Wow!!
Given you do not have a tracking number you are well and truly screwed. The negative balance will not allow you to use that account to make payments. You can receive them, but you do not access the funds, the negative balacne reduces accordingly. Paypal have you over a barrel. Had the saga at the end of last year. I did send it the recommended method, as per the Paypal User Agreement for Australia. It still took nearly 3 months for them to apply seller protection. Lost nearly AU$100 due to the exchange rate over that time. Sadly...you are at the whim of the buyer. Buyer would have great feedback if they fast pay and provide no hassles to the shipping date..Too late to withdraw/alter feedback after the fact.
Paypal are useless. The investigation staff took two months and did not locate the La Poste tracking number(different to the Australia Post Registered Number). They did decide that I had not provided sufficient evidence. I made known I had provided receipts 17 minutes after the dispute/claim were started. Paypal claimed the post office receipt obscured the shipping address in the scan, and did not verify that the item was addressed to the buyer. Agreed that fact in Scan B, Scan A was of the Registered Post international docket in whole. Had to lodge appeal that took 4 weeks. Had initiated legal action, using the User Agreement and the paper work as the proofs. Fortunately the initial work was all free. Emails flew as hasteners and the funds arrived, albeit $569.60 in Aussie dollars, when the disputed amount was in USD. More angry emails and the remainder arrived, at the current exchange rate.
Three months for a fully tracked, evidence provided, Paypal approved shipment. Not too flash. Buyer had his funds that day! Later verified item was "return to sender" the same day as the claim/dispute started?? 17 Nov 09. Buyer ID is sirimeo.
I use Registered Post International for all shipments on pricey items, or guys I deal with for the first time. I have sold jacket 4 & 5 to a Kirk C. Kirkman in the states. He is so reliable I ship before he pays...USPS, Royal Mail and Australia Post have never given me grief in over 9 years on eBay with over 1400 buys/sales. Including all the Western Union orders which used to be the norm in the early days...no more of course...I can use direct deposit in eBay Australia auctions, as the govt have stated the Paypal monopoly illegal here..Hit up your politicians!! Anti-competitive laws here prevent it...
Hawkeye....I think you are stuffed...and closing the account would have been the idea only before the claim started. Paypal are owed those funds, and they will hit you up with a collection agency. It would have been in one of the emails from Paypal stating they changed the agreement for you take a look when you can...
Good luck with it...maybe the seller will get the item and decide to give the money back..??
Couchy