Are you covered by paypal if you offer layaway / split payments?

paije

Member
May 20, 2008
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Just wondering if paypal seller protection will still apply if I offer layaway or split payments on an bag that is almost 4K LV that I'm having trouble selling?

Has anyone done this, do you say non refundable deposit to prevent buyer changing their mind 2 weeks later for example - is that allowed with paypal or could they just charge it back if they change their mind anyway?
 
Just wondering if paypal seller protection will still apply if I offer layaway or split payments on an bag that is almost 4K LV that I'm having trouble selling?

Has anyone done this, do you say non refundable deposit to prevent buyer changing their mind 2 weeks later for example - is that allowed with paypal or could they just charge it back if they change their mind anyway?
No you will not be covered. Think the only way partial payments would work is if she paid by USPS money order or WU, and you don't ship out the bag until you receive the money (all of it)
 
If you get paid on different instances you will have several payments from the buyer on your paypal account. This means that you will have to have as many tracking numbers as you have payments to show them. If you only have one, she can claim item not received on the other payments? She would then get that money back.
 
If you get paid on different instances you will have several payments from the buyer on your paypal account. This means that you will have to have as many tracking numbers as you have payments to show them. If you only have one, she can claim item not received on the other payments? She would then get that money back.

On the split payments of the same item on your Paypal account, enter the same tracking number on each of that transaction. But on layaway in which each payment came in different time, maybe weeks or months apart, this would not work.
 
I do not do layaway. Only one time my buyer from the Philippines paid me with Western Union for the first and the second payment, and the third payment she paid with Paypal.
Remember Paypal also required seller ship item within 7 days after payment received.
 
You will not be covered by paypal if she pays with a money order.

But why would you need to be? If a buyer pays via money order, he/she can't file a PP claim and get the money back through PP...?

I've done layaway with really reputable sellers...however, I myself would not offer them as a seller...there is just too much risk IMO.
 
You will not be covered by paypal if she pays with a money order.
I don't think you would need to be covered by PP is she uses a money order? I.e. it's not a PP transaction, so how can she do anything like a chargeback? I may be wrong, but I thought the seller was protected by USPS money order, not the buyer. If it's done on ebay and not PP, perhaps she could say she never received the item?
 
with split payments paypal protections will not apply to the buyer either, so it's a bit of a wash.
paypal seller protection applies to a very limited category of buyer claims anyway, mostly related to fraudulent credit card use ~ item not received, or SNAD aren't covered. those claims ARE part of buyer protection, but since buyer protection is not in effect due to the split payments you end up with just chargeback recourse on the buyer's side, as if the buyer made payments directly to a merchant account rather than through paypal.