Caution with International Shipments
Perhaps vendors and/or members already knew this about PayPal's buyer protection policy but I didn't. I thought I'd share.
Recently, I sold a razor on eBay to a German buyer. The listed ended at over $250 but the buyer was willing to accept having the razor shipped by First Class Mail Int'l w/o insurance. I emailed the buyer a copy of the shipping receipt the same day I shipped the razor. This was two weeks ago. A few days ago, I asked him whether he received the razor. He said no but that he understood that shipping from the US to Europe can be slow. I thought we were cool.
This afternoon, I get an email from PayPal that the buyer had filed a dispute against me for not shipping the item. I immediately called PayPal. They told me that for items less than $250, tracking information must be available. For items $250+, tracking information must be available and the buyer must sign for the package. Fortunately, I had my package registered, which counts for something, so PayPal was willing to work with me. I think the delivery is just slow and the buyer is overly worried but we move on.
The point of all this is that if you send packages internationally, you better have the proper services attached to the shipment. Otherwise your buyer can claim that you didn't ship the item and they want their money back. PayPal will automatically rule in their favor. It doesn't matter whether they received it and they are lying. Per PayPal's User Agreement, nothing you say will suffice. Since First Class doesn't include those services, you have to ship everything by Priority Mail. It'll raise shipping costs considerably but it's the only safe route to go.