<p>I was scammed on Ebay–I bought an item and waited and waited for me, but it never arrived; buyer said he sent the item. After a few weeks, he sent me a certified letter. I signed for the letter. Then, seller claimed that I signed for the item. I took a picture of the certified letter–no way the item could have fit in the certified letter envelope. </p>
<p>I also started the dispute process with Paypal and Ebay–both decided in favor of the seller. I send them all the emails as well as the photo of the certified letter. I then went to AMEX (paid for the item with an AMEX card). AMEX stopped payment and investigated–I got my money refunded. Ebay did close down the seller–all his items were gone after my complaint. This person had many positive reviews–can someone fake that? He also had several sites where he was selling the same item under a different name. This process totally soured me on Ebay and Paypal. Haven’t shopped on Ebay since and never use Paypal unless there’s no other choice (usually there is).</p>
<p>Yea, for me, eBay is the place of last resort for me and I ALWAYS use a CC that will back me up if the transaction fails. Am NOT a fan of eBay nor PayPal, as they have not backed me up as buyer when the transaction was poor, even when they finally reluctantly agreed that the seller was selling counterfeit merchandise & violating copyright laws. He was removed from eBay afterwards, but the CC company was the best. AmEx has always been excellent with customer service.</p>
<p>While not bad advice, this does not mask the fact that there are plenty of dishonest vendors in the United States. The camera vendors (most are on the East Coast in fake store fronts) that are known to be heavy discounters are also known to be tricky bait and switchers. It was only natural for them to use Ebay and scam people into buying worthless warranties and accessories. </p>
<p>If Ebay and Paypal have helped some recuperate “some” money, my experience has been that it is a difficult process when the sellers are determined to screw you. I have received “satisfaction” from Ebay and Paypal when they proudly announced they recouped a few cents on the dollar from a bad vendor. For a 100 dollars phone that was never delivered, I got back 10 cents and a “this file has been closed.” </p>
<p>I used to buy a lot of Ebay and had one the very first paypal accounts. I can count on one hand my purchases in the last 3-4 years. With Amazon and plenty of legitimate sellers, it is no longer worth the risk of dealing with bandits. </p>
<p>Simply stated, there are better options.</p>
<p>PS Paypal is still a great service. I use it regularly. It is Ebay that houses a nest of bandits.</p>
<p>from my 16 years experience with Ebay. I’d say 99% of the sellers are honest, there are few bad apples, you just can’t say ALL sellers are bandits. </p>
<p>So far my largest real loss was a $2000 transaction, with a Canadian person. He sold me a fake stamp (for collectors) and fled, but the certification process took longer than Ebay was allowed, so I was out of the money. I will not buy expensive stuff like that on Ebay any more. However, I have sold items Worldwide in the $10000 dollar range with an established reputation on Ebay. The largest monthly transactions totaled well over 6 figures, we do provide phone numbers and D&B ratings to the buyers, nevertheless.</p>
<p>I used to sell. Now, I buy only occasionally, and usually from half.com (an ebay company). I have wrapped and ready to return a textbook that is the wrong edition. Seller simply doesn’t return emails, so I filed a claim under the buyer protection policy. </p>
<p>Ebay/half responded very quickly, and I am getting by purchase price and shipping both ways refunded. Try filing a claim with buyer protection. I had good luck with it.</p>
<p>Is there anyone who wrote that ALL sellers are bandits? It would not be surprising that 99 percent of the sellers are honest at Ebay, as that represents the ones that were NOT kicked out for scamming people. Plenty of dishonest ones were not that lucky. That is NOT a contradiction with saying that Ebay houses a nest of bandit … even if it represents a paltry one percent. </p>
<p>The fact remains that there are plenty of companies with ill-reputation. The same companies that sell electronics in New York and out of those warehouses around NYC. </p>
<p>People determined to screw an uneducated customer will usually succeed. The system is working for them.</p>
<p>Did you pay through Paypal? Did you fund with a credit card or debit card? What was the return policy on the item? How much was the camera (including shipping) - was it $250 or more?</p>
<p>Should have also asked, how did you return the box? Did you refuse the shipment or pay for shipping to send it back? Do you have tracking information?</p>
<p>If the seller agreed to the return and you followed the seller’s return terms, I would open a Paypal dispute. Keep it factual and without emotion. Something like - Bought item xxx on DATE, seller agreed to a return, sent package back on DATE tracking xxxxxxx. Returned unopened box. Seller now claims parts missing in return and refuses to give refund.</p>
<p>NO phone calls, do everything through the Paypal resolution center. Opening a dispute opens communication regarding the situation. It does not escalate to a claim until you choose to escalate it (which must be done in a specific time period).</p>
<p>Since this is a large volume seller, it’s possible they have your return mixed up with someone else’s. There are bad buyers who do switch out items.</p>
<p>If you open a dispute, DO NOT CLOSE IT until you have your funds back. You cannot reopen a dispute. </p>
<p>NOTE: If the total was $250 (including shipping) or greater, the seller should have sent the package with signature confirmation. You should have also returned with signature confirmation. </p>
<p>DO NOT dispute it through your credit card until you go through the Paypal dispute process.</p>
<p>One more note: you can only open one dispute - either through eBay or PayPal. I’d choose PayPal.</p>
<p>If you lose the PayPal dispute, you can then file a second dispute with your credit card company directly. Do not do this before the PP resolution process is over. See 13.7 on link below</p>