whatlep
Registered
This is a little cautionary tale for anyone using EBay/Paypal to buy, but one which reflects credit on Paypal. Since I generally malign Paypal (as a seller), it's only fair to present the other side of the coin. Now read on.....
In late October, I bought an LGB 28001 from German EBay. Obviously we are talking hundreds, not tens of pounds. Seller had good feedback and a decent rating. All the omens were good before I bid. He even took Paypal - luckily as it turned out.
So I paid and waited. After 10 days, I contacted my new German friend and asked where my 0-8-0 was. He replied within 12 hours: "sorry, I have only just belatedly shipped it. It should be with you within the week". OK, I thought and waited another 6 working days.
Now at this point I was starting to get twitchy, so I filed the formal EBay "transaction problem" report, requesting a full refund. About two days later, I noticed that my seller had had a couple of "negative feedbacks" due to non-delivery. Within another couple of days it was a torrent. On November 19th, EBay took down his account. It looks very much like the guy sold a few dozen items genuinely, then put up a swathe of items he either never had, or had no intention of supplying. Either way, he made over 3000 euros in dubious transactions by my reckoning.
To cut to the chase, having gone through EBay's refund process, I today received a full refund for all monies paid, including postage AND at the original pound:euro exchange rate. The latter is important as the pound has gained on the euro since the transaction date, so I could have suffered a loss on the exchange rates alone.
The real moral of this saga is that I have got all my money back only as I paid by Paypal. Since logging my claim, I've received two emails from German customers of the seller who have paid by bank transfer and presumably have no way of getting their cash back without pursuing the seller at law....
Caveat emptor! 8|
In late October, I bought an LGB 28001 from German EBay. Obviously we are talking hundreds, not tens of pounds. Seller had good feedback and a decent rating. All the omens were good before I bid. He even took Paypal - luckily as it turned out.
So I paid and waited. After 10 days, I contacted my new German friend and asked where my 0-8-0 was. He replied within 12 hours: "sorry, I have only just belatedly shipped it. It should be with you within the week". OK, I thought and waited another 6 working days.
Now at this point I was starting to get twitchy, so I filed the formal EBay "transaction problem" report, requesting a full refund. About two days later, I noticed that my seller had had a couple of "negative feedbacks" due to non-delivery. Within another couple of days it was a torrent. On November 19th, EBay took down his account. It looks very much like the guy sold a few dozen items genuinely, then put up a swathe of items he either never had, or had no intention of supplying. Either way, he made over 3000 euros in dubious transactions by my reckoning.
To cut to the chase, having gone through EBay's refund process, I today received a full refund for all monies paid, including postage AND at the original pound:euro exchange rate. The latter is important as the pound has gained on the euro since the transaction date, so I could have suffered a loss on the exchange rates alone.
The real moral of this saga is that I have got all my money back only as I paid by Paypal. Since logging my claim, I've received two emails from German customers of the seller who have paid by bank transfer and presumably have no way of getting their cash back without pursuing the seller at law....
Caveat emptor! 8|
and low and behold they repaid me as well,