Ebay - the scourge of mankind?

[JulianE]

I've over 1000 transcations on my various accounts and generally have had good sucess although there have been the odd occasions where there have been issues , these issues as a seller have been such a pain and not my fault .

For example a tyre sent and delivery attempted several times to definately the right adress and the buyer complaining still hasn't arrived I want my money back , you can't win against paypal they will give the money back regardless even if the buyer just changed their mind and thought creatively how to say no .

I also bought a used car part which when arrived was clearly worse than the one I was taking off , ( was fixing a trade-in to clear so didn't want to spend £££'s) , took me such a long time to get the money back but I did so thanks paypal on that one .

I always send abroad although there are a couple of exceptions , I sold a set of classic mini seat belts out of a cooper s , by selling worldwide I got 10x the value I had hoped for , and off to Japan they went tracked and insured of course

[Stuart]

Why not pay with PayPal using your credit card as the source of funds..? gives you two avenues to explore in the event of a transaction going sour.

 

Didn't think Section 75 worked with Paypal?

[Norman Verona]

I am using a credit card and not as a paypal member (if that's the right expression). 

 

Phil, I understand, don't blame you.

[Wile E. Coyote]

Didn't think Section 75 worked with Paypal?

 

Why wouldn't it?

 

Even if it didn't strictly apply, I would expect my CC co to process a chargeback request.

[Dodgey]

Impatient buyers asking where it is

Loads of people asking for postage quotes

Limited tracking

Dodgy b*******s claiming there's something wrong etc then you get the thing sent back and you end up suffering the postage.

I know its a minority spoiling it and I will sell stuff but always out of eBay paid by bank transfer and fully insured tracked postage

 

Ain't that the truth! - I've done a couple of international transactions and they just were not worth the hassle. I either got ripped off, they moaned about the postage, or it was just too much hassle when I could sell to a UK address for pretty much the same money.

 

As for having CC protection using Paypal - I've tried that avenue and nothing happened. Sent item to wining bidder with cleared paypal payment. Card turns out to be fraudulent, transaction reversed one week later - I've already posted the item. Paypal tell you tough luck, CC company agree. That's why if I send overseas, on the rare occasion, it's on the understanding I will wait 10 days for the paypal payment to "settle" 

[Norman Verona]

Just for the record I've never asked for the cost of postage. If the site doesn't tell me I just move to another site that does. In fact I've been quoted ridiculous prices so I keep looking until I get sensible prices.

 

Having siad all that, I rarely use Ebay, I try and track down a company website which has what I want.

[Stuart]

Why wouldn't it?

 

From Which's website:

 

Online purchases made through Paypal can be subject to section 75 protection if something goes wrong, according to legal advice obtained by Which?

Until recently, it has been widely believed that all PayPal transactions were not covered under this law.

However, a leading consumer law barrister has advised Which? that Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act will apply if a consumer buys a product of more than £100 (but not more than £30,000) from a business seller (rather than a private individual) and there is a breach of contract, such as the product not being as described.

 

 

It's something to do with the transaction only involving 3 parties I believe - the buyer, the seller and the credit card company.  Stick Paypal as an agent in the middle and not covered.

[Norman Verona]

I know I'm saying what everyone knows but there are two types of PayPal.

 

1) PayPal as the agent. This is where you pay PayPal and they pay the vendor.

 

2) PayPal as the credit card clearer, just like all the other clearing agents.

 

The second would have section 75 protection just as every other card transaction would have, in store, over the phone or internet.

 

Not sure about the first as you're paying PayPal not the vendor. The Vendor is paid by PayPal.

 

Have I got that right?

[Wile E. Coyote]

From Which's website:

 

Online purchases made through Paypal can be subject to section 75 protection if something goes wrong, according to legal advice obtained by Which?

Until recently, it has been widely believed that all PayPal transactions were not covered under this law.

However, a leading consumer law barrister has advised Which? that Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act will apply if a consumer buys a product of more than £100 (but not more than £30,000) from a business seller (rather than a private individual) and there is a breach of contract, such as the product not being as described.

 

 

It's something to do with the transaction only involving 3 parties I believe - the buyer, the seller and the credit card company.  Stick Paypal as an agent in the middle and not covered.

 

Your last paragraph contradicts the Which? quote...

 

Genuinely not sure where the stated "widely believed not covered" opinion that they mention comes from, but I really can't see why S75 would be affected in any way.  Also think you could argue the toss about coverage for private sellers too.

I'd probably disagree with Norman's analysis too: I doubt PayPal would want to be seen as the seller's agent from a contractual perspective.

 

In terms of fraudulent payments to you then there's absolutely no protection likely to be forthcoming from credit card company.  Cardholder not present transactions are a huge headache for them - hence the introduction of SecureCode and the such like.

[Norman Verona]

Wile, I'm not sure how the PayPal as an agency works. As far as I can see you pay money into your account with PayPal and then they pay it to the vendor. I thought PayPal guaranteed the buyer.

 

Have I got this wrong (the process, not the guarantee)

[SootySport]

You authorise Paypal to  send the money to the vendor , then Paypal collect the money from your agreed bank account which you set up for Paypal to take variable amounts.

[Norman Verona]

OK, slightly different. However the same principle in that PayPal pay for the goods. 

 

It may be, in law, that they buy the goods and sell them to you. 

[Dodgey]

Without researching the details, I remember reading that Paypal are in a rather unique position legally in that they operate just like a bank, but they are are not a bank, and consequently not controlled/regulated/covered by the same legalities like a bank. This is what makes them so slippery to deal with.

 

Saying that, Paypal offer a card-to-consumer service that simply no one else does. 3.5% and you can take cards for casual transactions. If you read Ebay selling guides they all say the same thing: "Lead your customers from Ebay to your own website - from there you build loyalty and you skip Ebay's 10% commission". Everyone still sucks up the 3.5% paypal fees until they are big enough to warrant their own card transaction services - no idea what the going rate is for that. Anyone?

[Norman Verona]

When i was running thé gîtes as business (395 per week-end) i had à système via RBS Whitehorse was à flat 25 per week-end. Don't think it's l'île Thatcher nos.