HELP! Unverified buyer!

[crazymomof4]

I just sold my second item on ebay.

The buyer, who has 0 feedback, paid right away using Paypal and the transaction is shown as complete in my paypal account.

I noticed that the buyer is "unverified". Does this mean anything? I don't want to get ripped off.

 

[Feralpeg]

Don't worry about it. It just means that the buyer hasn't signed up through Paypal and had his/her account verified through a bank account. If you've already got the money, your okay.

 

[crazymomof4]

Thanks so much for your reply. I feel better. I'm going to mail the package now.

 

[ZebraStripes]

I'm not a "verified" user either. I always pay by credit card. It looks like to be verified paypal makes a small deposit to your checking (??) account to make sure the numbers etc are correct. I didn't want to do that. But I always pay promptly.

 

[MommaluvsDis]

We don't use Paypal either. I've heard some negative feed back on it. We pay with CC or MO.

 

[remyandhollandsmommy]

Alot of people don't get verifies because they get packages delivered to their place of employment and their home address on their bank info is different. They have to match for paypal to verify them. I have sent several packages to unverified addys and so far haven't had an issue.

 

[Loves2Travel]

I just sold my second item on ebay.

The buyer, who has 0 feedback, paid right away using Paypal and the transaction is shown as complete in my paypal account.

I noticed that the buyer is "unverified". Does this mean anything? I don't want to get ripped off.

Not sure how you would get "ripped off" if the buyer already paid...but oooooooooooooook

 

[remyandhollandsmommy]

Not sure how you would get "ripped off" if the buyer already paid...but oooooooooooooook

The buyer could do a chargeback or claim they never received the item. If you can't prove delivery with DC then paypal will side with the buyer 100% and they will get refunded. Make sure you get DC!! I think you are only not covered under seller protection if the buyer's addy is unconfirmed...someone correct me if I am wrong.

 

[mom2mira]

The buyer could do a chargeback or claim they never received the item. If you can't prove delivery with DC then paypal will side with the buyer 100% and they will get refunded. Make sure you get DC!! I think you are only not covered under seller protection if the buyer's addy is unconfirmed...someone correct me if I am wrong.

That's exactly right. I belong to a coupon board that also has an ebay board and this comes up a lot. Many people have it right in their auction that they only will accept bids from verified buyers. You have no protection against a chargeback if they are unverified. Now that being said, I am unverified at the moment because we recently moved and I haven't changed my address on my checking account. Being unverified doesn't mean anything bad, but do protect yourself with the DC, especially since they have no feedback.

 

[the kabuki]

Funny this should be on right now. I just bought & received my very first ebay purchase. Of course it was disney related- A VHS tape of Beauty & the Beast(darn disney vaulting).

I signed up with paypal using checking account that's the same as my address, but I'm still coming up unverified even though the package has been paid for ,received, and I had a positive feedback. Now that I'm bidding on a 2nd item I noticed that it's still unverified. Not that it seems to make a huge difference, but I don't want someone to think I'm some sleazy buyer or something.

Does anyone know how to become a verified address??

 

[mom2mira]

Funny this should be on right now. I just bought & received my very first ebay purchase. Of course it was disney related- A VHS tape of Beauty & the Beast(darn disney vaulting).

I signed up with paypal using checking account that's the same as my address, but I'm still coming up unverified even though the package has been paid for ,received, and I had a positive feedback. Now that I'm bidding on a 2nd item I noticed that it's still unverified. Not that it seems to make a huge difference, but I don't want someone to think I'm some sleazy buyer or something.

Does anyone know how to become a verified address??

This is straight from paypal:
What does it mean to be a Verified member of PayPal?

For U.S. PayPal account holders, being Verified means you have added and confirmed a bank account, or have been otherwise Verified by PayPal. Because Verification increases the security of the PayPal network, you'll be able to do the following once you're Verified:

Lift your sending and withdrawal limits


Send payments instantly using a checking account


Become eligible for the Seller Protection Policy


Increase credibility with sellers and/or buyers (since being Verified means you have confirmed ownership of a bank account)

When you signed up with your checking account, they should have made a few small deposits into your account and you would have had to verify them. I couldn't find anything about how to do this after you already have an account set up and it's been so long since I signed up. Maybe when you log into your account you can find something there. If not, I would e-mail paypal as to how. If you happen to have just signed up with paypal, maybe check and see if you have any old e-mails from them about depositing the money or see if your checking account has has any really small deposits like .02 or something.

 

[Colinsmom]

Note that "verified" refers to having a bank account on your Paypal account. Several people mentioned the address thing - addresses are confirmed, not verified (in Paypal lingo).

And if you ship to an unconfirmed address, you risk a chargeback (and yes, they will pull the money straight out of your account), so don't assume that just because you have the money means that you are safe. We just fought Paypal for $300 that was pulled from our account when the buyer was verified and confirmed, and we had a signature confirmation through UPS that they had received the item!! And no, it was not an easy fight at all, believe it or not...

 

[the kabuki]

This is straight from paypal:
What does it mean to be a Verified member of PayPal?

