Buying & Selling Online using Paypal

[Oasis]

I've dealt some times with problems like that.

It's indispensable to have all receipts, tracking info and therefore the proof to have done everything right. I've made several paypal disputes for sellers not sending or sending wrong items. I always won, at least till now. I guess paypal has a database or history of records for every user. If your feedback is ok and you always provide the information they need in time, you get a certain reputation and win most of your cases. But I can't prove this.

The later part of this I agree with, I've won cases people have said I wouldn't. (Even though I deserved to win them in the first place..)

[Dawn]

So a few months ago, I was looking through the 'Good Finds' thread here and came across a pair of RO pants on eBay, so I decided to contact the seller and submit an offer. He accepted it and ended the auction early. The transaction did not go straight through eBay as he didn't relist the auction so I can buy-it-now with the price I offered.

I received the pants, kept them for a while, then decided that it wasn't for me so I listed it in the classifieds here. I received a PM from a member shortly right after and was told it was fake. I contacted the seller I bought them from and was quoted that I would get a refund back once it's been received.

Pants were received a month ago and we've been exchanging emails back and forth. He previously bought the pants from another eBay seller and told me that he opened a case with eBay. Am I pretty much screwed? If it helps, I paid half of the amount with my credit card, and the other with my paypal funds.

[michael_kard]

Dawn, whenever you want to return an item on eBay you should open a case if the seller doesn't cooperate or you don't agree with his terms - it's guaranteed you'll win.

[Haven]

I have had my share of problems with paypal! I was trying to collect money from my account into a bank account of mine but it wasn't accepted due to insignificant account information (even though I had used the same account several times before for withdrawals from paypal). I tried a few times before contacting the swiss customers care office. They validated my information and told me tio try it again. So I did but without success. And on top of that, they charged me about 3 euros for every attempt..

[Dawn]

Regarding my problem up there, I didn't end up getting my money back.

In what case would you qualify for reimbursement for the shipping costs that you paid to send an item back? I bought a pair of pants that was misleading. The title of the listing said it was DIOR pants and I ended up getting a pair of KVA pants instead...

[treasurehoard]

Regarding my problem up there, I didn't end up getting my money back.

In what case would you qualify for reimbursement for the shipping costs that you paid to send an item back? I bought a pair of pants that was misleading. The title of the listing said it was DIOR pants and I ended up getting a pair of KVA pants instead...

Depending on your credit card you could do a chargeback and get at least half of the money back that you paid with the card. Many CC's give you the option to chargeback for a decent amount of time - 180 days is standard.

For the Dior pants that turned out to be KVA you should contact eBay over the phone and they might foot the bill for your shipping cost back to the seller. It depends on the situation and doesn't happen every time but worth a shot to contact eBay and see what happens.

[poon]

What is payment as gifts? Why do seller to add PP fees 4% and why is he not included with item price?

Sorry I did not know, but I've bought only on eBay. Never buy this.

[gavagai]

if you send a payment as a gift the seller isn't charged the paypal fees.

That being said, if you run into a problem you won't be covered by paypal's buyer protection policy if something goes wrong (you don't receive the goods).

It is completely reasonable for sellers to request you to pay the 4% + shipping.

It is not legal for E-bay sellers to charge you the 4% paypal fees.

[curiouscharles]

Does the paypal seller protection policy apply to sales NOT made through Ebay? A member with zero posts is contacting me about my tornado boots and I'm just trying to cover all bases...

[treasurehoard]

Does the paypal seller protection policy apply to sales NOT made through Ebay? A member with zero posts is contacting me about my tornado boots and I'm just trying to cover all bases...

You would be covered. You should use a shipping service with signature confirmation since the item is over $250. General overview of seller protection can be found here:

https://cms.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/?cmd=_render-content&content_ID=security/seller_protection_learn_more

If an item is marked eligible, protection will be granted for both unauthorized payment and item not received disputes, provided that all other eligibility requirements are met.

If an item is marked partially eligible, protection will be granted for item not received disputes only, provided all other eligibility requirements are met.

[curiouscharles]

could "item is not as described" claims come into play at all - or are those strictly reserved for Ebay auctions?

emphasis on the thank you by the way.

[treasurehoard]

Yes, it's possible. PayPal changed that policy a while back so non-eBay purchases would be covered if they met certain requirements. Also the buyer could do a merchandise chargeback if they pay with a credit card - that wouldn't be covered on or off eBay. Those are a pain to fight and its usually better to ask the buyer to send back the merchandise in that case. Otherwise the credit card company could potentially let them keep it and take the money back.

[michael_kard]

Sold something for £600 pounds = £24.97 paypal fees + 40 eBay final value fees + approx £1.50 listing fee = 66.50. WTFFFFFFFF.

[savant]

I've just recently been on a dispute with paypal and they declined my claim and disputes, twice. So, I got my bank to reverse the transaction. Fuck Paypal honestly. Seems like they are siding the buyer's on ebay rather than private transactions such as forums.

Basically 3 people were involved here. Myself, an ebay seller and a scammer on SF who pretended to legitimately sell something.

I bought a macbook on SF. "babylon" negotiated down to the same price of the camera on ebay which is $612 including shipping

Babylon said to pay to jripper@ups.com. I paid for the macbook to the that email but person who is selling the camera thought I was paying for the camera because the scammer "babylon" said to jripper that his paypal account has issues and not verified and will get his best friend to pay for it (which is me, but I did not know anything about this)

I can't confirm if its a shadow conversation or not, but jripper forwarded me the conversations he had with "babylon" over ebay

"How would someone happen to pick an auction on eBay at random, then say that someone on SF is paying for it. "
I suppose its just timing and the scammer just tried to buy/browse something on ebay for about $600

Yes, I was careless. But I've learned my lesson

[beardown]

Buying on forums is pretty problem free so long as you are vigilant and smart about it. That's all their is to it. Scam artists prey on those who are chomping at the bit for a deal and the age-old saying holds strong: If it sounds too good to be true, it is.

Deal with regular forum members. On here, you can check the seller's feedback threads. Ask for references. Start a dialogue. If they're too 'busy' to respond properly to all of your questions, it's not worth the risk.

It's pretty much that simple. You've got to be suspicious, especially with electronic gadgets because why would someone...*anyone* sell camera equipment or computers on SF or any clothing forum? Between ebay and craigslist, there are more than enough opportunities to get the going rate for any of that stuff.

I'm just as cautious with buyers. I am naturally suspicious of people on here who haven't participated but who buy out of the blue. And if they aren't comfortable answering a few questions, then I'm not comfortable selling to them.

I'm just saying, don't let the situation sour you to forum buying. ONLY deal with people you recognize from forums as active participants. On here, people rush to get to the 100 posts they need to sell and then many of them quit participating and those are the people to watch out for in my opinion. Other forums, check their post history and see how frequently they participate and what their feedback is.

Don't rely on paypal for forum buys because it may not happen. Use old fashioned common sense and a little bit of suspicion. If anything sketchy comes up (my paypal account is down, send cash, my friend is going to accept payment for me, etc) I don't care how much of a 'deal' they're offering, it's likely suspect. Later it and find one of the many reliable sellers out there who are a pleasure to deal with. On here, those have been my only experiences. People here generally ship quickly, they respond to questions and they're not kids just stuffing t-shirts into envelopes.