Ebay Rant.

[Darwin]

What is it with Ebay and Paypal ?


If you post an item in normal post you can't prove buyer had it so the sneaky B*stards complain to paypay and paypal refunds it automatically.

So you make recorded delivery compulsary and then people complain to ebay about your postal charges being to high.:doh

Grrrrrrrr :nenau

 

[zippy656]

yep, all good fun.

no one is happy either way

 

[lacroupade]

I know its a no-win situation in some ways Darwin, but seeing the number of sellers (that I wouldn't touch with a bargepole) trying to say "delivery not my problem" (despite the fact that it plainly is), I have to say I understand and prefer to pay for 'signed for' delivery personally.

That might inflate the cost of what you're selling a bit, but if you put a standard statement in your auctions that its to protect both parties, and you are only charging it at cost plus a bit, 99.9% of buyers should be OK with it I think you'll find.

Sadly the days of eBay being a largely trustworthy community of amateurs is long since gone.....

 

[Liam]

What is it with Ebay and Paypal ?


If you post an item in normal post you can't prove buyer had it so the sneaky B*stards complain to paypay and paypal refunds it automatically.

So you make recorded delivery compulsary and then people complain to ebay about your postal charges being to high.:doh

Grrrrrrrr :nenau

Don't know about Royal Mail but in Ireland we can get a proof of postage receipt for items posted standard mail. Primarily used by parents/students for college applications as they need to be posted by a particular date and the colleges accept these receipts as proof of posting by closing date.Perhaps it is worth asking at the Post Office next time?

 

[Terranosaurus]

Don't know about Royal Mail but in Ireland we can get a proof of postage receipt for items posted standard mail. Primarily used by parents/students for college applications as they need to be posted by a particular date and the colleges accept these receipts as proof of posting by closing date.Perhaps it is worth asking at the Post Office next time?

Unfortunately ebay/paypal won't accept that it has to be a digitally tracked item so they can plug a number into a website and see the status of the delivery.

 

[lacroupade]

I think the problem is that proof of posting has limited use (you can do it here as well); its usually for official stuff like Pajo suggests, e.g. "I posted a cheque for my tax disc guv - honest!"...the contractual onus (and technically when you buy/sell on eBay it IS a legal contract whatever people would like to think) on a seller is to ensure that the buyer gets delivery of whatever they bought...and for that you need proof of delivery unfortunately.

On the other side of the coin, this protects you as a buyer from unscrupulous sellers...

 

[lacroupade]

Terr I don't think that capability applies to Royal Mail standard recorded deliveryitems - parcels yes but not small packets sent at lowest costs with just 'signed for' option requested, its not commercially viable at that level...the only time stuff gets tracked in detail like that is when you see the bloke at the door with his little gadget to record his every move, and often get your signature on as well...trust me, logistics is my speciality this week.

 

[tezzer]

on our local radio, a guy came on and complained that paypal had taken £320.00 from his account because the buyer said he never recieved a laptop he won, they never tried to contact the seller first to see if he had proof of postage. that bit with paypal where it states you are protected upto £500.00, well thats how they cover you. i had similar recently, all i done when the guy complained to me, was to remove my card details. :thumbs






tezzer

 

[lacroupade]

Hi Tezzer...I think that story probably lost a bit of detail to make it sound more scandalous. In Paypals favour, they don't debit sale proceeds without contacting the seller first for their side of the story - thats what the dispute process is about. And proof of posting means only that, that it got shipped - not that it arrived at the other end. The seller has to prove it got delivered, i.e. 'signed for' delivery.

Like I said, the law of contract (common law, not just eBay) makes it the sellers responsibility, where mail is the selected method, to ensure that the item arrives....if they can't then they remain liable to deliver or provide a refund. Impossible to deliver again if you've sold a one-off, so refund is the only other option....delete your cards but Paypal then dumps you!

Frankly it doesn't cost that much - and what sort of idiot ships a £320 laptop without covering his backside in this way?

What I will admit is that eBay is CRAP at making this clear to people.....doesn't matter whether you are a private or business seller the law of contract is the same....if theres been offer (to sell) and acceptance (to buy at that price and on the Ts and Cs given, provided they don't override contract law, e.g. you can't contract out of responsibility for delivery) then in law a sales contract exists. On the other side of the coin, if a seller got too low a price and refused to ship, the buyer could very easily sue for completion if they wished - £25 in Small Claims Court.

So whenever you see a seller saying things like "I'll provide PoP so the buyer can make a claim if the item is lost" is talking rubbish. The seller is responsible for delivery, and if he can't prove it and the seller refutes it, then the seller is stuffed in law, thats the way it is.

 

[tezzer]

hi lacroupade, thanks for your reply, what basicly happened a guy sold a laptop on ebay, several weeks later the buyer claimed he had not recieved the item, now this program is where they have experts (solicitors) on air to help with these sort of problems, i dont know what was said off air, but it got to the stage were the presenter had to stop the discussion because of possible legal procedings, so i assume that he had some sort of case or maybe he had proof of postage, i dont know, but the presenter said he would update at a later date, it could take months or longer i suppose.:thumb2





tezzer

 

[lacroupade]

That might have a different complication cos I think from memory you have report non-delivery within a fairly short time on eBay don't you, after which Paypal doesn't help either way. I've used it 2-3 times when I've been sold obvious fakes for example - usually the threat of bad feedback etc.. makes the seller cave in pretty quickly.

