Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Ordered MBP on eBay and got a box of paper

Happened to me a few years ago, since I was using a credit card with paypal
and they were "draggin their heels" I got the bank to get the money back from
them "fraudulent use of credit card" was all I had to say.
PP were not pleased = I got a ticking off email.
Cash back in less than 3 weeks.

I don't use it anymore, it was fine 8/10 years ago but I just don't feel comfortable
with PP and Ebay these days.

It will be fine, these scammers or thief's ( I suspect the delivery people had it away )
will get their rewards later via Karma.

Friend of mine flew back from Boston with a new MBP in her suitcase.
At the other end ... no MBP ... who do you think took that ??
Airline coughed up after she made a fuss, there was video of her case being rummaged
through in the Baggage sorting area !!
M
 
no fear mongering towards paypal. I use them all the time. never let any company access my main bank accounts. That is just good banking security protocol.
 
PayPal told me not to speak with my credit card company they said they would sort it.
 
If the seller has a 1300+ feedback and 99.7% positive rating, this is almost certainly a case where the computer was stolen in transit. Any seller with that much experience on eBay knows that eBay and PayPal almost always side with the buyer in situations like this; the money will be yanked right out of the seller's account and frozen before the seller even knows there's a problem. Meanwhile, how many anonymous hands does the package pass through while in the "care" of the courier, any one of whom could open the package and nick the computer with much less chance of being caught? I'm sorry this happened to you, but my own experiences as a buyer and seller on eBay tell me this is probably not the seller's fault. Hopefully it was insured and the courier, if at fault, will pay up.
 
Just make sure you don't let her get you to drop the case with paypal/ebay. It's not on YOU to prove she shipped the proper item and that the post office stole it. YOU should get your money back from her. SHE will be the one that needs to go after the postal office. These are the reasons paypal suggest you don't communicate directly with the seller..she may be totally legit, but the fact remains you didn't get the product you bought from her. Don't let a bleeding heart cost you the case.
 
elviorion said:
Just make sure you don't let her get you to drop the case with paypal/ebay. It's not on YOU to prove she shipped the proper item and that the post office stole it. YOU should get your money back from her. SHE will be the one that needs to go after the postal office. These are the reasons paypal suggest you don't communicate directly with the seller..she may be totally legit, but the fact remains you didn't get the product you bought from her. Don't let a bleeding heart cost you the case.
Click to expand...

Good advice.

It will be all good, no need to worry.

I just didn't like the PP online gumff and not being able to speak to someone.
Hence the Bank intervention, perhaps it wasn't the right move but it worked
for me.
The circumstances were very different, i just got nothing delivered and was stuck with
a seller whose account was suspended ... so no contact.
I was being told it was on it's way for almost two weeks.
M.
 
ddotmason said:
PayPal told me not to speak with my credit card company they said they would sort it.
Click to expand...

Going direct to your credit card people is a much better and safer idea - they are far more likely to care about your account than PayPal. The CC people will do something a LOT faster than PayPal. To me having PayPal tell you not to talk to CC is a huge red flag.
 
I thought that because surely with the cc company I only have so much time to file a claim with them. And if PayPal take to long of rule in the sellers favour I'm screwed.
 
How did you pay? If it is by credit card let them know immediately. Also call paypal and pressure them cuz only resting on everything happening online and not on phone and with no pressure put they won't fix it for you. So you have been warned. Coming from someone with experience. They are too busy to take care of you if left to their own will
 
Iv rang then twice today and I will ring them again in the morning I will also speak with my cc supplier Aswell and let them know what's going on PayPal are already in the decision making part of the claim. Does anyone know if they give themselves a time limit to give an answer.
 
Septembersrain said:
Do you think that a middle man might have messed with it? Does it appear to be re-packaged? Extra tape, box cut in strange places, etc?
Click to expand...

I highly doubt that. The sellers lack of communication tells all. They are thinking with ignorance the problem will go away. They flat out scammed the buyer.
 
ddotmason said:
I opened it and got on the phone straight to paypal. The police here don't give a **** about low end fraud like this.
Click to expand...

Was it delivered by US mail? If so, it could also be a mail fraud and you can file a compliant with US postal master. It's a federal crime.
 
Are you sure you read the description of the sale properly? Because it's been fairly common for eBay sellers to scam other people into paying full price for just the box of some wanted product. Some put this fact up font, others are sneakier and put in a detailed and long description of the product and then at the end put a small note that it's just the box it came in.

I know this has been common practice with consoles upon launch ever since the Xbox 360 launched in 2005 and the first time I heard about it was 10 years ago.

In other words: Before you bid on ANYTHING, actually read the ENTIRE description.
 
No I arnt that stupid I did my research found a good ebayer good feed back on apple products. Instant contact through out transaction.
 
