Complaint Review: PayPal

As for wanting to buy something 7000 miles away...again, I make contact and see them personally. Why would I have a desire to travel more than an hour or two to check something out. I DO NOT get ripped off. Get it? I said "on paper Beta is better than VHS". Better lines of resolution? That's on paper. Can you tell the difference between 100 decibels and 99 decibels? No you cannot. And you cannot SEE the difference between a Beta tape and a VHS tape in a 4 head VCR. Wait, maybe you can. The VHS will be much clearer because it's probably not 20 years old. And as for you being able to beat a selectric? Riiiiight. That must be why IBM invented it. They obviosly did it because secretaries wanted to type SLOWER than they could with a manual. I guess word processors were invented to slow them down even more. I like how you did agree that your cartoon is on DVD. It IS available in English. Try doing a Google search. I did. The .uk sites are English and they have the series for sale, in English, so I guess we'll soon have flying pigs to worry about. Good luck with that candle and crank up telephone.

And, they always will. Their web site. Their rules. If you want to play, you will pay their fees.

I feel they represent the process as being safer than it actually is. I tend to believe the company looks the other way when one of their power-sellers cheats a newbie.

No surprise there. Profits trump ethics most every time.

Despite the tone of other postings, I certainly acknowledge that the vast majority of ebay users are ethical.

However, if I add only one drop of used motor oil to a quart of milk, are you willing to drink it?

Same difference. Ten percent crooks pollutes the whole d**n site. The crooks come back more often. So, they end up making a far more substantial impression than the honest users.

Plus, they seem to have figured the loopholes that allow them to commit fraud. For example, the 30 day wait followed by the overnight junk delivery. Just like denial of service hacks. They crash the system.

Why don't I use ebay? Scared of fraud. No credit card (won't pay 29%). No need. Everything's here, a block away.

I don't know what a Mega Man 1-6 collection means. Who are the super Mario brothers? I do know what beta max tapes are. I don't have any, or the player.

I kind of live in the present. I have no collections. Stamps are for envelopes. Coins get spent. My computer is a few years old. I don't call it an antique. I call it my computer.

If I was backed into a corner, and I needed something that was only found on ebay, would I sign on up?

It depends on the price of the item. I can absorb a $50 loss once.

Would I leave five grand sitting in a paypal account? Not in this lifetime. Maybe in the next one, when inflation makes five grand worth about the same as $50 is now.

Robert you again show that you know nothing of what you speak.

How can I meet a seller in person if he lives 7000 miles away? Hmm?

And contacting a seller to do off ebay business is against policy. So not only you are clueless, you also like to violate policies, so that it works for you, not caring who you step on in the process?

I've saved on average $10-$15 per transaction that I've conducted on eBay. That means, $10-$15 extra that I have used elsewhere. That means money saved, in products that I could probably get locally, but found it cheaper on eBay.

As for Beta being better than DVD, you need to do a little more research. Beta had higher lines of quality, resolution and audio were far superiror than VHS, and it took VHS nearly its entire production life to even be equal to that of Beta. With BetaCam, production companies could use that format to make masters and also distribute TV SErials to syndicated markets in this format. Masters were never issued to the TV markets in VHS format; it was Beta/BETACAM or DV (which is now the current market format).
http://www.mediacollege.com/video/format/compare/betamax-vhs.html

"All of the movies WORTH having are on DVD already. "

Sorry, that's your opinion (albeit a very stupid and ignorant one). There are several old classics that have yet to appear on DVD, and may never reach the light of Day on DVD.
And old cartoon series, Mysterious Cities of Gold, has only been released in France on DVD (in French, with french subitles, no english track), but the rights to the series for America was lost by the original production company, and will remain in limbo until someone buys it, or whoever FIGURES out who owns the rights. At this point in time, no one does, so anyone who wants a DVD of it, will have to wait till pigs fly.

The only reason why VHS won out is because of slick advertising and of course Sony's indifference to share their knowledge (in fact alienating others companies who were making Beta). But, BETA is still widely used with production companies as well as video editing businesses (otherwise, this beta machine near me is a figment of imagination).

Oh and my non-electric typewriter will beat any IBM Selectric anyday.

Tsk Tsk Tsk. You're right, I don't buy anything from E-Bay. Why would I? I know a scam when I see one. That's why I buy from people I can deal directly with. If I find something that piques my interest on E-Bay, I make contact with the individual and work a deal in person. This way, I can see what I am getting before it bites me. Duh! As for not being able to find that glorious masterpiece of filmwork, Mario Brothers, are you for real? Perhaps I should have been more clear.

