This is a story about a naive buyer who was so happy to find what she was looking for on Ebay that she almost lost her common sense...not to mention $500. This will sound like a dramatization but I can assure you that it happened exactly as stated and what you will read is the lowfat version sparing you alot of the agonizing details that led me to the end result. The moral of this guide?? To help buyers learn that not only is it of utmost importance to KNOW the Ebay and Paypal policies on Buyer Protection, Paypal Resolution Center and the Dispute center, but to NEVER, EVER, EVER agree to purchase an item outside of an auction regardless of how great a deal the seller will give you. If you would rather skip the personal story of my experience with a crappy seller...then scroll down to the list of How To Protect Yourself.
I purchased a pair of Diamond Solitaire Stud earrings for an unbelievable bargain. The seller claimed to have purchased a lot of them from a local jewelry store close out sale. He had 4 pair to sell. Frankly, I can't even remember what his feedback was but since he is no longer a registered member...I can't even look him up. I'd like to think that even as a novice Ebayer at the time, I would have been smart enough to NOT do business with a seller with a lousy feedback rating but who knows? I very well may have been blinded by the light bouncing off those 2 ct. total weight diamond studs in my mind's eye to be thinking clearly but I did the unthinkable...I agreed to purchase them outside of an auction. The seller had already done the first 3 auctions which I missed and he said that instead of listing the final pair, he would just sell them to me and save me the shipping fee and I said TERRIFIC! I know, I know...idiot, right?? Tis true, and while I tried to ignore the nagging feeling in my stomach that I was making a mistake...I didn't really understand the magnitude of such dumb business on my part until I received the earrings.
Anyway...I emailed him via My Messages, and also through his personal email address which he gave me. Looking back, I was glad I had done that because it gave me a starting place to search for him but normally I suggest using the My Messages feature so all of your messages to/from seller are documented by Ebay.
The seller gave me his phone number and said I could call him with any questions. I did. We spoke a couple of times. This did somewhat assuage the feeling in my gut that I was making a mistake. I asked him questions about the diamonds, and then a few polite questions about himself like what he did for a living, where he worked, etc. I found out that he was in the military so I immediately felt better about my decision because I thought that nobody in our military would cheat a civilian. Good thing I did as this is how I played Nancy Drew.
I received my earrings and they turned out to be a pair of horrible, tacky diamond cluster earrings. I emailed again and again and no reply. I left about a million phone messages. No reply. I reported it to Paypal to see what could be done. Ebay couldn't help because I had purchased the items outside of an auction but I learned that he had also rooked the other 3 buyers. I got in contact with them and we all spoke with each other and discussed how we would handle this. The one had already logged her complaint via Paypal and was waiting. The other two the followed suit but had sent the seller Money Orders so Paypal couldn't help them. I was too angry to sit around and simply wait so I then began to utilize the resources I had available to me. My computer.
I wrote down everything I could remember about what we discussed. I had his address from the Paypal notice and from the package my crappy earrings were in. I knew his name, number and the branch of military he served in. I searched the white pages and got his home phone number and called again and again. I then went to Yahoo and did search using his email addie. That brought me to his Personal Page. There I found a second email address and other semi personal info he had listed about himself. I then searched the military branch he belonged to and phoned a department I had remembered he had mentioned. I spoke with a secretary who connected me to the service desk where he was working. The person I spoke to there told me that he was in class and I remembered he had said that he was in the middle of a program and would be soon testing so I left a message for him there and ALSO on the voice mail of the department where he worked making sure that I said exactly what this was concerning so all how heard it would know what a thief this guy was!
Didn't hear back from him after a few days so I hunted some more. I called the numbers I had in his base and found out his Commanding Officer's name and was connected to him. I left word for him to return my call and then actually called the school he was attending on base telling the secretary that it was urgent that she took a message to him in class and that I would wait on the phone for a reply. The message said that I found him, knew where he was and planned on going up the food chain of command to get my money back unless he contacted me. My reply was that he would call directly after class. He emailed instead within 15 minutes and asked that I please not call his school again and that he would pay me back and I had an E-check from Paypal that afternoon. 3 days later it bounced or whatever an e-check can do that would be considered bouncing!
In the meanwhile, his CO called me back and I told him the entire story, including my disgust that a member of our armed services would do this to a trusting civilian and my anger that his attempt at restitution failed. He was extremely apologetic and assured me that he would talk to the petty officer and get this matter resolved. I received another email from the officer/seller begging me to NOT contact his Commanding Officer again and while he was in his CO's office, they phoned me and assured me that a Paypal payment would be coming and that it would go through. I received the payment 2 days later and surprise surprise...it was another E-check. Get this?! IT BOUNCED AGAIN!!!
I was beyond angry. The CO got yet another phone call but I didn't stop there. I contacted the JAG core and spoke with an attorney there who was to look into it. While all of this was going on, I was reporting this incident to the Internet Fraud Prevention Center and any other group I thought could help. Nothing.
The attorney sent me some info and when I called back, was told that I was not privvy to any information on the officer anymore as he had been transferred to a different base. She said she had forwarded the info to the CO at his base and I would have to wait for a response and that there was nothing else she could do.
I didn't accept that so I called 411 and got the phone number of the base where he had been transferred.....across the darn country!! Literally, thousands of miles away!!! All of this in a matter of weeks which it then dawned on me that he had intended fraud all along because he KNEW that he was moving and probably couldn't be tracked down!! Well he had never met me and had no idea what he was up against, but I digress...
