, PayPal may review and use the content of all posted messages during evaluation of the Claim.(PayPal will fight your own chargeback!) If you subsequently file a Chargeback, PayPal may use the content of any messages to dispute the Chargeback. You may not post any message that is offensive, discourteous, false, misleading, profane, abusive, threatening or otherwise inappropriate. (You give PayPal permission to use your own words against you if you decide to file a chargeback that PayPal says it will dispute! A buyer claims he or she has been wronged. Buyer the files a chargeback and PayPal says it will dispute that chargeback! Where is the buyer protection that PayPal is talking about?)

13.5 Closing Online Disputes. You or we will close all Disputes in one of the following ways:

1. Closing the Dispute as "resolved." The buyer can close the Dispute as "resolved" from the time it is filed until 20 Days after it is filed. Once a buyer closes a Dispute as "resolved," we will not allow it to be reopened or escalated to a Claim.
2. Escalating the Dispute into a Claim. Either party may close the Dispute by escalating the Dispute into a Claim within 20 Days of the date the Dispute is filed.
3. Issuing a full refund. The seller may choose to close the Dispute by issuing a full refund to the buyer. If we process a full refund in this way, we will close the Dispute and not allow escalation to a Claim. If the seller does not have a sufficient Balance to close the Dispute but tries to close the Dispute by issuing a full refund, we will automatically escalate the Dispute into a Claim.
4. Reaching other settlement. If the seller and buyer agree to a settlement other than a full refund, both parties agree to reflect the agreed settlement in the messages posted in the Resolution Center (so that we avoid resolving the Claim in a contrary manner).
5. Dispute auto-closure after 20 Days. We will automatically close Disputes 20 Days after initiation if the buyer has not escalated it to a Claim within that time period. Once we close a Dispute in this way, we will not allow the buyer to re-open the Dispute or file a Claim relating to the transaction. In certain circumstances, we may escalate a Dispute into a Claim (for example, where a number of other buyers have opened Disputes against a seller who has failed to respond to the notices of Dispute).

(PayPal likes and includes all of these options because non of them involves PayPal taking any financial losses. The worst case scenario for PayPal is that they must reverse any transaction fees they have made from the initial transaction)

13.6 Escalating Disputes into Claims. If you are unable to reach a resolution with the seller within 20 Days of filing the Dispute or if you have reached a resolution with the seller but it has not been fully executed (for example: you have not received the refund or you have not received an exchange item that the seller agreed to send you), you should escalate the Dispute into a Claim in order to maintain your rights under the Buyer Protection Programs. You cannot file a Claim for reimbursement without first filing a Dispute in the Resolution Center. (Again, PayPal cannot offer any buyer protection other than what they say is their ability to get the funds back from the seller. By this time, the seller could have drained his or her PayPal account)

13.7 Claims Procedures. If you escalate a Dispute into a Claim, we will gather information from you and the seller and determine eligibility for reimbursement under the Buyer Protection Programs. Here are some important things to remember about the Claim process: (Translation: PayPal is going to find a way to see HOW YOU ARE NOT qualified for any protection)

1. If a buyer files a Claim asserting receipt of a Significantly Not as Described item, we will generally require the buyer to return the item to the seller at the buyer's expense and to provide proof of return delivery. If the item is over $250.00 USD or equivalent, online signature confirmation must also accompany the proof of delivery. In some circumstances, we may require the buyer to send the item to us or to a third party specified by us, to obtain documentation from a qualified third party substantiating the Claim, or to provide evidence that the item has been destroyed. In some instances, we may ask a buyer to support a Claim by filing and supplying a copy of a police report.
2. If a buyer initiates a Dispute/Claim and the amount in Dispute is greater than $100, PayPal will place the disputed amount (to the extent it remains in the seller's Account) on hold until the Dispute/Claim is resolved, and the seller will not be able to withdraw this amount while the Dispute/ Claim remains unresolved.
3. You may only file one Dispute/Claim per payment. You are not permitted to file a Dispute/Claim based on an "item not received" and then convert the same Dispute/Claim so that it is based on a Significantly Not as Described claim (or vice versa) if circumstances change following the filing of your initial Dispute/Claim.
4. Other than adding information you may not edit or change a Claim after filing it.
5. We may ask a buyer to identify the minimum refund that would be acceptable to settle the Claim. If you specify a refund amount that is less than the amount of the original transaction, and the seller agrees to refund the amount you specified, PayPal will consider the Claim to be successfully resolved.
6. After we close a Claim in favor of a buyer, a seller may appeal our decision on the Claim; however, PayPal generally will only grant the appeal if the seller is able to prove that the buyer sent the item back to the seller in a condition significantly different than when the Claim was filed (other than normal wear from shipping). PayPal does not guarantee recovery of money from a buyer for a seller if a seller wins an appeal.

