PayPal Policy Updates and How It Affects Sneaker Resellers

Raymond Ma -

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PayPal policy updates ##sneakerhead ##fyp ##reseller

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Paypal has been the go-to payment of choice when handling payment for transactions involving sneakers and other resold goods. Paypal offers protection for buyers who receive items that are "significantly not as described" – a lot of these cases often include counterfeit sneakers. Paypal also provides seller protection; however, it is nowhere near as comprehensive as their buyer protection policies.

Recently Paypal announced updates to its terms of services that would take effect at the end of July. In particular, one section raised a few eyebrows and caught the attention of sneakerheads and private sellers that rely on Paypal's protection policies.

We are excluding items intended for resale, including single item transactions or transactions that include multiple items, from reimbursement eligibility under our Purchase Protection Program.

The criteria for "items intended for resale" is left for interpretation as neither Paypal nor the policy update page goes into detail on what the category entails.

After confirming with Paypal customer support, I can tell you that this will not affect 99% of you. This policy is in place to mainly tackle dropshippers and businesses that have probably been abusing the Purchase Protection Program.

If you purchase a shoe on eBay, Facebook Groups, Offer-up, and any other medium using Paypal, your transaction should still be covered.

Here's an example situation in which your transaction falls under "item intended for resale":

  1. You purchase a pair of Travis Scott Dunks on eBay, hoping to make a profit as the seller listed it at a "steal" price.
  2. Item arrives, and you don't see anything wrong with it, so you list the shoe for sale on Facebook Groups.
  3. You find a buyer, and the buyer pays with Paypal.
  4. The new buyer finds out that it's fake, so he/she demands a refund. He messages you and then files a claim with Paypal for "Item Significantly Not as Described."
  5. Paypal sides in the buyer's favor and initiate a return / refund for the buyer.
  6. You try to get your money back by filing a claim against the original seller, but Paypal denies your claim and categorizes it as a transaction involving an item intended for resale.

So unless the above scenario seems like something you deal with, the "items intended for resale" policy update does not affect you.

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