What's Your Biggest eBay/PayPal Horror Story? Either as a Seller or a Buyer

NotAMoodle on 03/07/2016 - 03:40
Last edited 03/07/2016 - 03:41

I have been reading through some recent threads and hearing some horror stories about eBay/Paypal and wondered if anyone would like to share 1 or 2 of their stories of being scammed or trying to be scammed through the eBay/Paypal system.

I'll start us off.

I was selling a few spare bitcoins I had (which is allowed on eBay, bit of a grey area on Paypal). I had setup the listing to not allow instant payment as I asked the buyers for a copy of their license when purchasing, to weed (try) and weed out fraudsters.

I had this one guy who purchased some, only a small amount of about $150, he then sent me a selfie of him holding his NSW driving license. I thought beauty that's all I need and released the coins to him.

Fair dinkum about 3 months later I got a charge back from Paypal citing the buyer had paid for the auction using a hacked bank account, and the the financial institution (the hacked one) had raised a charge back with Paypal, so they were passing it on to me. I sent them the emails and the selfie with ID but they ruled against me and I had to give up the money. It was the last day I ever sold bitcoins with eBay or Paypal for that matter, and was thankful it was only $150.

Share your stories and make us cringe!

General Discussion

Comments

  • barginhunter11 on 03/07/2016 - 07:14

    I sell small items that can be posted in a envelope @ $2 .

    I put in the auction that if they want registerd post or tracking they need to pay more and have it as a option.

    I take a photo of every item packaged when sending.

    Ive had 2 items lost in aus post transit and paypal rule in buyers favor .

    • scrimshaw on 03/07/2016 - 07:33

      That's what postage insurance is for.

      No insurance means you get almost nothing back if you lose a parcel.

      http://auspost.com.au/parcels-mail/compensation.html

      • Skinnerr on 03/07/2016 - 11:44
        -2

        I read some but im too lazy. Wheres the money shot of - the $100 insurance costs X much, the 5k coverage costs X much?

        also cant believe im gettin manning face here too…

        NOWHERE IS SAFE!!!!!! WAAAAAAAAA

  • 2jzzzz on 03/07/2016 - 08:52
    +1

    When GPS units were worth a lot, I lost $500+.

    I had only just started selling and wasn't aware that it was me taking the risk of it not being delivered if they selected the non insured shipping….

    So I sent it and only had a receipt showing that I paid at the post office and the postcode I sent it to.

    Needless to say, the seller said it never arrived and Paypal made my account go into the negative… Pretty bad timing as I was a uni student and the money was pretty important at the time.

    Now I don't care what I am selling, the only option is tracked but the buyer can still say you sent an empty box or some shit.

  • Janko on 03/07/2016 - 09:13

    Buyer, $500 camera, no registered or insurance option offered, no show. Tracking # given showed delivery to suburb 100 km away. Buyer gave me another tracking #, showed delivery to correct suburb. PayPal sided with seller based on receipt showing right postcode. Fortunately 90% of my PayPal payment came from credit card so I reversed it.

  • poboy on 03/07/2016 - 09:21

    I was working with someone from the Philippines. I paid them via PayPal for a while. Then PayPal froze their account for 6 months without reason. I therefore had to find another way to pay them. As a buyer I will use PayPal, but as a seller I avoid it as a payment gateway on my sites. They cannot be trusted and accept no accountability.

  • CyberMurning on 03/07/2016 - 09:21
    +2

    Bought fake galaxy s 6, seller said he wasn't aware it is not original. Lying basted, in one second we can see it is fake screen resolution is like 320 x 320 and camera is beyond crap.

    Disputed, sent back, got reimbursed for everything. Not losing a cent but angry Alot.

    • Skinnerr on 03/07/2016 - 11:42
      +1

      The real malicious prick is the top of the pyramid guy who oversees his fake S6 business trying to mass sell his fake crap and rip people off with pure deception.

      F*** that guy.