All of the movies WORTH having are on DVD already. As for Beta being better than VHS, riiiiight. And 8-Tracks are better than AM radio. But, anything else is better than an 8-Track, so they died out. On paper, the specs may show them to be better, but on paper R134 is better than R12 as a refrigerant for cars. In the real world though, R12 is definitely the only choice if you want a COLD system that will last for years with no problems. R134 requires higher head pressures which wear out compressors fast.

VHS lives on because it produces a good picture and sound and is priced right with virtually infinite availability. Beta enjoyed less than 10% of the choices one could get with VHS. I know VHS is on the way out, so I don't bother trying to get anything on it. I guess I should keep looking for new starting cranks since the electric starter replaced it about 80 years ago. They were much more reliable.

Maybe Paul and I could get a West Coast-East Coast rivalry going on who could buy and sell more god-awful crap, to more unsuspecting victims and give the winner a great prize...maybe a 100Grand Candy Bar like that radio station awarded some girl. She thought she won some real cash, but got a 50 cent candy bar instead...and it wasn't even on E-Bay.

It's a show from England and they get people to buy and resell a bunch of junk(antiques) that nobody would actually want in their own house. The contestants are given a specific amount to purchase with, and then they have to sell the junk for as much as they can get. Too funny. And you always wondered what happened to all the ceramic pigs from Wheel of Fortune.

Paul makes valid points --I have done 80 e-bay transactions a 100% buyer/seller rating and on three transactions I've had problems with sellers but always managed to resolve the matter without any problems with individuals that were willing to take responsibility and had an ethical sense about what is right and wrong. I knew the day would come and it did when I would run into someone who would have no sense of ethics and would be looking for someone to own their junk (represented as "Great Shape"). I don't think based on my own experience everything on e-bay is junk --for sure buyer beware --- what I would like to see is a fair dispute process and I think as I originally posted "PayPals" advertised policy is misleading buyers into believing they have recourse on 2 criteria and obviously as the other individual who posted here indicated you don't ---having had the same experience as me--and I found a thread on the e-bay community posting board with an individual with the same exact cenerio. It's my contention that if I searched enough I would find this is happening again and again. I've read the policy at Paypal very closely and it is misleading and certainly does not devulge in any detail as I, or you, or anyone would expect as to what happens when you dispute on the basis of non reciept and then you find after the thing "finally" shows up that there is a 2nd issue which is that "This Isn't What I Ordered". It doesn't and it should caution "if you dispute on the basis of non reciept and the item arrives not as described you then have no recourse for further dispute" that is how it should read so people understand. So simple its scary!!

I would conjecture that PayPal saves a whole lot by avoiding having to truely protect buyers. This is what should be fixed and the individuals that are trying to get you to own their garbage would have a harder time doing it. I't should be as simple as you decsribe what your selling --has to be complete and accurate ---an if the buyer can prove you misrepresented your sale then you as the seller would have no recourse but to accept return and refund. Of course that would require having a quality customer service dept. That would do as PayPal alleges they do a true investigative process. This would entail review of the auction details and proof from the buyer that what showed up was not what was described---- you can do that a number of ways to verify. I want e-bay and paypal to do what they have the power to do which is to make it a safer trading community--(probably would cut their profits) its the same thing that is wrong with America in general--profits matter more then ethics. The Sanford and Son vendors should have a venue to sell their junk but it should be represented as such thats all.

So I sent this guitar back to the individual---(not with his consent or co-operation) you wanna bet he will refuse it--- he sent me an e-mail after I cautioned him that I would escalate the dispute to claim status with e-bay if he continued not to try to work for a fair settlement. He mailed me back with some profain language and even though he acknowledged plainly that he didn't know what he sold (in a previous e-mail)--despite his very discript wording of what was being sold and its condition. He has this position of ---to bad--- if I don't like it you (meaning me) can turn around sell it. No way under heaven am I going to do that --not stoop to that level --I couldn't sell it without full disclosure and then what fool would want to own a guitar incapable of making music!!! You can divide the world in two --the sludge and those with a moral ethicial sense of right and wrong. What is needed is someone to look out for/protect, advocate for for honest,hard working, good folks. Paypal isn't doing it. Could you imagine a company that really had a reputation of complete fairness that consummers would say Yeah --a pleasure to do business with.

