Complaint Review: Ebay Inc

...why on Gods green earth would Ebay or Paypal want to assume responsibility for this type of error/FAILURE in judgement?

Would you want do if you were the owner of Ebay or Paypal...or held in any position that would be accountable for such a poor decision by a guest or even a legit user for that matter?

"So, I think a more exact question is:  Why didn't you take the 2 minutes to register a FREE account instead of the 2 minutes to check out as a guest?"

The point of that statement was that it wouldn't have taken any longer to check out either way he went.  The biggest difference would be that instead of complaining about the lack of support from eBay, he could have set up the new account.  Then when the seller screwed him, he would have no reason to come here and complain.

Oh, and if the seller didn't screw him, all he would have to do is ignore that account entirely.

I wasn't trying to put him down.  It was more of a question out of curiosity.

I do aware of those informations, but I want others to go back to the original post. What is the point of it? If you read your own first reply, your post starts to push the main point out of its track.

"So, I think a more exact question is:  Why didn't you take the 2 minutes to register a FREE account instead of the 2 minutes to check out as a guest?"

Do you remember the quote above? This should not be used against the OP. Also, it should not be asked at all because it starts to pull away from the main point of the report.

The OP, on the other hand, gets emotion and start replying (and give more irrelevant info). As a result, he/she also distract his/her own point from of the original report.

I hope everyone would understand the point I am trying to make here.

The response saying "you should have done this or that" should only be mentioned for future suggestion because it does NOT change what has already happened to the OP.

Why do you think it was brought up?  Did you read the entire post or just skim through it?  I told him the difference between the check out process when you are a registered member versus the "buy as a guest".  If your not sure, check the above posts because I don't want to waste my time typing it again.

He also states that when you use the "buy as a guest" feature you don't get the support from eBay you normally would if you were a registered member.  He also mentioned the "help" section on eBay's website where this point is disclosed.  So, either he did not look that information up until after he was screwed or he ignored that information completely.

By the OP's own admission, he used to be a "power seller" on eBay.  This fact tells me that is well aware that there are some buyers and sellers that are not as honest as others.

The fact of the matter is:  He knew about the dishonest people on eBay.  He knew that he would not get the support from eBay if he used the "buy as a guest" feature.  But he still chose to use said feature.  Then when he got ripped off by one of those dishonest people he felt he had the right to complain about it.  It's funny how the OP never did say which seller actually screwed him.  His only complaint was that eBay wouldn't help him get his money back.

While I do agree that most large companies have become morally corrupt, he knew the risks involved in buying the goods the way he did.  eBay did nothing to force his decision.  In fact, he was under no obligation to buy on eBay in first place.  Most people, if they want something bad enough, but don't want to buy from a specific company or site WILL find a different vendor.

I kind of disagree with those who posted response to the OP. What is the point of this report? To sum it up, from my understanding, "beware if you are buying as a guest on ebay.com" should be the main point of the report. The part about registering should NOT be use against what the OP reported.

The report is to state the experience and warn others. The response saying "you should have done this or that" should only be mentioned for future suggestion because it does NOT change what has already happened to the OP. What's done is done. Anyway, "Caveat emptor" would be the best for most any online business.

If you think it's stupid I invite you contact eBay as telling me it's stupid and should not be used does not good.

I already did that.  I even included a link to this page.  I'll let you know if they ever respond back.

Also thanks for the posts, even though I dont agree with what you say it's making this a pretty viewed topic here; your posts are making it get the views I wanted it to get. Thanks for the help :)

Not a problem.  I'm on vacation from work right now.  I don't have to go back until next Wednesday(4/18).  I'll await your reply after you get home from work.  I find it very relaxing to look on this site and see all these OP's making fools of themselves by calling someone that agreed with them on their main point an idiot.  Yeah, read my original post.  I actually agreed with you on not using the "buy as a guest" feature.

I also told you what most likely happened.  You found one of the "bad" sellers and they took advantage of you.  I found one not too long ago myself.  I was attempting to buy a lot of 5 game boy advance games.  I found this seller who listed the games as in perfect working order.  After 1 week of him not marking the items as sent I emailed him through eBay and found out that he didn't actually have the items in his possession and was waiting for his brother to return them.  Because I am a registered member, I was able to get my money back and buy through some one else.

you must be a real life eBay fanatic.

I wouldn't call myself an "eBay fanatic."  I have been know to spend some there.  In fact, that is where I bought most of my extensive video game collection.  I have bought both consoles and games.  

While I do think eBay should offer at least some support to those who use their "buy as a guest" feature, I think that, in this case, what I have said numerous times before is what happened and that is exactly why you shouldn't use it.

If you would, please post the seller id of the person who sold you the item you never received so I know to avoid that seller in the future.

but made as little sense as one other then it seemed one was stating we have too much free time but yet he/she responded with what I would hope as well was done during his/her free time even if it is during a pagan holiday. Hypocritical a little?

..That last reply was way too long of a run on sentence and wasted my Easter time.

