Protecting myself selling w/paypal???

[raroZ28]

I sold my 12 disc and radio to a guy out of state. I already told him I take paypal, but then I thought about it and now I'm afraid to accept paypal from people I don't really know. I mean, he's a random cz28 member. There are members here I wouldn't hesitate to accept paypal from, but I have a few horror stories.....

A friend of mine sold something. Guy told paypal it was DOA, and provided "proof" that he sent the item back. They refunded the money from my friend's account. Few days later he gets a box in the mail with a brick in it. Yes a brick. Paypal has been no help to him so far, but they were quick to refund the money.

My brother sold his Madden 06 on ebay. He is very clean and meticulous, he never touches the surface on the disc, everything the kid has is mint. So he sells it, and it was the same story. Kid said it was DOA, and paypal took the $ from my brothers account. Luckily, my brother got his original game back and not some broken version. Wasted time, gas, and money shipping, and paypal was no help to him either.

I am afraid of maybe him getting my changer, and maybe having a broken one himself. He tells paypal I sent him a bad unit, he gets a refund, and sends me his jacked unit, then I'm screwed.

Anybody know of a way to sell something "as is" with no way to get a refund? I might just tell him I only accept money orders... I just like how fast Paypal is, but I don't want to get screwed in the end.

[Blazer]

Call Paypal an talk to them they are super people i deal with them a lot. With Paypal or E-Bay you are allways going to have a few bad people to deal with but in the most they will help you out. good luck Blazer

[raroZ28]

well one thing I'm sure of, is if this guy does send me a jacked unit and takes my good one, he makes out with a refund, and a new 12 disc. Paypal will not do anything to help me. I guess I should just only accept money orders if I'm that worried about it.

[AmericanZ28]

What if you make it clear on the transaction notes that the item works and is "SOLD AS IS!" It's possible for things to get damaged during shipping also, is there no liability there? I hope this helps Raro.

[TraceZ]

I've never heard of anyone complaining about Paypal before, this is all news to me. I've been using it for years without issue to both send and receive money.

It sounds like you should call them and see what they advise you to do for a "as is" sale. Do they have a "no refunds" option?

[raroZ28]

From a buddy on another forum...

"I sold a set of powdercoated 67 Mustang hood hinges on ebay a few months ago. The buyer told me they wouldn't fit his car... His car was a 66!! They dummy didn't read the description or didn't know what parts fit his car. He filed a dispute against me based on "inaccurate description". The auction stated the hinges were for 67/68 Mustang. Paypal sided with him and took $112 out of my account and refunded his money based on his proof he sent the item back to me. I got the box a few days after he got his refund...it contained a brick and a note. The note said "Thanks for the hinges" and had a smiley face on it. This Ahole got my hinges and $112 of my money!!! I notified paypal of this and they said they could do nothing because the dispute was closed and there could only be one dispute per transaction.

I am very leary of Paypal. I only use it when I know the person or if it is a small amount.

Check out this site:

www.paypalsucks.com

Chris"


I'm going to look more into the as-is option right now. I guess I have to call them because you can't get online support, and you can only email them a one sentence question.

[Crazy Canuk]

I have only been a buyer with paypal/ebay and I have only had one problem, although a big one.

You could do a couple things to protect yourself, get two professional writen statements that the unit works w/o a problem before you send it. Make sure you ship it with good packaging and take pictures. Then ask him if he wants insurance on the item (which he pays for with the shipping charges). That way if it is DOA the issue falls with the shipper not you. I personaly would never buy electronics AS IS. it is like buying a car as is, I look at it as there is something wrong with it but the seller dosn't want to tell you what it is.

I recently bought a $200 US head unit off of ebay, it wasnt like the picture and it was shipped in a flimsy paper bag with bubble wrap around it (1 layer) I was like wth is this but it worked so it's acceptable told him I didn't like how it was shipped but I still saved from buying new and it is nice so I am ok with it.

Sometimes you get bad people all you can do is protect yourself the best you can. My advice is if you have any problem DO NOT WAIT, paypal and ebay have time limits to file claims. It's easier to go thru them then the courts.

[ryan34]

u have their address right? Go to there house and teach them a lesson if they pull that on you.

[Blazer]

No biggy just stay off E-bay an do not use Paypal. An sleep well every nite end of your hang ups. Blazer

[Craig 94 TA GT]

I've been buyer and seller and haven't had a problem with Paypal at all. In fact, I prefer Paypal...but that's because I've never had a dispute before. So, I'm unaware of how disputes work, and how their customer service is.
I think Paypal tries to do good, but it's the scammers who ruin it...i.e. the "brick" incident.

My only suggestion is: on the ebay auction, state that the bidder must have xx number of feedback, to show they're an experienced buyer/seller. Or else, cancel their bid. Of course, that doesn't mean they won't scam you, but it gives you a higher sense of security. I highly doubt an ebayer with a high feedback rating will attempt or keep attempting to scam sellers. I know for a fact Ebay/Paypal will see the disputes/auctions ratio and flag the user down. I once posted a "test" auction and they gave me a warning...so it shows they really watch what's going on. But again, this doesn't guarantee you won't get scammed

[raroZ28]

No biggy just stay off E-bay an do not use Paypal. An sleep well every nite end of your hang ups. Blazer

lol, yep, that's about what it boils down to. I don't think I'll use paypal to sell, I'll just use it for buying things. Screw it.

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

Anything that happens like that can be reported as internet fraud, and it is an interstate crime which can be reported to the FBI and the Attourny Generals of both states (yours & his) and there are web sites for this. And if some knob ever sends me a brick refund, I will find out where he lives and send it through his living room window some day and hopefully into his TV.

[TraceZ]

And if some knob ever sends me a brick refund, I will find out where he lives and send it through his living room window some day and hopefully into his TV.

I agree. It would be worth $500 in airfare to go do it too. Man, that would really roast me if someone mailed a brick to me. They would defenitely get it back the hard way.

[raroZ28]

Yeah I told the guy to post his address on the forum, because we have members from all over, one of us would surely pay a visit. He never posted his addy, but said that the address he sent got hit by the worst of Katrina, so the guy most likely lost everything.

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

I agree. It would be worth $500 in airfare to go do it too. Man, that would really roast me if someone mailed a brick to me. They would defenitely get it back the hard way.

Yeah, that dude, whoever he was, would hafta be in the ER Sunday mornin' for an emergency brickectomy!