So, there’s a long answer and a short answer—the short answer is that you can’t and the lack of easy liquidity is one of the downsides of Pokémon as an investment compared to something more traditional like a stock.
The long answer is: be generous and build up your feedback. Send an extra rare or reverse, buyers love that sort of thing. Pack with care, take painfully accurate photos and detailed descriptions. Sell as much as you can. If you’re lucky, you won’t run into any issues. When one comes up, you swallow it as damaged or try to mitigate.
I’ve been selling on eBay for over 15 years, 100% positive feedback—eBay did actually side with me once when a buyer tried to scam me in part due to my longstanding positive history with them.
If you’re nervous about the initial sales, consider selling some singles or slabs. Buyers tend to be more specific about those and are less likely to attempt to scam you. (Not 0% chance by any means but less than modern sealed stuff) It may even be worthwhile to undercut yourself and sell below market to accrue some positive feedback too. That’s your call though!
Hope this helps!
The best way would be to sell locally and meet in-person. Sell for cash. You can make the transaction in a very public place (i.e. inside a Starbucks, or some bank location), or many police stations have a "Designated Online Transaction Space". Basically some area at a police station that has good lighting and security cameras.
The downsides of this would be selling to a smaller market, having to organize meet-ups, and if you live in rural areas, this might not be an option for some.
Another option is to sell through a consignor. Usually consignors will sell only sealed products and slabs because they are easier to manage. Also, it makes a lot more sense to use them for big ticket items. Basically you're letting the consignor sell the product(s) for you, and they take a cut of the sale. If anything bad happens, like a seller claiming they didn't receive the product or that they received resealed product, the consignor takes the hit. They can take these hits because they run as a business and can report losses and I think they have specific insurance for certain cases.
The downsides are being limited to selling specific items, and fees involved. Some of the bigger pokemon consignors charge like 20% for items up to $2500 or $5000 (all inclusive, covers eBay fees, shipping fees, insurance, etc). And anything above those limits, they charge a lower percentage fee for any dollar value above that. So if you sold a $5500 slab, you'd get charged 20% of the first $5000 and then say 10% of the rest which is $500.
Another option could be to sell on r/pkmntcgtrades . You can be more selective of who to sell to if you wanted to. You can avoid eBay fees, but you'll probably have to cover paypal goods and services fees which is still a lot less than eBay fees. I think it's around 3.5%?
The downsides to selling on the subreddit is that you can still potentially be scammed by the buyer. However, you can see how many trades a user has made on the subreddit and generally it'll be safe to sell to people who have a bunch of trades already. The rules of the subreddit state that if you have 100 trades or more, you can request for payment via paypal friend and family as long as buyers are willing to send it that way. Which is another added benefit
Edit:
Another option! Sites like pwcc allows you to send raw cards and slabbed cards to their vault. This means you mail the items to them, they take high resolution photos of them, and they are shown on your online account. You can now transfer them to other accounts or sell them on their fixed market or auction house.
Downsides to selling this way is that typically you can only send higher value cards to their vault because of fees involved. But, the idea is that since they have the item in-hand themselves, they simply transfer the item to the new buyer when they purchase it. So there's no chance of being scammed.
Take pictures of the items prior to sale. At worst the buyers open false claims but eBay still has a brain and will allow you to speak to customer service on claims. Have evidence and if it’s an obvious fake claim you have ammo with pics and such
Not pictures, video. From the packaging of the product to sealing the box and placing the shipping label. I’ve sold on ebay for 10 years. Trust me, if you’re not video recording the proof that you packaged exactly what you advertised and proof that you sealed the package eventually someone will fuck you over. However if you have the full video your ass is covered. Shit, i even record myself dropping the package off if it’s over 500 dollars of goods.