I honestly have not even read but the first couple sentences of the newest posts, unlike you guys I guess I actually have something to do besides crawl ripp off starting problems. It's crazy to me that my legit complaint seems to hit so close to your heart, you must be a real life eBay fanatic. As for why anyone would use the guest feature, since eBay actually programmed the feature into their website I imagine there is more of a demand for this than you assume or it would have never been implemented. If you think it's stupid I invite you contact eBay as telling me it's stupid and should not be used does not good. I really hope you all the best and hope next year you don't have to be forced to type pages of wasted text on Easter. Also thanks for the posts, even though I dont agree with what you say it's making this a pretty viewed topic here; your posts are making it get the views I wanted it to get. Thanks for the help :)

...but will state this will not make any difference to someone who is already biased against Ebay and Paypal.

First even though Payapl is owned by Ebay, this is not they reason the "force" users to open a paypal account. No one is forced to even use Ebay. But of course since Ebay implies there is a degree of "protection" then it makes sense they will not allow forms of payments that are well known to be used by scammers and why would they ever in their right mind offer protection against those forms of payment?

As far as why anyone would need to register as a guest, my bet using logic would be either they were previously banned from using Ebay, or they do meet the criteria to open a paypal account. Imagine that?? A business trying to protect itself and its legitimate users? How is this a rip off?

Also to note if you are not good at making decisions and need more protection then Paypal offers, simply fund your PayPal account with your bank/Credit card as they often will have a more liberal protection program and allow charge backs where Paypal would not as long as you have a strong legitimate case.

I am far from a supporter of Ebay or Paypal, but your comments are at the very least naive, at most down right stupid.

I choose to do as little business as possible with large companies, especially give them all my information, at least buying as a guest you are giving some info to ebay and the rest to paypal.
- You do know that Paypal is owned by Ebay don't you?

The ONLY way to get your money back is to file a charge back with your credit card company.
- So what's the problem?  It was your choice to go in as a Guest, it seems as if in all of these pages that you know about they tell you what a "guest" can and can not do.

By the way if you feel the way you do about EBay why in the world did you even do ANY business with them?  I am sure that someone as resourceful as you think you are could probably find a way to get what you were looking for outside of Ebay.

If you hate Ebay some much, then why did you even consider going to their site.

Also, please point out what part of the post makes me look like the idiot.  You are the one who still used Ebay AFTER they screwed you.  Your the idiot.

If you go to through check out the only personal information you would be giving to create an account versus checking out as a guest is your birth date.  You also have to create a password so you can login later, just like you did here.  Either way you still have to give your name, address, and phone #.

Yeah, there will be other differences in terms of support, but my post was referring to the actual checkout process.  So, did you find in the help pages where it says what kind of support you will get from Ebay if YOU CHOOSE to use the "Buy as a Guest" feature instead of just giving them your birth date.  Look at how much time and money you lost just because you didn't want to give them your birth date, and I'm the idiot.  Really?

It is very common on this site that when some one posts a rebuttal that the OP does not like they get called an idiot.  Usually they get accused of working for that company or at the very least defending them.  And no, I don't currently work for, nor have I ever worked for Ebay or PayPal.

Like I said in my previous post, most likely you just found one of the bad sellers and when they saw that you checked out as a guest, they took advantage of you.  There's your ripoff.

If you would have set up a FREE account with PayPay, you could have disputed the charge there too.  PayPal's system actually moves the dispute through faster than a normal bank does.  They give the seller 7 days to respond.  If they don't, then you escalate to an actually claim and get your money back in a few days.  The whole process takes about 2 weeks versus some banks and credit card companies will tell you it may take up to 90 days.

I know, I know, they screwed you in the past, so you didn't want to give them your personal information.  However, if you had an account before, then don't they already have your personal information.  So, unless you did something that got you permanently banned from one or the other, I don't see that as a legitimate excuse.

So your an idiot. you say there are only two differences when if you browse the ebay help pages there is a whole list of differences between a guest and member, I would suggest you research before making yourself look stupid by providing incorrect information (lack of understanding and typing does not get anything done but give people false ideas). I like said before, if you were once an ebay power seller and they screwed you over i think that you would also not exactly want to open an account. I cant even believe you typed so much bad info here.....stop wasting everyones time.

I choose to do as little business as possible with large companies, especially give them all my information, at least buying as a guest you are giving some info to ebay and the rest to paypal. i also refuse to get a paypal account. Maybe if in the past you were an ebay power seller and they screwed you you may also feel the same way. keep being a sheep, it will get you far in the crap system ;)

Why would anyone need to buy from Ebay as a "guest"?

Because it costs too much to register that FREE account.

I've never actually used the "buy as guest" feature on Ebay, but I'm sure it probably tells you that you won't get the support from the site that the registered members get.  I just looked, the only difference between registering a new account and checking out as a guest is that the new account option asks you to setup a password, a security question, and it asks for your birth date.

So, I think a more exact question is:  Why didn't you take the 2 minutes to register a FREE account instead of the 2 minutes to check out as a guest?

It's probably more likely that you just bought from one of the bad sellers on Ebay, they're there.  They probably saw that you checked out as a guest and knew that Ebay wasn't gonna support you when they screwed you over.  It happens.

The ONLY way to get your money back is to file a charge back with your credit card company.

And hope that they don't respond with proof that the purchase was delivered to you, i.e. a tracking # showing it was delivered.

DONT use the the Buy as Guest Feature on ebay

Duh!

I await the the answer.