Handling and preventing chargebacks (for artists)

Aug 10, 20144 min read

Deviation Actions

Published: Aug 10, 2014

10.5K Views

Some more informational materials I've written:
PSA about taxes
Solution to commission chargebacks
Tracing on DA
Get stolen art removed

Note: This post is primarily for US-based artists.

With all of the scamming that's going on recently, it's becoming more and more important to vet your buyer to ensure they are who they say they are on their PayPal account. It's no mystery that PayPal doesn't care about their sellers, and even less about sellers who sell digital content. An unauthorized transaction dispute can throw a serious wrench in an artist's online business.

So what can we do about it?

The most basic form of proof: the signed contract

Even if you're doing a commission or adoptable sale for $20.00, it's good to have a contract in place. Terms of Service that the buyer doesn't even have to verify having looked at won't cut it. There is no proof that they agreed to it.

As your first task, you need a contract for your individual type of work. If you don't have the money to access a lawyer to write it for you, at least include the basic stuff like:

who the two parties are
their names and addresses
the date the contract is being entered in
what is being sold to the buyer
cost of the product being sold
what the buyer is allowed to do with the product (rights, resale, distribution, etc)
buyer agrees they are the person who owns the PayPal and credit card or bank account and they are authorized to make the transaction
if the name on the PayPal is different you reserve the right to cancel the transaction and the contract is rendered void
contract is executed in your hometown

Both you and the buyer should sign and date the contract signifying you both agree to the terms.

If the buyer's name on the contract doesn't match the name on the PayPal account, I would suggest you cancel it. Why bother with the risk? Besides, they violated your contract by not paying with an account under the name they used to sign the contract with you.

But what if it's really expensive and I want extra verification?

In this case, you're going to want to move from the signed contract to the signed and notarized contract. Anything over $250 is probably worth a notarized contract. The notary public will verify that the person signing the contract on the other end is who they claim to be, because they'd have to provide a government-issued ID to the notary public for them to stamp the contract.

To find the notary public, ask the buyer to google "notary public (their hometown)" and you'll easily find one. If you're in the US, most UPS places have one.

Again, if the paypal name doesn't match the contract name, it's not worth doing the transaction (hence the term about the buyer must be the same person as the paypal account states, and is in ownership or authorized to use the payment source, whether credit card or bank account).

What do I do when I lose a chargeback?

If you can't win the PayPal dispute, send the buyer notification that you plan to send their past due account to a collection agency. Explain they need to pay up in two or three weeks. Pay up, or get sent to collections.

No, really. This person now has an open, unpaid account with your business and you are still expecting payment (plus chargeback fees, if any were levied on you, and any fees (such as interest) that are allowed by law. Read up on whether you can charge interest on bad debts in your area). They scammed you, so why not put a big dent in their credit score? Then, later down the line when they're trying to buy a car or a house and their bad credit rating bites them in the butt, they will remember what they did to you.

Here's an example of a collection agency for you.

If you need help, contact your state's Secretary of State or small business administration who can give you help and guidelines on how to collect on a debt. Remember the laws vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

Read some more on sending people to collections as a small business. The fees for a collection agency can be high (upwards of 30% on the debt) but wouldn't you rather get $700 with $300 going to fees than to get none of your $1000? 0% of nothing is still nothing.

Best of luck, everyone.