Whose gotten burned on e-bay?

[cheko1]

Oh, cheko1, that's awful. What are the chances of getting his money returned? That's SOOOO much money.

Yes it is awful! Ebay should of notified him they were about to drop him...they seen he had bid on the motor.

He was all over ebays butt yesterday!
I told him to hire a lawyer! Go after ebay & the guy.

They guy is just a jerk & changes his phone number like underwear.
Thing I feel bad about is they just had a baby a wk ago & can't afford to loose that kind of money.

 

[cheko1]

If your son has the address information and name, try calling their local LE to do a police report. Don't know how far this person lived from you...but small claims court may be an option also.

The seller lives in Lancaster Pa
Son lives in Wis. small claims isn't a option.

He is calling today to do a police report.

Ebay was well aware of this looser & did nothing!
I only pay by paypal.....
Son got a bank check / bank refused to put a stopper on it for 90 days....he tried ASAP to have it done. Then the guy will go to jail for fraud. etc etc

 

[cenasangel]

I brought nappies off ebay and paid 100 $ and the never sent. It ended up she never sent anyone elses and was a ripper. As i did not pay by paypal, i could not get my money back.

On the posative side i won a lot of 26 nail polishs and she sent and gave me a good ref..... the only problem is i never paid because i just won it.

 

[KarlK]

I would also add for sellers that money orders can bounce and cashier's checks can be stopped.

How can a money order bounce, assuming it's not counterfeit?

 

[fran]

FWIW, my daughter and her bf sell and buy a lot on Ebay. But my daughter just told me how disappointed she is and wants to know what's up with Ebay lately. She said the last three things she's purchased, the person deleted their profile and she didn't get her merchandise.

She's gotten her money back on two of the things, uses paypay, but now she just received notification from Ebay about her last purchase and they told her it was a fraudulant seller and to try to get her $$ back.

Guess the word is out how easy it is to scam on Ebay.

What a shame. There's alway just a few who ruin it for so many.

She'll probably still buy/sell on Ebay, she's made lots of money from there, but she'll be more careful, even if the seller does have lots of good feedback.

fran

PS..........She said ALWAYS use paypal!

 

[catsmeow]

I buy and sell a lot on Ebay. When buying, my general rule of thumb is that I don't buy unless they accept Paypal, this is because at least that way I do have a course of action if they do not send me my item. I have been burned twice (from many, many Items) and was able to get my money back through Paypal and they went after the seller. It was a looong time ago, and I don't recall exactly how it all went down but the money was back in my Paypal account and I didn't have to do much.

I also don't buy high priced items from anyone with a small amount of feedback or with feedback less than 98%, period.

When selling, I do insist on the buyer using Paypal as well and I do insist that they buy insurance, I put the absolute best description that I can and post good pictures. I generally have sold my old handbags and haven't had a problem.

 

[cheko1]

I also won't buy from any seller without a very high rating on ebay. If they don't accept paypal I don't buy.

 

[IrishMist]

I also won't buy from any seller without a very high rating on ebay. If they don't accept paypal I don't buy.

Me too, especially about paypal.

 

[cynpat2000]

Ive had good experiences from ebay. Recently our computer was hit by lightning, it got the cable box outside our neighbors was struck also, even with surge protector.

anyway, I found one on ebay , the group refurbishes them. it came with a two year warranty and so far im loving it. im sorry for those that have been burned. but I also agree always use paypal.

 

[SewingDeb]

Man Sold Goods on EBay, Never Delivered

http://www.abcnews4.com/showstory2.hrb?f=n&s=445691&f1=loc

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - A 37-year-old man was found guilty Tuesday of collecting more than $90,000 in payments for Rolex watches and sports tickets through eBay but never delivering the merchandise to customers.Gilbert Vartanian operated the scam from 2001 to 2004, using more than a dozen user-identification names.

 

[cynpat2000]

Man Sold Goods on EBay, Never Delivered

http://www.abcnews4.com/showstory2.hrb?f=n&s=445691&f1=loc

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - A 37-year-old man was found guilty Tuesday of collecting more than $90,000 in payments for Rolex watches and sports tickets through eBay but never delivering the merchandise to customers.Gilbert Vartanian operated the scam from 2001 to 2004, using more than a dozen user-identification names.

