How Seller Protection can help support your business.

Mar 19 2024 | PayPal editorial staff

As a small business owner, you want to do everything you can to protect your business, including processing customer payments smoothly. This is where choosing a payment provider with seller protection can help.

What is Seller Protection?
PayPal Seller Protection is a policy that can protect your transactions from chargebacks, reversals, and their associated fees. This means that if you sell something to a buyer, and they dispute or reverse the transaction, you may be eligible to retain the full purchase amount and avoid any related chargeback fees paid (for debit and credit card-funded transactions).

What makes PayPal Seller Protection different.
We want to make it easy for you to protect your online sales. When you open a Business account with us, we offer Seller Protection at no additional charge for eligible transactions. We also don’t limit the number of eligible payments, as long as you meet the eligibility requirements.

What PayPal Seller Protection covers.
PayPal’s Seller Protection program covers two kinds of buyer claims:

  • Unauthorized Transactions. This is when a buyer claims they didn’t authorize a payment.
  • Item Not Received. The buyer purchased an item, but claims through PayPal's Buyer Protection that they didn’t receive it.


What PayPal Seller Protection doesn’t cover.
Seller Protection doesn’t cover Item Not Received claims filed by your buyer directly with their card issuer or buyer claims for items received that are ‘Significantly Not As Described (SNAD)’; in other words, what the buyer received doesn’t match what they ordered. For example: Say the buyer ordered a pink scarf but received a green one instead. But you can reduce SNAD complaints by:

  • Providing detailed and accurate descriptions of the items you are selling.
  • Communicating well with your buyers.
  • Answering any questions about the item(s) quickly.
  • Being open to resolving issues as they arise (refunds, returns, and exchanges) to prevent a formal complaint.


How to be eligible for PayPal Seller Protection.
To be eligible for PayPal Seller Protection, you must meet all of the following requirements.

  • The primary address for your PayPal account must be in the Canada.
  • The item can be a physical, tangible good that can be shipped.
  • You must ship the item to the shipping address on the transaction details page in your PayPal account for the transaction. If you originally ship the item to the recipient's shipping address on the transaction details page but the item is later redirected to a different address, you will not be eligible for PayPal Seller Protection. We therefore recommend not using a shipping service that is arranged by the buyer, so that you will be able to provide valid proof of shipping and delivery.
  • Only eligible intangible goods, such as tickets to a concert or trip reservations, and services, such as a training course or website design.
  • You must respond to PayPal's requests for documentation and other information in a timely manner as requested in our email correspondence with you or in our correspondence with you through the Resolution Center. If you do not respond to PayPal’s request for documentation and other information in the time requested, you may not be eligible for Seller Protection.
  • If the sale involves pre-ordered or made-to-order goods, you must ship within the timeframe you specified in the listing. Otherwise, it is recommended that you ship all items within 7 days after receipt of payment.


What happens if you receive a complaint?
If the transaction in question meets the eligibility criteria, you’ll be able to keep the full purchase amount, and we’ll also waive any chargeback fees (for debit and credit card-funded transactions).

Keep in mind that while we’re reviewing the complaint, the money for the disputed transaction might be temporarily unavailable to you. If the dispute is decided in your favor, we’ll make the money available again as part of your PayPal balance.

It also takes teamwork to find a resolution. In addition to meeting the eligibility requirements, you also need to respond to any reversal within the timeframe given. Be sure to include the appropriate proof of delivery or proof of shipment, depending on the requirements.

How to prevent complaints and reversals.
You won’t be able to prevent all reversals but you can help by providing thorough and accurate details of the items you sell, shipping quickly, and communicating well with your buyers. The little details go a long way. However, reversals are part of doing business to some degree. Always make sure you follow the PayPal Seller Protection Policy to protect yourself. Here are a few actionable tips:

To reduce (Items Not Received) INR complaints:

  • Communicate well with your buyers.
  • Be clear about shipping timeframes.
  • Ship only using reputable shipping partners who can provide online shipment tracking details.
  • Share shipping details with your buyers.
The contents of this site are provided for informational purposes only. You should always obtain independent, professional accounting, financial, and legal advice before making any business decision.

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