A bit of irony --when I signed up for this website I got an e-mail a day or two latter asking to contribute to their defense fund ---contribution could be made thru PAYPAL --- sort of funny/ironic in a way that one of the companies that seems to be a popular rip off complaint company should be the facilatator of funneling funds to fight lawsuits againt ripoff companies. I have to think on this one--Greg

Paul, not every seller lies about their products. I am selling my Mega Man 1-6 collection on the NES, Somthing you wont find in too many physical stores, and part 2 appears to be slightly chared around the connectors, it still works fine, but I still listed the damage.

In fact I list all the damage if appilicable on every thing I sell, and as long as it isnt total destroyed trast people will still bid.

True there are other websites where you can find old toys from your past, or even beta max tapes, but they are usually hard to find and usually people know that its easier just to look on ebay.

Now Im not defending ebay here, to be frank they have tried to screw me over on some listing fees in the past, but they corrected the problem, but only after I told them that I thought they were a bad company when they would rather squeeze one last seller fee out of a seller and loose his buisness than try to work with them and keep his buisness. So I dont defend ebay. They definatly need some reworking, but I would like to say that not all of it is junk, and not all sellers fudge the details about their items.

As for the guy that said everything is on dvd... find super mario brothers the movie for me. I havent found it.. I might just be looking in the wrong place but I doubt it. The movie clearly didnt gross enough in the theater and didnt sell enough on the store shelf to justify putting it out on dvd in order to please fans. So what do I do.. my only option now is to find it on VHS and put it on DVD myself. Is that legal? MOst likely not, but what do they expect us to do when they wont release our shows and movies? Bottom line, Paul, dont bash ebay if you dont use it.

You clearly have never even looked at the site and I know you have never used it, you make a habit of saying that proudly every time someone post somthing about it. To be frank, if you hate it that much, why do you spend so much of your time posting about it, when since you have never used it you know nothing but what you hear about the subject. Either you really have nothing else better to do.... or you are a closet ebayer..(that would be funny)

How is the buyer supposed to know that mint condition is code for I found this out by the curb on trash day?



Unfortunately, people wouldn't bid on a guitar if they knew it was cheap plywood laminate mahogany and has a warped neck and a crack in the body.



So, the seller has to use the words perfect condition.



Look at the next comment. New cd player with factory warranty turns out to be visibly burned.



Now, I got no problem with legitimate junk sellers peddling their goods to legitimate junk buyers. And, if one or both of them can find a way to actually make a profit, that's great! My hat's off to these Sanford and son entrepreneurs!



But, in many cases, there is a considerable amount of deception involved in the transaction. Common sense tells you that a used item is expected to show a certain amount of use and wear. However, common sense also dictates that a used item should still be capable of delivering MORE USE to the next buyer.



And, we're not talking about yard sale pricing here. Some of these mint condition items go for big bucks. Add in shipping and packing. And, what do you end up with?



Disappointment.



I could have bought the exact same thing at a yard sale for $2 last month. Instead, I sent this seller over $70 for this non-working piece of junk.



When you mix this all up, and throw in a generous helping of sellers who deliver absolutely nothing at all, and bake it for the duration of a 10-day auction, what do you end up with?



A flurry of packages moving all around the country. Literally millions of individual payments preceding them. A mountain of packing peanuts. And, a bunch of pissed off people hassling ebay each week trying to get refunds.



I laugh at all this silliness. The impracticality. The huge waste of time. The empty promises. The broken dreams.



Ya know, this would make a great concept for a reality-based television show. The Ebay files. The Ebuyer. Ebay island. Who wants to be a power-seller? The beauty queen and the ebayer. Ebay apprentice.



I see the concept as a series of contests. You go to a store-room of vintage classic merchandise (junk that even Goodwill wouldn't accept). The contestant picks out the item of his or her choice. Then, attempts to sell that item on an actual ebay auction.



The winner would be the contestant who is able to generate the largest return. He or she would advance to the next round. After a series of eliminations, the grand winner would receive $1,000,000 and be flown to San Jose to meet with the CEO of ebay to discuss a future as a power-seller.



"Live, from the ebay capitol of the world, we bring you the final round of Who wants to be a power-seller. Tonight, one of these lucky contestants will hold their final auction and walk away with one million dollars in Ebay money. Who will it be? Mike, the undefeated champion? The man people call the king of all auctions? Or, Pam, the wily vixen with her shrewd item selection and her innovative auction style?"



