did i screw up?

scottyboy76

A few weeks ago, I turned down an offer from an ebay seller with a long good record, not even a neutral remark, to pay for some speaks he had pulled from an auction because of my interest.

After many emails,with no previous mention,he refused to sell them to me thru his ebay store account, he said he had only pulled them from the bay to sell to me because he could save ebay fees if i sent the paypal payment to his personal account.

Is there any reason to worry using paypal that way rather than ebay, from reading ebays assurances, they basically try to moderate, but the only real power buyer has is to put negative rating on sellers page, and to pursue through paypal.

Any advice on ebay or paypal experiences in real life would be greatly app., as i have the top bid right now on an item.

shawn474

I would suggest that you not do that. He can always post a classified ad or an auction with a buy-it-now option. Hell, if he is offering you a good deal, I would even offer to pay the ebay fees just so youre protected.

PerfectCreature

I would stick with eBay. The fees, are really not that much. If he is worried, offer to pay a little extra over your final invoice price to help him out.
In the end, is the risk really worth the payout? He listed them on eBay knowing full well he would have to pay fees. Wanting to get around them in understandable, but at that point you are placing him with a lot of power.
It could go eitherway, it is your money so I would do whichever you feel safer doing.

exalted512

wouldnt paypal protect him?
-Cody

chumlie

Not yet. You still have your money. Keep it that way and go thru ebay.

Polkersince85

I may be incorrect but Paypal will only buyer protect though the Ebay auction. Otherwise it is just a money transfer for goods. I personally wouldn't do it. You have no protection outside of ebay as it would be a personal sale.

Mr. Sharpe

I ordered an Atlantic DVD tower thing from some bogus company called Gigacore Technologies and they used Paypal, I paid for it. waited two weeks and it never shipped. Never once was a phone call or email answered. I told Paypal about it and they deleted the account and refunded my money.
I don't know if there's a difference using paypal through Ebay or doing it just sending someone money but I figure that was just like sending this guy money, but like I said, they gave me my money back and did other stuff too.
I have only purchased about 5 things off ebay and never had a problem with anyone not sending things. I guess you can either one though, as long as it's through paypal I think you're good.

scottyboy76

Thanks for all your comments, BTW, i kept an eye out for these speaks on the bay, he waited about a week, put them back up for auction, im now the high bidder at 10 bucks more than he wanted before.

Ill know in about four days if i win.

Im also negotiating with someone on the polk wanted forum for some speakers, hes not a business person, so one of the things at question is, how to cover myself while paying for goods a thousand miles away, based on the guy seeming fine, merchandise seeming to be in mint cond. And him agreeing to a trusted polkie from cincinatti auditioning them for me if i can locate someone willing to do that.

tonyb

When buying used from a private person you in essence take a leap of faith, which is why it's best to know that person and/or his standing here if it's a member. The other way to cover yourself is buy the insurance for shipping. If they are big speakers, use a trusted freight carrier, not UPS, or Fed Ex.

Mr. Sharpe

Hey good luck getting the speakers Scotty! and good luck with the other purchase. I believe if the seller isn't trusted he will be well known for it, I read some really old threads posted by the BlueMonkey and well... he wasn't trusted... at all. but lets not get started on that:)

exalted512

I purchased something through a forum and didnt receive it. PayPal refunded my money...
-Cody

EndersShadow

reported

SDA1C

nealpanogma wrote: »

buy generic viagra

What he said^^^...JK:cheesygrin:

I put a down payment on a truck in Washington for some work I was doinG out there. It was a craigslist ad but I went through Paypal. When I got there the vehicle was in horrible condish. (cracked manifolds burn wiring...)

I called Paypal and they said with private transactions they have no legal recourse, only through Ebay do they have legal grounds. However, they did pressure the seller and her account and refunded my entire deposit.

PerfectCreature

It is hit or miss with paypal, you may get your money back and you may not.
I really would not place yourself in a situation where there was even a tiny chance you could be out of your money.

Mr. Sharpe

well if PerfectCreature says it's hit and miss I wouldn't do it. I didn't know it was hit and miss, then again I haven't used Paypal enough without Ebay to know.

heiney9

Paypal is NOT hit and miss if you use Ebay for transactions. If you use Paypal OUTSIDE of Ebay it can be hit and miss. People, you really need to read the user agreements for both Paypal and Ebay. Ebay's new policy is they will basically ensure you get your money back up to a certain limit even if they don't collect anything from the seller, as long as you have proof/documentation you were wronged.

If using Paypal outside of Ebay, IIRC, PP can only guarantee to refund what the seller has as available funds in their PP account. Although I believe you can escalate it and they freeze funds that come into the seller's PP account subsequently. That's the way I understand it to be.

Since many legitmate on line retailers now accept Paypal I don't worry to much about transactions outside EBAY. In fact I've started to prefer doing business with on line retailers that accept Paypal because it's a helluva lot more convenient than entering a CC number and the associtated information.

Whenever I buy from Parts Express or Parts Connexion I use the PP option, it;s a breeze. PC does pass the cost of using PP onto the customer so I do need to add 3%, but IMO, it's worth it

H9

PerfectCreature

Mr. Sharpe wrote: »

well if PerfectCreature says it's hit and miss I wouldn't do it. I didn't know it was hit and miss, then again I haven't used Paypal enough without Ebay to know.

It really could go either way, I personally have never been turned down a refund by paypal.
I had iTunes charge $250 to my account last Christmas because I had some "auto-recharge" enabled and paypal was linked to the account. I called them up and the refund was placed immediately, my account was locked until the refund went through which took about a week.
The problem is that eBay specifically states that anyone who suggests such methods should be ignored, and for you to walk away.
With it having a history on eBay, and then you choosing to give up the safegaurds of "Buyer Protection" you are taking a risk.
I am not saying, NO! do not do it, I am advising caution, because this could be the one time you don't get your money back.
Better safe then sorry, as the saying goes.

