Don't get burned by PayPal disputes and digital goods (especially with Drupal + Ubercart)

Recently, a user filed a dispute against one of my digital subscription-based websites.  Having never dealt with a PayPal dispute before, I went in not knowing what to expect.  I examined the user's account in Ubercart and they had definitely paid via PayPal and the IPN information was sent back to the site that the order had been successful.  The user had also received the digital subscriber role.  PayPal contacted me noting the user had filed a dispute against me that they did not receive the product.  However, I could see that they very clearly had.

I provided PayPal with screenshots of the order, details on my site, and the nature of my subscriptions.  However, after 15 days PayPal reversed the payment in the buyer's favor.  The only reason given is that I did not meet the qualifications for seller protection.  Checking PayPal's website, you can clearly see that intangible items and digital goods are not covered at all for seller protection.

This is a warning that you should not wait for a dispute on a digital sale to be resolved.  If you wait, the user may be able to freely use the service until the dispute is reversed (and it will always be reversed according to that policy).

PayPal's policy here, in my opinion, is flawed.  Many digital services are time sensitive, in that if a user has access to something for even a short time they will glean benefit that should have cost them money.  This could possibly be addressed in Drupal and Ubercart as well if a dispute is raised on a transaction but I found no mention of this online.

Be diligent and watch what your users are doing.  If you see a claim, cancel their digital access as soon as possible.

There ain't no such thing as a free lunch, buyers.