Paypal and ebay experiences - anyone ?

[mongo]

have a bad seller on ebay at the moment. Mongo purchased and paid with paypal. long story short - mongo lodged a claim with Paypal for refund. Currently negotiating with seller but if unsuccessful, how good are paypal at assessing Mongo's claim and paying the right amount ????

Mongo asks this question because it seems Paypal are not obliged to pay you - it is not like insurance or a definite promise to reimburse you in certain events. It is purely an ex gratia payment on their part. That being the case, are they really going to look for reasons to pay you out of their own pocket (or try and obtain it from the seller) when assessing whether or not to reimburse your purchase price OR will they look for any excuse not to reimburse you ??

Mongo would be grateful for any feedback no matter how short.

[I @ M]

I haven't looked into paypals T&Cs lately to see if they have changed since I last dealt with them 100 years ago but general net research shows that paypal will pay back money to aggrieved purchasers only if all the qualifications of both seller and purchaser meet their criteria. That used to be a long and involved list.
To me, having both host for sales (ebay) and the financial controller (paypal) under the same roof can either be large benefit or a huge hindrance.
My personal experience falls into the latter category as with my one bad (and final) dealing with both ebay and paypal meant that even a straightforward credit card refund that my bank said should and could be done within a day at the most took them over a week to process as the two companies (which are under the same roof remember) have a very disjointed level of conversation.
To me, the inability to have over $1,000.00 credited promptly meant that I was hindered in my ability to purchase an item that I needed quickly through reputable channels.

Some who are a little cynical may infer that paypal / ebay hang on to such credits in their account in order to maximise interest accruing on said funds ( I somehow don't think that I was the only one in the same position that week :rolleyes: ) but we all know that doing so is against Australian banking law practices and such outstandingly popular companies would never flout those laws of course.

[Duane Pipe]

My experience with paypal was about the same time as Andrew's so I cant member much Mongo.
I can recall speaking to them over the phone to resolve a $900.00 payment that I made to a dodgy seller and I was refunded the full amount. Good luck with your dispute Mongo

[Wayne]

Mongo, if you paid with a credit card, don't put up with Paypal's wait a few weeks and we will see strategy. Simply dispute the charge with your bank, they can't prove delivery so your bank will draw on their acquirer (merchant bank) if they don't refund within 7 days. Paypal know it, and as soo as they get the dispute from your bank, they close the paypal dispute and won't talk to you, but they will magically refund the $ on the 6th or 7th day as they know they will get drawn upon anyway after 7 days, and it starts to look bad with their merchant account with all these chargebacks.

I have had several high value Paypal transactions go bad, 1- US$4500, 1-US$2200 and 1-US$3200 all fully refunded once I lodged a chargeback.

[mongo]

big thanks to all of you for your help. That puts Mongo in the picture much better to know what to expect and how to best proceed. Luckily, this transaction is very small but it will be telling of Paypal by the way they handle it and what to expect in future.

let's see what happens.

[mercho]

I have had good experiences with paypal as a buyer. If your in the right you will get your money back Mongo! :th3:

[Ms Monny]

I actually had money taken out of my account via paypal from a company WITHOUT ME BUYING OR AUTHORISING!! I had purchased from them in the past (have a feeling it was Ebay but can't remember....know it was a bigger company), but this was nothing to do with my purchases. I thankfully only had just over $300 in the account, and they were taking out $70 lots. They tried on the 5th time to get $70 but I didn't have the full amount. When I rang paypal, they said they were looking at this business as it was happening frequently. They said it was a common thing and refunded my 5 x $70. Yep, they gave me an extra $50.

I have also had a bad seller and paypal refunded my amount with no problems.

Hope it all goes well.

[Duane Pipe]

About 2 years ago I received a paypal invoice via email stating that I had payed for an item, I cant remember the amount but it wasn't much So I checked out the site that I had supposedly purchased from and I had never been there or seen it before, Hows that for a scam. Paypal came through again and refunded the amount...Go paypal:th3:

[Chinook]

Mongo, I did not receive a item last year and my money was returned via paypal no trouble at all. They just have to give it time to see if it turns up.
I was a big seller on Ebay a few year ago and only had one dispute where a client said they did not receive the item and paypal paid up and it was $200.
The money goes back into your paypal account not yout bank so you have to withdraw it into your bank account.
I feel very safe buying with Paypal and do not have a credit card with them just my debit card.
Good luck:th3:

[Bear Dale]

Here's an utterly dreadful PayPal story on POTN by another Aussie who was the seller -

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1190633

[Kerrie]

Good experiences. I just got a Tamron 90mm Macro for $260 on Ebay. :D And have never had a problem with Paypal either....except it's all too accessable and easy to spend money :eek:

What I buy I determine carefully based on sellers feedback, past transaction experiences etc. I would only pay with paypal. Whether its good marketing or ? but i feel somehow protected if something goes wrong by using paypal.

hope im not wrong.

[mongo]

Thank you again all of you. Most of it is very reassuring and very good to know.

Jim , Mongo could not open the site you referred him to but is grateful to you and will accept that not all experience may be great so some caution will be exercised.

Mongo is also starting to learn that sellers with less than 100% positive feedback perhaps should not be dealt with at all.Mongo deals with "Matsuiyastore" in Japan often and happily. They have had at least 13,000 ebay sales with a 100% buyer rating - that is a record you can rely on. If they can do it with 13,000 sales , so can others with only a few hundred sales if they are trustworthy sellers or they can forget it as far as Mongo is concerned.

