Help with Ebay/Paypal dispute

[moceanwerker]

So I've never had any issues with ebay buying/selling in over eight years of being a member. I recently had to file a paypal claim on an item (a graded MS63 1887 silver dollar) and within three days paypal sided with the buyer and I'm confused as to why.

Paypal said the seller provided evidence that they "shipped" the item. This is true, per the tracking number, they did ship the item. However, per the USPS tracking number the item was also never delivered to me, the buyer.

I was always under the understanding that if an item was shipped but not delivered then the buyer is protected? It is on the seller to purchase insurance to protect their end of it? Just looking for clarification here from someone who has experienced a similar issue. I have appealed the decision with Paypal, but seems like I might be off base - any suggestions?

Thanks!

[patriotsguy]

The thing with paypal is that as long as the seller has a tracking number to show he sent "something" then paypal will side with them unfortunatley

[moceanwerker]

The thing with paypal is that as long as the seller has a tracking number to show he sent "something" then paypal will side with them unfortunatley

Ok, wow! So, basically my only protection is to make sure insurance is purchased...? But, then I thought the insurance will only pay out to the sender? Thanks for the response, and I'm understanding this to be true based on what has happened. If this is the case, however, I think Paypal is violating their own policy, and marketing. I will never spend >$20 on ebay again.

Here is an excerpt from Paypal assurances to it's buyers that they are protected (I guess it's an argument of semantics - below does not actually state that an item shipped never arrives - sneeky):

You're Protected if:

1. Your order never arrives

All you have to do is log in to your account and open a dispute to get the refund process started. And if you made the purchase on eBay, start here instead.

[duane1969]

When did you pay? I would call them and ask for clarification of why the dispute was closed.

[moceanwerker]

When did you pay? I would call them and ask for clarification of why the dispute was closed.

I paid for the item within minutes of the auction closing. After spending 2 weeks emailing the seller and not getting anywhere (they were trying to make a claim with USPS on their end), I offered to split the total with them, they could just refund half and keep half and we'd chalk it up to an unfortunate experience with USPS. That's when the emails stopped, they did not respond, and after 2 weeks of not hearing back I filed the claim with paypal (around 45 days after the auction closed).

I'll try to call them, although I remember trying to find a phone number for them and couldn't - although I probably need to just look around the site (I doubt they make it easy to find). Thanks!