For U.S. PayPal account holders, being Verified means you have added and confirmed a bank account, or have been otherwise Verified by PayPal. Because Verification increases the security of the PayPal network, you'll be able to do the following once you're Verified:

Lift your sending and withdrawal limits


Send payments instantly using a checking account


Become eligible for the Seller Protection Policy


Increase credibility with sellers and/or buyers (since being Verified means you have confirmed ownership of a bank account)

When you signed up with your checking account, they should have made a few small deposits into your account and you would have had to verify them. I couldn't find anything about how to do this after you already have an account set up and it's been so long since I signed up. Maybe when you log into your account you can find something there. If not, I would e-mail paypal as to how. If you happen to have just signed up with paypal, maybe check and see if you have any old e-mails from them about depositing the money or see if your checking account has has any really small deposits like .02 or something.

Yes, when I signed up they did deposit .02 in my account, and I verified. Hmm, I guess I'll just email Paypal and find out what's up.
Thanks

 

[connorsmom911]

Not 100% sure on this, but I know I'm not a verified or confirmed address ebayer because I'm in Canada. I'm not attaching a bank account to my paypal because I link my credit card to it and pay that way. I don't think paypal confirms any addresses outside of the US, so I'm always going to be unconfirmed. I've bought and sold and no problems so far!!

Good luck with the transaction, but I don't see it being a problem. We all started with 0 feedback at some point.

Tracey

 

[crazymomof4]

Not sure how you would get "ripped off" if the buyer already paid...but oooooooooooooook

As I said, I'm very new to this and I fear that there are "loop holes" that I am not yet aware of. I thought maybe a person who would not be "verfied" is less trustworthy, wants to keep his info a secret so he could not be as accountable. Even though he paid with paypal I thought there was a possiblility that he could retract payment after the item was shipped. (remyandhollandsmommy and mom2mira legitimized this concern)

I asked a valid question. I appreciate the many responders who took the time to help me feel more confident.

There was no need for any sarcasm. Posts that make people feel stupid accomplish nothing but discourage others, esp. newbies to the DIS, from asking ANY questions for fear they will be put down.

Let's keep the DIS a place where all feel welcome!

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

I'm learning so much. I'm thinking about putting some things on ebay.

What's DC?

Lori

 

[crazymomof4]

Note that "verified" refers to having a bank account on your Paypal account. Several people mentioned the address thing - addresses are confirmed, not verified (in Paypal lingo).

And if you ship to an unconfirmed address, you risk a chargeback (and yes, they will pull the money straight out of your account), so don't assume that just because you have the money means that you are safe. We just fought Paypal for $300 that was pulled from our account when the buyer was verified and confirmed, and we had a signature confirmation through UPS that they had received the item!! And no, it was not an easy fight at all, believe it or not...

Oh man, I would be sooo mad! This is the kind of thing that concerns me. How do sellers protect themselves? After reading this, I'm thinking of putting into all of my auctions a clause something like, "I will only ship with delivery confirmation to buyers who are unverified or who have unconfirmed addresses."

I've seen things like this in other auctions and have thought to myself, "This person got cheated somewhere down the line and now they are smarter for it."

How do you protect yourselves from being "taken" by shifty buyers?

 

[crazymomof4]

I'm learning so much. I'm thinking about putting some things on ebay.

What's DC?

Lori

Oooh, oooh, I can answer that one! DC is "delivery confirmation". Both UPS and the USPS offer it. I believe it is free from the USPS if you print the shipping label from the website.
Others with more experience can probably give more info on this subject.

Hey! Where did my tickerfactory counter go???????????

 

[Colinsmom]

Oh man, I would be sooo mad! This is the kind of thing that concerns me. How do sellers protect themselves? After reading this, I'm thinking of putting into all of my auctions a clause something like, "I will only ship with delivery confirmation to buyers who are unverified or who have unconfirmed addresses."

How do you protect yourselves from being "taken" by shifty buyers?

Well, first of all, only ship to confirmed addresses within the U.S. (as one poster mentioned, most international addresses cannot be confirmed). Delivery confirmation does not protect you AT ALL if you ship to an unconfirmed address. In fact, you should ship with delivery confirmation ALL the time as it is required under Paypal's "seller protection policy." IMO, a buyer being unverified isn't a big deal, it just means that they didn't attach a bank account to the Paypal account. And I don't believe that it affects you under the Seller Protection Policy.

My advice to you would be this:

1. Read the Paypal Seller Protection Policy and follow it, especially for newer buyers, people on shopping sprees or large purchases.

2. Frequently empty out your Paypal account. If the money isn't there, then Paypal can't freeze it. DH didn't empty his account fully, which is why his balance was frozen. We just got it released by Paypal and DH promptly swept it into my account, and I pulled it out.

 

[crazymomof4]

Delivery confirmation does not protect you AT ALL if you ship to an unconfirmed address.

Can I say in my listing, "If you have an unconfirmed address, do not bid on my auction." ?

In fact, you should ship with delivery confirmation ALL the time as it is required under Paypal's "seller protection policy."

Does the USPS offer DC for shipping types other than Priority Mail? I've heard that having Priority as your only shipping choice tends to scare off buyers bc. of the high rates. Can you ship Parcel Post, for example, and get DC for a little extra?