If anyone has any advice on resolving an apparent scam on ebay, I sure would appreciate it. Here's the short story:
I won an auction for an Orange Rocker 30 amp. Paid the guy within hours. Started communicating immediately through ebay and email. His communication pretty quickly dwindled to nothing, though there were promises that the amp had shipped, and he would send the tracking number "soon." You know the end of the story...no amp, no nothing.
I went through all of the hoops ebay and PayPal ask you to jump through, and eventually filed a dispute that was judged in my favor. Unfortunately, the Buyer Protection was only $200 so at this moment I'm out the rest of the purchase price. I called PayPal and they said that after 45 days, they would hand the case over to a collection agency.
I've contacted my credit card company and disputed the charge against it to PayPal, but I've got a bad feeling that this won't work out in my favor. I've also sent the entire history of the transaction and all the email exchanges to the credit card company.
Is there anything else I should be sure to do, or any collective wisdom out there?
Ebay /PayPal Advice
Moderators: rickenbrother, ajish4
I've never had this problem, John, so I can't offer any first hand advice. However, I am battling with a ebay seller over here who's been mucking me around for a couple of weeks in a very similar manner, so I might be able to in the near future. 
No Paypal involvement here, though...... a direct bank deposit.
I hope yours works out for you, mate.
No Paypal involvement here, though...... a direct bank deposit.
I hope yours works out for you, mate.
"Never eat more than you can lift." - Mr. Moon
If you dispute a credit card transaction through your credit card provider, you will almost certainly win, but PayPal will black-list your name, your address and your card number and you will never be able to use them again. It happened to me, and now paying for things on eBay is a nightmare.
www.paypalsucks.com - unfortunately it's all true.
www.paypalsucks.com - unfortunately it's all true.
Two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights do make a left.
My story has a more positive ended. Exactly the same situation as you, John.
Paypal refunded me about half of the funds (what was available in the dead-beat seller's account). I also lodged a claim via my credit card provider and got the whole amount refunded. I ended up in front!
I'm awaiting an adjustment...but this was over a month ago and nothing yet!
I've also used my Paypal account without any other problems.
Paypal refunded me about half of the funds (what was available in the dead-beat seller's account). I also lodged a claim via my credit card provider and got the whole amount refunded. I ended up in front!
I'm awaiting an adjustment...but this was over a month ago and nothing yet!
I've also used my Paypal account without any other problems.
'59 425, '59 335, '60 335, '60 360, '60 335F, '60 345F, '64 RM 1999, '65 RM 1998, '65 360-12, '66 335, '67 450-12, '72 4001 '72 4001, '75 4000, '75 4000CS, '00 700S, '01 700C, '01 700S-12, '01 730S-FH, '06 660 DCM
John, I think working your cc company is the smart move.
It's getting to feel a little like Russian Roulette on Ebay these days...everytime you pull the trigger there's an increasing chance you're going to get shot. I've been lucky so far, but I know it's just a matter of time.
Too bad there's so much scum in the world.
It's getting to feel a little like Russian Roulette on Ebay these days...everytime you pull the trigger there's an increasing chance you're going to get shot. I've been lucky so far, but I know it's just a matter of time.
Too bad there's so much scum in the world.
"Let me take you down...'cause I'm going to...."
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firstbassman
- Advanced Member
- Posts: 1573
- Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2005 6:00 am
John, I'm very sorry this has happened. So, far, I have been very lucky in both buying and selling on eBay.
But from the looks of things lately, I agree with Bill. It's just a matter of time before I get burned. (After selling on Amazon for about two years, I've just had my first dispute.)
So, how 'bout we use this thread to offer some advice and try to avoid this as best we can in the future.
What are the best ways to tell that a listing is legit and not a scam?
Zero feedback might seem like an obvious first indicator, but scams (hijacked accounts) seem to have plenty of feedback so that won't work.
What else can we look for?
But from the looks of things lately, I agree with Bill. It's just a matter of time before I get burned. (After selling on Amazon for about two years, I've just had my first dispute.)
