The Ebay Thread

[Oxynia]

Where does she live? We can organize a little visit for her.

What, Godtopher, a horse's head to go with the saddle? (Sorry, couldn't resist).

Kanding, eBay should give you contact information on the buyer (name, mailing address and phone number) and does offer mediation if the buyer doesn't respond to you. Did she have positive feedback and lots of it, or was she new to eBay? I'd send her a registered letter explaining her payment options and give her time to respond (say, ten business days) but then would contact eBay directly for some help.

Worst case, your sister may be able to represent you in small claims court. Unfortunately none of these are immediate solutions so maybe Topher has the right idea. ;D

[kanding]

oxynia, I like the idea of trying to contact her by registered mail. That might make more sense and at least spell out her options. I'm not sure I can rely on ebay at this point because she did pay; payment was just sent back and I've got a beef with Paypal (ebay company) about that.

I've got her address and phone number. At least the registered letter will give me time before having to stalk her.

[Oxynia]

kanding, I meant to suggest you contact PayPal for help, not eBay...my error. A registered letter will give you the benefit of proof that she was contacted. If you have trouble sending it from overseas, maybe your sister can do it on your behalf. Good luck! That is indeed a lot of money!

[dnt]

Kandig I was thinking about your situation this morning (because these are the things that pop into my head when I'm sitting in traffic) and it occurred to me that maybe your buyer can't pay cash; she was using a credit card for her Paypal account. Of course, she should be able to call her credit card issuer and request a check issued against the card because I certainly get enough blank checks from my credit card providers. Or you could ask her to set up an account with another online payment service like Stormpay.

[kanding]

Thanks everyone for putting so much thought into a way out of this situation. DNT, I already know that her Paypal account is directly through her bank; that's why it took so long to set up.

I've decided to call her this weekend. Maybe she doesn't check the e-mail account to which I sent the messages too often. I've got three e-mail accounts but only one which I check daily. Maybe she isn't even aware there's a problem.

Thanks again. Really. I actually slept better last night after reading your responses.

[Oxynia]

kanding, keep us posted! I'm now very curious to know how this ends...better than TV these days. ;D

[marywebgirl]

I have my eye on a purse on eBay, but I'm a little suspicious of the seller. She's only had 23 auctions, the one I'm interested in ends at 1 a.m. Sunday morning (which just seems odd since she's in New York), it can't be returned, and I asked a question yesterday but still haven't received an answer, despite the fact that the seller said all questions should be asked before the end of the auction since the item is unreturnable. I'd be stupid to pursue this item, right?

Woo hoo! My 500th post!

[Oxynia]

MaryWebGirl, I wouldn't buy it. If it's not returnable (which I find odd for starters), you should have heard from her by now. If a big enough red flag went up for you to post here, your instincts are probably telling you something. I'd steer clear.

[zacandmax]

I won a buffet and glass door china cabinet for my dining room yesterday on Ebay for - get this - $102.50! Yay for me! Two pieces of solid wood furniture for little or nothing. The furniture is dated, but I'm a handy and thrifty person. With a bit of refinishing and some new hardware those pieces will look almost new. And the best part is, the couple lives about 20 minutes from my house, so no shipping. Sometimes I love Ebay.
The thing is, the wife is asking me to cancel my Paypal payment so that I can deliver the cash and pick the thing up this weekend instead of waiting for paypal to clear on 11/22/05. I don't have a problem with that, but Paypal won't let me cancel. I don't mind waiting for clearance to pick up the damn furniture, but apparently the ol' ball and chain is having folks over for Thanksgiving and is trying to get the furniture out ASAP. So she is emailing me, asking is there any way we can deny the payment so I can get the furniture sooner (and pay in cash). She is starting to get on my nerves. I'm ready to tell her to just wait for the gotdamn payment to clear, Lady, you knew when you put that shit on Ebay the timing was near Thanksgiving!! Don't rush me dammit!
Other than that I am pleased with my shrewd purchase and can't wait to get the furniture home.

[hobocamp]

Aw, this thread makes me sad. I've been banned from eBay for selling, um, bootlegs of MTV's The State about 5 years ago. I never ripped anyone off--I bought the copies myself as bootlegs from eBay for $80, and turned around and dubbed them a year or two later for 30-60 dollars each. I followed through with every single order and everyone was happy. Except eBay, and the copyright holders of the show. Well...

eBay finally caught onto it and banned me "until further notice." They swore it wouldn't be for life, as long as I "don't try it again" under a different name. Well, I haven't, and I'm terrified of trying to set up a new account (purely as a buyer, which I'm not even allowed to do) for fear of them banning me for life. But come on, 5 years?

So no more buying ANYTHING from them. It's been suckage for me. I learned my lesson, eBay! I really miss you, baby!