 

[Darwin]

Rant pt.2

I have a rating 1569 of and have just got my first bad feedback because some dozy bint didnt read what she was purchasing , even ebay admit she it wrong they wont reverse the bad feedback.

She now wants a refund but wont send the item back until I refund

The Item is for £2.99 .... and she has a feedback of 7 and no purchases in the last year.

 

[dinky]

Well can say that what comes in goes out,so make them pay extra and priority service it then they have to sign for it.Couple of quid more but no hassle and they get it before dinner.

 

[lacroupade]

Rant pt.2

I have a rating 1569 of and have just got my first bad feedback because some dozy bint didnt read what she was purchasing , even ebay admit she it wrong they wont reverse the bad feedback.

She now wants a refund but wont send the item back until I refund

The Item is for £2.99 .... and she has a feedback of 7 and no purchases in the last year.

That seriously sucks - I once had a Neutral from a couple that I bought a teaset from and paid in full three minutes after the auction....what???

My advice is this - don't lose your temper with her cos she has nothing to lose. She ISN'T entitled to a refund until she sends it back...thats certain. Given its a piddly item, why not say on this occasion as a one-off you'll refund the lot, including postage, although you aren't obliged to do so, but ONLY on the grounds that you agree to mutually withdraw feedback on this occasion. The alternative is that as a seller you HAVE to give her good feedback, but your comments can be barbed (not rude or they'll get pulled), but is she going to care if she's only bought seven items????

Sadly you have most to lose because of this womans stupidity
so you have to bite the bullet - after 1500-odd decent transactions you ain't done bad after all...

 

[makeitfit]

Sorry you've had all this grief guys.
I've been doing ebay for a while now and have a few points to go by.
I always buy my postage on line through paypal/post thing. It works a treat and you have online proof of post purchase. THEN take it to the post office with the official "proof of posting" sheet you get from paypal/post and get it stamped. Sorted. That way you have covered all bases whether its a signed for del. or not.
Neg feedback is a pain but if you have 1400 + pos. just leave a good reply on the feedback page and people will see what a BINT you've been dealing with.
You can get the feedback removed if you take out a small claims case against her or get plod involved.
Read up the ebay Q and A on neg feedback. Its a pain but it can be done.:naughty

 

[lacroupade]

Pete still not clear how that postage thing works? PoP only means it left, not that it arrived, so I think all it covers you for is when you need to make a claim for something that didn't arrive (and of course its the seller/sender that has to claim, not the buyer), so providing your PoP had the right amount of cover, you can claim and reimburse the buyer when you get the proceeds, buts that all you can do...if you weren't insured enough and didn't pay for PoD then the buyer has you by the g**lies...

 

[makeitfit]

Yes I see your point but I do use diferent service levels for diff. value items. The signed for del for stuff at say £2.99 would be in the basic £35 cover I think.
Then if I'm sending a slap top then it's the signed for with higher value cover.
Anyway if you have a looksee on the paypal post pages all the options are there and so far "touch wood" I've been ok.:augiePerhaps I shouldn't have said that

 

[extreme-4x4]

i have this very problem ... right now

i pointed out to paypal the item was paid for..... so from that point it became the property of the buyer.

the item was posted via first class packet as instructions in the auction using the buyers 5.00 ..... so it was the buyers post not mine

i took every care to post the buyers property using there chosen postal service.at cost . i took no commission in loo if compensation in case item is lost by royal mail

my money is still suspended but under review.... i do normally win with them had a 5 out of 6 sucsess rate with them


my tip is once the paypal dispute is open write loads of legal crap , along the lines of above and be polite but firm....... send several messages in a row 3-4 hours apart so it looks like they are not responding
most important make sure you are the one who escalates it for paypal to review and decide an out come.

also ......first class receipt is proof of posting just tell the cashier you want proof of post and its on your receipt .....and 30.00 comp

 

[lacroupade]

But if I was your buyer Colin I'd have you over a barrel mate (I'm bored with sheep)! If you sold stuff for collection I'd agree its the buyers property from the time they paid, but if you're selling on the basis of mail order like most eBay stuff (which is what it is), whatever method of posting you use or advertise makes no difference.... until it arrives at the buyers address its your responsibility.

What would you do if you ordered an expensive set of glowplugs from Milners and they didn't arrive? You'd go after them and quite rightly, and you'd be in the right - if they'd sent them ordinary first class post, even with a PoP, thats their problem, all the PoP does is let them make a claim, but they still owe you a set of glowplugs. But if you'd signed for them they are in the clear. Exactly the same applies to you as a seller, I'd say you've been lucky to get away with it

 

[extreme-4x4]

yes that true in a sence... if i was the buyer from a company like milners....


however im not a business i simply posted there property that they had already paid for using there agreed post service..... i simply posted it for them


they was offered proof of posting but declined and opened a dispute, i beleive they had the goods otherwise why dont they want there receipt for post to make a claim.....


im trying to get my money from paypal then claim off royal mail too...... double bubble....... i hate to loose