(If you read each one of these requirements, you will see all the hoops PayPal makes its customers go through just to try and get some protection. For example in item 1, there is NO WAY to verify what was received, A dishonest buyer could send anything and claim anything. The honest seller in this case looses his or her item plus the cost of the item. There are so many impossible mandates to comply with, an honest buyer or seller would be the looser of the process every time. A dishonest buyer or seller could manipulate this process very easily. Again, no matter the outcome, PayPal is only concerned with one priority: that PayPal does not incur any losses!)

13.8 Claims Eligibility. In addition to the other limitations called out within this Agreement, the following limitations apply to Claims: (If you manage, up to this point, to qualify for any kind of buyer protection, PayPal puts up further obstacles that you must meet to get coverage. Many of these are subject to PayPal's interpretations and yours! For example, you purchase a piece of art work. A painting that contains nudes. While it is classified as art, and is legal in every civilized nation in the world, PayPal may classify it as "adult" content and you are not covered by buyer protection! Ditto for seller protection!)

1. The PayPal Buyer Complaint Policy only applies to items purchased outside of eBay or eBay Express, the PayPal Buyer Protection Policy only applies to items purchased on eBay or processed through the ATM debit network and Buyer Protection for eBay Express only applies to items purchased on eBay Express. The Extended Buyer Protection with PayPal Credit applies to items purchased using PayPal Buyer Credit or PayPal Credit Card through PayPal. Extended Buyer Protection with PayPal Credit does not apply to items purchased with PayPal Credit Card not through PayPal. For example: Extended Buyer Protection with PayPal Credit does not apply when you use your PayPal Credit Card to make a purchase offline. The PayPal Buyer Protection Policy and the Extended Buyer Protection with PayPal Credit do not apply to payments made through PayPal Mobile.
2. Only registered PayPal members in good standing are eligible for reimbursement. If you purchase an item on eBay Express and you are not a registered PayPal User, you will have to sign up for a PayPal Account in order to seek reimbursement via the process outlined here.
3. Claims must be for payments for tangible, physical goods that can be shipped, and not all other payments, such as payments for intangibles, for services or for licenses and other access to digital content. For purposes of eBay items, motor vehicles and Live Auctions are not covered.
4. Items prohibited in the PayPal Acceptable Use Policy are ineligible for coverage.
5. For purposes of eBay items, the buyer must have sent a single PayPal payment for the full price of the item to the PayPal Account specified by the seller in the listing, and must have either used the "Pay Now" button or associated the payment with the eBay listing by entering the item number into the PayPal payment instructions. If the buyer sent payment to a different PayPal Account or by a different method, even at the seller's request, the transaction will not be covered.
6. For purposes of eBay Express items, the buyer must have completed the transaction by paying on the eBay Express website using either a PayPal Account or a credit card.
7. Buyers may only receive one reimbursement per eBay or eBay Express listing.
8. For multiple-items paid with a single PayPal payment, each qualified item is eligible for up to the maximum payout in coverage, but buyers may file only one Claim per PayPal payment. If you purchased multiple qualified items with a single payment, you must identify all the items on which you are seeking reimbursement in a single Claim.
9. Extended Buyer Protection with PayPal Credit applies to items purchased on eBay that are either not delivered or Significantly Not as Described and to items purchased outside of eBay that are not delivered.

