About 5 months ago I bought a 12 month pre-loaded Sim plan on Ebay -unlimited everything, inducing high speed data! The cost was $90. Of course I knew it was beyond risky , but I bought it anyway.
It was from a small seller using a GSM MVNO..
Amazingly , I got everything as promised for 4 straight months, then all went dead.
Of course the seller was MIA, and Ebay only guarantees for 1 month. But I had used PayPal to make the purchase who guarantees for 6 months.
So for the first time ever, I filed a claim (opened a case) with PayPal . And I did it via an old fashioned telephone call.
Two weeks later PayPal issued me a 100% refund of the $90.
One more fact: The entire effort I expended to get this refund was one phone call to PayPal that lasted about 5 minutes.. The Rep I spoke with was pleasant and knowledgeable.
I, too, have had a good experience with a $45 refund from PayPal when a seller could not be found. It took little effort to get the refund. Good business practice by PayPal, which gains buyers trust.
Just google it for all the complaints. Basically paypal sides with buyers on anything that isn't clear cut and even then sometimes they side with the buyer anyway. Burden of proof is very high. A buyer could break an item but if they say they received it that way it is your word against theirs. A buyer could say the box was empty or contained rocks and again paypal will side with them. What about a buyer who claims something is not as described? Well there again it is your word against theirs - paypal doesn't see the item and most description are open to interpretation so the most prudent course is to let the buyer return for a full refund.
It is important to always buy insurance as a seller as that is really the only protection you have. That should cover most issues.
I ship all my items by usps priority mail so not sure about other options like ups and fedex. You can purchase usps insurance or ship cover insurance when you buy your shipping label via ebay. Both cover loss or damage of the item. Usps you claim via usps and shipcover is claimed via ebay. Ship cover is usually a little bit more expensive like 50c - $1.
I've had one claim with shipcover insurance. I sold an item that the buyer claimed was damaged when he received it though it was fine when I shipped it. I had taken photos beforehand. He shipped the item back and I refunded him via the usual ebay channels and then submitted a claim via ebay on the insurance. I can't remember what info they required but I think it was just some photos and details. I sent the before and after photos which did the trick. In 4 days the claim was approved and the money deposited in my paypal account. They never asked for the item to be sent to them. It was a very easy process and worth the extra cents I paid for shipcover over USPS insurance.
I think I had a usps insurance claim many years ago that was fairly easy too but I cannot remember the details. I think the whole process was slower.
Reading the last several posts has led me to a conclusion: Seller's insurance is a vaguery (but isn't all insurance?.:S )
I need to to do more research. Any of my noteworthy findings will be posted.