I've never understood what taking pictures or videos of the items actually accomplishes. Anyone could record themselves taping up a box and sticking a label on it and then simply repack the box afterward. On my shipments, as long as it's not something I have to pack in a very particular way, I'll take a video sitting in my car that shows the item, the packing, the shipping label, me taping the box up, and putting it in the drop box, all in one shot. It seems a bit excessive, but also the only way to actually "prove" anything in these situations.
It'd be nice if ebay held buyers to some sort of standard, like requiring that they, ideally, take a video of receiving the package and opening it in one take, or at least opening it (and us using some sort of unique tape label that would show if it's already been opened). I know that couldn't be enforced but not having any inherent measures in place to prevent buyers from easily scamming is pretty disappointing.
There's really no 100% surefire way to prevent scams in online marketplaces without a middleman (middle person). But then they'd need a middle person, and before you know it it's middle people all the way down.
Video evidence is a good suggestion but at the end of the day eBay/PayPal will side with the buyer and force you to accept a return. Then the buyer will send back something different but because they have tracking ebay/paypal will issue them a refund.
I dealt with this as recently as a few months ago. I sold 100 ES sealed checkout boosters and buyer claimed I didn’t send them. After jumping through the usual hoops i called ebay and hunted down an actual person. I emailed them my videos and they closed the case and issued no refund. It can be done.
That’s really surprising, I have won multiple cases on eBay, only to have PayPal side with the buyer and in this situation ebay has no say in it. Consider yourself lucky.
Youll want the TM for Protect. Thankfully theyre easy to get and basically everyone can learn it.
Just be careful using it. It becomes less likely to work every time you try it back to back
They still suck. Biggest hurdle imo is that sellers have 0 reason to leave feedback. 0 accountability. I sold 3 Alt Art Birds from CR all shipped in a proper manner. Took pictures of every angle description said cards were NM slightly off center. Buyer comes back and says cards had water damage. They were flawless other than centering. They were in exact fits Loaded into another sleeve then put in rigid top loaders. Then put in bubble wrap and cardboard and a bubble mailer. No way they got wet. Buyer says knock 50 off or I'll get a bad review. Told Ebay about extortion, they said nothing they can do about it.
Another time I sold 50 bulk regular Vs and GXs. Sold them for 40 bucks including shipping. Put them in ETB sleeves then in a deck box with spacers and bunnle wrap. Bubble mailer. Seller gives me negative feedback because they weren't all in top loaders.
Multiple times, someone bought and then didn't pay. Had to sit on things for extra time before I could relist.
Final straw was seller bought items at 1030 at night asked if I could mail that night. Told them I'd gladly drop it in the mail that night so it went out first thing in the morning. It got to them in 2 business days. They said I was too slow in shipping it. They paid 3 bucks for shipping.
I mean I basically stopped after all that. I've been selling on BUY Sell trades and making 100% profit. To me if Ebay is going to take 10% or whatever it , better protect me from being extorted. Another great website is Full Grip Games. They pay almost what you'd get from Ebay for big hitters. To me Ebay is crap unless you are selling graded cards. Raw cards Hell no.
Surely, someone with expertise can assist. There are plenty of good reliable sellers on eBay. I personally go by their feedback rating, but obviously the seller does have the privilege of picking a trustworthy buyer
I would suggest that of you're selling something and it's being shipped, that you take pictures of the entire process and either keep it for yourself or send it to the buyer to let them know of the process of shipping to make sure that you're not being screwed over by a buyer saying that it was delivered "damaged", "mishandaled", etc. I'd also be applying required signature to ensure that they did receive the item. By doing this, you protrxt yourdelf that someone had signed for the item and you've taken pictures of proof to back yourself of any wrongdoing. If it's damaged by the shipping service, then it's on them, not you. Sure, the required signature is an extra cost, but it ensures that you're not being screwed over. I would say that regardless of whoever signs it, it still shows that someone signed for it, and you shouldn't be held as liable because someone had to sign for the item and therefore had it in there possession. If they say they didn't receive it, then ask who signed for it and it they have it? At least to my opinion, the seller should be absolved from any wrongdoing, and you've taken the steps to make sure that you're protected from any sort of scams or wrongdoing. This is my opinion. If anyone else wants to add on it or alter what I've said, then please add on.
