Cancellation - why is refund in $ when he paid £?

[prettylittlethings-jane]

Buyer in Belfast negotiated a price of £279.00 including postage for a collectable, and paid immediately, but within 10 minutes he had submitted a cancellation because he had changed his mind. Fair enough. The cash is in my Paypal account, the refund is now bizarrely in US dollars (he paid in sterling and lives in the UK). Because Paypal are keeping the £8.79 fee, the refund is now an e-cheque which won't clear until 2 Sept. He is going mad. I am so confused! Why do I have to pay a fee when he has purchased and cancelled on a whim? 

[rusticrye]

PayPal stopped refunding any part of their fee some weeks ago. As a business seller, I'm surprised you were unaware of this. 

If the refund has been made in $, the buyer must have his PayPal account set up to pay in $. But contact PayPal for a definitive answer.

@prettylittlethings-jane 

[fargvs]

Guess ... Check the buyers registration site by opening Feedback Profile page and clicking on their 'View listings/Items for sale' links to see the original Country of eBay registration in the left hand column under Seller information.

Although UK based, the buyer may have a USA registered .com account and has paid and then requested the cancellation through that US account ... hence might explain refund in $$s echeque.

[john1297576]

Simple. Paypal no longer refund any part of their fee, this has been in force for some months, it is up to sellers to keep up with changes.

What you are saying about US$ I do not understand, refund goes back to the buyer in the same currency as it was paid. Where are you seeing US $ /

You should also be aware of this - https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Announcements/Buyer-requested-cancellations/ba-p/6676564

[prettylittlethings-jane]

No I don't understand either! That's why I am asking the question! So do I have to keep £££ in my Paypal account just in case someone wants to rip me off?!