What Reasons Do We Have to Slam Ebay/Paypal

[twiggers]

I see so many threads started about slamming ebay & paypal...relentlessly. But I've been using ebay/paypal for 7 years without any major problems. I've had a couple NPB (big deal...just follow the steps to get your listing fees refunded and relist) and one SNAD for something I bought (again, I filed the claim on paypal and won my dispute and got my money back right away).

I just don't get it....as a seller if you follow really simple rules you shouldn't run across any major problems. Here are major problems I see people ***** about...and here's the solution:

1. 'Someone bid on my auction from Canada, I don't ship there' Solution: BLOCK BIDDERS

2. 'This person is asking me stupid questions' Solution: BLOCK BIDDERS

3. 'The person has an unconfirmed address' Solution: ASK THEM TO CONFIRM IT. IF THEY WON'T THEN REFUND MONEY. FILE CLAIM AS A NPB ON EBAY TO GET FEES REFUNDED.

4. 'What if the buyer does a bait and switch' Solution: PUT A CHEAP SECURITY TAG THAT COSTS A COUPLE CENTS AND TAKES A MINUTE TO PUT ON. TAKE A PICTURE OF IT ON YOUR BAG.

5. 'Someone filed a claim against me with Paypal' Solution: PROVIDE ALL DOCUMENTATION, DON'T THROW AWAY YOUR POST OFFICE RECEIPTS, TAKE PICTURES OF THE BAG RIGHT BEFORE YOU SHIP IT OUT.

6. 'The buyer won't pay for insurance' Solution: SELLERS ARE ALWAYS RESPONSIBLE FOR INSURANCE. DON'T BE CHEAP, JUST PAY FOR IT!!!!

7. 'The buyer asked me to lie on the customs form' Solution: STATE IN YOUR AUCTION THAT YOU WON'T LIE ON THE FORM. THAT CHASES AWAY ABOUT 90% OF THEM. THE OTHERS, TELL THEM TO SUCK IT UP BECAUSE PAYPAL WILL SUPPORT YOU IN THE DISPUTE.

8. 'My paypal account is in the negative because I lost a dispute' Solution: MAKE SURE YOUR PAYPAL ACCOUNT IS NOT CONNECTED TO YOUR NORMAL CHECKING/SAVINGS ACCOUNT. SET UP ONE OF THOSE ONLINE ACCOUNTS FOR FREE AND USE IT.

9. "I got an unfair negative' Solution: NEG THEM. RESPOND TO THE FEEDBACK. IF IT REALLY REALLY MATTERS, PAY THE $30 TO GO THROUGH SQUARE TRADE.

10. 'I contacted the buyer to ask about feedback and then all hell broke loose' Solution: NEVER EVER EVER CONTACT A BUYER FOR FEEDBACK. IT JUST OPENS UP A CAN OF WORMS. IF YOU HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING, ASSUME EVERYTHING IS FINE. STORE THE USPS RECEIPTS SOMEWHERE SAFE, JUST IN CASE.

11. 'The package was lost, now I'm going to lose my dispute' Solution: WELL IF YOU DIDN'T SEND IT WITH SIGNATURE CONFIRMATION + FULL INSURANCE, THEN YOU SHOULD. AGAIN, DON'T BE CHEAP. SPEND THE EXTRA MONEY.

12. 'Paypal charges too many fees' Solution: OH WELL. DON'T SELL ON EBAY THEN. SMART SELLERS WORK THAT INTO THEIR ASKING PRICE SO IT DOESN'T HURT AS BAD. OR.....TELL BUYERS YOU WANT TO SEND A SEPARATE INVOICE AND USE GOOGLE CHECKOUT. IF THEY REFUSE THEN USE PAYPAL.....BUT IT CAN'T HURT TO TRY!

Really....why all the whining?? I just don't get it. Almost every thread I see on here is one of these problems....and yet we post so many tips for people and no one seems to listen. Like the security tags, we've been posting about these on here for ages!

Gee, what sounds better? Spending a few minutes doing all these things when you set up your auction.....or having a nightmare dispute/buyer.

I take so many pictures of everything I sell....and yea it takes me an extra 5 minutes to upload them.....but not one single dispute arose from selling off my entire Louis Vuitton collection.