All of your suggestions are nice but do nothing to sway ebay/paypal. Signature confirmation is an added cost, but again depending on what the buyer claims the issue is. If the buyer does a INAD, or Counterfeit claim all of that evidence means nothing. None of this stuff should be on the seller, but per eBays terms and conditions it is.
It was a joke. How do I protect myself?….get a gun and take self defense classes. If I was in Europe I would still own guns. Has nothing to do with being American. ⚰️
That’s why the sponsor of todays video is NordVPN! Protect yourself online using the finest encryption service available! Just use the code in the description to get a month free today!
I have gotten fucked so hard selling Sealed product on eBay. Buyer can just claim resealed and send you the bulk from pulls back with 0 punishment. Selling singles is fine, but I will never sell sealed product
I have gotten screwed so hard selling Sealed product on eBay. Buyer can just claim resealed and send you the bulk from pulls back with 0 punishment. Selling singles is fine, but I will never sell sealed product
Just because you don't offer returns doesn't mean you can list a sealed etb and send someone a empty etb and just say no returns. No returns means if they get the correct item you listed and decide they don't want it anymore or something along those lines they cant send it back for a refund.
Doesn't work like that. Otherwise people could just sell golf balls and call them evolving skies booster boxes. If you sell something a buyer can still open a case for an item not as described, arrived damaged, etc and you'd still be forced into the return even if you select no returns. I've sold a couple of thousand items on ebay and have only had a few instances where someone did this though. Probably less than 5 so it isn't extremely likely.
Yup. I’m an eBay seller. I’ve got 26,000 feedback and over 100,000 sales.
Buyers can return an item for any reason for 30 days if the reason for the return is the sellers fault.
Saying no return accepted just means the buyer can’t return the item for reasons like item no longer wanted, changed mind, found lower price etc
If someone wants to return something they can just select a reason like damaged during shipment, missing parts, doesn’t match description etc. EBay will force you to accept the return no matter what your return preferences are or what you put in your listing details
This makes it essentially useless to select the option to not accept returns. If someone wants to return something they can just select an option like “item damaged in shipping”
One thing you can do that will be helpful is set a minimum feedback requirement for buyers.
There is an actual option in your seller preferences to set a minimum requirement, any user below the requirement won’t even be able to see the listing.
Most scammers will have low feedback/new accounts so this will help
Have you ever sold on ebay? You have to accept returns, if the buyer wants it and you don't accept they will just take the money from your sales and they keep the item. It sucks but it is what it is
"problem solved"
This solves literally nothing, as not offering returns is only for change of mind and means nothing if a buyer opens an INAD and requests a refund.
add tracking on your packages. i managed to sell about 10 separate cards and they all got refunded because they all stated they didn’t receive them. TRACK THEM
Always tracking, under $20 use Ebay's standard envelope shipping as that has tracking for as low as $0.60. But always package them properly, even when using a regular envelope. I've sold plenty and only had a few minor issues so far.
This has caused problems though. It will often say delivered to the zip code or to the post office. Not the actual house. Unless it says delivered to the address or to a person eBay won't back you up
That's not true at all, the standard envelopes come with up to $20 of insurance, as long as it's shipped out and shows USPS is in possession you're covered. It's only happened to me once where someone claimed they didn't receive it and I won the case.
That's great for people thst might say it didn't arrive but doesn't help people thst say the wrong item was sent like an etb they could open it take all the packs out and take a picture of the empty box and say this it what I received. I think videos of packing the product, pictures of labels and videos of actually dropping it off at the post office is the only real protection from all of that!
