Buyer bought item by mistake, item not yet shipped, PayPal holding payment

[xt-14]

Hi all,

First time posting here - only because I encountered a new situation in my limited experience as a seller.

So, I listed an item for sale (Buy it now). This morning, I received a notification from eBay saying that a buyer has paid and it's time to ship it. Shortly after that, I received an email from PayPal saying "You have received a payment that we believe may not have been authorized by the PayPal account holder." and that I should not ship the item yet (fortunately I haven't shipped it). They are also holding the payment.

I followed the instructions in the PayPal email, and since I haven't heard from the buyer, filled out the details requested with the assumption that it was just PayPal double checking the payment for whatever reason. Just a few minutes ago, the buyer messaged on eBay saying that they accidentally bought the item. However, I do not have access to the funds yet so that I can refund them.

How would one go about this situation? What's the sequence of steps I need to follow in order to refund the buyer, not lose anything, and re-list the item. I'm assuming I'd have to wait until PayPal closes its case, but I'm not sure.

Also, would this mean anything neagtive for me as a seller?

Thanks!

[ed8108]

Cancel the sale, reason buyer request.

[creekcoyote]

Also, go directly into your paypal account to see if the item has actually been payed for and that they are holding the payment.     Sometimes e-mails from Paypal are NOT e-mails from Paypal.

[xt-14]

What about the PayPal case? Would this take care of that too and leave me unscathed and able to re-list the item otherwise?

[fr8hvnhet0]

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@xt-14 wrote:

What about the PayPal case? Would this take care of that too and leave me unscathed and able to re-list the item otherwise?

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Have you tried calling the Paypal Customer Service?

[xt-14]

No, I haven’t done that.

So would I do that to get the buyer’s money back to them, then cancel the sale on eBay? 

[fr8hvnhet0]

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@xt-14 wrote:

No, I haven’t done that.

So would I do that to get the buyer’s money back to them, then cancel the sale on eBay? 

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No, I would call them to first verify the payment issues the emails spoke of, then if those are true I would try and attain their feedback and suggestions on what you should do next (you may wish to come back here first before implementing anything) but more so just to see what they have to say.

[mam98031]

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@xt-14 wrote:

What about the PayPal case? Would this take care of that too and leave me unscathed and able to re-list the item otherwise?

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I is not a PP case.  PP will randomly pick payments from time to time to run a security check.  Sometimes they may find cause to be concerned about a payment and sometimes it is just a spot check.  Either way it is not a "case".

Now PP may be holding the payment while they do a security check or they could be holding it because you are a new seller.

But you should still be able to do the Cancelation at the Buyer's Request [use that for the reason, this is VERY important].  Just follow the instructions on your screen.  It will eventually ask you if you want to refund it.  Make sure you click on the Refund button.  Even if PP is holding the payment, it should allow it to be reversed.

[femmefan1946]

If the buyer has paid, it will be in your PP account-- but will be marked as being Held.

This is actually normal for new and occasional sellers. PP Holds the cleared payment against the new seller's performance.

You just have to cancel the transaction in eBay 'at buyer request'. Use ONLY that reason.

The refund will be automatic.

[xt-14]

Thanks for your suggestions, everyone!

Just wanted to give an update on how I resolved this issue.

I called eBay first and they told me that it’s best to sort the dispute out with PayPal first and refund the money to the buyer, then cancel the transaction on eBay choosing ‘buyer requested cancellation’. This shouldn’t have a negative effect on me.

I then called PayPal, and the first lady suggested that I wait until the dispute is resolved, but then said I could do the refund on my end from PayPal - which I couldn’t do and she couldn’t figure out either it seemed. So, she transferred me to someone who did the reversal/refund within seconds. I was able then to go on eBay, see the refund, cancel the sale due to ‘buyer request’, resolve the issue, and re-list the item.

A number of you suggested just going through eBay and the PayPal dispute and refund would take care of themselves, but I haven’t tried that, so I don’t know whether or not that works with the dispute still unresolved.

Thanks again!

[mr_lincoln]

@xt-14  wrote: " ...  A number of you suggested just going through eBay and the PayPal dispute and refund would take care of themselves, but I haven’t tried that, so I don’t know whether or not that works with the dispute still unresolved. ... "

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That's the path of least resistance ... Cancel in eBay citing "Buyer requested .." as the reason then let PP catch up.  Doing this also insures that you get your FVFs credited back to your Selling acount on eBay's monthly invoice.  Keep in mind, as soon as an item is sold or an auction ends with a winning bid YOU are charged the eBay FVFs.  If the item is paid for you are also charged the PP 30 cent non-refundable transaction fee plus the 2.9% (US sale) fee.

Its okay that you called both eBay and PP but it was not necessary ... they can potentially confuse things.

[mam98031]

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@xt-14 wrote:

Thanks for your suggestions, everyone!

Just wanted to give an update on how I resolved this issue.

I called eBay first and they told me that it’s best to sort the dispute out with PayPal first and refund the money to the buyer, then cancel the transaction on eBay choosing ‘buyer requested cancellation’. This shouldn’t have a negative effect on me.

I then called PayPal, and the first lady suggested that I wait until the dispute is resolved, but then said I could do the refund on my end from PayPal - which I couldn’t do and she couldn’t figure out either it seemed. So, she transferred me to someone who did the reversal/refund within seconds. I was able then to go on eBay, see the refund, cancel the sale due to ‘buyer request’, resolve the issue, and re-list the item.

A number of you suggested just going through eBay and the PayPal dispute and refund would take care of themselves, but I haven’t tried that, so I don’t know whether or not that works with the dispute still unresolved.

Thanks again!

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I'm glad it all worked out for you.  You could have just cancelled the transaction in Ebay and refunded the buyer during the cancellation process.  Much easier and certainly a whole lot less time spent, but I'm glad everything worked out for you.