As a buyer we also see these complaints fairly often:

1. 'Where is my package' Solution: SELLERS HAVE 72 HOURS TO SHIP IT AND THEN FACTOR IN SHIPPING TIME. ONCE 7 DAYS HAS PASSED THEN EMAIL THEM TO ASK FOR TRACKING INFO. IF THEY DON'T RESPOND AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T RECEIVED IT AFTER 10 DAYS THEN JUST FILE THE DISPUTE. THAT'LL WAKE 'EM UP!

2. 'My item isn't as described and the seller won't communicate or do anything about it' Solution: JUST FILE THE DISPUTE!!!! THE SELLER DOESN'T CARE WHAT YOU DO, THEY ONLY CARE ABOUT THE MONEY. A PAYPAL DISPUTE WILL MAKE THEM ANSWER!

3. 'I got a customs bill for $400. I don't want to pay it' Solution: SUCK IT UP. BUYERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL CUSTOMS CHARGES AND YOU WILL LOSE YOUR PAYPAL DISPUTE IF YOU TRY TO REFUSE IT. CALL IT AN EXPENSIVE LESSON LEARNED...AND CONSIDER VISITING YOUR COUNTRY'S CUSTOMS & EXCISE WEBSITE. I KNOW ALL THE US RULES...DO YOU KNOW YOUR COUNTRY'S RULES?

4. 'Paypal isn't doing anything about my dispute or I won my dispute but didn't get the money back' Solution: ALWAYS FILE A CLAIM WITH YOUR CREDIT CARD COMPANY. MUCH EASIER TO GET YOUR MONEY BACK FROM THEM!!!

5. Continuation of #4....'I used a debit card though' Solution: ALWAYS USE A CREDIT CARD. FOR TWO REASONS 1) DEBIT CARDS DON'T HAVE AS HIGH OF A PROTECTION AS A REGULAR CREDIT CARD AND 2) NEVER USE YOUR DEBIT CARD ONLINE. PERIOD.

I probably didn't cover all of them! But these are the biggest ones.

I've had great experiences on ebay....I have buyers who still email me to thank me for selling them a great bag, who ask for advice on buying other bags, etc. I've met PFers that I hadn't met on here yet! It's been great!

Sorry if I sound really preachy or slightly *****y.....but it's really always the same complaints....and then people get all testy when the more experienced buyers/sellers tell them these things! I don't know why....we're trying to help!

 

[bnjj]

I agree with some of these but not all. You can do everything right and ebay can still be a royal PITA at times.

 

[maritza1973]

I agree with some of these but not all. You can do everything right and ebay can still be a royal PITA at times.

I agree with you. As a seller, I took all the necesarry steps to avoid a Paypal claim. Insured the item, got delivery confirmation, signature required, and the buyer still got her money back and kept my item. Tried to file a claim with the USPS but they had the signature of the buyer so my claim was denied. I contacted Paypal and they said the buyer submitted her signature and that it did not match the one that was on the USPS slip. Tough luck for me. Still, I don't give up on Paypal or Ebay.

 

[TreeDoc]

Like any and every system--you can make it as perfect as possible and think you've covered every base...and there are STILL the people who won't pay attention to the rules; the people who will scam you; the people who will lie to you; the people who will take advantage of the holes in the system.

People are unpredictable and clever--like maritza said, you can do everything perfectly and end up with a big mess and/or a big loss on your hands.

 

[jmcadon]

I think it just makes us feel better to vent when we encounter a problem. Isn't that part of what this forum is all about?

 

[handbag-ho]

thanks Twiggers for all the helpful information! However, I also agree with jmcadon....it makes us feel better to vent and the forum is just an outlet for it.

 

[Lvbabydoll]

Like any and every system--you can make it as perfect as possible and think you've covered every base...and there are STILL the people who won't pay attention to the rules; the people who will scam you; the people who will lie to you; the people who will take advantage of the holes in the system.

People are unpredictable and clever--like maritza said, you can do everything perfectly and end up with a big mess and/or a big loss on your hands.