PerfectCreature

heiney9 wrote: »

Paypal is NOT hit and miss if you use Ebay for transactions. If you use Paypal OUTSIDE of Ebay it can be hit and miss. People, you really need to read the user agreements for both Paypal and Ebay. Ebay's new policy is they will basically ensure you get your money back up to a certain limit even if they don't collect anything from the seller, as long as you have proof/documentation you were wronged.

If using Paypal outside of Ebay, IIRC, PP can only guarantee to refund what the seller has as available funds in their PP account. Although I believe you can escalate it and they freeze funds that come into the seller's PP account subsequently. That's the way I understand it to be.

Since many legitmate on line retailers now accept Paypal I don't worry to much about transactions outside EBAY. In fact I've started to prefer doing business with on line retailers that accept Paypal because it's a helluva lot more convenient than entering a CC number and the associtated information.

Whenever I buy from Parts Express or Parts Connexion I use the PP option, it;s a breeze.

H9

That is more or less correct, but the person is suggesting the item be removed from ebay, so they can buy it "outside of ebay" to avoid the fees. Hence my statement of hit or miss.

heiney9

PerfectCreature wrote: »

It is hit or miss with paypal, you may get your money back and you may not.
I really would not place yourself in a situation where there was even a tiny chance you could be out of your money.

PerfectCreature wrote: »

That is more or less correct, but the person is suggesting the item be removed from ebay, so they can buy it "outside of ebay" to avoid the fees. Hence my statement of hit or miss.

That's not what you said, your original post reads like a general statement, but now that you've explained it, I see.

H9

Mr. Sharpe

I didn't know Parts used Paypal, neat. I'd probably never use it for them bc I've never ever had a problem with them, bc they're just awesome.

PerfectCreature

heiney9 wrote: »

That's not what you said, your original post reads like a general statement, but now that you've explained it, I see.

H9

Sorry, you are right. It was a little general.

scottyboy76

allright, thanks all.

the personal experiences are very helpful, it seems i did right backing out of privat transaction, both because of danger of getting ripped, and if my bid stands app. 3 more days, i get the speaks for just a little more thru ebay.

Now the private sale here on cp is a little tougher, the guy comes across very well, he has beautiful speaks, original packing, will allow a polkie in cincinatti to audition them, and meet him,...but, its 400 to 500 dollars i will be casting into the ether.

This wont need a decision until sunday, when the bid ends for the first set were discussing.

In the meantime, i might ask around about polkies who might live near him and want to hear some nice speaks.

Thank you all.

EndersShadow

scottyboy76 wrote: »

This wont need a decision until sunday, when the bid ends for the first set were discussing.

Glad its not my decision to make :eek:. Hope it works out for you either way!

scottyboy76

I have even mentioned in pms about possibly sending a money order to a trusted, willing polkie, to hold until speaks are here and verified to be as advertised.

The possible seller did not respond, but it seems to leave us sorta in same boat, my money is gone, his speaks are gone, money does not change hands until both partys give go ahead, might even be a fiver or one of my cds or something, just to make it worth the polkies time.

Just a thought.

heiney9

As far as dealing with Polkies, sometimes it requires a leap of faith. As long as the amount isn't too absurd if you lose it, you should be fine. But it's up to you and only YOU can determine the amount of risk you're willing to take.

I have had nothing but great transactions with Polkies, but I don't think I've spent over $200 on any one item w/o picking it up in person. I've spent over $1K on a single item off Audiogon and I can tell you I was sweating a little bit on that one. But it was a used item, no longer made, so what choice did I have but to buy it used.

Last item I bought on Ebay that weren't tubes was a pair of 8' MIT Shotgun S3 speaker cables. I got a good deal and things worked out but that was $500.

It's about assuming risk when dealing with unknown people and unknown condition of products. I can only think of 6 times in several hundred transactions that there was an issue of damage or not as described and I prevailed in all of them with either a full refund or partial refund to compensate for a damaged item I chose to keep. That includes close to 100/pairs of used tubes. I have had 3 problems with used tubes and in all but 1 case (which was settled in my favor by EBAY) the seller has stepped up and fixed the problem with a refund or replacement and in one case a refund and keep the tubes.

But, I am also careful who I choose to deal with and ask the right questions and have a strict policy about certain tell tale signs a seller *could* be less genuine. I have also been lucky too. To have dealt with some really great people.

H9

Mr. Sharpe

scottyboy76 wrote: »

I have even mentioned in pms about possibly sending a money order to a trusted, willing polkie, to hold until speaks are here and verified to be as advertised.

The possible seller did not respond, but it seems to leave us sorta in same boat, my money is gone, his speaks are gone, money does not change hands until both partys give go ahead, might even be a fiver or one of my cds or something, just to make it worth the polkies time.

Just a thought.

I've only purchased one thing from this forum, from Geppy1, and I sent him a money order and he sent me the things from some 80's speakers that looked brand new. it really does take a leap of faith.

scottyboy76

thankfully, the ebay seller of the 1as, withdrew the sale and informed me one speaker had all of a sudden, stopped working.

So, the new member here on cp are going to speak on the phone tomorrow, Im thinking if we agree on price, that i will use paypal and take a chance, here are the reasons.

He is willing to let a cincinnati polkie come into his house, audition speaks for me, so I cant believe they arent right.

Paypal does have some form of redress, if he was 100% scamming, he would ask for a money order or something, i guess.

Gotta be honest, im kinda sweating it, but they sure do look nice.