How horrible!!!!! Im glad he was caught and will be brought to justice..

 

[SewingDeb]

Me, too. Ebay announced plans yesterday to really tighten up on bad sellers. I'm glad to see it because Ebay is a good thing if everyone plays by the rules.

 

[BirdieBoo]

I'm a long time bidder and seller on ebay. One has to be careful. I once purchased a piece of exercise equipment that was obviously fenced but the police departments didn't want to become involved. I returned it to retrieve my money on the advice of the last police officer I spoke to.

My advice to everyone is to look carefully at the feedback and their ID. If they are changing their ID frequently there is probably a good reason for it and it isn't positive.

What burns me up are these absurd shipping fees and those who won't accept Paypal. They almost never get what the item is worth and it is very inconvenient to have to deal with personal checks and the delay. I refuse to send cashiers checks or money orders, which by the way, the latter can bounce. A lot of people don't know that and for that matter a cashier check can be stopped as well. There is really no good reason to decline a payment from Paypal (which is owned by ebay) if the payment comes directly out of a bank account. The only way it could be reversed is if ebay did it and the chances of that are slim and none.

Reputation, reputation, reputation.

You are extremely mistaken about paypal not reversing the payment. A lot of sellers have stopped taking paypal because paypal has started reversing the payment quite often.
It happened to me as well, a woman bought an item from me, tried to sell it herself unsuccessfully, and then a month later ruined the item and turned me in to paypal. I showed paypal her auction, where she stated the item was new and wonderful, and they still told me to give her a refund. After she ruined the thing I sold to her.

 

[Missouri Mule]

You are extremely mistaken about paypal not reversing the payment. A lot of sellers have stopped taking paypal because paypal has started reversing the payment quite often.
It happened to me as well, a woman bought an item from me, tried to sell it herself unsuccessfully, and then a month later ruined the item and turned me in to paypal. I showed paypal her auction, where she stated the item was new and wonderful, and they still told me to give her a refund. After she ruined the thing I sold to her.

How does Paypal reverse a bank payment after the money has already been taken from it? A credit card payment can be reversed by the credit card company but it was my understanding that once the money was taken from the bank account it was gone. I don't see how Paypal can manipulate a bank account but perhaps you are right. I'd have to see more about this before I am willing to accept this at face value.

As far as I am concerned, I won't purchase anything from anyone except through Paypal. If a person won't take Paypal it tells me they are less than on the up and up.

In rereading your post, you state that you were "told" by Paypal to give her the refund. If so, you did this yourself; not Paypal. Which proves that reputation is all important. You put a higher premium on your reputation than on the principle involved. I advised another friend to do the same for the same reason. It isn't worth the aggravation. Am I wrong?

I would add that I also check the reputation of the buyer as well when I sell. If I had reason to believe the individual was a less than desirable business partner I would consider rescinding the deal. I would go through Ebay and explain why. They shouldn't be allowing crooks in there anyway.

Which leads me to my final statement about ebay. One of the biggest scams going on is the outrageous shipping fees. Ebay should kick every one of those crooks off the site. This is pure theft in my opinion. It makes no legitimate or moral sense to charge $30 to ship a five ounce item through the mail. And ebay should see that as well and take action. That's where the real story is as far as I am concerned. Recently I wanted to look at some coins I would have bid on but the seller wouldn't even let me see them even though we both live in a small town. The real profit was in the shipping. She replied that she only sells on-line. I should have reported her to ebay. And she shouldn't be allowed this practice in my view. All of these sellers are in my opinion crooks.

 

[Missouri Mule]

How can a money order bounce, assuming it's not counterfeit?

A money order can indeed bounce. It can be genuine but if the money order seller is insolvent the money isn't there, is it? It is effectively a bad check that bounces.

 

[BirdieBoo]

How does Paypal reverse a bank payment after the money has already been taken from it? A credit card payment can be reversed by the credit card company but it was my understanding that once the money was taken from the bank account it was gone. I don't see how Paypal can manipulate a bank account but perhaps you are right. I'd have to see more about this before I am willing to accept this at face value.