(A buyer and seller must make sure every single one of these requirements are met in order to qualify for protection. And not just once, but for EVERY TRANSACTION. PayPal knows this is impossible and will make you feel like you are at fault for not following their impossible demands)

13.9 eBay Items Eligible for PayPal Buyer Protection. Every item on eBay (except Live Auctions and vehicles) that meets the above requirements is eligible for PayPal Buyer Protection up to $200.00 USD (Basic Tier Coverage Amount), but items are only eligible for PayPal Buyer Protection up to $2,000.00 USD (Top Tier Coverage Amount) and should be identified as eligible items in the eBay listing if:

1. seller's eBay feedback rating is at least 50;
2. At least 98% of the seller's eBay feedback is positive;
3. The seller has a Verified Premier or Verified Business Account in good standing;
4. The listing was on an eligible eBay site (eBay.com and certain other eBay sites self identified as such)
5. PayPal is listed as an acceptable payment method; and
6. The seller is a PayPal User from one of the following countries:

(However, the seller protection policy only covers transactions between the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom! PayPal adds yet more hurdles between you and your coverage. The bottom line is, it is not as simple as you've been scammed and you want justice. Even if you are clearly correct and are entitled to your money back, PayPal WILL FIND A WAY TO DENY YOU)

13.10 Protection for Purchases on non-U.S. eBay websites.

Sections 13.10.a and 13.10.b herein are effective for purchases made on or after June 6, 2007. For purchases made prior to June 6, 2007, section 13.10.c. herein shall apply. (PayPal depends on the fact that most of their users will not come to close to even understanding what any of this means. That means PayPal has the power. They can interpret any of this stuff in their favor and not in yours)

This chart shows the maximum amount of protection that you will receive based on the website from which you made your purchase. We will reimburse you in the currency of the original PayPal payment, up to the maximum payout listed in the table below: (Now it gets more complicated. Depending on which website you made your purchase from, you are entitled to differing claim amounts!)

(Basic Tier Coverage and Top Tier Coverage all have their own special requirements that must be met before you can be considered qualified for any type of buyer protection. PayPal is purposely making this process complicated and arcane to make sure AS FEW PEOPLE qualify as possible)

eBay Standard Purchase Protection Program (This is a "bare bones" protection policy for certain purchases made from these websites)

If you make a purchase from one of the eBay websites listed below, you may be eligible for the eBay Standard Purchase Protection Program (“eBay SPPP”) instead of the PayPal Buyer Protection Policy. The eligibility requirements for eBay SPPP are the same eligibility requirements for PayPal Buyer Complaint Policy as listed above. eBay Standard Purchase Protection Program is our program to reimburse buyers for losses up to the applicable coverage amount minus the processing cost for purchases made on the eBay SPPP websites.

The final price of the item purchased must be over the applicable processing cost. Multiple listings cannot be combined into one Claim to become eligible, even if purchased from the same seller. Except that items purchased through multiple item auction are eligible, provided the combined value of all items purchased through a single listing is over the applicable processing cost. Buyers may submit up to three eBay Standard Purchase Protection Program claims per six-month period.

(In other words, these people are really screwed)

• Buyer Protection Policy Benefits -- This Section 13.10.c is effective for purchases made prior to June 6, 2007 . For purchases made on or after June 3, 2007 sections 13.10.a and 13.10.b shall apply. (This is being phased out. Only purchases made BEFORE June 6, 2007 apply. After that, there are no real "Buyer Protection Benefits.")

  If we grant a Claim under the PayPal Buyer Protection Policy, we will reimburse you in the currency of the original PayPal payment, up to the maximum payout listed in the table below:

  Currency of original payment:

  • $2,000.00 USD
  • $2,000.00 CAD
  • €500.00 EUR
  • £500.00 GBP
  • ¥112,000 JPY
  • $1,500.00 AUD
  • ¥2,000.00 CNY
  • $1,500.00 NZD
  • $1,500.00 SGD
  • $8,000.00 HKD
  • 1,500.00 CHF
  • 6,750.00 NOK
  • 8,000.00 SEK
  • 6,250.00 DKK
  • 3,250.00 PLN
  • 215,000 HUF
  • 25,000.00 CZK

13.11 Significantly Not As Described. To the extent that we provide reimbursement for losses for items that are Significantly Not as Described when received by the buyer (which we may do under all programs except the Buyer Complaint Policy), an item is Significantly Not as Described if the seller clearly misrepresented the details of the item in a way that affects its value or usability. This does not include cases where the buyer is merely disappointed with the item or where the item did not meet the buyer’s expectations. Here are some of the reasons that an item may be considered Significantly Not as Described: (For dishonest buyers and sellers, this is a paradise. PayPal hands it to them on a silver platter)

