I got this email from a regular reader in the beginning of December and was too darn busy to address it then but it’s something I wanted to come back to. Leaving off the name just in case the sender wants to remain anonymous for whatever reason.

Hi Hillary,

Have you ever addressed this issue…

Ebay forces us to ship within the time specified in our listings..I use 3 days but we usually ship the next day.

So..we shipped an item on 12/13..it was paid through Paypal..and today on 12/17 we get a notice from Paypal stating they are investigating this transaction because the customer’s bank did not honor it. The funds are reversed..

So where does this leave the seller!!! We have no choice and have to use Paypal. They accepted the payment but yet if it has a problem the seller stuck..

Just ticked off!!

I have to say that this happened to me exactly once and I was very lucky. The sale was reversed within hours of the payment but I had actually already sent the item. Luckily, right before I had a chance to freak out, the buyer emailed me to apologize and repaid right away. 

Honest buyers, I love you. 

But we all know that every buyer out there isn’t exactly always going to be as nice as my buyer was.

What about you? Has this happened to you? If so, how frequently? Is this an eBay problem alone or a PayPal issue at heart?

I know everyone reading would appreciate hearing about your experiences and your recommendations of how to avoid the situation if possible.