eBay & Paypal need a lot of work

[Jovian9]

I've been a member of eBay and Paypal for years. I've bought and sold lots of stuff (around 150 rating on eBay and 50 on Paypal). I'm not a power seller, but I sell lots of my stuff whenever I do not want it anymore or decide I want to upgrade it (computers, ipods, etc.). I've never had any problems until this year. In the last 6 months I've been ripped off 3X (for a total of about $50). That's not that much so I can deal with it. But it's the process that angers me. The first time was for a Mogwai (band) poster. After I purchased it the seller closed his account. I never got the poster and eBay did nothing b/c this person was no longer a seller. The next one was for some Livestrong bracelets (since they are on backorder from the store). The seller was banned shortly after the auction I won was over. I never received the bracelets. I contacted eBay and they said I needed to wait 30 days to file a complaint. So I waited 30 days and contacted them again. They responded and said that since I used Paypal I needed to contact Paypal. I contacted Paypal and they told me since it was over 30 days since the transaction they could not do anything. If eBay had just told me to contact Paypal in the first place I wouldn't have had this problem. I used my bank account so I could not get my money back. Next I bought a DVD. I got the DVD and it did not work in any of my dvd players or Macs....and now this seller is banned too. I have gotten no response from the seller. I contacted eBay and they again told me 30 days. So I immediately contacted Paypal. Paypal told me that since I got the item they did not protect my purchase (even though it does not work). Luckily I paid with my credit card this time so I'll be contacting my credit card company to reverse the charge. All of these sellers had good feedback.
eBay and Paypal are joined now (eBay owns Paypal). But instead of trying to solve their members problems they bounce you back and forth and finally tell you they cannot help. In essence you are not protected by either Paypal or eBay. I've pumped thousands of dollars through these 2 companies but I feel like I have to try to not use them again. For all of those out there who use these services I would recommend using your credit cards for all purchases through Paypal so that maybe you can be protected by your credit card company.
Sorry, but I needed to vent about this.

[Jaz]

ebay and paypal have perfected the art of shirking responsibility for anything conducted on their sites. Plain and simple, it's cheaper to ignore the small stuff and fight the big stuff than it is to do any of it properly.

I use ebay much like you, and don't trust ANY of the mechanisms they offer to protect sellers.

You're not alone in expessing this disdain and it's only a matter of time before a general backlash begins. When the stock starts to get hit, like it did with the website problems years ago, then all of sudden they will get religion about customer protection and loyalty.

[rainman::|:|]

I've stopped using ebay and paypal for these reasons. The number of people scammed on ebay is quickly becoming dwarfed by the number of people scammed by paypal... a lot of my friends have discovered firsthand how ****** paypal treats it's members... they really seem to care about doing only what's easiest for them (unless Visa, MC or Amex are involved, then they suddenly snap-to)... and of course, paypal is *owned* by ebay now, so it's just as much ebay's fault.

sometimes it seems like they *want* everyone to get ripped off.

Google for "paypal" and "scam" and you should find a slew of anti-paypal sites... lots of horror stories there.

Perhaps if i really, really need an obscure item i can't find elsewhere, i'll go to ebay... but it hasn't happened yet.

paul

[Jovian9]

Google for "paypal" and "scam" and you should find a slew of anti-paypal sites... lots of horror stories there.
paul

I remember reading (here on MacRumors) the story of the guy who sold his PowerBook......the buyer paid through Paypal......the seller got his money and shipped the PowerBook......the buyer then contacted his credit card company and had the transaction canceled....and paypal charged the guy who sold it.

I think I'll just stay away from them both unless I can't find what I'm looking for somewhere else. I was about to list my 17" PB on eBay but I think I'd rather not give eBay and Paypal $100 for the transaction.

[raynegus]

I just sold 8 items on ebay after being inactive for a while. I have so far received 24 e-mail fraudulent offers to buy those items via Western Union (shipped overseas of course). It's f**cking ridiculous.

One item I sold was an iMac. I shipped the item next day via UPS ground like any good seller, and a few days later I get a panic e-mail from the buyer telling me there is another auction up exactly like mine, with the same description and pictures, asking me if my auction was fake.

Some ******* in the UK stole my description and pictures (with my wonderful iMac in MY living room) and was selling it along with like 30 other fake auctions. To top it off, another idiot e-mails me and offers ME a second chance to buy MY computer because the high bidder didn't want it!

How can anyone buy ANYTHING on ebay these days! I'll bet over 50% of auctions over $500 on ebay are scams. Take a look. It's mind blowing.

If anyone is interested, here (http://www.carbuyingtips.com/fraud.htm) is a good link to educate yourself.

Peace.