Ebay/paypal problems, anyone with advice/experience?

[Melonbreath]

So, I sold an item a month ago, the buyer paid and I sent it off.
Yesterday I received an email from eBay saying the buyer had been removed from eBay as they weren't registered. They also told me I could re list my item again and would be refunded any selling fees. The thing is I sent it over three weeks ago. It also said not to issue a refund or contact the seller.
Today I have an email from PayPal saying this buyer has demanded a refund due to not receiving the item and they have already taken the funds from my account. I tried to dispute this online but the only options I got were to issue a refund, provide a tracking number, or to say I would refund the buyer in the next few days.
Stupidly I didn't post with registered post which I will never do again.
What should I do?
DH is saying to ring paypal and tell them the eBay correspondence and then threaten with police action for theft, and include paypal as facilitating a theft. He sells things on ebay too and has done this, but for higher cost items than mine. Does this sound extreme?

Has anyone out there had an issue like this and managed to resolve it?

I'm really down as the only money I get is selling bits and pieces on ebay and this is the second time I've been scammed. It's not a lot of money per se but it is a weeks shopping money for us so we will really feel the blow.

I know a couple friends this happened to. But it was with handmade items and they couldn't easily replace the materials or time. Unfortunately, paypal has shitty costumer service, and if they did get their money back it was like pulling teeth.

Yeah, next time get a sign off receipt and include that in the shipping cost.

Good luck.

Phone Paypal and explain the situation.

Coincidentally, I had a similar email from eBay today, too. My buyer is no longer registered and they refunded my final value fees.

Good luck!

Regrettably as you did not use a trackable system I think you are onto a loser.
You have to use a trackable system for paypal transactions otherwise the buyer will be able to claim that the item was not sent and paypal will automatically refund.

I imagine the people in the apt ebay topic would have good advice for you. This is aibu though.
Use registered post.

Did you obtain proof of postage? This isn't registered post just a receipt/stamp for the item when you posted? I'm almost sure you are insured for around £20-30 per item via Royal Mail. Could be wrong though.

I'm having the exact same problem but in reverse. Ebay customer service is terrible, PayPal seems a lot better. Call them, they can advise you of the best course of action. Unfortunately I've had to write off the money, I'm gutted.

If your Paypal account now has a negative balance you have two choices if you don't want to be out of pocket; you can either open up a new Paypal account (but you will need a different bank account from the original one) or use your DH's account for funds to be deposited into. This way, Paypal will never get their money. Any listings you have now, will need to be relisted with your new Paypal account details. Unfortunately, if they managed to dip into funds you already had in there, you can kiss them, and the item, goodbye. Paypal are cretins. I live for the day when there is a popular alternative.