How does Paypal work?

If you sign up for a PayPal account, you would be able to dispute it via PayPal's website. If you don't have an account and just pay with a card, you could file a chargeback by contacting your credit card company.

 

The buyer has to provide a shipping/tracking number of some sort, that's something Paypal uses to "protect" the buyer during a dispute.

The dicey thing about paypal, is for example, you pay $2000 for an MBP, and the sellers ships you a 50cent paving stone . It'll be very hard for you to prove to Paypal that he in fact, didn't ship the MBP; mostly your word against his.

Best thing, is to just make sure that you're buying from someone that has no less than 99.8% feedback (that's my rule at least), and shows a consistent stream of good payment/feedback history, and showing that he's got more experience than selling $4.99 hair clips.

 

You also get a limited amount of buyer protection if you have a verified account with PayPal - you set one up by attaching a valid bank card or credit card to the account.

 

Any online credit transactions present a risk, but I have used Paypal now for nearly a decade (cannot remember how long ago it was that I started my account) and haven't had an issue. I started out as a buyer and eventually upgraded to a business account to sell. I try to follow the guidelines in Paypals policies on returns as best as possible and add positively to those guidelines in my business practices offering extra buyer protection a little beyond Paypals basics in my own terms and conditions where Paypal hasn't covered an issue that will come up such as extensions of grace periods and refunds. There are fees for the seller though where they take a small cut from the purchase price even if refunded but those aren't as bad if you are working in enough volume and the business can handle eating a small amount of the cost to give a full refund.

 

They almost always side with the Buyer not the Seller