  • Matwin23 on 03/07/2016 - 09:58
    +3

    PayPal is a disgrace for a seller (so is Amazon for that matter) they always side with the buyer with near zero options to provide further evidence once they have played judge and jury. I have taken paypal off as an option at my checkout and do not use them as a buyer anymore either. Have paid well over $1000 in fees over the past 10 years and have never had a dispute until the past 2 months when I had 2. Both favored the buyer.
    First one the buyer water damaged the item - got their money back!
    Second one I sent a paypal invoice to customer, I performed a service in her office, she paid via cc with me still in her office, 3 weeks later got a charge back from her bank and paypal side with buyer. Go figure!

    As a seller PayPal are a liability I do not need!

    • poboy on 03/07/2016 - 16:40

      PayPal: Sellers hate us. Use us and we will help you scam.

    • Tal_Shiar on 04/07/2016 - 00:50

      Second one I sent a paypal invoice to customer, I performed a service in her office, she paid via cc with me still in her office, 3 weeks later got a charge back from her bank and paypal side with buyer. Go figure!

      I'd go create a scene at her office …👍

  • Skinnerr on 03/07/2016 - 11:39

    As a buyer I got ripped off by the seller I bought similar to this http://www.ebay.com/itm/DREAM-TEAM-Nike-gold-edition-larry-b… except the team colours blue/red not gold and in the photo were placed well and the jersey was sort of crumpled up and 'well placed'. Paid around $100 aud give or take and it took a good 2 months to get it from america.

    Finally recieve and open it up - big oil and food stains all over it. Super disappointed and contacted him but got silence. At least this was the mistake i made that made me wise to ebay's refund policy and it happened one more time where I got a super authentic looking fake but i proved to paypal that it was fake and got fully re-imbursed. I never sell on ebay hearing enough horror stories I stick to gumtree, just be honest and price fair and i usually add %5-%10 ontop of my ideal sell price cos 99x out of 100 people haggle you down.

  • [Deactivated] on 03/07/2016 - 15:49
    +1

    Febay seller posted a polaroid camera in an A4 size envelope. That's it. No padding/other packaging, just the paper envelope. Broken on arrival. Seller pissed around a long time after contacting them, too late now for refund etc. - only recourse was to leave negative feedback, and I did so.

  • dylanando on 03/07/2016 - 17:59
    +1

    Ive sold a website for around $1.5k and was disputed against. It was clear he was out to do this from the start as he said this in the Flippa message area (After the sale). Over a few months and having originally losing the dispute I was able to send Paypal a screenshot of this conversation and was given my $1.5k back. Let's just say I was a happy man that day!

  • CheapskateQueen on 03/07/2016 - 23:48
    +1

    Well nothing dramatic but i just got negative feedback as a seller and it's pissing me off. Buyer hasn't contacted me with a complaint,hasn't responded to my queries as to the reason for the neg.no explanation at all. Im selling off my cd collection of an artist so 1 neg makes a huge impact.

    The fact that you can't leave a buyer negative feedback is a sham.

    • Tal_Shiar on 04/07/2016 - 00:55

      I got left negative feedback I assume because the buyer found cheaper options 2 weeks after she bought it. She claimed it was defective (as it was second hand) and straight up accused me of knowingly selling it broken. Here is the thing, I never received a dispute and she refused to return it for a refund…

      • datafellows on 04/07/2016 - 17:07

        Seller can always leave a reply to the feedback. A negative feedback with a reasonable response from the seller is not bad.

        I've gotten negs and it's so funny to get all these claims and negs but the buyer refuses to return the item. Makes you think why you were negged in the first place ;)

  • Speckled Jim on 08/07/2016 - 18:05
    +1

    About twelve years ago, I purchased (with B.I.N.) an automotive accessory from a US member.
    No Paypal account at the time, used a Western Union transfer. It was about AUD $150.

    Of course, they denied payment was ever received. No recourse — money lost — negative feedback left.

    Although recalling this event somewhat pains me, at least I didn't rice my car with that spoiler!

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join