As far as I am concerned, I won't purchase anything from anyone except through Paypal. If a person won't take Paypal it tells me they are less than on the up and up.

In rereading your post, you state that you were "told" by Paypal to give her the refund. If so, you did this yourself; not Paypal. Which proves that reputation is all important. You put a higher premium on your reputation than on the principle involved. I advised another friend to do the same for the same reason. It isn't worth the aggravation. Am I wrong?

I would add that I also check the reputation of the buyer as well when I sell. If I had reason to believe the individual was a less than desirable business partner I would consider rescinding the deal. I would go through Ebay and explain why. They shouldn't be allowing crooks in there anyway.

Which leads me to my final statement about ebay. One of the biggest scams going on is the outrageous shipping fees. Ebay should kick every one of those crooks off the site. This is pure theft in my opinion. It makes no legitimate or moral sense to charge $30 to ship a five ounce item through the mail. And ebay should see that as well and take action. That's where the real story is as far as I am concerned. Recently I wanted to look at some coins I would have bid on but the seller wouldn't even let me see them even though we both live in a small town. The real profit was in the shipping. She replied that she only sells on-line. I should have reported her to ebay. And she shouldn't be allowed this practice in my view. All of these sellers are in my opinion crooks.

MissouriMule, I don't care if you believe me or not, and I don't care if you use paypal. You are incorrect though that all people who don't take it are not on the "up and up".

The way the money was taken from me was that I had sent the money to my bank account, and then approx 2 days later I received a note in my paypal account saying that my last money send had been "reversed". Additionally my paypal account was put into the negative and I was threatened with collections. All other monies from items I sold during this time went towards the negative balance.

Yes I was "told" by paypal to give the refund, and no, I did not do it. I do not refund for items and let someone KEEP the item AND the money. I closed my paypal account instead. Paypal eventually relented and returned my account to 0 balance after several months of keeping my account in a negative balance, since she did not return the item.

You put a higher premium on your reputation than on the principle involved. I advised another friend to do the same for the same reason.

No, this is not correct. I dug in my heels and refused to be paypal's and this woman's b*tch. That's why I don't deal with paypal anymore. I stand by my principles.

I also thought paypal was safe .... until this happened to me. Then I found out they don't stand behind the people who pay them. Sellers pay the fees. I refuse to pay another cent to a company that treats me like paypal did.

BTW people who only accept paypal from a bank account, are in violation of the ebay user agreement. It has been changed so that if you accept paypal, you must accept all forms of payment including credit cards. The only form you can block is e-check, which is a bank account funded payment. So anyone who does otherwise is trying to circumvent the rules and cannot be trusted either.

As far as the shipping fees, I don't bid on items with outrageous shipping. I also report items with extremely excessive shipping costs.

 

[Missouri Mule]

MissouriMule, I don't care if you believe me or not, and I don't care if you use paypal. You are incorrect though that all people who don't take it are not on the "up and up".

The way the money was taken from me was that I had sent the money to my bank account, and then approx 2 days later I received a note in my paypal account saying that my last money send had been "reversed". Additionally my paypal account was put into the negative and I was threatened with collections. All other monies from items I sold during this time went towards the negative balance.

Yes I was "told" by paypal to give the refund, and no, I did not do it. I do not refund for items and let someone KEEP the item AND the money. I closed my paypal account instead. Paypal eventually relented and returned my account to 0 balance after several months of keeping my account in a negative balance, since she did not return the item.

You put a higher premium on your reputation than on the principle involved. I advised another friend to do the same for the same reason.

No, this is not correct. I dug in my heels and refused to be paypal's and this woman's b*tch. That's why I don't deal with paypal anymore. I stand by my principles.

I also thought paypal was safe .... until this happened to me. Then I found out they don't stand behind the people who pay them. Sellers pay the fees. I refuse to pay another cent to a company that treats me like paypal did.

BTW people who only accept paypal from a bank account, are in violation of the ebay user agreement. It has been changed so that if you accept paypal, you must accept all forms of payment including credit cards. The only form you can block is e-check, which is a bank account funded payment. So anyone who does otherwise is trying to circumvent the rules and cannot be trusted either.

