Complaint Review: Ebay buyer protection - Internet

...paying the fking sellers for what you purchased and then you won't get these messages from ebay that scare you so much?

I bought some things from China where a third person collects my money. It has a tracking number and they know when it gets there, the seller gets paid when I accept shipment or in 25 days the seller gets the money or as soon as I get on the internet and click pay or show the problem - the proof. Works better than Paypal.

My history of Ebay and Paypal: I have bought from Paypal near 8 years with Ebay, yet avoided them for some time, then bought something recently, the emails someone sent, they try to intimidate (intimidate/in'timi?dat/Verb: Frighten (someone), esp. in order to make them do what one wants.)

1.) I had several emails expecting me to reveal more information about my bank account, as if I am not a verified source, yet my Bank Card was always good, my address was always good, I gave them all the information I could, yet never thought of me as verified, they kept sending me email to tell me I had a limit, a sum of money, because they presumed I was not verified, I was to be verified or not be able to buy more, then when it because zero, they sent more email telling me the amount was reset.

2.) Someone took out $1000 to $2000 from my Bank Account and 2 Bank Cards. I was not allowed to buy for some time and show proof.

3.) I bought a Fujitsu Lifebook Computer from someone in Thailand then after it was paid with Paypal, they sent me a email expecting me to get my money back with a claim to PayPal, they gave me $200 yet promised a $2000 limit at the time, they promised me the rest, to wait until later each time I called, then later denied I would get the rest.

4.) After I closed my account with Paypal which is very hard to do, yet simple by changing Bank Cards and Bank Account. I found it hard after a few year to find some things, I tried Guest check out I read 15 things I could buy yet really only near 5 things.

5.) Its hard to open an account at Ebay they messed up my information. When I did manage to buy something, yet one time I tried to buy something and was refused by the system, in June, now its July almost August, their still trying  to sell me it, a few times sent email telling me I lost my chance to buy it, now sent me email to scare me buy it, it writes I bought several things when in fact the system refused to let me buy for a good reason, the email presumes I am seller and not allowed to sell.

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After Visa investigated my complaint they permanently refunded the entire amount charged to my card. The previous poster's snarky comment was right: Ebay IS too confusing for me. It's confusing that Ebay can continue to be profitable with such terrible customer service. I now shop Amazon for used items and although the prices can be higher, the piece of mind with their customer assistance makes it worth it. 

Who is "Tim"? Now I am totally confused lol.

I was aware you are two different people. 

I also know they can be tough to deal with at times if there is an issue and not everyone is going to be happy with what they choose.  I am also well aware that ebay purchased paypal some time ago. 

What does get me sometimes is reading complaints about them but no one ever has a logical or reasonable solution or a suggestion on how they should do it that would be better but also reasonable for them. They are a business.

Granted if they are doing anything illegal or unethical like all big businesses they end up in court and settle. Then make the changes.

As far as their outsourced customer service you are dead on...but everyone is doing that these days. Now not to defend it but can you just imagine the abuse they must take by the 98% of calls that were totally the fault of the caller but wants ebay or paypal to bail them out. I bet they get called worse then pole smokers or Best Buy. So yes i would imagine that could make one a little grumpy and defensive taking that all day and night.

I wanted to clarify my situation with Ebay is different than Southern Chem's. Although I share his frustration with Ebay we're two different people. Hope that clears up any confusion.

When I bought the humidor the checkout page showed an Ebay shield with 100% protected boldly stated underneath. I can't pull up the original checkout pages but I assure you it was there. I can however search engine "Ebay 100% protection" and find others with similar gripes. Digging through Ebay's fine print it seems 100% protection applies strictly to unauthorized purchases. Bully for them, only every credit card on the planet offers that protection. 

I'm not here to slight the vast majority of Ebay sellers which are honest, just Ebay's claims of buyer protection. There are a select few sellers that will absolutely stonewall you if a problem pops up and it's possible Ebay will be useless in protecting you. Don't expect the same level of customer service as Amazon or other established companies- Ebay's customer service is in a league of its own.

Extreme scrutiny and due diligence on a seller's feedback and length of membership on Ebay are critical- that was an expensive lesson learned on my part, and never ever let Paypal take money from your bank account for a purchase. Paypal IS Ebay and you'll have no recourse for refunds. As for the merit of my grievance, Visa will decide that and I'll update with their decision.

I do appreciate the dialog here and welcome all comments, critical or otherwise!

I need to ask....can you copy and paste anything from Ebay that states in writing "100% buyer protection"?

