Ebay

[Iron Patch]

Link a CREDIT CARD to your paypal account. If something goes wrong and paypal doesn't want to work with you, dispute the charge with your CC company. It worked for me with no repercussions from Paypal.(Ebay and Paypal are basically the same company with the legal stuff).
Newt

I find people who have quite a bit of money on the line do tend to file a CC claim first before they do anything with Paypal. I personally have always received all my larger purchases... and actually can't recall having to file many claims on anything. I know a small one under $50 went through but the guy had cleaned out his bank account, so I lost on that one. But that's only one in so many it's not even worth a second thought. Heck my shipping and fees was many times more every week.

 

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[mastereagle22]

IP sorry my last post sounded kind of nasty.

The point I'm trying to make is this:

1. When I bought the item the person had listed and address in California as his address.
2. The package came to me it took 32 days to get here.
3. When the package got here it was obvious then that it was shipped from Tokyo, using the shipping companies address.
4. I immediately tried the product and it didn't work. Notified eBay immediately and Pay Pal.
5. Ebay told me to contact seller which I did for 10 days straight. That put me at 42 days. I also communicated this to eBay and Pay Pal each day.
6. No one in the US would let me ship the item back without a valid address and phone number except the Post Office. I sent it with the only tracking they offered me. Ebay and Pay Pal said that that wasn't sufficient.

Basically I got taken for $100. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things but still eBay and Pay Pal did everything they could to NOT refund my money. Do NOT think that eBay or Pay Pal will do anything to help you out in this circumstance is all I'm saying. I did contact my bank but by the time I got done jumpring through all the hoops and procedure required it was too long for the Credit card company to do anything.

Again IP sorry, I have nothing but respect for you.

 

[Iron Patch]

IP sorry my last post sounded kind of nasty.

The point I'm trying to make is this:

1. When I bought the item the person had listed and address in California as his address.
2. The package came to me it took 32 days to get here.
3. When the package got here it was obvious then that it was shipped from Tokyo, using the shipping companies address.
4. I immediately tried the product and it didn't work. Notified eBay immediately and Pay Pal.
5. Ebay told me to contact seller which I did for 10 days straight. That put me at 42 days. I also communicated this to eBay and Pay Pal each day.
6. No one in the US would let me ship the item back without a valid address and phone number except the Post Office. I sent it with the only tracking they offered me. Ebay and Pay Pal said that that wasn't sufficient.

Basically I got taken for $100. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things but still eBay and Pay Pal did everything they could to NOT refund my money. Do NOT think that eBay or Pay Pal will do anything to help you out in this circumstance is all I'm saying. I did contact my bank but by the time I got done jumpring through all the hoops and procedure required it was too long for the Credit card company to do anything.

Again IP sorry, I have nothing but respect for you.

No apology needed, I don't take offense very easily, and especially when it's a topic that strikes a nerve. Just because I have a lot of experience dealing with the Ebay & Paypal sysytem doesn't mean I haven't had my share of frustration, in fact it is just the opposite. I have got much better at keeping my cool though, because getting worked up was only hurting myself and not changing the situation any.... and probably making it worse by reacting before my head was clear to think.

In your situation it sounds shady enough that there was probably a violation of Ebay policy. As long as you file the claim before the 45th day, it goes on and gives you quite a bit on time to work with. I would have looked through Ebay's sitemap to see what I could stick on the seller to try and get him booted. If there was anything you could find to hold against him that might have been enough for him to pay you to get rid of you. Or if you were able to get him booted that's an instant refund for Paypal. Lastly if that didn't work I would have filed a request for info. and got his phone number. If it's a fake number that is a direct violation of Ebay policy and probably grounds for the account to be terminated, if it was correct he'd probably get sick of hearing from you. As I said this guy is shady so I think there's probably a way to get him. I don't get frustrated as easy as I used to, but when someone straight out rips me off I would try my best for revenge.

PS... My worst loss by far was $300. The rest maybe $20-$50. I have sent as much as $4,400 through Paypal and thankfully all higher amounts have had no issues. Of course I do get a very good sense of who I'm dealing with once the amount gets into the hundreds.

 

[PChammer]

A few times we've been burned, usually by the person NOT sending the item at all. Once we looked for a guitar for my son, it said in big bold letters the guitar, make, etc.. all accessories, then in print so tiny hidden under a random banner, it said, guitar book only. So we paid 120 bucks for a guitar book. Immediately we contacted Ebay, complained, and the guy was banned or kicked off, whatever happened, he refunded us and disappeared. Also, we have been sent broken items that said they would be replaced if bad, then they tried to charge us extra for a replacement. Somehow shipping went up past the original item and shipping price combined so we complained and they had to replace the item, "a memory card" free of charge. Ebay has been fairly good to us when it comes to these scammers.

Paul

 

[mastereagle22]

Well to put an end to my story. I did call the number listed, I don't speak Mandarian but I have a friend who does. He told me the number was for a Mailibox type business. So the number was bad.

I provided all that information to eBay and Pay Pal and the account was terminated. I also filed a claim with some internet crime organization that deals with these types of crimes. some initials I do not remember anymore. They told me they literally were getting thousands of filed complaints from China on counterfeit flash memory products. They took my info but told me not to expect any results.

I still buy and sell on eBay but I know that even with the most careful of practice you might still get ripped off. Mostly though I think the process works pretty good.