PayPal shipping is being taken over by eBay procedures.
Of course, they're not showing that on either site.

Both are ignoring/violating their own procedures, or failing to recognize them....

I highly recommend not shipping overseas until it straightens out.

For example:
You sell a set of wheels to a buyer in Taiwan. He pays via PayPal.

PayPal takes it's fee. eBay eventually will, too.

The money is put on hold (I have an excellent, current sales rating).

According to both eBay and PayPal, you should print a label. I have no clue what happens if you print an eBay label. eBay tells me they send you a prepaid label. I doubt that.

If you confirm the PayPal recpt of funds to your PayPal account, even if they're held, the site asks you to print a label. You click on "Print Shipping Label." This is your first mistake.

According to both sites, if you print a label using eBay, eBay will refund you $15.00 for postage from the held funds, or up to 30% of the total amount if it's a big sale. If you print a label using PayPal, the tracking number will be generated and you will be reimbursed the shipping amount into your PayPal account. You have to mark the item as shipped, and if the tracking number isn't generated, you key one in. It's very clear.

However, it won't happen. eBay will say, since you didn't use eBay's label process, you will continue to have the funds held , even the shipping, until delivery, which is another issue I'll address further down. eBay will say it's PayPal's responsibility. eBay will not escalate your issue to a supervisor or manager. PayPal will claim that it's eBay's responsibility, and even when you talk to the person who releases the funds, he will advise he can't release the shipping costs, or any amount, until 3 days after the item has been delivered.

So, neither will take resposibility for the issue, blaming the other, and you're pretty much done. Ypu've paid for shipping from your own pocket, and you may never get reimbursed. You hope for delivery to be swift, so you can get your money.

BUT WAIT.... since you sent it internationally, and you printed your label at home, you cannot get tracking on it. The label you print is a US Customs form, and the USPS cannot scan it. You have no way of proving it was even mailed. If you're lucky, you can get confirmation that it cleared customs. That won't suffice for eBay or PayPal. You can call USPS and they'll find it, if it's stateside, but that doesn't matter to PayPal or eBay.

So, you are waiting for delivery, 8000 miles away, to get paid. How are you going to know this occurred? You are not, unless the buyer acknowledges receipt with feedback. Now, the buyer can leverage this against you, and knows it. USPS does not track into other countries, in general.

If the buyer decides to resell your item, trash it, keep it, or throw it away, you are really powerless to stop it. USPS does not track into foreign countries. There is a chance, eBay advised, that the funds will be released 3 days after delivery. Of course, there is no way to determine that, short of hiring a PI to confirm the buyer has the item.

So, other than Lenton58 and my BF colleagues everywhere, I'm not shipping overseas until PayPal/eBay gets it straight. I may continue to use PayPal domestically, but I'm sure loving the USPS money order these days.
Now I know what Kurt was talking about.