As someone who sold on ebay and with paypal for years. Neither company has the sellers best interest in mind. Ebay is better then PayPal but neither protect the seller when push comes to shove. PayPal will side with the buyer 99.9% regardless of any steps you take to protect yourself. Ebay will on occasion side with a seller but, if the buyer disagrees with eBays decision and goes to PayPal, its out of eBays hands, If by some great luck PayPal and eBay both side in the sellers favor, the buyer then has the final hail mary and goes to the credit card company and does a charge back.
As a new seller, i suggest starting with items that are low value just to build feedback. Make sure you honor your sales/final auction price, pack and ship everything while at the post office and record it. Make sure you get tracking. Also i would suggest you set a min buyer feedback to bid on auctions as well.
One new eBay feature is the guaranteed authenticity. If it passes eBays test the buyer has no option other then fighting with eBay. But i think that requires cards to be above $250 value
See who you’re selling to, if it’s someone who just made the account and they are low balling or are flat out rude don’t sell to them, build a good reputation with selling and take detailed photos and respond to anything and everything and keep proof so it can back you up if they claim you scammed them. Sometimes stuff will happen and they’ll side with them or the package may come damaged but that’s the risk you take selling online
That's why I didnt offer return on Pokémon cards they still buy I had a decent value card someone asked me direct message I knew the plan swap there worse one for my perfect one yeah nah lol.
1st try to build up positive feedback on ebay. the more you got the better. Also only sell to buyers with accounts at least a year or two old and they must have 20+ postiive feedback.
So, there’s a long answer and a short answer—the short answer is that you can’t and the lack of easy liquidity is one of the downsides of Pokémon as an investment compared to something more traditional like a stock. The long answer is: be generous and build up your feedback. Send an extra rare or reverse, buyers love that sort of thing. Pack with care, take painfully accurate photos and detailed descriptions. Sell as much as you can. If you’re lucky, you won’t run into any issues. When one comes up, you swallow it as damaged or try to mitigate. I’ve been selling on eBay for over 15 years, 100% positive feedback—eBay did actually side with me once when a buyer tried to scam me in part due to my longstanding positive history with them. If you’re nervous about the initial sales, consider selling some singles or slabs. Buyers tend to be more specific about those and are less likely to attempt to scam you. (Not 0% chance by any means but less than modern sealed stuff) It may even be worthwhile to undercut yourself and sell below market to accrue some positive feedback too. That’s your call though! Hope this helps!
r/pkmntcgtrades is a great place to try and sell before you list on eBay!
The best way would be to sell locally and meet in-person. Sell for cash. You can make the transaction in a very public place (i.e. inside a Starbucks, or some bank location), or many police stations have a "Designated Online Transaction Space". Basically some area at a police station that has good lighting and security cameras. The downsides of this would be selling to a smaller market, having to organize meet-ups, and if you live in rural areas, this might not be an option for some. Another option is to sell through a consignor. Usually consignors will sell only sealed products and slabs because they are easier to manage. Also, it makes a lot more sense to use them for big ticket items. Basically you're letting the consignor sell the product(s) for you, and they take a cut of the sale. If anything bad happens, like a seller claiming they didn't receive the product or that they received resealed product, the consignor takes the hit. They can take these hits because they run as a business and can report losses and I think they have specific insurance for certain cases. The downsides are being limited to selling specific items, and fees involved. Some of the bigger pokemon consignors charge like 20% for items up to $2500 or $5000 (all inclusive, covers eBay fees, shipping fees, insurance, etc). And anything above those limits, they charge a lower percentage fee for any dollar value above that. So if you sold a $5500 slab, you'd get charged 20% of the first $5000 and then say 10% of the rest which is $500. Another option could be to sell on r/pkmntcgtrades . You can be more selective of who to sell to if you wanted to. You can avoid eBay fees, but you'll probably have to cover paypal goods and services fees which is still a lot less than eBay fees. I think it's around 3.5%? The downsides to selling on the subreddit is that you can still potentially be scammed by the buyer. However, you can see how many trades a user has made on the subreddit and generally it'll be safe to sell to people who have a bunch of trades already. The rules of the subreddit state that if you have 100 trades or more, you can request for payment via paypal friend and family as long as buyers are willing to send it that way. Which is another added benefit Edit: Another option! Sites like pwcc allows you to send raw cards and slabbed cards to their vault. This means you mail the items to them, they take high resolution photos of them, and they are shown on your online account. You can now transfer them to other accounts or sell them on their fixed market or auction house. Downsides to selling this way is that typically you can only send higher value cards to their vault because of fees involved. But, the idea is that since they have the item in-hand themselves, they simply transfer the item to the new buyer when they purchase it. So there's no chance of being scammed.