I called the base, was very polite, asked a few questions, and got the phone number of the highest rank at this base. I called and told him the entire story and he gave me the name and number of the CO of my little runaway seller, along with his word that he intended to have this issue resolved before they shipped out. (meanwhile...I was freaking out ot realizing how close I was to never, ever getting my money back not knowing that this guy was shipping out to some faraway place) He asked for 24 hours to speak with the partied involved. I agreed.
I received a call from the CO the next day and want to know the first question he asked? "How did I get the number of HIS boss as he wasn't even privvy to it?" (super sleuth that I am) Anyway, the CO said the petty officer in question had only arrived 48 hours earlier to his base and he hauled him into his office for questioning about this matter. Talk about shock! The seller couldn't believe I had tracked him down! I told the CO that there were 2 other buyers behind me and I planned on giving them the contact info so they would be reimbursed as well so he should inform the seller to be prepared. (the one buyer who had paid via Paypal had been the first reimbursed before the seller moved across the country as she was the first buyer to purchase a pair of the earrings)
The final agreement was I had to send the earrings to the CO and he would hold them in his safe until a Money Order was sent to me, deposited and cleared before he would turn the earrings back over to the seller. This is exactly what happened. I received a grave apology from the CO and he passed along an apology from the seller. I never did hear from the Internet Fraud people, and Paypal couldn't help me because it was a dispute outside the scope of what they controlled because the transaction took place outside of Ebay.
I am sure that this story is hard to digest and somewhat unbelievable but it happened...to me...and could happen to you. It took up alot of my time to get this matter resolved not to mention being emotionally draining. I was angry at the seller, angry at myself for being so stupid in buying outside of an Ebay auction and angry that people could be so deceitful. If you ever find yourself in a situation like this, here are at least a few things to try to protect yourself:
HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF
1. If you win an auction and the seller's Contact Info appears to be phony...do NOT complete the payment process.
ex. Seller Information: aaa bbb city, state, zip
I actually had a seller with this contact info. Needless to say, he is no longer a registered user but this was the info he gave!! Do I need to tell you that if a seller has contact info that looks like this..DO NOT COMPLETE THE TRANSACTION.
2. If the seller's paypal address is different then their name...do not complete the payment. You will be given many excuses and reasons and justifications for this but it usually means they are up to something shady. This being said, I do NOT mean if your seller is Jane Doe and the address is John Doe and it is her husband...it is more than likely legit. When paypal confirms addresses; it is according to the address where credit card statements come and if a spouse's credit card is in her husband's name; then the name on the paypal address will be the husbands. Follow me?
3. Do NOT buy from a seller outside of an auction or you will have no recourse if the sale goes bad. If you miss an auction and the item didn't sell, message the seller to set up another auction so you can immediately do a BIN (buy it now) and if they agree...cool. If they say, "Just buy it from me and I will not charge you shipping"...walk away. They could disappear and if you have no other info on them then you can kiss your money goodbye.
4. If the seller does not send the merchandise or sends the merchandise and it is waaaaaaaaaaaaay different from what the auction described; contact the seller to allow them a chance to make it right, then immediately file a Dispute with Ebay and then open a Dispute with Paypal in the Resolution Center. Directly after this, call the credit card company your Paypal account is attached to and stop the payment from being made. This will allow the credit card company to file a claim in your name and they will also contact Paypal and begin their own investigation while holding that payment back. This is to protect yourself. Once the seller makes right on the merchandise you can close the disputes but you NEED to do this to protect yourself. If the seller totally blows you off...you have already started the process for Paypal to give you your money back.
5. Make sure you read a seller's feedback BEFORE you bid on an item. If it is 100% you are more than likely okay but it is shocking how there are sellers with 100% positive feedback and their merchandise is counterfeit, replicas and fakes but either their prices are so good or their buyers don't know the difference so nobody seems to care. Guess what? I CARE. It's not fair to the sellers who have integrity and is a smack in the face to Ebay that it happens under their nose. If a seller's feedback is less than 100% positive, read why. Some buyers/sellers leave negative feedback frivolously and have no basis for the negative feedback. Use your discretion.
6. Realize that if all of the above fails, you still have some resources. The internet can be a nightmare but it can also be a blessing so while we curse the fact that info is so easily accessible; we can at the same time be grateful that info is so easily accessible. If you have any info on the seller AT ALL...use it and track them down if they avoid you. I had a buyer once who not only received their merchandise; but then had the nerve to file a claim with Paypal saying that the payment was made without their authorization. Ya know what? My bad for shipping to an Unconfirmed Address which I made sure to NEVER make that mistake again but guess what? I had the buyer's name and address. I searched them online, found out the phone number was unlisted. I also found out that the address was in an apartment complex. I called the office manager of that complex and explained that it was urgent that I speak to their tenant. They gave me his number. I called and spoke to the roommate who kindly gave me his work number and there I finally spoke to him. Yea, he was a tad shocked. Guess what? He made payment again from his other paypal account that had a Confirmed address and all was well. You have to be careful because sometimes buyers try to cheat the sellers and you need to be smart. Use the info you have and do what you can to make sure that the transaction is completed fairly for all parties involved. Be Proactive.
I really hope this info helps buyers avoid some of the pitfalls of Ebaying. Read this again so it sinks in because I repeat, while it seems completely unbelievable..I went through it and I was determined to not let myself be a victim of my own stupidity so I did what I could to get my money back. You won't have to if you digest what you read and be smart about your transactions. Now please scroll down and click YES that you found this guide helpful. Go on... you've come this far with me so please...Vote Yes. Thank you!!!
Orignal From: BUYER PROTECTION, PAYPAL RESOLUTION and DISPUTES
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