[Boofhead]

Hi Mongo, I use eBay quite a bit, and Paypal even more. Every time I have had a dispute I have gone through the Paypal process and have always had a full refund. My Paypal account had unauthorised activity a couple of years ago and once again it was resolved relatively stress free.

I will weigh up the amount of sales with the feedback %. If someone has more than 5000 sales and can maintain a 98% feedback I would deal with them. I would read what the negative comments are first to see if they are general gripes or if they are serious issues. I think the more sales they make the more they open themselves to getting the occasional unhappy customer as you can't please everyone all the time.

If a seller has only few sales and regular negative feedback I certainly would not deal with them.

Anyone below 98% would have to be the only supplier of the hens teeth I desperately need before I would deal with them.

[Duane Pipe]

I purchased a 1800MAH 7.2V Rechargeable Battery on Wednesday via ebay for $22.00 delivered. I received it on Friday with a retail saving of $10.00 The seller had a feed back of 92 with no negatives:th3: If you dont shop online globally you are getting robed!

[mongo]

thanks to both of you. It is true that you get the best prices most times on ebay globally with some caution.

Andrew, Mongo agrees with you and perhaps mongo's statement (of anything less than 100% positive feedback should be avoided) may be over simplistic. The nature and reasonableness of the "gipers" should be taken into account as some people can be so unreasonable of their demands of a seller. However, the same gripe coming up again and agin about a seller should be a serious warning though that there may be real substance to the grip - agreed.

[Cage]

I've just had a successful claim over an item 'not as described', resulting in a full refund, including postage.

The item was some Windows software, and fortunately I realised it was not kosher immediately, and opened a dispute.

By doing this straight away I caused PayPal to freeze the sellers funds until the dispute was sorted.

I've had over 150 eBay purchases with only a few minor glitches. I always look at the feedback and if it is only for small items and the item I'm looking at is the first big ticket item, I tend to let it go.

I think that 95% of people are honest, and it is this perception that the crooks prey on.

Good luck with your claim.

[lobban46]

Had a similar experience from a U.S. seller. Item ( hot shoe cord ) was not as described. Ordered one for a Nikon but got one for a Canon. Ebay sorted it out and I got a full refund and did not have to return the item. :lol2: Lee.

[Bear Dale]

Sorry Mongo that link I posted wouldn't open for you (POTN links used to open for non-registered users, they must have changed something) because it was a really interesting (though depressing) thread about just how shady and dodgy the scams that some crooks have worked out for the unwary on ebay and paypal.

[mongo]

Sorry Mongo that link I posted wouldn't open for you (POTN links used to open for non-registered users, they must have changed something) because it was a really interesting (though depressing) thread about just how shady and dodgy the scams that some crooks have worked out for the unwary on ebay and paypal.

No worries Jim and thanks again. MOngo knows there will always be some dodgy dealers and that is why Mongo asked the essential question in this thread of - how good is Paypal in dealing with any claim for refund that you may lodge ?? Mongo has now received a fair few replies that give him a reasonably good idea of what to expect if he lodges a claim with Paypal. Again, thanks to all

[Lance B]

Here's an utterly dreadful PayPal story on POTN by another Aussie who was the seller -

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1190633

Unfortunately, they are asking for you to log in, so we can't see this article.

[Bear Dale]

Unfortunately, they are asking for you to log in, so we can't see this article.

They must have changed something over there Lance unfortunately in regards to non-registered members being able to browse because they used to be able to.

Have a look at this link about a Leica that was just posted on the link you can't open (this one will open for you) -

http://www.gearjournal.com/2012/03/the-stolen-leica-m3/

[mongo]

interesting story Jim . Love to see how it turns out. One might think on that evidence that ebay would have to reassess its original decision and maybe even compensate the seller something extra for being without his money for some time and his goods as Mongo understands they can direct you to return the goods.

[Chinook]

Mongo,

I forgot to mention this in my previous post but don't go on just the 100% postive feedback. I had 100@feedback for 5 year of high sales. I had a negative come up and I was gobsmacked because they said the item was broken. I disbuted this because it was packed professionally. I was so angry at their attitude it was not something that could be replaced. After sometime I got a message from this buyer saying how sorry they were but the son had dropped the item and they wanted a refund. I t was not until they were selling on Ebay themselves they understoof how important that feedback is. Good luck. I am sure there are many not so happy stories btu like always two sides to a story.

[mongo]

Mongo,

I forgot to mention this in my previous post but don't go on just the 100% postive feedback. I had 100@feedback for 5 year of high sales. I had a negative come up and I was gobsmacked because they said the item was broken. I disbuted this because it was packed professionally. I was so angry at their attitude it was not something that could be replaced. After sometime I got a message from this buyer saying how sorry they were but the son had dropped the item and they wanted a refund. I t was not until they were selling on Ebay themselves they understoof how important that feedback is. Good luck. I am sure there are many not so happy stories btu like always two sides to a story.

Mongo really does not understand this !! The buyer admitted getting the goods then his son breaking them and still wanted a refund ????? Tell him to go jump ! Additionally, on the strength of that email to you from the buyer, Ebay should have immediately corrected your feedback (on the basis it was false to begin with) and given you one very big apology !

[Cage]

As an addendum to my previous post I'd like to mention that I was asked to have the disputed software 'assessed' by an independent entity, in my case a local Microsoft dealer, who agreed that the software was a counterfeit copy.

As such it was deemed illegal to be 'transported by mail' and I was asked not to return the item but instead to destroy the disc and sign off on it's destruction.

I believe my successful outcome was due in no small way to the fact that I acted quickly in raising a dispute before PayPal had passed on my payment to the seller. One can only speculate on what the result may have been if my funds had already been disbursed.

Cheers

Kevin