Paypal Crowdfunding Policy Changes

[chuckdee]

PayPal pulls buyer protection for crowdfunding sites

Online payments firm PayPal has announced that it will no longer provide purchase protection for purchases made on crowdfunding platforms, potentially dealing a blow for the nascent industry.

While this is not great news for fans of crowdfunding platforms, it also adds to the growing concern about the risks of crowdfunding. The new policy comes into effect on June 25 and says payments on crowdfunding platforms are not eligible for reimbursement under PayPal Purchase Protection.

"PayPal is changing its user agreement … we encourage you to review this policy update and familiarize yourself with the changes that are being made. If you do not agree to the amended user agreement, you may close your account before June 25, 2016 and you will not be bound by the amended terms," PayPal said in a policy change statement on its website that was first reported on Monday.

It further explained that while your payment is not eligible for PayPal Purchase Protection, you can still file a dispute to try to resolve the issue directly with the seller. However it added there are some caveats. "PayPal will generally not find in your favor if you escalate a dispute to a claim for an item which is not eligible for PayPal Purchase Protection," the statement read.

More at link above.

Paypal policy changes:

https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/ua/upcoming-policies-full

Refer to SECTION 13.3 Ineligible Items.

It does say platforms, so I'd assume it doesn't apply to Group Buys, nor anything not on those platforms.  But that's a pretty big assumption.

Anyone have anything to weigh in on it?

[romevi]

Unless they see gh as a platform, I don't see how it'll apply.

[chuckdee]

Unless they see gh as a platform, I don't see how it'll apply.

That's just the thing- they don't specifically say what sites are considered a platform.  And considering the purpose of this is to reduce liability...