Ebay frustrations
Obone
Posts: 139 ✭✭✭
Hi Everyone,
Hoping to get your input on this issue. I bought a coin (through someone I met on craigslist, an expensive coin so I had them do the deal through ebay). It turned out to be counterfeit, so I returned to seller. They tried to scam me saying I sent them back a different coin, yet gave me a half refund. I immediately called ebay, this would be around June 15th. They said they would approve my claim within 24-48 hours and get me the money back. I thought 'wow, ebay is actually alright for buyer protection"...
Boy was I wrong. Two and a half weeks later, after 7 calls, I still haven't got the money in my account. The claim is APPROVED, yet each time I call ebay says itll take anywhere from 48-96 hours to actually approve the refund. 7 times I was promised this, 7 times I was refused.
Any advice as to what to do next?
Comments
not sure i have advice for what to do next but for next time, you don't need ebay. you can do sales like that directly via paypal and still have their coverage. don't do friends and family and make sure to add plenty of details to the notes section. i do wonder now if you can add images?
"Craigslist" and "coin" should never appear in the same sentence.
What to do next? I would think keep being persistent and following up. Ebay is likely understaffed due to Coronavirus; others have mentioned they cannot even get to a 'live' person at ebay to address issues. Things are probably pretty inefficient right now, so not too surprised at the difficulties you are having.
You mentioned your claim is 'approved', so you are half way around the race track... have to keep pushing on the final leg. Best of luck on your situation...
Ya, gotta agree with you here, but its not always that bad. Some of my best buys was through craigslist.
I bought a full 1908 specimen set for a great price through the canadian version of craigslist. Also got multiple undergraded and lots from craigslist.
I stay away from Craigslist and most other random venues (including ebay anymore) when it comes to coins. Just too much shenanigans....Cheers, RickO
If you paid with a credit card through ebay/paypal call the CC company and cancel that way.
If it's through craigslist and local to you, you could actually call the police. I'd do that as a last resort. I wouldn't threaten to do it, I'd either do it or not, threatening might be viewed as extortion.
Ebay rarely gives immediate refund. Likely the claim is going through the normal process where seller has X number of days to respond, etc. Be patient. Starting a CC claim this early could delay things. Let the ebay process do its thing, you have the later CC claim as back up.
FWIW always best to file claims through paypal, they hold the money.
Keep an open mind, or get financially repressed -Zoltan Pozsar
There is no advantage to this strategy. Doing it through eBay gives you an extra layer. You can still file through PayPal. You can also still file a credit card chargeback.
In fact, there is a hierarchy to the claims. The credit card has precedence; eBay and PayPal will both get out of the way. PayPal has precedence over eBay; eBay will get out of the way.
To the OP:
I also don't think the credit card company will be any quicker. If you think they might, you can file a chargeback through the CC company and/or PayPal, but that will halt the eBay process.
And half of the fake gold I've seen locally came from such purchases by clever people thinking they are getting a deal by avoiding dealers and legitimate businesses.
There is such a slim margin on coins, there is no point in bypassing a dealer. Anyone who is using Craig's list to sell either has trust issues or is selling stolen or countefeit goods.
Think about it: the bid/ask spread on an ounce of gold is $50 to $75. So, if I'm selling an ounce of gold, I can go to a dealer and sell it for $75 less than he will sell it for. Or I could go to a parking lot and sell it for the extra $75. BUT, why would someone pay me the extra $75 in a parking lot when they could go to a dealer for the same price? If you are getting a deal in a parking lot, odds are it is stolen or fake.
We recently had a bust in my region of a guy from Pennsylvania. He was running Craig's list ads and selling fake gold coins in NY and Ohio. Feds were onto him for a while before they caught up with him. Don't know how many people got taken. Some of them probably still have the fake gold in their safes not knowing.
I agree with you there. I never buy bullion or coins tied significantly to bullion. For numismatic stuff however, sometime the local canada craigslist has some decent stuff.
Wait.
