Okay ebay- I've had enough.

[sepiareverb]

So I appear to have gotten scammed on ebay last month, my great deal must have soured the sellers stomach; it seems the lens was never shipped. My emails went unanswered, my Paypal claim didn't get a response, finally after 'escalation' did he respond with a tracking number which ends up being short a digit. I had a seller die or something before he sent my item about a year and a half ago, ended up getting back about 75% of what I paid that time. Paypals 'buyer protection' isn't all it's cracked up to be all the time it seems.

Paypal wanted me to respond to their latest action, but there was no way to do so from the website, nor can I respond to the emails they send. I called, and spent twenty minutes sifting through menu loops before getting an actual person. I was walked through the layers to email my response, not anywhere near a clear path.

Quite a difference from every deal I've been involved with here. No automated bs, no false pretenses, no misrepresentations.

Should I just pack it in and close my ebay account? I really don't have a need for much other gear, and anything I might want will surely be available here, or from one of the shops I've dealt with before. So what do you think?

 

[Tuolumne]

How much were you out?

/T

 

[35mmdelux]

never know, you may want to buy something else next year. I'd leave it open.

 

[pesphoto]

Yeah, i'd leave it open. I dont trust ebay for cameras anymore, but I will buy things like lenshoods(from Heavystar) once in a while.

oh...and i haven't forgotten about your print.

 

[wlewisiii]

I only pay for anything off of ebay with postal money orders now. Paypal is a sick joke, but the mail fraud dept at the post office will get results. Nothing like making it be a federal crime to not ship your item... 😀

William

 

[ibcrewin]

That's pretty annoying. I like the money order angle.

 

[Creagerj]

I've always had good luck. I'm sorry to hear that you haven't. Although incidents like this make me sleep a little less easily considering how much I have trusted paypal in the past. My strategy for buying cameras off of ebay is to ask the seller a series of questions about the camera. Usually if they are willing to jump through a few hoops its a good bet they are legitimate.

 

[cjm]

Fortunately, I've been lucky with my evilbay transactions. My suggestion: keep the account and only buy from known sellers or reputable businesses that sell on ebay.

 

[Meleica]

I just bought a Ricohflex Diacord via ebay / paypal....seller said works great...showed up with a dead shutter....seller ( ebay drop off place ) said just squirt some WD-40 in the shutter..... I asked nicely twice to return it with no positive response. So, I jumped through the paypal hoops of buyer protection and after following the procedures TO THE LETTER, I have 100% of my money back..... it does work, but a PITA.... good luck

Dan

 

[Stephanie Brim]

I'm having one last hurrah before I start buying baby stuff, depending on what the item goes for, then I'm dropping my Ebay account. I like my Kiev and I'm happy with that as my rangefinder. This is the one last purchase I want to make for myself. I think of it as an investment in my photographic education...

 

[jesse1dog]

Keep the account open you never know what might turn up.

Just got a £2 Oly 35RC for spares or repairs and I got the bottom plate I wanted as a replacement!

Also just one a pstal history item for less than a give away price.
I agree though that the camera side of ebay is a bit dubious but experience elsewhere has been better than good.

 

[Tuolumne]

I only buy from sellers who have lots of feedback and really deep descriptions of the product. So far, I've only been burned once or twice, and that was for really low cost junk where it didn't bother me if it didn't work. Deffinitely never buy from someone who says "I don't know much about cameras". That equipment is guaranteed - to be a POS.

/T

 

[photogdave]

Anyone who knows me knows my opinion of buying gear off ebay - DON'T!! Support your local shops, RFF sponsors and RFF members. Give CameraGas a try. (Although I don't think I will.)
I'm thinking of closing my account too. I've only used it a couple of times to buy parts for my VW van but I've found enough resources through the RFF equivalent of VW-realted sites (www.thesamba.com) that it's no longer necessary. I would only close my ebay account now because since I don't really check up onit I'm worried about it being hijacked by fraudsters.

 

[jarski]

I am in impression that most of these scam artists operate in USA, am I wrong 😕

I generally feel comfort using eBay inside EU. most of the cases items bidding list is not anonymous, and if I find one I always move on.
never had any "second chance" offers neither.
I can also save expenses by direct money transfer from bank to bank, as it seems that "Paypal buyer protection" scheme is a joke anyway, according to what I've read from here.

that said, I dont use eBay all that much. maybe I've just been lucky.

sepiareverb, have u tried CameraGAS, very visible here in RFF ? I wonder is it getting "critical mass"..

 

[Kin Lau]

Anyone who knows me knows my opinion of buying gear off ebay - DON'T!! Support your local shops, RFF sponsors and RFF members. Give CameraGas a try. (Although I don't think I will.)

Shipping across the border is often a pain for both parties. So Ebay Canada is often the only way for me to find what I want.

 

[oftheherd]

Well, I got burned a couple of times, but not so bad as to quit. I did have to chase one seller a bit over the 'net, calling what appeared to be relatives and such. Well, I just wasn't going to let about $250 go, and I really wanted the lenses. Another just dropped of the face of the earth, but it was for something around $20 so I didn't think it was worth pursueing. Not to mention the person didn't leave any of the usual trails.

Sorry for your pain. Hope it works out. I would be inclined to close an inactive account just for the reason one poster mentioned; hijacking. I suspect you wouldn't want that hassle either.

 

[mw_uio]

Bob, I am sorry for your ordeal. Yes it is true that if you call Paypal, you wait and wait, and even get the wrong person. I have called Paypal a few times from South America, it is a joke, because their queing system puts you with the wrong person. In order too get anything done, it is a mass struggle, thus the time frame on anything is dragged out for weeks, even longer. I swore (in spanish) once while talking to Paypal, and they deserved it!! 😀

This is an address that I found in Google/Finance for Paypal.

2211 N. First St.
San Jose, CALIFORNIA 95131
USA - Map
+1-408-967-1000 (Phone)
650-864-8001 (Fax)


There are sites dedicated about Paypal and how disfunctional it is.

Bob, keep your account open, but look at other venues too buy from.


MArk
Quito, EC

 

[drewbarb]

Should I just pack it in and close my ebay account?

No, just don't use ebay as much, and be more careful if/when you must. You say you have pretty much all you need, so why shop more? All the same- no need to spend the effort to close the account; it might be useful or entertaining later.

 

[Never Satisfied]

Hi Bob, sorry to hear about your bad experience, thus far I've been blessed with my transactions, but I'm really careful. I troll through thier past feed back comments, more often than not, you'll see them buy the item they've got for sale, if they're turning it over quickly, I stay well away.
It's better to have your account and not need it than want something and not be able to get it. Keep it for mail order film if nothing else.
Cheers Andrew.

 

[Nokton48]

I never bid on auctions, where I think I might -possibly- be burned.

After 356 positive transactions, I've only -once- been burned for a $5.00 Pink Floyd cassette tape. Oh, Well. Paypal and Ebay are worthless, if you have any issues, from my experience.