One of the biggest problems I found with managing my eBay auctions was the electronic or virtual items that I would sell on eBay. I had no real way of proving that the buyer received the information that I was selling. For more expensive items, I had two instances where the buyer claimed that they didn’t receive a virtual game item that they had bought and received. They then reversed the charges on PayPal.
This got me to thinking. How could I protect myself from the small handful of shady buyers? I was selling virtual game items that had closing bids as high as $100 on them and some more. It was so frustrating to think that people could reverse the charges since it was a virtual item. I had to brainstorm.
I auctioned off “certificates of ownership” as the actual item that was on auction. With the certificate of ownership, the buyer would receive the virtual item. But, the actual auction was for the certificate. I created a simple certificate of ownership in Word and printed it. I then sent it via delivery confirmation to the buyer. I would also deliver their virtual item as well. Later when a shady buyer tried to reverse charges, I had the necessary tracking number that PayPal needed me to produce to show proof of delivery.
To protect yourself as a seller, use certificate of ownerships with your eBay auctions that are for items that are virtual. You can explain to buyers that they will receive the virtual item but the actual item for auction is the certificate. Then you can send it to them using delivery confirmation and have a tracking number to provide to anyone that requests proof of delivery.