Funny that you criticize eBay for taking some time to sort out your mess. Your mess also includes PayPal and, presumably, a credit card company. So, in fact, the delay might well be with either one of those entities if eBay is trying to get the money from them.
I'd understand if ebay is taking a long, with everything going on its not that big of a deal. What I'm a little ticked off about is they keep on saying itll take 24-48 hours when that is blatantly false. No CC company, paid through balance. I haven't tried calling paypal yet, that should be something I pursue.
Even coins not tied to bullion. Coin margins suck. If I have an MS66 Morgan, the bid/ask spread is so low that there is no point in my trying to sell it in a parking lot. The only legitimate (fraudulent?) reasons to do so are to (illegally) avoid sales tax or, as mentioned, move stolen or fake items.
You should have run away as soon as the seller agreed to go through eBay. Why would the seller take on 10% to 13% in added costs to a coin when he could have sold it to a dealer for probably the same price?
Should have used a credit card. Added layer of protection.
The customer service rep is quoting you the average time such things take to sort out. which is why they keep quoting the same number.
too late you already have a claim with ebay. Can't have both and you DO NOT want to stop your claim with ebay.
Keep an open mind, or get financially repressed -Zoltan Pozsar
The ace in the hole is making a report with the local police where the scammer resides. I'm sure after a simple phone call from them to get his side of the story your money will be refunded in full.
Great transactions with oih82w8, JasonGaming, Moose1913.
"pp has hierarchy over ebay." sounds like an advantage to me, especially when it avoids the extra 6-10%+ of fees. i've done it many times and will do so in the future so long as PP continues to guarantee protection. not 1 single problem yet.
- request money and doing direct invoicing are the 2 i know off the top of my head with protection.
how does the BST here and on MANY other sites operate so successfully without ebay or another intermediary? - mild sarcasm
but a person should mostly only do what they are comfortable with to protect their money and safety. i will also not post publicly other methods/shortcuts/protocols as scammers can often use what someone uses soley for good, to their nefarious intent. (not meaning you)
this post not made to be combative but choosing words somewhat carefully and thinking of the many solutions life can provide while balancing risk vs reward can go a long way.
i will also 99% of the time NOT suggest something to someone i have not tried and tested myself, keeping in mind the risks and failures to often takes to refine creative solutions.
ok chased that rabbit enough!
Any advice as to what to do next?
Stay away from Craigslist and FleaBag - there are plenty of reputable venues out there.
Problem solved!!
Member ANA, SPMC, SCNA, FUN, CONECA
i don't buy ungraded coins, they remain ungraded for a reason, many are either cleaned or fake
The only time I bought or sold anything off craiglist was cars. Had to have a clean title.
I would never buy or sell coins though. Way too risky.
If the pollice in that town would do that, it would be great! but I doubt they would, they have bigger fish to fry.
You can make a report if you want to.
I totally agree on this statement.
You miss the point. eBay gives you a 3rd possible avenue for redress. You still have the possibility of PayPal or the CC.
Yes, eBay adds fees. That's the sellers problem. This particular issue is 100% NO BETTER if it was done through PayPal without eBay.
i agree with the more avenues/coverage. to some extent i see ebay as an outlet and a referral service to get to know buyers/sellers. coin shows are usually the same way in that they strongly prefer people don't come JUST to do business with other walk-in customers and i do agree but if i'm buying/selling at a show, i have no problem doing a transaction either in the dining area or in the parking lot with people i know or have agreed to meet, which isn't very often. ebay is the same to me, so if i get a chance to do business outside ebay with a contact from ebay, if there aren't red flags i notice, i like doing business outside ebay. email, phone, text, in-person etc if the circumstances are right.
so i'm viewing ebay through that lens. give them business but not be beholden to them and they've tried and still do VERY hard to prohibit contact of other members outside ebay, to some extent to i presume protect its members.
its a bit of a balance but you are right in that keeping them in the loop gives more options when things don't go as planned.