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jersey · Oct 12, 2004, 04:54 PM

And as always...when I need advice... I come to the lounge.

So here is the situation.

I was looking at an item on ebay offered by a verified member who had about 20 positive feedbacks. The point of feedback being to make bidders feel secure, therefore I take it into account when I bid on something. So with 100% positive feedback I didnt hesitate to bid. So I win the item, and as I always do, make a timely if not instant payment through paypal. So the payment was made on Oct 4, and I have yet to receive the item or hear from the seller after multiple emails. Today I look at the sellers profile and they have now received 2 negative feedbacks stating non-receipt of item and no communication. And they have nothing else for sale, it has all been taken off.

So....... does any have any experience with this?
What recourse do I have available to me?
Any suggestions?

Thanks,

-j

waxcrash · Oct 12, 2004, 04:56 PM

How much are you out?

jersey · Oct 12, 2004, 04:59 PM

Originally posted by waxcrash:
How much are you out?

not too much, $80.00.

but still, thats a bit o' coin.

-j

BlueSky · Oct 12, 2004, 05:03 PM

I suggest you go to ebay's Help section, which will lead you to all the info you need.

jersey · Oct 12, 2004, 05:05 PM

Oh.....almost forgot. So once you pay with paypal, you get to see the sellers verified address. Yep, 40 miles south of me. And I have the sellers ph# via reverse lookup.

Should I put them to use?

Should I forward the info to the others that were frauded?

the_glassman · Oct 12, 2004, 05:13 PM

Start with the regular eBay paperwork. The person might of had a family emergency or something, I've had that happen to me. As much as I like eBay, I really wish there was a better alternative. I've got a feeling that there is no real person working at eBay, just one big money making scam in itself. They seem to love Microsoft though. They pulled one of my ad's without warning because I told them I was including Office (legal copy) of which I removed from my machine.

I remember another time, I was looking at an iBook and the person had like 1200 positive feedback with no negative feedback. The deal was too good to be true so I did some research and found the items the seller usually sold (trinkets, beads, gardening supplies,etc..) and figured it didn't fit. I won the auction and got an e-mail to immediately wire transfer money to Prague because they were on vacation. I e-mailed eBay immediately after this, after you dig though 40 freaking pages trying to find some reasonable contact information to inform them it looks like it may be fraud. All the ad's were pulled, but a few people were screwed over before hand, they left negative feedback for the person (who's account was stolen) and I never received so much as a thank you letter from ebay.

Cliff Notes: Sorry to hear about your ebay experience. I would try contacting the person by phone and than start the process with paypal and ebay to get some money back and report as fraud. And oh yeah eBay Sucks!!!

ambush · Oct 12, 2004, 05:18 PM

Give him some time.

ManOfSteal · Oct 12, 2004, 05:22 PM

Originally posted by jersey:
And as always...when I need advice... I come to the lounge.

D'oh!

ambush · Oct 12, 2004, 05:31 PM

I wonder why account thieves are trying to fool mac users.

usually (search the forums about a member being scammed by a guy buying a PB for his child) they're hard to fool.

Xeo · Oct 12, 2004, 05:35 PM

Simply call him first.

You made payment 8 days ago. What sort of shipping expectations are given on the auction? What sort of shipping did you pay for? Sometimes, the shipper says they will ship within 7 days. That gives them an entire week's leeway where they can just do nothing until they finally ship.

I recently had a seller ignore contact with me completely. It made me nervous I noticed that it seemed to happen to others as well. Absolutely no contact, and the number I called gave me a generic answering machine voice telling me to "Please leave a message." I was nervous, but a few days later the item arrived and it was in fine condition.

So no contact doesn't necessarily mean you're screwed. In all honesty, it hasn't been that much time yet. You can call now, and see if you can get in touch. But don't start the eBay paperwork until day 14. That's my recommendation.

cold_reality · Oct 12, 2004, 05:54 PM

Sucks that nowadays 100% postive feedback doesn't mean anything.
There is a lot of account hijackers that go for the positive people because they know people will bid. I don't use paypal for this very reason.

MaxPower2k3 · Oct 12, 2004, 06:03 PM

definitely call him. I recently had an item arrive damaged (not in shipping) and PayPal's Buyer Protection Policy worked out in my favor and i should be getting my money back. I'm not sure if 20 feedback is enough for their BPP to kick in, however.

Cody Dawg · Oct 12, 2004, 06:20 PM

We sell a lot of things on eBay - as well as buying. Love eBay for collecting items and buying and selling books and artwork.

