Rob in Oz

I read some critical comments from time to time on here and elsewhere regarding the effectiveness of PayPal in recovering your money after a failed transaction - ie the seller doesn't send the goods. As I've just initiated a claim, I'd be interested to hear Rennlisters' experiences in this, both successful and unsuccessful.
Thanks

Rob

Porsche917K

Generally if a transaction goes wrong Paypal will take the money back from the seller and refund it to the buyer unless the seller has concrete proof that the buyer received the goods. This is why I hate taking payment for parts sold through paypal. It sounds like you are the buyer though, so you might be on the right side of this one.

PorscheZen

/\ +1

WPOZZZ

I hate using Paypal's dispute service as they will only refund you the amount in the person's Paypal account. If you are owed $800 and the account has $10, all you get is the $10. Paypal will then say that is all they can do. Instead, I always use the credit card option and have my cc company go after the Paypal account holder.

speedmoore

I've had two fraudulent incidents and paypal did not do a damn thing to refund my money.

I bought an input shaft for a 308 Ferrari that when I received it was junk.....no help getting refund.

I bought a VTECH phone system that was new in box but did not work......no help getting refund.

I'm very careful of whom I buy from now and check out their profile pretty close.

I've had a couple things that were bad that the seller was absolutely stand up and took care of it with in days but they were sellers with good feedback and also ones I knew of beforehand.

speedmoore

I use credit card for transactions with new sellers I have no experience with like Amex. Amex has always been top notch in following through with problems in the past.

groovzilla

i've got a hell of alot of experience with both PAYPAL and EBAY...over 1200 transactions on ebay and of those 1200 i have 670 feedbacks...

they are all positive feedbacks except for 1 which was the result of a PAYPAL transaction 2 years ago...it pisses me off even thinking about it because i have always been customer service oriented and have always done everything in my power to make the buyer or seller satisfied with my transaction.

most of my selling on ebay are 356 porsche parts from the over 40 cars i bought 15 years ago when i was heavy into the 356A coupes

4 years ago i sold a speedometer on ebay to a guy in brazil who would not respond to my request for payment including the $18 to ship the speedo to brazil with tracking confirmation...i sent over 20 emails to him and he finally responded a week later and demanded i send the speedometer to him for $10 shipping...he sent the paypal payment w/o hearing a response from me ...he did not respond when i sent 5 more emails demanding the $8 to cover the shipping so i sent the speedo regular registered mail so it would have to be signed for upon receipt of goods...he contacted paypal immediately AFTER i sent him this email and demanded PAYPAL refund his $$ because i did not send the speedo.

PAYPAL asked for proof of shipping from me and all i had was the registered mail receipt with no signature because it would be another 10 days before it would arrive in brazil...PAYPAL immediately refunded his money and to top it off the ******* left me negative feedback...

obviously this guy was working the system but these are the types of people you have to look out for....he had alot of positive feedback but there were quite a few negatives and i should have known better...his username was: hardtofindpart and he was kicked off ebay a year ago because he was doing this often...* you can still look up his username using advance search and finding him under "seller" and see the negative comment i gave him on feb 16th 2003..it gives me great pleasure to view it once and awhile......my username is : groovzilla1959

deep_uv

I've never had a problem buying or selling with established people on the main forums like here and Pelican. And by established, I don't mean a zillion posts, you can quickly check a few posts and tell if they're probably ok to deal with. Ebay is a whole 'nuther story. I've been burned twice by people with a long history of good and current feedback who suddenly dropped off the face of the earth the minute I bought something. It happened a couple of years ago. I paid paypal on both occasions and on one I got my money back less $25 the other, I got nothing. It actually happened to me two transactions in a row, I was thinking WTF??? That said, never a problem before or after that. Still, I'm much more comfortable with fellow enthusiasts and businessmen in the forums because most people want to maintain a good reputation.

TR6

I've had (so far) good luck with paypal including one transaction where I had to file a claim. That transaction was from an ebay auction where I purchased a guitar from someone. The guy had a couple of negative feedbacks for slow shipping and poor communications, but I traded a couple of emails with him where he explained that those transactions occurred during his finals week (college student) or when he was moving from dorm to home. Hence delays in shipping/communication. I thought, ok, I'll give the guy the benefit of the doubt, especially since he took the time to answer my very direct questions about his negative feedback. As you can predict, after I sent him the money via paypal, he stopped communicating after he told me he shipped it. Guitar never arrived and tracking number that he sent showed no activity. I patiently sent him multiple emails over several weeks, filed an incident with ebay, and then a claim with paypal. I never got nasty or personal in my emails. Just the facts. Paypal took a few weeks to "investigate it" (whatever that means), and then refunded 100% of my payment including the shipping amount. I feel like I lucked out. But I've heard enough paypal horror stories to be wary of them.

RonCT

I've had 100% success with PayPal, probably because I make sure to ONLY buy something through them via my CC. If I have a balance there, I request they send it all to me first, then I buy the new item using my CC as the funding source. Only then am I comfortable that if something goes wrong I'm 100% sure to get a full refund.

deep_uv

+1^^^^^^

Best way to do it when buying.

TR6

That is definitely a good method for buying. But I don't think that will help you if you are selling via paypal and someone files a claim against you like what happened to Groovzilla. That is assuming you are "verified" meaning that you have given them your bank account information.

stanm5

I recently had my first paypal claim and it could not have gone better.
I bought 4 tires on Ebay that the seller advertised as winter tires. He had over 1800 positive transactions and felt comfortable buying them.
When they arrived they were all season not winter as he described. I wanted to return them he said ok but that he would only refund the purchase price not the $80 for shipping. I offered to split the $80 plus I was on the hook for the return shipping.
I contacted paypal and made an inquiry (I think that's the term) and told my story. The seller then escalated it to a claim. Within 48 hours paypal ruled in my favour and returned the money to my cc.
I was still out the return shipping cost but I was still very satisfied with the process and end result.

Cheers,
Stan

Rob in Oz

Hey guys, thanks for your responses. I'm pleased to announce that I received this email from PayPal a couple of days ago:

We have concluded our investigation into your case and have decided in your
favour.

We were able to recover $136.50 AUD, and this amount has been credited to
you. Please allow five business days for this adjustment to be posted.

Checked the card account tonight and the money is in the bank!

Score 1 to PayPal for the customers!

Cheers

Rob

dfinnegan

In my book PayPal has a -1,000. I'll add your +1, as I try to look for the positives. Though, to be sure, they have a long, long way to go.