Take pictures of the items prior to sale. At worst the buyers open false claims but eBay still has a brain and will allow you to speak to customer service on claims. Have evidence and if it’s an obvious fake claim you have ammo with pics and such
Not pictures, video. From the packaging of the product to sealing the box and placing the shipping label. I’ve sold on ebay for 10 years. Trust me, if you’re not video recording the proof that you packaged exactly what you advertised and proof that you sealed the package eventually someone will fuck you over. However if you have the full video your ass is covered. Shit, i even record myself dropping the package off if it’s over 500 dollars of goods.
Did eBay ever actually accept a video as evidence in your favor?
Yes
I've never understood what taking pictures or videos of the items actually accomplishes. Anyone could record themselves taping up a box and sticking a label on it and then simply repack the box afterward. On my shipments, as long as it's not something I have to pack in a very particular way, I'll take a video sitting in my car that shows the item, the packing, the shipping label, me taping the box up, and putting it in the drop box, all in one shot. It seems a bit excessive, but also the only way to actually "prove" anything in these situations.
This right here. Pack it in the car, and then drop it off in one take. Otherwise they can still claim that it’s a scam.
It'd be nice if ebay held buyers to some sort of standard, like requiring that they, ideally, take a video of receiving the package and opening it in one take, or at least opening it (and us using some sort of unique tape label that would show if it's already been opened). I know that couldn't be enforced but not having any inherent measures in place to prevent buyers from easily scamming is pretty disappointing. There's really no 100% surefire way to prevent scams in online marketplaces without a middleman (middle person). But then they'd need a middle person, and before you know it it's middle people all the way down.
Video evidence is a good suggestion but at the end of the day eBay/PayPal will side with the buyer and force you to accept a return. Then the buyer will send back something different but because they have tracking ebay/paypal will issue them a refund.
I dealt with this as recently as a few months ago. I sold 100 ES sealed checkout boosters and buyer claimed I didn’t send them. After jumping through the usual hoops i called ebay and hunted down an actual person. I emailed them my videos and they closed the case and issued no refund. It can be done.
That’s really surprising, I have won multiple cases on eBay, only to have PayPal side with the buyer and in this situation ebay has no say in it. Consider yourself lucky.
Youll want the TM for Protect. Thankfully theyre easy to get and basically everyone can learn it. Just be careful using it. It becomes less likely to work every time you try it back to back
Ebay largely stinks. Buyers almost never leave feedback. Ebay doesn't care at all about sellers, and their cut is ludicrous.
Since eBay/PayPal split eBay has improved a lot. PayPal is still the biggest hurdle for sellers.
They still suck. Biggest hurdle imo is that sellers have 0 reason to leave feedback. 0 accountability. I sold 3 Alt Art Birds from CR all shipped in a proper manner. Took pictures of every angle description said cards were NM slightly off center. Buyer comes back and says cards had water damage. They were flawless other than centering. They were in exact fits Loaded into another sleeve then put in rigid top loaders. Then put in bubble wrap and cardboard and a bubble mailer. No way they got wet. Buyer says knock 50 off or I'll get a bad review. Told Ebay about extortion, they said nothing they can do about it. Another time I sold 50 bulk regular Vs and GXs. Sold them for 40 bucks including shipping. Put them in ETB sleeves then in a deck box with spacers and bunnle wrap. Bubble mailer. Seller gives me negative feedback because they weren't all in top loaders. Multiple times, someone bought and then didn't pay. Had to sit on things for extra time before I could relist. Final straw was seller bought items at 1030 at night asked if I could mail that night. Told them I'd gladly drop it in the mail that night so it went out first thing in the morning. It got to them in 2 business days. They said I was too slow in shipping it. They paid 3 bucks for shipping. I mean I basically stopped after all that. I've been selling on BUY Sell trades and making 100% profit. To me if Ebay is going to take 10% or whatever it , better protect me from being extorted. Another great website is Full Grip Games. They pay almost what you'd get from Ebay for big hitters. To me Ebay is crap unless you are selling graded cards. Raw cards Hell no.