You'd have the ebay jingle. The ebay animated dancers. Close-ups of behind-the-scenes high-stakes bidding. John, is that your final bid? Yes it is, Regis. OK then, show us the final auction price! Oh, I'm sorry, you missed it by one bidding increment. That's gotta hurt. Kelly, show John the lovely parting gifts we have for him.



Who knows, this could be better than half the stuff that is on the networks now. I wonder if Mark Burnett wants a piece of this?

Betamax is and WILL always be far superior than VHS. The "death" of Beta is due to the fact taht VHS promised longer recording times. Where Beta could only do 2 hours max at the "worst" quality ( 45 min at the BEST quality on Beta I ), VHS could provide users with



Even a 4 head VCR's can't compare to the quality of BetaMax and BetaCam. Today, many production companies still use BETACAM as a primary master format (next to DAT and MINIDV).



And no , not every MOVIE is on DVd. There are many series that have yet to see the light of DAY on DVD, and will probably never see the light of day on DVD because the rights to the series or movies are in limbo, or the company that owns them are not willing to put out a DVD of it, nor they have plans to.



There are many cartoon series I collect that can't be found on DVD, and most likely never will, but I have them all nicely on COMMERCIAL released Beta tapes. Some haven't ever been released to VHS either.

Beta Max rules! Wait, no they don't. They were much better picture and sound than VHS untill someone decided to add 2 more heads to VHS. Then, Beta died. Considering you can buy a new DVD player for less than $100, why waste any money trying to fix something that went obsolete 20+ years ago? Every movie made is on DVD. Maybe I can find a busted GrammaPhone to play my records on. That's much better than a CD player.



I'll bet I can get an old Radar-Range on E-Bay. Why get one of those fancy high-falutin' microwaves for $50 at Circuit City with a warranty and all? Paul is usually dead-on with his insights and this one shows pure genius.



I have a friend who used to make a living buying/selling on E-Bay. He'd buy stuff from one guy and have it shipped to another guy after getting it sold for a profit. Funny scam. He'd buy the ECM and wiring harness from a Lincoln Mark Series and sell it to some guy with a 5.0 Mustang. The same parts, just cheaper because the Mustang crowd thinks their engines are special and will spend the extra cash. He did this for about 2 years and made a ton of money. The 4.6 killed off his dreams of glory. Anyone know where I can get a used muffler for a '52 Edsel Dumptruck?

Beta Max rules! Wait, no they don't. They were much better picture and sound than VHS untill someone decided to add 2 more heads to VHS. Then, Beta died. Considering you can buy a new DVD player for less than $100, why waste any money trying to fix something that went obsolete 20+ years ago? Every movie made is on DVD. Maybe I can find a busted GrammaPhone to play my records on. That's much better than a CD player.



I'll bet I can get an old Radar-Range on E-Bay. Why get one of those fancy high-falutin' microwaves for $50 at Circuit City with a warranty and all? Paul is usually dead-on with his insights and this one shows pure genius.



I have a friend who used to make a living buying/selling on E-Bay. He'd buy stuff from one guy and have it shipped to another guy after getting it sold for a profit. Funny scam. He'd buy the ECM and wiring harness from a Lincoln Mark Series and sell it to some guy with a 5.0 Mustang. The same parts, just cheaper because the Mustang crowd thinks their engines are special and will spend the extra cash. He did this for about 2 years and made a ton of money. The 4.6 killed off his dreams of glory. Anyone know where I can get a used muffler for a '52 Edsel Dumptruck?

Beta Max rules! Wait, no they don't. They were much better picture and sound than VHS untill someone decided to add 2 more heads to VHS. Then, Beta died. Considering you can buy a new DVD player for less than $100, why waste any money trying to fix something that went obsolete 20+ years ago? Every movie made is on DVD. Maybe I can find a busted GrammaPhone to play my records on. That's much better than a CD player.



I'll bet I can get an old Radar-Range on E-Bay. Why get one of those fancy high-falutin' microwaves for $50 at Circuit City with a warranty and all? Paul is usually dead-on with his insights and this one shows pure genius.



I have a friend who used to make a living buying/selling on E-Bay. He'd buy stuff from one guy and have it shipped to another guy after getting it sold for a profit. Funny scam. He'd buy the ECM and wiring harness from a Lincoln Mark Series and sell it to some guy with a 5.0 Mustang. The same parts, just cheaper because the Mustang crowd thinks their engines are special and will spend the extra cash. He did this for about 2 years and made a ton of money. The 4.6 killed off his dreams of glory. Anyone know where I can get a used muffler for a '52 Edsel Dumptruck?

