True Phone Call Just Endured By Me

marcmoish

PaypalSeniorBlonde: Hello.......blablabla so can we do an electronic check for the $30 you owe us/short in your account?
Me: No I'm not in a good mood lately - you guys screwed me out of 780 bucks!
PSB: Oh I'm sorry but I'm sure you want to keep your excellent status/level/history with Paypal right?

Me: Hello, did you hear me I mean do you even care sheees?
PSB: What happened to you I see no problems!
Me: Grrrrr I lost a package enroute to Croatia and you guys sided with the buyer and TOOK my money which obviously made my balance a negative $30 so there you have it. I have no patience to recap but in short there is no proof of delivery (DUH!) so you AUTO-SIDE with Buyer!

PSB: Oh I'm so sorry ..but I see we DID go out of our way and dispute it FOR YOU - sadly you lost. Many times you win. Haven't you made lots of biz on Paypal?

Me: (at this point I wasn't sure if I should hang up , yell, utter 4 letter words or just do some deep breathing) (I opted for deep breathing)
umm mam it makes no diff how much I made or did not - I'm out big bucks b/c of your stupid policies.

PSB: Those policies protect you too.
Me: Sorry that is BS - and I say that nicely - anyhow why did you side with the buyer?
PSB: B/c typically you should NOT ship international b/c there is no viable tracking.

Me: SO SO damn it why don't you push me NOT TO Ship??!!! Let alone my auctions stated I DO NOT SHIP OVERSEAS but (She tried cutting me off many times)...why is is SO EASY TO PLACE THESE AUCTIONS AND GET OVERSEAS BIDS etc etc

PSB: We allow it b/c millions of sales DO HAPPEN AND COMPLETE DAILY so we don't rock the boat but...of course its not official policy.
Me: AT this point I got really quiet b/c I wasn't sure what to do with all the smoke comin outta my ears - a neighbor was liable to call the FD!

PSB: after a quiet spell; so we can do an electronic payment and it won't clear for say 7 days if that works for you.
Me: I mumbled I will make sure to pay the balance within day on my own - without your help and frankly u irritate me but have a great life and hung up.




No I did not tape it!

NeoStar

I'm sorry you're going through this. If it helps any, I would've been pissed too...

MacCrimmon

Your situation is why I have a 'dummy' checking account into which the PP payments are transferred (at least when I did a fair amount of ebay). I swept that account immediately, and left a min. balance. Had a 'thief' attempted to extort the funds and coin(s) they'd be SOL, and so would paypal.

Nowadays, I leave these ebay things to the likes of young Jeremy or old Russ.


And to think in the old days (pre-paypal) a guy whom I'd never met from Belgium sent me $200 cash in the mail for his winnings.......... sadly, honesty and trust seem fleeting qualities these days.

lordmarcovan

You couldn't pay me enough money to work customer support at PayPal, probably.

Which is not to say I'm siding with her- I do understand your frustration. It's just that I have to deal with customer service like this on a daily basis, and deal with angry people who have gripes- often quite legitimate ones. (But just as often manufactured, exaggerated, or just plain looney ones, too.)

tewcd

Your horror story has me thinking about my selling practices. I once had a $170 item "lost" to South Korea, but I only paid $0.50 for the item (junk chinese cash from a dealer's bulk box turned out to be mid-17th century Korean Mon coin worth a pretty penny); but I have a coin now that I paid $100 for; a buyer in Chile wants it and is willing to pay a premium over that -- and to pay the $35.00 for express shipping. I'm just not sure whether to take the risk, because I don't want to end up in the same predicament as our OP.

marcmoish

Nowadays, I leave these ebay things to the likes of young Jeremy or old Russ. lol how true ...


hey tew I wouldn't after this fiasco no way in hell - I mean I've shipped overseas for a long time and never got so royally scrwed - maybe I was lucky - but obviously when something will get lost you are doomed period - no way around that - scary to think few really understand that - I really did not - I never realized how one sided Paypal is in this case. Just a hard lesson to accept.

I'm doin better though - just being able to vent helped - and hopefully it will have helped others from the same lessons.

Zohar

Marc this is a sale from hell. I have had a few yet not for this amount. Hopefully it pops up at some point. I think the $35 premium keeps it safe for a verified address and buyer with good feedback.

DeiGratia

I sell over-seas but this is what I tell all my overseas Buyers.


I am Sorry but PayPal will not protect me (The Seller) because all Overseas Addresses are Unverified.
So if you want to pay via PayPal, Please send a the Payment Via GIFT ( Log into PayPal >> Send Money >> Personal Tab >> Gift )
I've had 100% success doing it this way.

Zohar

Brilliant!

CIVITAS

Yeah, I remember a similar experience a few years back for about $400.00. PayPal just handed over the money to the "buyer" and then charged me $25.00 for the privilege.

I see their rates have gone up.

You want to know what the real kicker is? The "buyer" actually did receive the package, but since I did not have "proof visible online" it didn't matter. My claim with the post office was denied since they had record of delivery provided to them by South Africa's postal system in writing about 60 days later....

johnsim03

Sorry to be such a wet noodle, but you cannot use PayPal "gift" for this type of transaction. Against the terms of service and it is fee avoidance.

It is, however, an original idea!

John

JamesMurray

Agreed John , it only takes one buyer to fwd the gift note to paypal and it's all over regards having an account there. Besides that though , i can't get my head around a total stranger in a different country asking that i gift money in the hope i get my item. It takes a special kind of fool to go down that road.

tewcd

Ahhhh! Not this topic again! (Re: PayPal Gift)

DeiGratia

Yes I understand the opinions about the PayPal Gift.

But it has worked for me for the past 8 months.

Fingers Crossed.

I'll just ask ignorant if I get caught, lol.

Also I have a business Account and PayPal Monitors it less.

wybrit

It is a vehicle for overseas scammers, without question.

As I posted earlier, you can insure up to $250 on Insure post without signature confirmation. After that, it costs too much to ship.

JamesMurray

<< <i>Yes I understand the opinions about the PayPal Gift.

But it has worked for me for the past 8 months.

Fingers Crossed.

I'll just ask ignorant if I get caught, lol.

Also I have a business Account and PayPal Monitors it less. >>



Whats been said about paypal isnt opinion , its fact. If you don't think paypal monitor gifts ask around , plenty of guys on the US coin forum have mentioned accounts being investigated due to unusual number of gifts and no doubt several gifts from different parts of the world is going to be just one more red flag when they do get around to having a look.

marcmoish

there seems to be pros and cons with any route...that gift idea is not a bad idea at all but there is so much grey area and hidden rules or interpretations in the end one can can get hosed by the higherarchy (spell check? why dont we have a spell check here?) and will as PP has no regard for the seller overall ..its a breach of normalcy and business sense of the highest regard and I still can't believe it was so easy for them to swipe my money!

Zohar

I still see the main issue as :

1) Ebay dictates transaction terms between buyer and seller. You concluded that you ship uninsured at buyers risk
2) Paypal is owned by Ebay
3) Paypal terms contradict #1

DeiGratia

<< <i>

Whats been said about paypal isnt opinion , its fact. If you don't think paypal monitor gifts ask around , plenty of guys on the US coin forum have mentioned accounts being investigated due to unusual number of gifts and no doubt several gifts from different parts of the world is going to be just one more red flag when they do get around to having a look. >>



I guess I don't put out enough Volume.

Since I'm a collector and not a dealer, I sell around 20 coins a year and about 5 are overseas.

My suggestion is for Marcmoish,

I would avoid international shipping, but if you MUST, PayPal Gift is an avenue to consider.