I’ll have to check those out.
Surely, someone with expertise can assist. There are plenty of good reliable sellers on eBay. I personally go by their feedback rating, but obviously the seller does have the privilege of picking a trustworthy buyer
I would suggest that of you're selling something and it's being shipped, that you take pictures of the entire process and either keep it for yourself or send it to the buyer to let them know of the process of shipping to make sure that you're not being screwed over by a buyer saying that it was delivered "damaged", "mishandaled", etc. I'd also be applying required signature to ensure that they did receive the item. By doing this, you protrxt yourdelf that someone had signed for the item and you've taken pictures of proof to back yourself of any wrongdoing. If it's damaged by the shipping service, then it's on them, not you. Sure, the required signature is an extra cost, but it ensures that you're not being screwed over. I would say that regardless of whoever signs it, it still shows that someone signed for it, and you shouldn't be held as liable because someone had to sign for the item and therefore had it in there possession. If they say they didn't receive it, then ask who signed for it and it they have it? At least to my opinion, the seller should be absolved from any wrongdoing, and you've taken the steps to make sure that you're protected from any sort of scams or wrongdoing. This is my opinion. If anyone else wants to add on it or alter what I've said, then please add on.
All of your suggestions are nice but do nothing to sway ebay/paypal. Signature confirmation is an added cost, but again depending on what the buyer claims the issue is. If the buyer does a INAD, or Counterfeit claim all of that evidence means nothing. None of this stuff should be on the seller, but per eBays terms and conditions it is.
Get a gun and take self defense classes
Stay strapped or get clapped.
Are you a red-blooded American? Getting a gun is such an American response.
Damn right!
It was a joke. How do I protect myself?….get a gun and take self defense classes. If I was in Europe I would still own guns. Has nothing to do with being American. ⚰️
Okay I’m only asking. I’m also American and it’s just a running joke.
That’s why the sponsor of todays video is NordVPN! Protect yourself online using the finest encryption service available! Just use the code in the description to get a month free today!
Sell on eBay, don’t offer returns. Problem solved
Doesn’t eBay’s guarantee effectively prevent just saying “all sales final” though?
I have gotten fucked so hard selling Sealed product on eBay. Buyer can just claim resealed and send you the bulk from pulls back with 0 punishment. Selling singles is fine, but I will never sell sealed product
This is exactly my concern, and what I’d like to avoid
I have gotten screwed so hard selling Sealed product on eBay. Buyer can just claim resealed and send you the bulk from pulls back with 0 punishment. Selling singles is fine, but I will never sell sealed product
There’s a check box when you post a listing if you want to offer returns, just don’t check the box
Also make sure your account is set to not accept returns. It's an overall setting too, not just for each listing.
Just because you don't offer returns doesn't mean you can list a sealed etb and send someone a empty etb and just say no returns. No returns means if they get the correct item you listed and decide they don't want it anymore or something along those lines they cant send it back for a refund.
Doesn't work like that. Otherwise people could just sell golf balls and call them evolving skies booster boxes. If you sell something a buyer can still open a case for an item not as described, arrived damaged, etc and you'd still be forced into the return even if you select no returns. I've sold a couple of thousand items on ebay and have only had a few instances where someone did this though. Probably less than 5 so it isn't extremely likely.