• The item is a completely different item than that represented by the seller in the listing, e.g. an audio book instead of a printed book, a desktop computer instead of a laptop, a picture of an item instead of the actual item; or an empty box.
• The condition of the item is significantly different. For example, if the item has clearly been used multiple times rather than ”almost new” or ”still in box” or is obviously repackaged rather than ”mint.”
• The item is unusable and was not disclosed as such. For example, if there are missing major parts or components, will not function or turn on or is spoiled or past a relevant date. This applies to the item in its received state, no matter what the condition when it was shipped.
• The item was advertised as authentic but is not authentic. For example, a fake or knock-off item that was advertised as authentic or a completely different or inferior brand of a similar product.
• The item is missing a major portion or quantity. For example, if the buyer ordered four dozen golf balls but only received one dozen or four golf balls, or the item is missing a primary component, like a blender missing a top or a coffee maker missing the bottom plate.

(PayPal has no way of determining if any of these requirements have been met. PayPal claims that in some cases, it will require the buyer to send the item to a third party for evaluation. Who pays for this? The buyer has 100% control over what he or she sends or does not send for evaluation. A dishonest party wins every time under this policy. However, PayPal often does not even require the item be sent to a third party for evaluation)

An item is not Significantly Not as Described if:

1. The defect in the item was correctly described by the seller. For example, if the item description states one of the following: "Item may not work properly," "Item is missing some parts," or "See picture for scratches or damages."
2. The item was properly described but you didn’t want it after you saw it in person.
3. The description could have been reasonably misinterpreted. For example, if the item is a slightly different color than advertised (e.g. the item is aquamarine but was advertised as teal).
4. The item was properly described but did not meet your expectations.
5. The item has minor scratches and was listed as “used condition.”

(Again, PayPal has no way of determining if the item has been misrepresented or not! This is included here as "fluff." It means nothing and it cannot be checked by PayPal so that PayPal can make a well informed, correct decision on the claim)

Please note that these are representative examples. There may be other circumstances where the characteristics of the item or the situation are not exactly covered in the item description but do not render the item Significantly Not as Described. PayPal encourages all buyers and sellers to communicate with each other before and after the transaction to prevent these issues from occurring. We may make a decision as to whether an item is Significantly Not as Described if the buyer and seller cannot agree. For items that we believe do not qualify as Significantly Not as Described, we still encourage the buyer and seller to find an equitable solution. (Despite the fact that PayPal cannot make a decision because they have never seen the item or know nothing about the actual dispute, PayPal will make the final decision as to whether or not the item is "significantly not as described." How do you think that decision is made? In whatever way limits or eliminates any losses that PayPal might incur. The customer -- you -- is not considered. PayPal makes a decision and then lets you complain about it)

13.12 Buyer Complaint Policy Benefits. If we grant a Claim under our Buyer Complaint Policy, PayPal will seek to collect from the seller by debiting the seller's PayPal Account up to the amount of your loss, and you will receive a recovery to the extent that the seller has funds available in the Account at the time we debit the seller's Account. If there is more than one Claim against the same Account, we will process the Claims in the order they are filed, and will pay out on each granted Claim up to the amount of funds in the seller’s Account at the time the Claim is awarded, but not more than the amount of the Claim. (If you even make it this far, again, PayPal only guarantees protection BASED ON WHAT IT CAN COLLECT FROM THE SELLER. If you win a claim and are entitled money back, PayPal will not give you the money you are entitled to if it is not able to get the money back from the seller)

13.13 Buyer Protection for eBay Express Benefits. If we grant a Claim under Buyer Protection for eBay Express, we will reimburse you for losses up to the full amount of your eBay Express purchase. Your reimbursement will be paid in the currency of the original PayPal payment up to the full purchase amount. (If you somehow meet all the requirements)

13.14 Extended Buyer Protection with PayPal Credit Benefits. If we grant a Claim on a purchase you made with PayPal Buyer Credit or with the PayPal Credit Card through PayPal, we will reimburse you in the currency of the payment for losses up to the full amount of your purchase.

