Community poll forum: 4/05/05 Do you use eBay? If so, how often?

When I tried to upgrade my account to secure, it all went pearshaped and now I can't use it at all, I've been locked out part way through a transaction. Bit of a bummer.

This locks me out of other organisations that use paypal too.

Ebay is an auction site though and everyone should remember that the laws governing open public auction are not the same as those in shop buying - if you bid, then you take it and if it doesn't work, it's your fault for not checking it. If you buy stolen goods, you might get away with keeping them because they were sold 'in the open', so it ia up to those who have lost goods to monitor and stop the sale before it takes place (all depends on the country/ies involved for this though).

Both eBay and PayPal are owned by the same company but they act like they are separate. Both claim to have buyer/seller protection but in reality, neither does. I made a software purchase (online and not from eBay) and it didn't do anything the author said it would. In fact, I spent a day trying to get it to work. My server met all the requirements the author required it to work. After wasting a day, I removed the software and contacted the author for a refund. Keep in mind that I spent a day going back and forth with their support to get it to work. Anyhow, they did not want to refund my money so I filed a complaint with PayPal and their automated system rejected it right away because the item wasn't physically shipped, it was downloaded. So I ended up having to do a chargeback. Got an email from PayPal about doing this.

Now that's just one of my stories. Let's look at their policy. 1st you have to make sure you ship to the address the buyer is registered with on PayPal, then you have to ship it by a means that trackable then believe it or not, you also have to insure it even though this isn't stated clearly. Now let's say the buyer claims he never received it and contacts PayPal. PayPal wants the shipper and tracking info. If you have that information, then they make you call the shipper and file a claim with them. According to eBay, sellers state the terms in the auction e.g. Shipping Insurance. If the buyer doesn't want to pay for insurance and then claims they reveived the item damaged, PayPal will tell you that you are to blame for not purchasing insurance regardless of eBay Policy. So what exactly is it that they do for protection? When anybody finds the answer to this, can you let me know please. eBay on the otherhand is no better. They pass the buck to PayPal who then makes you go through the same silly circle.

paypal is not considered a banking institution, so it's not held up to the same federal standards. They can, however, have your bank account frozen somehow...

A woman sent me a check and I waited 18 days. It was for a Tiffany ring. I sent the ring to her on the 20th day after I initially deposited her check. Her check came back to me uncashable 32 days AFTER I deposited the check.

I called her repeatedly. She promised to send a money order. Never came. Then she promised to send the ring back, which she never did.

I emailed Ebay and I received a standard, "we will handle this, but b/c of privacy issues, we can't tell you what we're going to do."

I haven't seen my money or product back and it's been 3 months. I've now stopped selling on ebay. It's too depressing when you get messed with.

I tried to buy some software off of Ebay for about 100 less than the retail price. I won the auction, and the seller was nice enough...to rip me off. It was the first time I used PayPal as well...I really hate PayPal. So, the seller emailed me the day after I could no longer use PayPal to retrieve my money. So PayPal told me they would insure my losses...but I had to try and get my money from Ebay first. Ebay would rather I do a charge back on my credit card. PayPal inadvertantly used my credit card instead of my bank account. I did not want to do a charge back on PayPal, but I had no choice...I thought we would work out the details later. Not so, the seller who I thought was a woman was actually a man who began bragging to me in email how easily he took my $600. Now PayPal will not let me use their service. I continue to use Ebay, but rarely for anything of great value.

I've used eBay off and on for various things (cookware, computer stuff, and now classic car parts) and have never had a bad experience. However, I have seen others who probably did. And I often warned them. The biggest error I have seen is not knowing the true value of an item. I have seen, quite often, people bidding far more than they could buy the same item locally at retail stores. Add in shipping and it's a disaster. Great for sellers, and I do not hold them responsible... in most cases... Let the buyer beware! Will I ever have a bad experience? Probably so. It's the odds. I also play it safe in how I pay for anything.

Only one item wasn't as describe and arrived broken. The seller apologized and quickly refunded my money. All the rest of been good experiences... good sellers.

I wanted to buy a rug cleaner but the husband didnt want me to get a cheap one. We decided to try to find out one on EBay. A used Rug Doctor was available and a good price so we bid and won the bid. We were excited to recieve it. It took some time to get here but I was patient. Once recieving it I unpacked it and started to use it right away. It did not work so I figured I was doing something wrong and decided to wait for the hubby to show me how to use it.
He could not get it to work either. He is a fix it kind of guy so he took it apart and ordered parts over the internet. They sent an email asking where we got it. We told them who and where and awaited for the parts to arrive. Two weeks went by and still no parts so hubby sent another email to the parts warehouse asking when to expect the parts. They wrote back saying we needed to send the machine as it was on a missing list from Rug Doctor. In other words it had been stolen. We he put the machine back together and sent it to Rug Doctor in the US. Then he contacted the fella that sold it to us and his attitude was buyer beware. We contacted EBay to let them know of the problem. They gave us the website to contact to place a grievance. It took several weeks and a lot of work on the keyboard but we finally settled with Ebay and got back about one third the money paid. Then to our surprise, Rug Doctor sent us a reward for returning the machine so promptly. We did not get back all the monies paid but it was close. I of course have not used EBay since.

I have both bought and sold on Ebay with moderate success. The first problem is that no one wants to pay the real value for goods. If it's a new hot item, people will often overbid the value and if it's a specific technical item, they will bid pennies on the dollar. The cost of listing an item is high and with the new commission policy, somewhat pricy.
The second issue is the amount of fraud tht goes on. There are those who advertise "stuff" with no intention of ever delivering it. When this happens there is little Ebay will do to help and even finding their "safe Harbour" is difficult. The insurance the offer is a scam, by the time you go through all the channels, you're outside their time frame. About the only time they get active is if you owe THEM any money.
Finally, if you use it, be very careful and count yourself lucky if it goes ok.

My advice......check the seller's listing to see if they will offer to ship the item insured(at your expense, of course). If it's not mentioned in the listing, e-mail the seller asking if they will ship it insured BEFORE YOU BID. If they agree to do so, SAVE THAT E-MAIL, and go ahead and bid. With insurance, you have a shot at getting your money back. If the seller promises to insure (either stated in the listing and you accept that option, or stated in an e-mail to you) and the item either doesn't arrive at your home or arrives damaged, you have proof and a case to recover your money.

Had used ebay quite a few times before. Bought son-in-law present for X-mas. Was never delivered. When I contacted seller sent email saying it was sent check with post office. Was too large an item to be shipped with the postal service. When asked for tracking number, would not reply. When contacted ebay and paypal was told buyer had canceled membership and could not be found. I did check his feedback before buying and he had a couple of negatives, but most were slow shipping of item. Lots of positives. Was told by ebay and paypal that there was nothing they could do. Will think twice before buying again. Would have to have no negatives and lots of history before I would buy again.

the only problem with ebay is ebay. it's nearly impossible to contact them. they screwed up paypal the same way. when paypal was seperate you could call an 800 number to get problems resolved.

the only problem i have is that they are the only game in town for my stuff. not unlike ups.

if there were alternatives i'd switch in a second.

Hey there, there are alternatives. What is it that you sell?

John

Other post on this page refer to this last name further down. Trust this all?

eBay is NOT good at qualifying buyers. Almost anyone and thier dog (if they have an email address) can sign up and win an auction and then the seller is left waiting for resolution!