As far as the shipping fees, I don't bid on items with outrageous shipping. I also report items with extremely excessive shipping costs.

I'm not opposed to your digging in your heels if you believe you are correct. My point is that reputation is all important and affects the sale price of items we sell in the future.

If I understand you correctly, you are stating that ebay/paypal (ebay owns paypal) actually manipulated your actual bank account. But in further reading it seems to say paypal was actually charging you their fees which is normal but not actually coming out of your bank account.

But my point is that I won't deal with people who won't accept Paypal. It's the only way I can truly protect myself from crooks. And I always pay via a credit card so I can go to the credit card company to reverse the charges if I am scammed. But I can hardly go to my bank and demand they redeposit the money once it is gone. That's why I never use that option. I always change the "options" to reflect the payment from my credit card. The default is always the bank account but I always change that to the credit card.

 

[froggierintexas]

I have a question about selling on Ebay. I have made a few purchases and had no problems and have a ton of stuff that I want to sell. I photographed it all but only listed two items to 'test' things out. When the item sells and you print out postage, do you pay for it then, or when you take it to the post office. Also do you charge handling fees and insurance to the buyer or do you eat that? I hate to sound stupid, but when it comes to this, I am. Also, do you leave feedback immediately for the buyer when they pay using paypal? I sold one item and I think I screwed up. May cost me more than I make, so I was hoping someone could explain it better than Ebay does. Thanks to anyone willing to help me.

 

[Missouri Mule]

I have a question about selling on Ebay. I have made a few purchases and had no problems and have a ton of stuff that I want to sell. I photographed it all but only listed two items to 'test' things out. When the item sells and you print out postage, do you pay for it then, or when you take it to the post office. Also do you charge handling fees and insurance to the buyer or do you eat that? I hate to sound stupid, but when it comes to this, I am. Also, do you leave feedback immediately for the buyer when they pay using paypal? I sold one item and I think I screwed up. May cost me more than I make, so I was hoping someone could explain it better than Ebay does. Thanks to anyone willing to help me.

If I understand your question right, you pay for the postage when you mail or send it via other carrier. You would have to determine the shipping fees up front and I believe the calculator ebay provides will do that for you. The buyer merely types in their zip code. What I strongly object to is those sellers who take on a $30 shipping charge for a 10 cent item. I once queried someone who did this and was told to take a long walk off a short pier and recently someone in my own small town refused to allow me to see the merchandise before I bid. I regard both practices as unethical and ebay ought to rescind their membership.

I have sold some items on ebay but in those cases they were picked up in person due to the size and weight involved. In those cases the shipping fees are irrelevant. One time I sold a tiller to a gentleman in Canada but he arranged all the shipping and paid the freight himself. I was not involved except meeting the carrier who took it away.

I submit the feedback immediately upon receipt of the item if it is as represented and in good shape or if I am paid I also supply immediate feedback. By using Paypal I can immediately pay for the item as soon as the auction ends. Currently I have a 100% rating but one time I was on the computer very late at night and hit the "buy it now" button on a big ticket item and that was a virtual nightmare to clear up. It was entirely inadvertant but fortunately the seller was understanding. Stay away from that button unless you are wide, wide, awake.

Some items you will come out OK. Other times you won't. It tends to even out. Just do the right and ethical thing and you'll do fine. I do highly recommend taking high quality photos of the items in question so any flaws are immediately evident and completely describe the item. And should you run into a jerk (check his reputation), remember that your reputation is probably more important than the money; especially if it is a small amount of money involved.

 

[SadieMae]

I also won't buy from any seller without a very high rating on ebay. If they don't accept paypal I don't buy.

Me too, especially about paypal.

I have made over 600 purchases on Ebay, many even before Paypal, and I've never had a problem. I've bought everything from batteries to antique furniture. I even bought my son's Cadillac on Ebay and the car was perfect! I have to agree with MissouriMule...the last couple of years I have seen outrageous shipping charges. I refuse to buy from those sellers. I always pay through Paypal!!