Ai-apple said:
Was it delivered by US mail? If so, it could also be a mail fraud and you can file a compliant with US postal master. It's a federal crime.
Click to expand...

The postmaster won't do anything.

Years back I had someone send me a bubble envelope from Germany that was suppose to have a Michael Jordan autograph basketball card in it. I signed for the envelope and before the mail man even left my porch I noticed the envelope was super light and had a slit across the top. It was empty. He called the main facility immediately and the postmaster. She would do nothing other than look for the card at the facility. She didn't care that some guy would scam me and refused to believe someone would do such a thing. Long story short....I lost $300 in that deal.
 
I recently sold an Asus computer on ebay for over $2000. My problem with Paypal was that even though I have a perfect seller rating I don't sell a whole lot. So they are few and far between. The money that's sent to paypal had a hold on it until the buyer posted positive feedback or 21 days passed. Luckily the buyer was nice enough to give prompt feedback. But heck, it cost $80 to ship it insured out of my pocket because not even the shipping fees were available. If it wasn't for trying to sell it locally and not having any luck I wouldn't of used ebay at all. So depending how much the seller had sold recently, she may not of even had the money yet. Paypal still could've had it in limbo until you left positive feedback.

Victor
 
Paypal doesn't like credit cards coming into the picture because at that point paypal has no control of the investigation or dispute.

If you have a credit card with great customer service (such as Discover or Amex) I would go directly through them and not via paypal. Great credit cards can usually resolve disputes in your favor in as little as 2 weeks. Not to mention you get an immediate refund of the money while the dispute is in process.

Everything something happens and I use paypal I contact my credit card. Some things are not covered under the paypal customer protection (such as intangible items) but credit cards will still rule in your favor.

The difference though is that when you're doing it via paypal it's a dispute, when doing it with your credit card it's a chargeback. Enough chargebacks on your paypal account and they'll close your account.
 
IndoX said:
Paypal doesn't like credit cards coming into the picture because at that point paypal has no control of the investigation or dispute.

If you have a credit card with great customer service (such as Discover or Amex) I would go directly through them and not via paypal. Great credit cards can usually resolve disputes in your favor in as little as 2 weeks. Not to mention you get an immediate refund of the money while the dispute is in process.

Everything something happens and I use paypal I contact my credit card. Some things are not covered under the paypal customer protection (such as intangible items) but credit cards will still rule in your favor.

The difference though is that when you're doing it via paypal it's a dispute, when doing it with your credit card it's a chargeback. Enough chargebacks on your paypal account and they'll close your account.
Click to expand...

When something like this happens, go directly to the credit card company. Good advice.
 
IndoX said:
Paypal doesn't like credit cards coming into the picture because at that point paypal has no control of the investigation or dispute.

If you have a credit card with great customer service (such as Discover or Amex) I would go directly through them and not via paypal. Great credit cards can usually resolve disputes in your favor in as little as 2 weeks. Not to mention you get an immediate refund of the money while the dispute is in process.

Everything something happens and I use paypal I contact my credit card. Some things are not covered under the paypal customer protection (such as intangible items) but credit cards will still rule in your favor.

The difference though is that when you're doing it via paypal it's a dispute, when doing it with your credit card it's a chargeback. Enough chargebacks on your paypal account and they'll close your account.
Click to expand...

Excellent point. PayPal hates having to do refunds. CC people are usually better at customer service. Don't forget that the scammers who game eBay know how to put the odds in their favor. There are time limits, and I would be calling both CC and PayPal every day and demanding prompt action. To PayPal if they can delay long enough they can tell you "tiough luck".

I think you are far more likely to get your money back via CC than PayPal. PayPal is definitely not known for decent customer service.

The longer you let PP drag it out the less likely you are to get the money back.

And I hope you also complain to eBay, though they aren't very good either.
 
Spoke with my cc company and they told me to let paypal deal with this as they are generally really good but reassured me that if I get no answer before 2 weeks they will take action. Also spoke with paypal they said they have everything they need and it should only take 3 days.
 
You'll definitely get it back either through the paypal dispute/credit card chargeback. Shocked this thread is so long. eBay is ridiculously safe for buyers.
 
old-wiz said:
Excellent point. PayPal hates having to do refunds. CC people are usually better at customer service. Don't forget that the scammers who game eBay know how to put the odds in their favor. There are time limits, and I would be calling both CC and PayPal every day and demanding prompt action. To PayPal if they can delay long enough they can tell you "tiough luck".

I think you are far more likely to get your money back via CC than PayPal. PayPal is definitely not known for decent customer service.

The longer you let PP drag it out the less likely you are to get the money back.

And I hope you also complain to eBay, though they aren't very good either.
Click to expand...

thats not correct, Paypal is great and have refunded me several times

how would they even care if they did a refund its not their money they are losing they are just reversing the transaction
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back