I am not asking this to belittle you..but am curious as an Ebay user if this claim has any merit. Because then we can debate what "100%" means..and not so much that someone simply did not know the buyer protection program does not cover return shipping.

... I can understand you being upset that the item was damaged and then the seller stopped communicating. I agree as well it would be better for the buyers if Ebay held sellers responsible for return shipping if you win a dispute. But I read through their Buyer Protection plan (which any buyer should do) and it only states they will refund original shipping charges. Not return shipping.

So yes it stinks that the seller did not do the right thing, but ebay never promised to pay return shipping so it is not a scam.

It sux that you could have not found a way to work it out with the seller. Granted he has only been a member for a year and does not have many transactions the bad feedback and losing a dispute is not going to help him in the future. Overall he had all positive and one negative where he replied he refunded but the buyer still left a negative. Seems to me that he might care about the account but who knows? I try to use buyers with much more history then that so I can make a better judgment call and not get stuck having to pay for return shipping if it ends up in dispute since I know Ebay sure isn't.

Ebay transactions are only as good as the integrity of the seller, nothing confusing about that. The "confusion" arises when Ebay muddies up the water with their bogus claims of 100% buyer protection. I was lulled into believing my purchase was protected in the situation of an item significantly not as described and an unresponsive seller, I think a couple hundred dollars in shipping damage would certainly qualify as SNAD. 

You can do everything right on your end of the transaction and these a**es at Ebay will still find a way to weasel out of their "100% protection"... and not even be polite about! Until you've been the route with these bozos it would be hard to understand. Ebay's reps remind me of the customer service on Chappelle's show "Pop Copy" skit. 

I've bought and sold thousands of dollars worth on Ebay before without a hitch. Most sellers (myself included) will work with buyers to resolve problems but keep in mind Ebay won't have your back when you run into a dirt bag. If you're cool with that then by all means, go Ebay. 

First of all, let me say that there is nothing at all about Ebay that confuses me. I have been selling on Ebay for over 12 years and have a perfect 100% feedback rating.



Here is where YOU are confused.

It is in terminology, as it refers to "returns".



That policy is aimed at people who buy something, change their mind, and want to return the item simply because they changed their mind.



VS.



A buyer who in good faith buys something based on what is percieved to be an accurate item listing, and an ethical seller. The buyer has held up his end of the transaction 100% but the seller does not. The seller sends the buyer something clearly different than what was described in the listing.



This transaction SHOULD NOT be handled as a "return" by the buyer, as the only reason it is getting "returned" is because the seller DEFAULTED on the terms of the agreement by misrepresenting the product or shipping the wrong product.



Either way, each party needs to pay for their own mistakes.



Why should I have to pay because the seller sent me the WRONG item?

That's just plain stupid.



Must be California logic.

If ebay told you you were stuck with the item.

How many transactions has this seller conducted? What is the sellers return policy??? How long has the seller been a member?

These are things you need to consider before buying from an ebay seller.

I will post it...

Feedback... 54 Member since 2/12/11
Return policy...
Returns & Refund PolicyWe offer a 7 day money back return Policy if the item is Broken,or Defective.Please note a return for any reason other than Defect or Damage, may be subject to a 20% restocking fee.Return shipping will be paid by the buyer when the return is for any reason other than Damage or Defect.(If the item had Free Shipping when purchased you will still be responsible for paying our fee to ship to you and return the item from you)All returns have to be accepted prior to shipping back.Thank You for your understanding.


Granted I am not surviving from an ebay business..but I have been buying and selling using ebay for 10 years or so. I sell on ebay to supplement my income. My return policy is stated on my auctions as is everyone else who sells there. My return policy is 7 days buyer pays return shipping. That was MY decision. Now on a couple of occasions something arrived broken or I did not described the item correctly..humans do make mistakes. So the buyer would email me and tell me of the problem. The buyer would ask me if I would be willing to refund the shipping as well to make them "whole". I did each time and only asked that they do not leave me a negative feedback since I have a perfect score.

Now I mostly use free shipping so when I refund Ebay has no idea what shipping cost me, they just refund when I request. I have to send the refund separately. And I did that. Why would the seller you used not do that and why should Ebay force them to if your case was strong enough to warrant it? Where does ebay say in the buyer protection that they will refund shipping charges?

That is why I said you are confused. Again ebay is not for everyone so just shop at a local retail store so you know what you are buying and avoid the confusion. IS ebay perfect ? No they are not. But some of us can seem to use it for a decade without all this drama.