Anyway, it's very simple.

1. Call the seller 3 times and leave a message asking for a tracking number.
2. If no response within 72 hours you call Paypal at 402-935-7733 and once you get there, don't bother with any of the automated menu directions, just keep repeating "Operator" or pushing "O" and it will get you right through to someone live.
3. Next, log into Paypal and go to the tab that says "Resolution Center." Click on the link that says "File a claim" and follow the directions there. Make a claim there.
4. Report possible fraud with eBay at this link: http://pages.ebay.com/help/confidenc...rotection.html
5. Once you have filed a fraud report wait until day 30 and proceed to go through eBay to file a "Protection Claim" which is at this link: http://pages.ebay.com/help/confidenc...tructions.html

You will get your money back UP TO $200 at eBay.

Notice to all?

FOR ALL ITEMS OVER $200 MAKE SURE THAT YOU ALWAYS PAY VIA A UNITED STATES POSTAL MONEY ORDER THAT MUST BE SIGNED FOR TO OBTAIN RECEIPT OF ("Signature Confirmation" or "Certified Mail" or "Express Overnight Delivery") BECAUSE IF THE ITEM IS NOT SENT TO YOU THEN YOU HAVE A FEDERAL POSTAL FRAUD CLAIM - ALL YOU DO IS FILL OUT A POSTAL FRAUD FORM, PROVIDE COPIES OF THE USPS MONEY ORDER(S), AND THE USPS SENDS YOUR MONEY BACK TO YOU AND PURSUES THE PERSON COMMITTING FRAUD.

Once a person does not send an item paid through via USPS it's always fun to inform them that you are going to file a federal fraud claim against them through the United States Post Office and that it involves federal laws and not local or state laws and the penalties are very harsh.

We have over 700 positive feedbacks at eBay and have a lot of experience with this stuff.

Good luck!

CMYKid · Oct 12, 2004, 06:34 PM

Originally posted by the_glassman:
They seem to love Microsoft though. They pulled one of my ad's without warning because I told them I was including Office (legal copy) of which I removed from my machine.

They don't love them so much as they're afraid of their legion of lawyers, I'd guess...

Cody Dawg · Oct 12, 2004, 06:45 PM

They pulled one of my ad's without warning because I told them I was including Office (legal copy) of which I removed from my machine.

So, you were letting someone else have previously used software?

Just asking, but isn't that illegal?

CMYKid · Oct 12, 2004, 06:49 PM

Originally posted by Cody Dawg:
So, you were letting someone else have previously used software?

Just asking, but isn't that illegal?

nope. that was his point.

Cody Dawg · Oct 12, 2004, 06:59 PM

I'm unclear:

Read here.

Scifience · Oct 12, 2004, 07:01 PM

Give it 14 days before you file fraud paperwork.

Definately e-mail and call the seller.

With all the trouble PayPal has been having (since Thursday), many sellers have not been able to get online to print shipping labels or otherwise process transactions.

That problem seems to be gradually clearing up now, though. As an eBay seller, I am now offering alternate payment methods on my auctions as a result of this whole fiasco.

jersey · Oct 12, 2004, 07:08 PM

so i have decided to ;

1. call the seller

2. if i get no resolution in the next fe days, file a claim on day 14.

err......now i am leary about using ebay for any more pruchases. damn. and i was just getting ready to buy a few pieces of camera equipment.

the_glassman · Oct 12, 2004, 07:09 PM

Originally posted by Cody Dawg:
So, you were letting someone else have previously used software?

Just asking, but isn't that illegal?

I had Office installed on a iMac and iBook, I removed it from my iMac and iBook, but the auction was for the iBook and I was including office with it and that's illegal? This wasn't with any of the new offices mind you, this was for Office for Mac OS 9.

Cody Dawg · Oct 12, 2004, 07:11 PM

I just went through a terrible situation on eBay where the seller deliberately lied and sent a broken item. The seller claimed that a professional shipping location packaged and sent the item, which arrived severely broken and not at all what was pictured in the auction, but when the supposed shipping store was contacted, it turned out that they had not packed it and that the person had been explicitly advised to double box the item (WHICH WE HAD PAID THE SELLER TO DO - AN EXTRA $30 - PER THE SELLER'S PAYPAL MONEY REQUEST FOR THE SERVICE) and then did not.

I'm not getting into it, but it was CLEARLY a case of deceit and/or fraud.

I have never left anyone a negative feedback on eBay in almost 5 years, but this time I did.

I just don't want the next person to have to deal with someone like this.