Yup.
For one, I don't like the fees, but I reluctantly pay them because I WANT to sell on ebay. I have nowhere else to do it, there are no consignment shops that I know of around here, etc.

I just wish buyers would learn how to READ. I put all relevant info in each and every one of my auctions, yet some bidders reach outlandish conclusions about my auctions. One example is of those bidders who bid on my CATALOG, thinking it was a BAG, though it was clearly in the correct category, showed ONLY pics of the catalog and described the thing. Yet I still got people wanting to cancel their bids because they thought it was for a bag, not a catalog. I even got threatened yesterday by the second girl, saying that if I didn't cancel her bid, she'd report me to ebay for a misleading auction. I mean, there's no basis for it to be cancelled because it's NOT misleading, however, the buyers lately are so demanding and rude, it's really discouraging.

 

[PinkSuadeSoho]

I agree with some of these but not all. You can do everything right and ebay can still be a royal PITA at times.

ITA^^^^- Some of the time, people want to vent. Your suggestions are excellent, but sometimes even following all the rules, things don't always go over that smoothly.

 

[Louis_gal]

Like any and every system--you can make it as perfect as possible and think you've covered every base...and there are STILL the people who won't pay attention to the rules; the people who will scam you; the people who will lie to you; the people who will take advantage of the holes in the system.

People are unpredictable and clever--like maritza said, you can do everything perfectly and end up with a big mess and/or a big loss on your hands.

ITA....you can follow all the rules and cover yourself but there will always be someone that can just un-do all that you did and still make it a bad experience no matter how long you've been selling.....I know, it just happened to me.

 

[LV-PRADAfanatic]

thxs for the notes and i iwll keep that in mind...

i dun like paypal cos i am still short of $350 even though case was in my favor and its been 3 months..Paypal cant get any money back from the scammer..

 

[peppy]

We start complaining too when we know and do all the above as buyers/sellers, but the other party doesn't! and yes, sometimes we just want to vent. It'll be fantastic if Everyone reads Twigger's advice! .....sorry but I haven't noticed anyone here getting testy when offered advice, am I missing something?

 

[chloehandbags]

3. 'I got a customs bill for $400. I don't want to pay it' Solution: SUCK IT UP. BUYERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL CUSTOMS CHARGES AND YOU WILL LOSE YOUR PAYPAL DISPUTE IF YOU TRY TO REFUSE IT. CALL IT AN EXPENSIVE LESSON LEARNED...AND CONSIDER VISITING YOUR COUNTRY'S CUSTOMS & EXCISE WEBSITE. I KNOW ALL THE US RULES...DO YOU KNOW YOUR COUNTRY'S RULES?

To be fair, although ITA that it is the buyer's responsibility to pay any customs duties that are rightfully due, you can hardly blame a buyer if they win an item that originally retailed for $2,000, for $500, but the (inexperienced) seller puts the original retail price (or even more!) on the customs and insurance forms (with the idea that, if the item goes missing, they'll get the whole $2,000 [or more] back) and the buyer then receives a demand for $420 (or more) from customs, if they then refuse to pay it, can you?

Would you suck up a $420 demand on a $500 item without appealing? Because I certainly wouldn't.

In these situations, it is normally the buyer's responsibility to appeal against wrongful customs charges like this, but, in my experience, some shippers can be really disorganised and even though you let them know that that is what you're doing, they still stick the item back on the slow ship back to the US (or wherever) without informing either the buyer, or the seller.

 

[hpzapper]

I see so many threads started about slamming ebay & paypal...relentlessly. But I've been using ebay/paypal for 7 years without any major problems. I've had a couple NPB (big deal...just follow the steps to get your listing fees refunded and relist) and one SNAD for something I bought (again, I filed the claim on paypal and won my dispute and got my money back right away).

I just don't get it....as a seller if you follow really simple rules you shouldn't run across any major problems. Here are major problems I see people ***** about...and here's the solution:

1. 'Someone bid on my auction from Canada, I don't ship there' Solution: BLOCK BIDDERS

2. 'This person is asking me stupid questions' Solution: BLOCK BIDDERS

3. 'The person has an unconfirmed address' Solution: ASK THEM TO CONFIRM IT. IF THEY WON'T THEN REFUND MONEY. FILE CLAIM AS A NPB ON EBAY TO GET FEES REFUNDED.