13.15 Relationship between PayPal Protection Programs and Chargeback Rights. The following information relates to reimbursement for losses from purchases where you used a credit card to fund a PayPal purchase:

1. Credit card chargeback rights, if they apply, are broader than PayPal Buyer Protection: among other things chargeback rights are not limited to $2,000.00 USD per transaction, can be filed more than 45 days after the transaction, and may cover unsatisfactory items even if they are not Significantly Not as Described.” (PayPal tells you right here that your legal rights as a credit card holder provides more benefits than what PayPal is willing to provide. In short, don't bother with their protection policy, if you made a purchase using a credit card, you are covered with your card issuer. Plus you do not have to jump through a thousand hoops to get what is yours!)
2. You can choose to file a Dispute through our Online Dispute Resolution process and escalate the Dispute into a Claim or to exercise your Chargeback rights. However, you cannot pursue both at the same time or seek a double recovery. If you initiate a Dispute through the Online Dispute Resolution process and you then, while the Dispute or Claim is pending, file a Chargeback, PayPal will cancel your Dispute or Claim, and you will have to rely solely on your Chargeback rights.
3. If you close your Dispute or it is otherwise closed, or if you cancel a Claim or it is denied or results in no refund, you may still be able to pursue Chargeback rights.
4. If you timely file a Dispute and then escalate it to a Claim, and we do not complete processing of that Claim until after your credit card issuer's imposed deadline for filing a Chargeback or after your bank's deadline for filing an Electronic Fund Transfer Act dispute, and you recover less than the full amount you would have been entitled to recover from the credit card issuer or the bank, we will reimburse you for the remainder of your loss (minus any amount you have already recovered from the seller or any other Buyer Protection Program). PayPal reserves the right to contest Chargebacks, in accordance with the rules of the applicable card issuer or card association.

(PayPal is giving you permission to excercise your legal rights. You do not need PayPal's permission. It is your right to use your chargeback rights under your credit card issuer policy. PayPal has included this because it was sanctioned by several states for DENYING CREDIT CARD HOLDERS their FEDERAL RIGHTS UNDER CONSUMER PROTECTION LAWS)

13.16 Seller and Buyer Cooperation. If you or another User you have sent money to or received money from initiates a Dispute, Claim or Chargeback, you agree to provide to any requesting party on a timely basis any documentation necessary to resolve the Dispute, Claim or Chargeback. You also agree to fully cooperate with PayPal in all aspects of our Dispute and Claim processes, and to reimburse your Account to the extent it goes negative because we decide to grant a Claim submitted by another User. We will cancel Claims of buyers who do not respond to inquiries regarding the Claim within the time specified. Sellers who fail to respond in a timely manner to our inquiries regarding a Claim forfeit any right to appeal, and we will reimburse the buyer from the seller's PayPal Account. (PayPal making sure they will not have to cover any losses themselves. The buyer or the seller is going to pay)

13.17 Release of PayPal. If you have a dispute with one or more Users, you release PayPal (and our officers, directors, agents, joint ventures and employees) from any and all Claims, demands and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature arising out of or in any way connected with such disputes. In addition, you waive California Civil Code §1542, which says: "A general release does not extend to claims which the creditor does not know or suspect to exist in his favor at the time of executing the release, which if not known by him must have materially affected his settlement with the debtor." (Even though PayPal facilitated the transaction, you waive your rights to hold PayPal responsible)

SUMMARY: The only way to understand PayPal's Buyer and Seller Protection Policy is TO READ IT. If you have read this agreement, you now know what a joke this "protection is." This policy leaves buyers and sellers wide open to fraud -- not to mention the fact that PayPal actually helps facilitate this fraud.

A 100% Buyer and Seller Protection Policy is just that: It's 100%, you're covered. A real policy that protects people doesn't have all the fine, small print that PayPal's Policy has. Here is an example of a REAL 100% policy:

Buyers and Sellers are covered 100% from fraudulent transactions.

That's all you need to say what you want to say. PayPal lies and tells you in one sentence that you have 100% coverage, and then buries all the exceptions and impossible requirements in a User Agreement that is so long, boring and complicated, nobody ever reads it!

A famous judge once noted: "The truth takes few words." If PayPal's Buyer and Seller Protection policy is the truth, why do they need so many words to explain it?