first bad ebay experience

traveller (Bo) · #1 16-01-2012, 04:42 PM

After almost six years on ebay I had my first bad experience. Won a D90 plus a couple of lenses just before Xmas and paid for it via paypal. Seller marked it sent on 21 Dec, but still have not received it yet

.
Tried to email him a couple of times via ebay, but no response. So today I had to lodge a claim via paypal. They can track all my emails to him, but none from him to me. Hopefully it will be resolved in my favour.
I hope I haven't lost the money (as it was paid via paypal, I am hoping to get the whole lot back includig postage, $870 in total).
But end of the day it will be my words against his (unless it was lost through the post, but seller never provided a tracking number or proof of post, similarly I don't have proof that I haven't got them).
Has anyone else had similar experiences as a buyer not getting their items won? How quickly were your claims resolved?
Thanks,
Bo

renormalised (Carl) · #2 16-01-2012, 05:02 PM

That's precisely why I don't use ebay....if I want anything, I get it from a store or go to a reputable online source.

mill (Martin) · #3 16-01-2012, 05:08 PM

Bo, Paypal is normally good for the buyer when you pay thru them.
Never had a bad experience yet with Ebay.
Don't worry Bo if Paypal does some digging (messaging the seller and doesn't get a response) you will get your money back.

mozzie (Peter) · #4 16-01-2012, 05:15 PM

what a shame bo....in all the years iv'e bought stuff never had a problem!!!!

maybe he has sent it and know on holidays with no computer.......

also before i bid or buy i always check there profile to see how past items have been handled!!!!!!!! and if there has been any complaints..

Kevnool (Kev) · #5 16-01-2012, 05:27 PM

Ebay is great, Never been let down yet.
Paypal should honour you bid.
Keep on ebaying.

Cheers Kev.

Screwdriverone (Chris) · #6 16-01-2012, 05:29 PM

Hi Bo,

Same thing happened to me, Canon 550D, no camera, seller claimed a scam she was subjected to by someone OS...even in the Melbourne Herald Sun...naming her Ebay account specifically....

She emailed me with a broadcast email saying what happened (she was basically brokering electronic goods at very cheap prices on behalf of some faceless crook from OS who never delivered the goods), turns out they were sending empty boxes if anything turned up at all....

Called PAYPAL, reported it, emailed seller with paypal report number, seller called paypal back and authorised refund, I called paypal, they confirmed a refund, took 5 days to land back on my credit card, IN FULL.

Buyer protection is just that, you get a FULL refund of everything you spent on that item, back to the credit card it came from.

You will be right, just keep checking in with Paypal.

sorry to hear you got stung like me, oh well, live and learn I spose...

Cheers

Chris

Stardrifter_WA · #7 16-01-2012, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by renormalised

That's precisely why I don't use ebay....if I want anything, I get it from a store or go to a reputable online source.

I am with you Carl. I have known others that have had a bad experience and lost their money. At least with Paypal, you have a chance of redress. I have only ever dealt with reputable stores online and haven't lost anything...yet.

Barrykgerdes · #8 16-01-2012, 06:02 PM

I had a minor hicup once

I ordered something from a chap in Melbourne and he despatched it the same day. 10 days later It had not arrived I emailed him and he said it had definitely been posted (only a small package of second hand goods)
but he immediately refunded my money. (paypal)

Two weeks later the goods arrived. I mailed him a cheque. I also found out it was someone I knew and bought some more goods off him. This time they arrived in two days.

Barry

swannies1983 (Dan) · #9 16-01-2012, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mill

Don't worry Bo if Paypal does some digging (messaging the seller and doesn't get a response) you will get your money back.

This.

If the seller can't provide proof the camera was sent, you should have no problems getting your money back.

stephenb (Stephen) · #10 16-01-2012, 07:05 PM

With over 3000+ eBay transactions (mostly buying from overseas) I've only have 3 occasions where the item has not arrived.

(1) October 2011 - A DVD box set never arrived from a large online DVD seller from QLD. The seller immediately sent out a replacement. When the original arrived in my post box some 5 weeks later I returned it. Buy and seller happy!

(2) December 2011 - set of model rail decals failed to show up from the USA - again the seller was advised and he immediately posted out a replacement.

(3) April 2007 - Model train failed to arrive from Germany. Again the seller refunded my money without going through PayPal. and I placed another order with him, which did arrive successfully.

I completely understand why some prefer not to deal eBay however what some people may not realise is that there are many "reputable" online stores who just happen to use eBay as another conduit to sell their items. So many hobby sellers have their own online store or small shopfront and use eBay as to capture another market.

I have purchased thousands of $ from hobby businesses across the USA and Europe in the last 5 years and all I have met and spoken to will bend over backwards to assist you.

One eBay seller I buy from often throws in little free "gifts" to say thanks for using him!

Everyone will tell you their big bad eBay story - most are legitmate and I'm sorry that Bo has had a bad experience. It's good that you can get it sorted soon, keep us posted.

But I can honestly say I've had substantially more poor customer service from bricks and mortor shops than I have every had with online shopping.