Ronny G....LEARN HOW TO READ AND COMPREHEND. Please.



I don't need some pole smoker talking down to me and telling me I'm confused.



Obviously it is YOU that is confused here.



I have now been through this TWICE and know exactly what the Ebay resolution/claims representative told me.



Don't confuse "regular returns" with "Item not as described" claims. That was the issue here. Seller misrepresentation and fraud. When you get something totally different that what you bid on, that is a problem.



Fact:

Ebay "Buyer Protection" DOES NOT require the seller to pay return shipping as a result of an "item not as described" claim. Ebay rules on these cases. Yes, they do get involved, and NO, they do NOT just "host a website". They actually dictate the rules, and make "rulings" on claims issues and disputes.



You are an idiot. You obviously don't know what you are talking about.

Learn how to read and comprehend.



A seller sent me something totally different than what I ordered. He even admitted to Ebay that he did so, and smugly told me to send it back for a refund. I asked him for a return label, or to cover the cost of return shipping and he said" we don't do that". I filed a claim with Ebay, and they made the decision in my favor on the refund, but RULED that I must pay for the return shipping.



So, in recap, there is no "Buyer Protection" on Ebay if a seller can intentionally send you a wrong item or defective item with no recourse. The buyer can be forced, by Ebay policy to pay return shipping when the the seller has engaged in fraud and/or misrepresentation.



So how, exactly, was I confused?

I think it is little Ronny Mommy 's boy that works at Best Buy who is confused.









>>>>>

#5 Consumer CommentEbay does not "require"..AUTHOR: Ronny g - North hollywood (USA)SUBMITTED: Wednesday, March 14, 2012POSTED: Wednesday, March 14, 2012

...the Buyer to pay return shipping. The SELLER decides the return policy and if the buyer makes a decision to buy from a seller who has a return policy the requires the buyer to pay return shipping, then in all logic it is the buyer who has the choice before making the purchase to agree with the sellers return policy, or simply CHOOSE upon their own free will..not to deal with that seller. Of course Ebay does not want to cover a buyers or sellers bad decisions if they are ignorant..they just host a website. It is pretty clear what buyer protection is and covers and how much time you have to file a dispute. (item not as described etc). And it is not like their customer service is the CEO of Ebay ..it is outsourced to lord knows where like just about every other big business these days.



So that is why. Not exactly rocket science. DO NOT USE EBAY if it is too difficult to understand. But do not blame them if you decide to use them and get screwed because it confuses you.

>>>>>

...the Buyer to pay return shipping. The SELLER decides the return policy and if the buyer makes a decision to buy from a seller who has a return policy the requires the buyer to pay return shipping, then in all logic it is the buyer who has the choice before making the purchase to agree with the sellers return policy, or simply CHOOSE upon their own free will..not to deal with that seller. Of course Ebay does not want to cover a buyers or sellers bad decisions if they are ignorant..they just host a website. It is pretty clear what buyer protection is and covers and how much time you have to file a dispute. (item not as described etc). And it is not like their customer service is the CEO of Ebay ..it is outsourced to lord knows where like just about every other big business these days.

So that is why. Not exactly rocket science. DO NOT USE EBAY if it is too difficult to understand. But do not blame them if you decide to use them and get screwed because it confuses you.

Ebay "Buyer Protection" is a SCAM.



Ebay "support" is made up of a bunch of misfits who read from scripts, and the few who are actually authorized to make "decisions" are power tripping losers. Obviously grown ups who got beat up as kids and are getting even with the world.



I have been down this road with Ebay too many times, and have been left hanging with no recourse with disreputable sellers.



The biggest part I have a problem with is the fact that Ebay requires the buyer to pay return shipping cost even when the problem is clearly the seller's fault, such as wrong item, etc. That is flat out wrong.

Why should a buyer lose money becausde the seller did not perform as agreed? That's just plain stupid.



I only use Ebay as a seller to promote by business in the search engines as Ebay listings rank well. If it wasn't for that, I would not sell on Ebay at all.



Ebay sucks for sellers as bad as it does for buyers. There is no real protection in place, as there is no one in charge who has any common sense. These people read from scripts, so if your problem is not explained on a script somewhere you are out of luck.



Someone should make a movie about Ebay "customer service" titled retards gone wild.

Matt G is my uncles cousins sisters brother on my second aunts side.

Have a happy day.

P.S. Are you related to Matt G?

That you NEVER use ebay again. It is way too confusing for you.