4. 'What if the buyer does a bait and switch' Solution: PUT A CHEAP SECURITY TAG THAT COSTS A COUPLE CENTS AND TAKES A MINUTE TO PUT ON. TAKE A PICTURE OF IT ON YOUR BAG.

5. 'Someone filed a claim against me with Paypal' Solution: PROVIDE ALL DOCUMENTATION, DON'T THROW AWAY YOUR POST OFFICE RECEIPTS, TAKE PICTURES OF THE BAG RIGHT BEFORE YOU SHIP IT OUT.

6. 'The buyer won't pay for insurance' Solution: SELLERS ARE ALWAYS RESPONSIBLE FOR INSURANCE. DON'T BE CHEAP, JUST PAY FOR IT!!!!

7. 'The buyer asked me to lie on the customs form' Solution: STATE IN YOUR AUCTION THAT YOU WON'T LIE ON THE FORM. THAT CHASES AWAY ABOUT 90% OF THEM. THE OTHERS, TELL THEM TO SUCK IT UP BECAUSE PAYPAL WILL SUPPORT YOU IN THE DISPUTE.

8. 'My paypal account is in the negative because I lost a dispute' Solution: MAKE SURE YOUR PAYPAL ACCOUNT IS NOT CONNECTED TO YOUR NORMAL CHECKING/SAVINGS ACCOUNT. SET UP ONE OF THOSE ONLINE ACCOUNTS FOR FREE AND USE IT.

9. "I got an unfair negative' Solution: NEG THEM. RESPOND TO THE FEEDBACK. IF IT REALLY REALLY MATTERS, PAY THE $30 TO GO THROUGH SQUARE TRADE.

10. 'I contacted the buyer to ask about feedback and then all hell broke loose' Solution: NEVER EVER EVER CONTACT A BUYER FOR FEEDBACK. IT JUST OPENS UP A CAN OF WORMS. IF YOU HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING, ASSUME EVERYTHING IS FINE. STORE THE USPS RECEIPTS SOMEWHERE SAFE, JUST IN CASE.

11. 'The package was lost, now I'm going to lose my dispute' Solution: WELL IF YOU DIDN'T SEND IT WITH SIGNATURE CONFIRMATION + FULL INSURANCE, THEN YOU SHOULD. AGAIN, DON'T BE CHEAP. SPEND THE EXTRA MONEY.

12. 'Paypal charges too many fees' Solution: OH WELL. DON'T SELL ON EBAY THEN. SMART SELLERS WORK THAT INTO THEIR ASKING PRICE SO IT DOESN'T HURT AS BAD. OR.....TELL BUYERS YOU WANT TO SEND A SEPARATE INVOICE AND USE GOOGLE CHECKOUT. IF THEY REFUSE THEN USE PAYPAL.....BUT IT CAN'T HURT TO TRY!

Really....why all the whining?? I just don't get it. Almost every thread I see on here is one of these problems....and yet we post so many tips for people and no one seems to listen. Like the security tags, we've been posting about these on here for ages!

Gee, what sounds better? Spending a few minutes doing all these things when you set up your auction.....or having a nightmare dispute/buyer.

I take so many pictures of everything I sell....and yea it takes me an extra 5 minutes to upload them.....but not one single dispute arose from selling off my entire Louis Vuitton collection.

As a buyer we also see these complaints fairly often:

1. 'Where is my package' Solution: SELLERS HAVE 72 HOURS TO SHIP IT AND THEN FACTOR IN SHIPPING TIME. ONCE 7 DAYS HAS PASSED THEN EMAIL THEM TO ASK FOR TRACKING INFO. IF THEY DON'T RESPOND AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T RECEIVED IT AFTER 10 DAYS THEN JUST FILE THE DISPUTE. THAT'LL WAKE 'EM UP!

2. 'My item isn't as described and the seller won't communicate or do anything about it' Solution: JUST FILE THE DISPUTE!!!! THE SELLER DOESN'T CARE WHAT YOU DO, THEY ONLY CARE ABOUT THE MONEY. A PAYPAL DISPUTE WILL MAKE THEM ANSWER!