Stephen

traveller (Bo) · #11 16-01-2012, 07:05 PM

I have no problems with eBay, after all, it's just a market place, most dealers are honest, and there will always be 10% or so that try to take advantage of the system.
I have faith in paypal honoring their buyer protection.
Should have known better as the seller had zero feedback, live and learn.
Bo

BlackWidow (Mardy) · #12 16-01-2012, 09:33 PM

Hi Bo. I have been selling on Ebay for 13 years as my main business. The buyer protection is simple. The seller must provide proof of shipment using an aproved method of shipping. IE reg mail, insured mail, consigned del via courier. If the sell can prove shipment with this method you will have no claim. However if the seller is not able to supply copies of the shipping proof, you will get all of your money back even if they have no funds in thier account. Pay pal will cover you under these terms.

Those that think Ebay is too much of a risk are missing out on a great purchase forum. I have had rotten service in retail shops and I get very little protection

Regards
Mardy

Liz · #13 16-01-2012, 09:55 PM

I buy quite a bit on ebay (too much) and only had problems with a camera lens (out of 100 objectw I have bought!!) .. the seller had done a runner and Paypal refunded the WHOLE amount.

brian nordstrom (As avatar) · #14 16-01-2012, 10:01 PM

yep Carl, like here at IIS . Ive not had a bad transaction here .
Brian.

Quote:

Originally Posted by renormalised

That's precisely why I don't use ebay....if I want anything, I get it from a store or go to a reputable online source.

traveller (Bo) · #15 16-01-2012, 10:51 PM

Thanks all, feeling ver assured now.
And Brian, that was a STELLAR of a sell, 10mins away from the computer and miss out on a gem.

Bo

HRT · #16 17-01-2012, 09:54 AM

In the thread "Advertisements on this Site" I mentioned my connection with eBay - and was light heartedly advised to avoid further mention of Satan's Site.

Like some other commenters I have done a lot of trading on eBay and with the exception of one fraudster I have been well treated. I was caught out in that case because I disregarded my own rules which are:

1. Don't buy from anyone who has less than 99.0% positive feedback as a seller. (That's a pretty tough standard as it means 99 out every 100 buyers are happy).

2. Don't buy from anyone with less than a total of about 10 feedbacks.

3. Read the negative feedback (if any) and see if there is a pattern eg false/misleading descriptions. Additionally, some negative feedback can be quite frivolous, which means you need to sort out genuine complaints from pique.

4. Read the vendor's response to genuine criticism. Rude or no replies are a warning.

5. Don't buy from anyone living in countries once part of the USSR.

I know some shun eBay citing bad deals such as the one Bo had. May I suggest giving eBay a go using my or similar rules?

You can often get gear that on line/offline retailers cannot carry because it is obsolescent or rare. It would be a shame to deprive yourself of these items when you don't need to.

Screwdriverone (Chris) · #17 17-01-2012, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HRT

1. Don't buy from anyone who has less than 99.0% positive feedback as a seller. (That's a pretty tough standard as it means 99 out every 100 buyers are happy).

2. Don't buy from anyone with less than a total of about 10 feedbacks.

3. Read the negative feedback (if any) and see if there is a pattern eg false/misleading descriptions. Additionally, some negative feedback can be quite frivolous, which means you need to sort out genuine complaints from pique.

4. Read the vendor's response to genuine criticism. Rude or no replies are a warning.

5. Don't buy from anyone living in countries once part of the USSR.

I might add something to HRT's notes here....

The scam that got me, involved someone targeting an Australian EBAY seller who had more than 99.7% positive feedback....

They basically used their good feedback to con people into believing the sale was legit....which it kind of WAS, with the local AUS ebayer, but the goods were supposed to come from OS and thats where the scam came in.

Nothing was sent, nothing was available, the shipper was basically sending empty boxes....

One thing I twigged to was that the seller had never sold Electrical goods in their feedback, all of a sudden they were selling cameras, TV's and the like......hmmmm...

Second, was the part of the ad that said....."10% discount for direct bank transfer" something which I avoided like the plague by using Paypal Buyer Protection....

I assume the direct bank deposit discount enticement was to allow bypass of Paypal to put the money straight into the scammers local account, or perhaps the seller's as I am not too convinced she was a 100% innocent party.....

So, be CAREFUL taking on faith the feedback scores and comments as they can easily be faked and trust your instincts...something I sort of did (apart from trying to get a camera for $200 less than RRP here) even if it was from an Australian Ebayer.....who now has had their account suspended and deleted....

Live and learn is right.....I wont be falling for that again.

Cheers

Chris

Baddad (Marty) · #18 17-01-2012, 11:32 AM

Hi,
Just supporting what Chris had to say.

Some of you may remember that a scammer was asked if he had a Hubble Telescope in stock. He had it listed for $1,000.

Some fraudsters have fake PayPal accoumts. But these get closed down relatively quickly.

It sounds that most of you are above being scammed easily. Its sad that some people do lose their money from time to time.

Cheers

Stardrifter_WA · #19 17-01-2012, 09:04 PM

There is only one rule: Caveat Emptor (let the buyer beware). With scams getting more and more sophisticated, this rule applies now more than ever.

starlooker (Duc) · #20 17-01-2012, 10:24 PM

OP, did the seller give you a tracking number? If he can provide Paypal with proof of delivery(by sending it by registered post, and the item is signed for upon delivery), then Paypal will find in his favour. If he can't provide proof of delivery, then you will get your money back.