Beta Max rules! Wait, no they don't. They were much better picture and sound than VHS untill someone decided to add 2 more heads to VHS. Then, Beta died. Considering you can buy a new DVD player for less than $100, why waste any money trying to fix something that went obsolete 20+ years ago? Every movie made is on DVD. Maybe I can find a busted GrammaPhone to play my records on. That's much better than a CD player.



I'll bet I can get an old Radar-Range on E-Bay. Why get one of those fancy high-falutin' microwaves for $50 at Circuit City with a warranty and all? Paul is usually dead-on with his insights and this one shows pure genius.



I have a friend who used to make a living buying/selling on E-Bay. He'd buy stuff from one guy and have it shipped to another guy after getting it sold for a profit. Funny scam. He'd buy the ECM and wiring harness from a Lincoln Mark Series and sell it to some guy with a 5.0 Mustang. The same parts, just cheaper because the Mustang crowd thinks their engines are special and will spend the extra cash. He did this for about 2 years and made a ton of money. The 4.6 killed off his dreams of glory. Anyone know where I can get a used muffler for a '52 Edsel Dumptruck?

I take offense to what you think is called junk. Some items are barely even junk but prized treasures.

Where can you go to find a MISB Rare toy from the 1940's ? Is that junk?



Heck, some items, even broken are USEFUL.



Like my Sony BetaMax Machine that was broken (it needed a new belt) sony no longer supports or make the machines, but I found two on Ebay that i could part out and fix my machine. The BetaMax now works and I can continue to watch videos that were taped on it years ago (Beta is a far superior format than VHS )



Picked up a vintage motorcycle that only needed minor fixing. $800 purchase turned into a $2200 sale for me



Sorry, Paul, nothing is ever "junk" as they say, one man's trash is another's treasure.

Greg,



I have experienced the same thing by using paypal and ebay. I purchased a "new cd player with factory warranty" yeah right i got the thing like a month after paying and then it was burned! you could see where the fire had been! i had filed a complaint with paypal for "non-receipt" first because if it taking so long to get it and after getting item i contacted paypal told them it didn't work and since it was delivered i lost my case however i paid using a credit card (thank goodness i usually use bank debit )



so i called my credit card company and filed a complaint told them the story they sent me all paperwork needed and they reversed charges!! i did have to return item to paypal. just to cover my butt i sent via usps w/d.c. the seller never contacted me during all this time but after paypal recieved the item and charged him back he was so mad he sent me a nasty email to which i replied "HA HA"



so to make a long story short try contacting credit card company or bank if you used your debit card like a credit card hopefully yours will work like mine and i get the same coverage protection!! good luck!!

For some crazy reason people just can't seem to resist the urge to root through all the trash on ebay.



Hey, look at this Marge, somebody's selling a used lamp on here! It just has a small crack in the ceramic part, and the switch is broken. But, all that is minor. I wonder how much it will go for. Let's put in a bid, huh?



Here's a clue. That's called junk. Normally, in a non-ebay world, that item would be thrown out with the rest of the household trash.



But, because of ebay, there is now a thriving market just waiting to scoop up this garbage. For some crazy reason, people lose their heads on ebay. Maybe it's the excitement of the bidding process. Or, maybe it's the irresistible allure of being part of the whole hip, happening, internet culture.



I don't know what attracts people to do these crazy things. But, regardless, the outcome is the same. You end up with somebody else's junk.



Broken guitars. Non-working appliances. Items that are missing parts. In other words, all the garbage that people can't sell in person. It all ends up on ebay.



Plus, every scam artist and half-assed con man that ever filed down a metal slug to use in a payphone is running a thriving business on ebay. They've got the angles. They know all the methods they can use to separate you from your hard-earned money.



I realize you got this overwhelming urge to chase after that slightly used trumpet with a small dent and a missing valve. Or, that personal cassette player/recorder from the 80's. Or, the miniature elvis statue somebody bought on a vegas trip. The pool cue with a small crack and a missing tip. The blender that only works on one speed. Slow.



But, trust me, that stuff is all junk.



Here's a better idea. The next time you're tempted to spend an hour rooting around in the ebay junk, come here instead. Spend that same hour here, learning about all the ways people rip each other off. It won't cost you anything. Plus, you might actually learn something!