Re: Ebay and PayPal BITE me. A cautionary tale! Anyone near East Fulton Tennessee?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Jim Galli
... PayPal gets in the middle and the seller agrees to a refund if I will send the items back. I do. Insured and delivery confirmation. She moves to Tennessee closes her accounts etc etc but the lenses finally get forwarded to East Fulton Tennessee and the insurance is signed for.
...
If the "insurance is signed for" means you used the US Post Office, then you probably have an interstate mail fraud case you can file. The Post Office takes a pretty dim view of mail fraud, and from what I hear from my cousin who works for the post office if the inspector gets PO'd at the perpetrator, then they can be worse than the FBI.
Re: Ebay and PayPal BITE me. A cautionary tale! Anyone near East Fulton Tennessee?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Jim Galli
....this just in from PayPal;
...Just wanted the community to know this ended well. Did the whining help? We'll never know.
OK, I'm not claiming I'm clairvoyant, but I'd bet the whole $800 that the whining *DID* help.
Frankly, people like that tick me off so bad I'd probably still file the mail fraud claim.
Re: Ebay and PayPal BITE me. A cautionary tale! Anyone near East Fulton Tennessee?
good news jim
good luck with the post office claim.
- j
Re: Ebay and PayPal BITE me. A cautionary tale! Anyone near East Fulton Tennessee?
Just took off paypal site interesting reading ??
13.7 SNAD Definition
What is Significantly Not as Described (SNAD)?
An item is Significantly Not as Described if it is materially different than what the seller described in the item listing. Here are some examples:
You received a completely different item. Example: You purchased a book and received a DVD or an empty box.
The condition of the item was misrepresented. Example: The listing said "new" and the item was used.
The item was advertised as authentic but is not authentic.
The item is missing major parts or features which were not disclosed in the listing.
You purchased three items from a seller but only received two.
An item is not Significantly Not as Described if it is materially similar to the seller’s item listing description. Here are some examples:
The defect in the item was correctly described by the seller.
The item was properly described but you didn't want it after you received it.
The item was properly described but did not meet your expectations.
The item has minor scratches and was listed as used condition
Re: Ebay and PayPal BITE me. A cautionary tale! Anyone near East Fulton Tennessee?
Way to persevere Jim...glad for you
Re: Ebay and PayPal BITE me. A cautionary tale! Anyone near East Fulton Tennessee?
Glad that worked out finally.
I just finally let one drop that wasn't so much for being out a huge amount of money, but for inadvertently ending up spending a huge amount of time to remedy a SNAD. In the end my only satisfaction was having the buyer dinged for commission on $375 instead of the C which I paid in cash and I put in a negative feedback. . .
If I had known half of the SNAD I wouldn't have even started. Anyway, I'm through and going to let that one go as water under the bridge. It's really the first time I have had a negative experience. Caveat emptor.
I guess to make me feel better, I won a X-rite 361t in perfect condition last week for $34! (I think the only reason this happened is the model number wasn't in the description, there was only a photo from which I id'd it.)
Re: Ebay and PayPal BITE me. A cautionary tale! Anyone near East Fulton Tennessee?
Did this auction listing have pictures of the lenses?
Re: Ebay and PayPal BITE me. A cautionary tale! Anyone near East Fulton Tennessee?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
nathanm
Did this auction listing have pictures of the lenses?
Yes, but you cannot tell from a blurry 24kb picture if there is damage inside from fungus and cement seperating. That was the basis of my argument against the seller. She stated good condition and the photos seemed to support that. but the unseen damage could only be assessed when they were in my hands. PayPal seemed to accept that logic and told the seller she should refund the full amount upon return.
Re: Ebay and PayPal BITE me. A cautionary tale! Anyone near East Fulton Tennessee?
Good on ya, Jim!
I've been very lucky both as a buyer and seller. What has helped me is communication, even during the auction.
I'll ask a bunch of questions when I'm buying. Many sellers, when asked specific questions, respond with specific answers. If they don't answer the question or are vague, I tell myself it's not worth the risk and that I'll wait until another one comes along. If they take several days to get back to me, that's telling also. Ask for more photos! Ask for specific ones. Have them put the photos up on flickr or someplace that are higher rez or attached to an email to you. Many sellers want the money for the item so they will take the extra time to do these things. I ask what their reserve is. This also gives me a feel about them.
Power Sellers aren't going to do this nor do they really care about you. When I can, I don't buy from them. I'm willing to pay a few bucks more and be treated as a person and as an equal partner to the transaction. I've had Power Sellers place fragile items inside envelopes with only the packing slip and no protection and mail stuff to me in NZ! I'd suspect that if you ever had an issue with them, eBay would side with them since they're bringing in the $$$ for eBay. When this has happened, I've gone on line to find their site and names and drop a letter/email to the owner.
I'll also do a bit of research on the seller. I agree that the feedback system doesn't work since everyone is fearful of reprise that they don't leave negative feedback when they should. So, I'll look to see what else the seller has up for auction: If it's one lens, a pair of worn out work boots and some baby clothes, I'll go elsewhere. Are their Buy It Now prices a bit stiff? How about shipping charges? Did they add handling charges? "All sales final/no returns" also telling. If the seller is a brick and mortar store, call them. Ask them about the auction. You may not learn anything new about the item but it gives you a feel for the seller.
I've adopted the attitude of being proactive on auctions versus being reactive by putting in a pricey bid and hoping for the best.
As for Paypal, I've had problems. Yes, the fees are exorbitant. It's painful when someone buys something with a credit card. I'll admit that I pay using my banking account just so the seller gets that money instead of PP.
I have had Paypal ping my banking account. They will ping the account twice trying to get the money before they charge it to your credit card. And, when they take the money from your credit card, they register it as a cash advance. You know what that means! I learned this the hard way recently: From skimming the verbiage at Paypal and not taking the time to read it, I thought that they would take the minimal amount of money in my bank account and charge my credit card for the rest to pay for an auction I won. Not so.... I racked up two overdrawn fees and cc cash advance fees...
Brian, it seems like you have experience and have done a bit of reading on Paypal. Do you or anyone know, can they actually take money out of your banking account without your permission? I have gone onto paypalsucks and others but it's tough to tell what's truth....
Cheers,
-bob
Re: Ebay and PayPal BITE me. A cautionary tale! Anyone near East Fulton Tennessee?
Dakotah, I don't know if you've accomplished your goals with respect to eBay and PayPal, but you've sold me on staying as far away from you as possible.