Because I’m such a l33t h4xx0r, I figured out how to “click” on the “DENY” button when you’re trying to deny a PayPal payment.  eBay forces you to “Accept” any form of payment sent via PayPal, even if the auction in question is in dispute, as in my case where I accidentally listed a $120 LCD for $21 and it “sold.”  The listing was wrong, but the buyer had issued payment already.  The listing wasn’t the problem anymore, but disposing of the issued payment so the buyer could get the funds back wasn’t possible, without accepting and refunding, losing a couple of bucks in the process.  The “Deny” button is grayed out.  Luckily, PayPal’s programming team aren’t all that bright, because they failed to build a basic check into the system when the change was made: the validation of what “accept” is set to against the payment’s status.  Because of this glaring programming error, as of this writing you can deny payments that eBay wants to force you to accept.

So, if you’re trying to deny a payment but PayPal won’t let you, here’s the trick.

1. Right-click on the “Accept” button.  Copy the link location (Firefox) or copy the shortcut (Internet Explorer).
2. Clear out the address bar in your browser, then right-click and paste the URL into it, but DO NOT HIT ENTER OR GO YET.
3. You’ll see a section of the URL labeled “&accept=yes” which you need to edit to say “&accept=no” instead.
4. Hit Enter or click Go.  You should be taken to the “Are you sure you want to deny this payment?” screen.
5. Confirm the denial of the payment.  That’s it!

Be aware that eBay’s policy is that you MUST accept eBay auction payments if issued through PayPal, even if it’s a credit card payment that’ll hit you with a 4.9% transaction fee.  I don’t agree with this policy, but at the same time you’re the one risking termination of your account(s) if you cancel your transaction against the rules.   In my case, the auction was bad, therefore the payment was also bad, and I don’t see how it can violate the policy if the underlying auction is not valid.

It’s a neat little trick nevertheless.  If you’re trying to deny a payment issued through PayPal, this can help.

eBay’s attempts to force PayPal down their users’ throats is reprehensible in any case, and I’m starting to get tired of reading about PayPal accounts being suspended for no reason and money being denied to the rightful owners of that money.  See PayPalSucks.com if you’re interested in this topic further.