NewLuna

I started using Ebay to sell and purchase items in September of 2006. I prefer to only use PayPal for payment services whether I’m buying or selling. PayPal makes money by taking a relatively small percentage from the amount paid to the seller. As a seller, I had no problem with this agreement since it was also paying for other services that come into play when a transaction falls through. I know now that the quality of service I expected from PayPal was different from what I originally thought.

Up until recently, all of my transactions ran fairly smoothly. I had no problems buying or selling items. That honeymoon came to an end when I purchased a wireless gaming controller from an individual off of Ebay. I purchased the item using PayPal and received it within a week. The problem was that the controller didn’t work. I immediately contacted the seller and notified him of the situation. I told the seller what was wrong with the item, and he contacted me saying that he would do some research to try to “trouble-shoot” the issue.

I have other wireless controllers. This one didn’t work. I gave the seller a couple of days and then I sent him another email requesting the status of his research. I received no reply. I then sent him another email with no reply. I finally sent him an email asking for a refund. I received no reply.

That’s when I decided to notify PayPal of the situation. After all, I felt I paid for their services as a seller and it would be nice to get some compensation. I created a formal dispute through PayPal. At first it looked promising. PayPal’s dispute center gave my issue an ID and assigned it a status. It sat on the same status for around a month and that is when I realized that this might not turn out the way I want it to.

I went on vacation and came back to an email from PayPal stating that I need to fax them a repair estimate for the item. The email also stated that the estimate would not be accepted past a certain date, which happened to give me two days to get the estimate. Wow. It took them a month to review the situation and then they’re going to give me a deadline on returning the estimate. What about my deadline? This was an open and shut case. It should not have taken them a month to get back to me.

It is what it is. I took the controller to EB games and Best Buy and none of them would repair the controller. My controller was considered to be “throw away” electronics. In fact, none of them carried my model. It is a wireless controller for the original Xbox. I took the controller to CompUSA and basically received the same line. Bottom line, I could not get a repair estimate.

I notified PayPal by email stating that I could not get a repair estimate. PayPal replied with a copy of the original email stating that they are requesting a repair estimate. Was this a customer service joke? I replied to that email with a detailed account of what has happened. PayPal finally replied with a human-generated email basically requesting that I fax them the estimate. I couldn’t believe it. I have been a solid and loyal customer of PayPal. I have not received one poor feedback mark on my Ebay account and I’ve sold over 60 items. I felt that I have paid for this service, so I was blown away at how poor their customer service turned out to be.

On the flip side, you’re sitting pretty if you’re a seller. It must be comforting to know that if your selling faulty items using PayPal, you’re using a payment service that will protect YOU. If the buyer’s case doesn’t fit perfectly into PayPal’s dispute system, the buyer might as well pack it up, because the money is long gone. Their policy obviously will not review disputes on a case-by-case basis.

I wonder what would have happened if I would have passed the repair estimate barrier. Would I have received a full refund or would they have asked me for something else (my social security number, my opinion on the Grand Unification Theory, etc)?

Currently, I still use PayPal because they’re the only game in town (that I know of). However, I will not hesitate to jump ship if a competitor comes along.

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Alan (Unregistered) 2008-07-03 16:53:29

Paypal does not protect the legitimate seller either. I have just been the victim of one of their judgements and am amazed how they came to their decision.
I was recently selling a game on Ebay and a guy from Brazil asked if I would allow him to bid and how much would postage be. I told him that he had two choices: without postal insurance was only £1 more than to within the UK or a couple of pound more with insurance. I also stated that if he chose to have it sent without insurance that I would not be held responsible for any loss or damage during transit. These e-mails were all done through the Ebay e-mail system. This guy bid and won and paid quite quickly. I sent the game and got proof of postage. About a month later, he puts in a claim into Paypal that he has not received the game. I replied explaining that he hadnt contacted me and that as soon as I had time I would send him a copy of the proof of postage. He then escalated the claim to a dispute and cut off the path of communication. Paypal then informed me that they had considered all the verifiable evidence and I had to give him a full refund and immediately took it out of my account.
I do sympathise with your experience but Paypal doesnt really side with the buyer or the seller, it just goes for the "easier option".

dustin (Unregistered) 2008-12-23 19:53:28

i'm getting really tired of paypal.
over the summer i sold a pda phone on ebay for a total of 390. i bought delivery confirmation to track the item, uploaded all the information to pay pal, and when the item hung up in new jersey and never budged, the buyer opened a dispute and was awarded the full amount. now, 6 months later, i purchased a wireless mouse on ebay. the delivery confirmation says it was delivered...but ive never received my item!! so now, my claim with paypal was awarded in the seller's favor and i'm out (luckily only) $20.
what gives, paypal????

buck (Unregistered) 2009-01-29 07:06:36

I made a purchase through PayPal recently and when I realized I was being scammed by the originator, I read PayPal's dispute policy, which seemed to warn merchants about "Signifigantly Not As Described" claims. When I filed a claim, checking the SNAD box, my claim was summarily closed decided in favor of the merchant. As God is my witness, I am not making this up; PayPal didn't even bother to create the illusion of impartiality, siding by default with the merchant without examination of the claim, simply because I didn't cite fraud. Im hoping a competitor appears in the marketplace soon, I'll gladly abandon PayPal who obeys its master ( the merchants paying their fees ) while enabling them to stick it to the consumer.

PayPal does not help outside e

Shawn (Unregistered) 2009-03-12 14:32:25

Same here - Paypal does not do anything to help you if you make a purchase outside ebay. My seller told me he forgot to buy ins. that I paid for. When the box arrived crushed, I started a dispute. PayPal canceled the dispute and told me that they do not do anything for outside ebay transactions other then saying their transactions services prevent my bank account number form being shown in the transaction.
me = screwed

Completely Agree

Sarah (Unregistered) 2009-04-08 17:17:38

I purchased an item through a sales forum. It was a designer brand piece but when it arrived, I found that it was completely fake! I paid a hundred through paypal and decided to contact the seller first. He refused to refund until I escalated the claim. I went through weeks of emails back and forth, then Paypal decided to CLOSE the dispute. They said they cannot cover items outside of eBay. And that they do not cover conterfeit items!! What? Thank god the seller was kind enough to refund me eighty dollars! But still, my twenty (plus the return shipping of the item) are yet to be seen.

Paypal and eBay need to do better with their buyer protection. Or something else should come along and cover it. Apparently Yahoo Auctions Japan is doing very, very well. Perhaps we can switch to yahoo? I don't know. Just a thought.

Paypal are bullies

Ebay User (Unregistered) 2009-12-02 09:25:17

aypal are bullies. Here is what happened to a guy I know.

He sells some radios- like $400. The guy pays with paypal and he ships them. Then the buyer thinks there is a problem and he returns them. He opens a Paypal dispute. In the meantime, the seller instructs the buyer that there is no problem- that he had a switch set wrong. The buyer agrees, and the seller ships the radios BACK to him.

Then the buyer tells Paypal that he returned the broken radios, and Paypal issues him a full refund from the seller's account.

So in the end, the buyer has spent $0 AND has the radios. The seller disputed the transaction and Paypal would not give in.

I'm very wary of Paypal. I've heard a lot of horror stories like that one. And their charges are outrageous- like 5% plus?

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