Bobby131313's Coins - About Paypal Confirmed Addresses and International Payments.

This page is to try to explain why many sellers including myself will not accept PayPal payments from buyers with unconfirmed addresses or overseas buyers. Please, please, please, do not be offended, below I will try to explain why this practice is becoming more prevalent.

This is a very frequently asked question. If you are a non-US buyer please be sure to read the bottom of this page also. I will quote the reason from the Paypal user agreement, then I will explain.....

Confirmed Addresses. PayPal prompts buyers to provide sellers with a Confirmed Address when making a purchase. A Confirmed Address is either an address at which a User receives his or her credit card statements, and is checked by PayPal with the User's credit card issuer, or an address which PayPal has confirmed through an Alternate Address Confirmation process, which includes the verification of other official documents. Confirmed Addresses must be in the name of the account holder, and thus Gift Addresses in someone else's name can never be confirmed. Shipping to a Confirmed Address minimizes the risk of being paid by a fraudulent buyer. If a buyer does not provide a Confirmed Address, the seller must either refuse the payment and ask that the buyer provide a Confirmed Address, or accept the reversal risk in shipping the item outside of this Seller Protection Policy. Tools for Premier and Business Accounts to automatically refuse to accept payments where the buyer chooses not to share his Confirmed Address can be found on the "Preferences" page of the "Profile" subtab of the "My Account" tab.

The sentence in bold is the key. The bottom line is if Paypal confirms the address, Paypal accepts the risk, otherwise the seller accepts the risk. Unfortunately there are quite a few individuals that are taking advantage of "loopholes" and sellers just don't want to accept the risk. Paypal or the buyer's credit card company will give the sellers' money back to these buyers even if the seller can prove the item was received. The seller has no control over this and now they are out the money and the product.

The whole thing really makes sense if you think about it. Why should Paypal or the seller accept the risk of an uncontestable chargeback if the buyer does not want to provide simple proof of where they live? I know that sounds kind of cold, but please don't take it as insult. It's just the nature of the beast, so to speak. The internet sales world is a faceless world which is very easily exploited. Sellers are just trying to be safe which in the long run will help everyone.

Most people do not realize that you do not need a credit card to get a confirmed address. It is certainly easier that way but not necessary. It takes a few days. You fax them some documents, maybe a phone bill or a utility bill in your name, then they mail a secret code to the address on the bill. When you supply them with the code, Paypal will confirm your address. Click here for more information. You will probably have to sign in first.

CONFIRMED ADDRESS - Paypal has confirmed that you live where you say you live by some secure method. This is one of the single most important things in preventing fraud. ( Even a dog won't poop where it sleeps

)

VERIFIED - There is a bank account attached to your Paypal account.

A lot of International buyers think that because they have a Confirmed Address in their country that US sellers can ship to them without risk. This is not true.

One of these conditions MUST apply for the seller to be protected under the Seller Protection Policy.

This means that no shipment outside of the US from a US seller is covered under Paypal's Seller Protection Policy.

So please do not be offended if a seller refunds your payment because of an unconfirmed address or because you are an International buyer. It is not personal. They are merely protecting themselves.