3. 'I got a customs bill for $400. I don't want to pay it' Solution: SUCK IT UP. BUYERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL CUSTOMS CHARGES AND YOU WILL LOSE YOUR PAYPAL DISPUTE IF YOU TRY TO REFUSE IT. CALL IT AN EXPENSIVE LESSON LEARNED...AND CONSIDER VISITING YOUR COUNTRY'S CUSTOMS & EXCISE WEBSITE. I KNOW ALL THE US RULES...DO YOU KNOW YOUR COUNTRY'S RULES?

4. 'Paypal isn't doing anything about my dispute or I won my dispute but didn't get the money back' Solution: ALWAYS FILE A CLAIM WITH YOUR CREDIT CARD COMPANY. MUCH EASIER TO GET YOUR MONEY BACK FROM THEM!!!

5. Continuation of #4....'I used a debit card though' Solution: ALWAYS USE A CREDIT CARD. FOR TWO REASONS 1) DEBIT CARDS DON'T HAVE AS HIGH OF A PROTECTION AS A REGULAR CREDIT CARD AND 2) NEVER USE YOUR DEBIT CARD ONLINE. PERIOD.

I probably didn't cover all of them! But these are the biggest ones.

I've had great experiences on ebay....I have buyers who still email me to thank me for selling them a great bag, who ask for advice on buying other bags, etc. I've met PFers that I hadn't met on here yet! It's been great!

Sorry if I sound really preachy or slightly *****y.....but it's really always the same complaints....and then people get all testy when the more experienced buyers/sellers tell them these things! I don't know why....we're trying to help!

I have done this for 8 years. Burned more than one time with paypal. Today my $330 MJ Bag was lost with the $. A charge back and funds held. I reply to the claim with tracking #s and insurance id #s . I also call paypal and the rep tells me I am good they will even refund my loss if the Card was no good. I get home 3 Hours later and some rep has ended the hold on my $ and close the case. I get A email telling me case closed no funding will come to me. So now I go to USPS with the tracking I gave paypal and The MJ was signed for on 12/21/07 no reps till Wednesday. I have the red A** big time.

 

[new.old.bag]

I have done this for 8 years. Burned more than one time with paypal. Today my $330 MJ Bag was lost with the $. A charge back and funds held. I reply to the claim with tracking #s and insurance id #s . I also call paypal and the rep tells me I am good they will even refund my loss if the Card was no good. I get home 3 Hours later and some rep has ended the hold on my $ and close the case. I get A email telling me case closed no funding will come to me. So now I go to USPS with the tracking I gave paypal and The MJ was signed for on 12/21/07 no reps till Wednesday. I have the red A** big time.

I agree here. I have been burned by paypal even when I have followed everything to the letter. Even in cases where you follow everything to the letter, paypal will TIE UP your money & account while they "investigate", which can take several months. As I am a seasonal seller, it does me no good to have my money tied up with paypal for several months.

Twiggers, your advice is good, but, IMO you have been lucky so far. The cheap security tag just "scares off" some of the potential scammers. It doesn't hold up in a paypal SNAD dispute.

 

[twiggers]

To be fair, although ITA that it is the buyer's responsibility to pay any customs duties that are rightfully due, you can hardly blame a buyer if they win an item that originally retailed for $2,000, for $500, but the (inexperienced) seller puts the original retail price (or even more!) on the customs and insurance forms (with the idea that, if the item goes missing, they'll get the whole $2,000 [or more] back) and the buyer then receives a demand for $420 (or more) from customs, if they then refuse to pay it, can you?

Would you suck up a $420 demand on a $500 item without appealing? Because I certainly wouldn't.

In these situations, it is normally the buyer's responsibility to appeal against wrongful customs charges like this, but, in my experience, some shippers can be really disorganised and even though you let them know that that is what you're doing, they still stick the item back on the slow ship back to the US (or wherever) without informing either the buyer, or the seller.

Nope and you can file a claim with your country to get the customs fees reimbursed. Just make sure to provide proof of what you paid. It's a bit of a hassle, but better than paying that much money. Or better yet, email the seller before willing to make sure they are aware of how to fill out the forms.