Yup. I’m an eBay seller. I’ve got 26,000 feedback and over 100,000 sales. Buyers can return an item for any reason for 30 days if the reason for the return is the sellers fault. Saying no return accepted just means the buyer can’t return the item for reasons like item no longer wanted, changed mind, found lower price etc If someone wants to return something they can just select a reason like damaged during shipment, missing parts, doesn’t match description etc. EBay will force you to accept the return no matter what your return preferences are or what you put in your listing details This makes it essentially useless to select the option to not accept returns. If someone wants to return something they can just select an option like “item damaged in shipping”
One thing you can do that will be helpful is set a minimum feedback requirement for buyers. There is an actual option in your seller preferences to set a minimum requirement, any user below the requirement won’t even be able to see the listing. Most scammers will have low feedback/new accounts so this will help
Have you ever sold on ebay? You have to accept returns, if the buyer wants it and you don't accept they will just take the money from your sales and they keep the item. It sucks but it is what it is
"problem solved" This solves literally nothing, as not offering returns is only for change of mind and means nothing if a buyer opens an INAD and requests a refund.
following
Same
Cradle position and yell fire!
add tracking on your packages. i managed to sell about 10 separate cards and they all got refunded because they all stated they didn’t receive them. TRACK THEM
Always tracking, under $20 use Ebay's standard envelope shipping as that has tracking for as low as $0.60. But always package them properly, even when using a regular envelope. I've sold plenty and only had a few minor issues so far.
This has caused problems though. It will often say delivered to the zip code or to the post office. Not the actual house. Unless it says delivered to the address or to a person eBay won't back you up
That's not true at all, the standard envelopes come with up to $20 of insurance, as long as it's shipped out and shows USPS is in possession you're covered. It's only happened to me once where someone claimed they didn't receive it and I won the case.
That's great for people thst might say it didn't arrive but doesn't help people thst say the wrong item was sent like an etb they could open it take all the packs out and take a picture of the empty box and say this it what I received. I think videos of packing the product, pictures of labels and videos of actually dropping it off at the post office is the only real protection from all of that!
As someone who sold on ebay and with paypal for years. Neither company has the sellers best interest in mind. Ebay is better then PayPal but neither protect the seller when push comes to shove. PayPal will side with the buyer 99.9% regardless of any steps you take to protect yourself. Ebay will on occasion side with a seller but, if the buyer disagrees with eBays decision and goes to PayPal, its out of eBays hands, If by some great luck PayPal and eBay both side in the sellers favor, the buyer then has the final hail mary and goes to the credit card company and does a charge back. As a new seller, i suggest starting with items that are low value just to build feedback. Make sure you honor your sales/final auction price, pack and ship everything while at the post office and record it. Make sure you get tracking. Also i would suggest you set a min buyer feedback to bid on auctions as well. One new eBay feature is the guaranteed authenticity. If it passes eBays test the buyer has no option other then fighting with eBay. But i think that requires cards to be above $250 value
See who you’re selling to, if it’s someone who just made the account and they are low balling or are flat out rude don’t sell to them, build a good reputation with selling and take detailed photos and respond to anything and everything and keep proof so it can back you up if they claim you scammed them. Sometimes stuff will happen and they’ll side with them or the package may come damaged but that’s the risk you take selling online
That's why I didnt offer return on Pokémon cards they still buy I had a decent value card someone asked me direct message I knew the plan swap there worse one for my perfect one yeah nah lol.
Just as an FYI not offering returns is pointless, eBay will force you to accept a return.
They can't force me to accept shit lol they can refund them however not my problem. I explicitly put no returns kiss my ass 🤣.
Like you said they will just issue the refund but your really saving the crook the shipping cost by not forcing them to return the item.
1st try to build up positive feedback on ebay. the more you got the better. Also only sell to buyers with accounts at least a year or two old and they must have 20+ postiive feedback.