Some Ebayers Just Dont Get It

If you don't use tracking, and a buyer protection case is filed, the seller will immediately lose the case. ebay will refund the buyer. I ship EVERYTHING regardless of how little the amount for 2 reasons whether its USA or CANADA...
1. for the reason stated above. If a buyer sees only a stamp and has bad intentions, They know that they can get away with keeping my item and money.
2. I am a top rated seller in the U.S. and to maintain that status I must have 90% of my transactions with tracking.

I use tracking on most things as well. Tracking is one thing, do you mail with tracking and signature? Does ebay consider having tracking as sufficient or tracking plus signature?

I had a case in January that I posted here and paypal refunded my account because I had sent it with tracking with the buyer having to sign for the item upon receipt. When I was chatting with paypal about this, it wasn't clear if just tracking is all you need or does the buyer have to sign for the item too. By the way, I did get a notice from paypal saying they lost that particular case and the buyer ended up with the coin ($800) and his/her money back. Fortunately I was covered for that one by paypal.

@trimble There is a value limit defined by eBay/Paypal currently set by country and is $750US for Canada. Under that tracking is sufficient. Over that amount then signature is also required.

Details from the Paypal User agreement are as follows: PLEASE NOTE that sellers most frequently get caught out by a) the requirement to ship ONLY to the address in the Paypal transaction; b)the exclusion of non-physical goods (IE an Amazon Gift code); and c) the exclusion of loss or damage DURING SHIPPING which is why you also need to purchase the appropriate shipper insurance and comply with its requirements as well.

11. Protection for Sellers.


11.1 PayPal Seller Protection.

PayPal Seller protection is protection we provide Sellers from Claims, Chargebacks, or Reversals that are based on:
Unauthorized Transaction or
Item Not Received

PayPal Seller protection is available for eligible payments from buyers in any country. However, if you sell or market to buyers outside Canada, please read the PayPal Buyer Protection policy and PayPal Seller Protection policy of the countries in which you are selling (accessible via the "Legal" or "Legal Agreements" footer on most PayPal site pages) as these policies will apply to you as a Payment Recipient or seller.

11.2 Scope of Protection.

PayPal will protect you for the full amount of the eligible payment and waive the Chargeback Fee, if applicable. There is no limit on the number of payments for which you can receive coverage.

11.3 Eligibility Requirements.

To be eligible for PayPal Seller protection, you must meet all of the basic requirements listed below under (a) Basic Requirements. To be covered for Item Not Received protection, you must meet both the Basic Requirements and the Item Not Received Additional Requirements listed below under (b). To be covered for Unauthorized Transaction protection, you must meet both the Basic Requirements and the Unauthorized Transactions Additional Requirements listed below under (c).
a.Basic Requirements: You must ship the item to the shipping address on the Transaction Details Page.
You must respond to PayPal's requests for documentation and other information in a timely manner.
The item must be a physical, tangible good that can be shipped.
Your primary residence, as listed in your Account, must be in Canada.

b.Item Not Received Additional Requirements: For Chargebacks, the payment must be marked "eligible" or "partially eligible" for PayPal Seller protection on the Transaction Details Page.
You must provide Proof of Delivery as described below in Section 11.4.
It is recommended that you ship the item within 7 Days of receipt of payment. Or, if the payment is for pre-ordered or made-to-order goods, shipment is required within the timeframe specified in your item listing.

c.Unauthorized Transactions Additional Requirements: The payment must be marked "eligible" for PayPal Seller protection on the Transaction Details Page.
You must provide Proof of Shipment or Proof of Delivery.


11.4 Proof of Shipment, Proof of Delivery and Signature Confirmation Requirements.

"Proof of Shipment" is online or physical documentation from a shipping company that includes all of the following:
The date the item is shipped.
The recipient's address matches the shipping address on the Transaction Details Page.
The recipient's address, showing at least the city & province, or city & country or postal code (or international equivalent).

"Proof of Delivery" is online documentation from a shipping company that includes all of the following:
The date the item is delivered.
The item's status as delivered.
The recipient's address matches the shipping address on the Transaction Details Page.
The recipient's address, showing at least the city & province, or city & country or postal code (or international equivalent).
Signature Confirmation as described below if the full amount of the payment, including shipping and taxes, is $850 CAD, or its foreign currency equivalent provided below:
850 Australian Dollar (AUD) 4,600 Norwegian Krone (NOK)
1,750 Brazilian Real (BRL) 34,000 Philippine Peso (PHP)
15,000 Czech Republic Koruna (CZK) 2,300 Polish New Zloty (PLN)
4,100 Danish Krone (DKK) 450 Pound Sterling - United Kingdom (GBP)
550 Euro (EUR) 950 Singaporean Dollar (SGD)
6,000 Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) 4,950 Swedish Krona (SEK)
170,000 Hungarian Forint (HUF) 700 Swiss Franc (CHF)
2,700 Israeli Shekel (ILS) 23,000 Taiwan New Dollar (TWD)
77,000 Japanese Yen (JPY) 24,500Thai Baht (THB)
10,000 Mexican New Peso (MXN) 750 United States Dollar (USD)
950 New Zealand Dollar (NZD)


"Signature Confirmation" is online documentation that can be viewed at the shipping company's website and indicates that the item was signed for on delivery.

11.5 Items/transactions not eligible for PayPal Seller Protection. The following are examples of items/ transactions not eligible for PayPal Seller Protection.
Claims or Chargebacks for Significantly Not as Described.
Items that you deliver in person, including at a retail point of sale.
Intangible items, including Digital Goods, and services.
PayPal Direct Payments.
Virtual Terminal Payments.
PayPal Business Payments.
Items that are not shipped to the recipient's shipping address on the Transaction Details Page. We recommend that you do not use a shipping service arranged by the buyer, so that you will be able to provide valid proof of shipping and delivery.

Thank you kuh_85, that clears it up.

Personally, if the total size of the package is above my comfort level, I send it via a regular letter envelope, but send it registered. This generally costs $9 plus the price of the stamp.

@Gilles Pavot-Drapeau, Excellent points. The chance of letters getting lost in the mail or stolen by postal officials is very slim. The problem lies at the other end, the recipient. You may get an dishonest buyer who lie when they say they did not get their item. Like you, most of my packages, tracked or not, go through. I just write off the small % that go awry. Of course, expensive items need to be tracked but not things that are worth $20.

And yes, there is no registered mail to the US. If you want tracking for a letter you have to send it by Xpresspost USA and it costs $25. I recently sold some stamps worth $100 to a USA customer and I wanted to get tracking for it but the P.O. said I had to use Xpresspost for $25 since they had no registered mail to the USA. I asked my buyer if they want to pay $25 for shipping and they said no and told me to send it by regular post. Which I did and the stamps arrived safely.

The only times I have had a package go "missing" is when I have sent it untracked.
I have NEVER had a package go missing when I have sent it with tracking.

Speaking of Canada Post and tracked delivery......it used to be they'd leave a notice in my box that happens to be in a grouped community mailbox down the street, similar to registered mail, with instructions to go to the postal outlet to pick up whatever. Lately I've been somewhat surprised that the postal carrier has been ringing my doorbell and it's been home delivered, if I happen to be home. If not, then the notice for pickup goes into my mailbox.

Given the high cost of postal service in Canada, I don't understand why there couldn't be a lower cost option for tracked deliveries that are only picked up and signed for at local postal outlets, not home delivered. (overlooking job retention and union intervention and all that, for sake of discussion)

I'm just curious....in the U.S., how and where are tracked deliveries received by the addressee?