NEED HELP, Ebay Auction gone Wrong!?

Question

I never had any real problems with either ebay or paypal. My husband had decided to set up his own ebay and paypal account (he never used either). He wanted to bid on a cell phone that he needed for his business. Well, not even knowing how to bid he asked me to do the bidding and take care of paying the seller, which I did. This particular auction ended 7/22, I just received it today, 8/10. I was told a whole bunch of excuses as to why I didn't receive the phone much sooner than I did. Anyhow when it finally came in today, it was neither "barely used" or "like new" as he claimed. It was in horrible shape. Lots of scratches, dents, and even the antenna had tooth markes (really gross). I already sent him an email saying I wanted a full refund. What happens if he denies my refund?? Can I get a refund through paypal?? Do I have to claim fraud? I mean this guy is a real a$$. When I was getting frustrated asking where the phone was he actually told me it was coming and for me to "get off it". I was shocked! He told me one reason it shipped a week after I paid was because he had a screwed up week, then he said he sent it to the wrong address and it was returned to him, and it went back out last friday, it just was sent out on Monday, a few days ago. I'm really frustrated right now because the card that's linked up to paypal is a debit visa card. Could the $200+ be gone?? Any help is greatly appreciated. thank you

I just contacted paypal and I was told if I take this situation up with my bank, then they'll back the seller! (WTF!) I was also told my corro with this seller means nothing, only corro though paypal is used in the dispute!

Answer 1

This is exactly what I did in two similar situations.
1. Write down everything that has occurred, all communications, by time and date, etc.

2. Contact paypal and go through their dispute resolution process. Take pictures of the phone, you'll probably be asked to provide the pictures to paypal to support your anyway. Make sure your pictures clearly show the problems with the phone. Printout all copies of your emails to him and his replies. Be patient, this process really does work. Save your packaging, if you still have it. I believe that if you can substantiate your claim through paypal you will get our money back.

3. Contact the State's attorney general's office for the state where the seller lives and report him through to the AG. The last one I had to do was in Mass. and I was able to make the report mostly on line.

4. Search through eBay and find the guys actual address (you have to have had a transaction with an eBayer user to get their address and you have to look pretty hard through ebay to figure out how to get his address). Tell him that you've reported him to paypal and to the AG and that he should expect paperwork from State within 'x' days. If he wants to resolve the problem NOW then when the paperwork comes from the AG, he won't have to deal with the State because the matter will be resolved. The MA AG's office did contact my eSeller. I believe the AG helped me to get my money quicker one time and paypal worked quicker the other time.

Good Luck. If you leave negative feedback he will probably leave negative feedback for you. That hasn't stopped me when I know I've been wronged. I think most suave ebayers look at feedback both ways.

Answer 2

for starters u should always look at the sellers ratings and read what the others have said about doing business with him. paypal is not responsible for returning ur money. after all u paid for something u seen over the net. however give him a bad rating explaining how he misleads his customers into buying damaged goods and when others see it u can best believe he want be doing much more business on ebay. the ratings can't be removed once a customer rate a seller so it is there to stain his image. tell him u have talked to a lawyer and that he will be recieving a letter if u have his address. u should have his address from where he sent the phone . don't actually talk to a lawyer as of yet but sit down and write him a letter pretending to be a lawyer acting on ur behalf with no return address. tell him that u have an open and closed case cause u have seen the phone and u will not only take him to court but he will also incur all court fees unless he refunds your money plus shipping and handling. tell him he has 3 days to contact you to let you know your refund is on the way and he will not hesitate refunding you. once u get the refund dip the phone in water and let it dry then send it back to the jerk. you already have proof the phone was in bad shape. whose to say the thing even worked? hint hint also dont forget to contact ebay customer support and let them know what kind of business he is conducting on their site and they will ban him. contact the account holder of ur debit visa and see if you can place a stop on this transaction.

Answer 3

File a claim with Ebay and with Paypal. Paypal will refund you up to $200 in buyer protection if the seller doesn't come through. When it's done, write negative feedback on the seller.

Answer 4

First of all - ebay allows 30 days to ship.

When you're using paypal, however - you can file an "item not received" claim after 7 days, and if the seller can't prove they shipped, they payment is reversed.

That's not quite your situation, though.

What you have is an "item not as described" issue. Take it to paypal first. Don't voluntarily remove the claim until its resolved one way or another, as paypal will allow only ONE claim per transaction. (i.e., if the seller makes promises, don't remove the complaint until you're satisfied, or you'll be sunk if they don't make good.)

If the paypal complaint is not resolved to your liking, you can fiel an "item not as described complain through ebay (usually less effective than paypal). Or if you used a credit card through paypal (HIGHLY recommended for purchases), you can file a complaint through your cc company.

Answer 5

If you have tried to resolve this with the seller with no sucess you can report the incident through the ebay dispute console. Ebay will work directly with yourself and the seller to reach a resolution. Also make sure you leave this guy negative feedback rating - there is no excuse for this kind of behaviour.

Answer 6

Depends if it was stated all sales are final no refunds. You might be out of your 200, the only thing you could do is give a negative feedback and letter other buyers be aware of this sellar. Sorry for your bad experience

Answer 7

Contact Paypal and file a claim with them. They will help you try to get your money back. I had a similar problem and filed a claim and I got my money back in record time.

Answer 8

Paypal is there to protect you. All of the information is available on ebay. But you have limited time- so contact them soon.

Answer 9

call your bank and dispute the transaction, They will do some investigating and you will probably get your money back.
My daughter ordered some Chanel sunglasses 7/27 with similar circumstances as yours and we got our money back. I am seriously turned off towards e-bay now.

Answer 10

Don't forget to leave negative feedback to warn others of his bad selling ways. Explain to paypal and they can help you.