PayPal Orders Destruction Of Violin In Dispute

I've never had reason to use PayPal.  And after hearing how they deal with disputes I don't see that changing.

PayPal is used by folks across the internet as a way to protect themselves from fraud.  They help arbitrate disputes and hold funds until merchandise is delivered.

Recently a woman sold a $2500 violin through PayPal.  The buyer decided it was a fake and reported it to PayPal.  They promptly ordered him to destroy the violin and returned his money.

Unfortunately it is pretty well understood by violin enthusiasts that a great violin is a great violin regardless of the marks and tags. A fake violin that is an antique is still an antique.  Arguments of violin origins are legendary.  In other words, you can't just wantonly order the destruction of something when experts would disagree over whether it was fake.

But PayPal just does that.  In fact it is their terms of service.  They required buyers of counterfeit merchandise to provide proof of said merchandise's destruction.

It's just another reason to be wary of PayPal.

For more see this source article.