So, how 'bout we use this thread to offer some advice and try to avoid this as best we can in the future.
What are the best ways to tell that a listing is legit and not a scam?
Zero feedback might seem like an obvious first indicator, but scams (hijacked accounts) seem to have plenty of feedback so that won't work.
What else can we look for?
I recently had my first eBay/PayPal dispute. It involved a guitar I bought that arrived with the headstock snapped off, despite excellent packaging and no evidence of mishandling. The seller had a 98.7% rating on about 200 transactions, but he did everything he could to keep my money and stall the claim process. Eventually after 3 months I got a full refund from PayPal (but had to eat $44 in return shipping). I'd really like to slam the seller with my feedback, but I know he'd retaliate and ruin my 100% rating. This example illustrates one of the reasons that feedback can't be trusted and why more and more eBayers won't deal with anyone having less than a 99% rating.
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squirefan01
- Intermediate Member
- Posts: 966
- Joined: Sun Mar 05, 2006 6:00 am
I always look for at least 98% positive feedback with over 100 feedbacks given. If feedback is not 100%, I look to see if it has been any recent patterns of negative feedback. If anything raises the hairs on my neck I go away quickly.
I have been fine with sellers from Canada but other then that I have always stayed away from non-North American sellers, though I have just never had the opportunity to deal with EMEA. It's mostly APAC that I also run away from.
I have 100% positive feedback myself, somewhere in the 475 area as far as feedback count. At least 95% of these are me as the buyer. I have been an eBayer since way before Paypal so used to deal with sending cash (small amounts only), checks, money orders etc., but now prefer Paypla only just for the convenience. Most of my early activities were in sports collectibles so could be anywhere from a few bucks to hundreds of dollars.
In all of these transactions I have only had one problem with a seller, which was years ago. I tracked his address & phone number down and called him, and he "found" my product that had gotten lost in the mail and I ended up getting it.
I did have my own account hijacked once, maybe 4-5 years ago, because I was stupid enough to answer one of the fake emails asking for account information when that scam was in it's infancy. My account was back on track within a week and I did not lose my user name or feedback.
I do not hesitate to use eBay today but am more careful than ever. I feel that the feedback system there works. I recently bought my Alembic bass from a guy in CA, the first guitar that I bought via eBay. No problems there.
-Greg
(vikesforever on eBay)
I have been fine with sellers from Canada but other then that I have always stayed away from non-North American sellers, though I have just never had the opportunity to deal with EMEA. It's mostly APAC that I also run away from.
I have 100% positive feedback myself, somewhere in the 475 area as far as feedback count. At least 95% of these are me as the buyer. I have been an eBayer since way before Paypal so used to deal with sending cash (small amounts only), checks, money orders etc., but now prefer Paypla only just for the convenience. Most of my early activities were in sports collectibles so could be anywhere from a few bucks to hundreds of dollars.
In all of these transactions I have only had one problem with a seller, which was years ago. I tracked his address & phone number down and called him, and he "found" my product that had gotten lost in the mail and I ended up getting it.
I did have my own account hijacked once, maybe 4-5 years ago, because I was stupid enough to answer one of the fake emails asking for account information when that scam was in it's infancy. My account was back on track within a week and I did not lose my user name or feedback.
I do not hesitate to use eBay today but am more careful than ever. I feel that the feedback system there works. I recently bought my Alembic bass from a guy in CA, the first guitar that I bought via eBay. No problems there.
-Greg
(vikesforever on eBay)
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beatlefreak
- Senior Member
- Posts: 6160
- Joined: Wed Jun 14, 2006 5:45 am
- Contact:
Use the power of the negative feedback. I've threated it and gotten satisfaction. I have perfect feedback as a seller and almost perfect feedback as a buyer. If someone flames me because I give them negative feedback, it will be obvious to anyone who reads the feedback and my response to their flaming. Not leaving negative feedback when you should is like not voting when you should. And we all know what happens if you don't vote now don't we?