I got burned by a seller on ebay recently. First off, I know I said I hate ebay and won't use it. In the past, I have scored 2 items on ebay by asking the seller if they would accept an alternative form of payment of a bank check or money order because I prefer not to use paypal/credit. End of story. Both sellers told me they would and both sent the items I made offers on.
Now, to the recent seller. in early November, I asked the seller regarding an alternative payment choice before placing the offer on a kit. He PMed me he would but will not hold the item unless I send the payment. Fair enough. I sent a baank chaeck totalling $50 for the kit. Knowing it would take about a week by snail mail to the west coast (Oregon to be exact) since I live in New York State.
A week go by, I inquired about him getting the check. He told me he hasn't seen it yet.
I wait a few more days and inquired again. He claims hasn't seen yet and tells me it's the "time of year" he gets really busy. This is now 1 1/2 week before Thanksgiving.
I wait another few days and by then I'm really getting suspicious. I inquired a final time. He tells me he STILL hasn't got the check yet. Now I'm concerned. I get a notice from ebay to pay for the item. I contacted ebay regarding the seller about my situation. Ebay sent a notice if I haven't received the item paid for by the 19th, I can ask ebay to step in on my behalf.
An hour go by, I check my messages on ebay. Ebay carefully reviewed my case and would you know it? Ebay has sided with the SELLER, not me! BULL$***!!!! Now I'm really pissed off. I fired a final message to the seller to enjoy the $50 check and called him a thief!
I even filled out the survey on ebay's handling of my case. I gave them a poor rating on ebay for handling my case. I even went as far as calling them an embarassment to customer service without listening to my side of the story. I also suggested that ebay add a Customer Support chat on their site. Doing so would be a whole lot easier than making a phone call to appeal a case or whatever reason it may be
By then i was in the process of gathering all PM correspondences between me and the seller and contacting my credit union if the seller had cashed in the check.
Before I even got to my credit union, lo and behold, I get a PM from the seller. After 3 weeks, he finally finds the check and "blames the USPS" and apologizes for the mess and hardship he caused me. He asked if I still wanted the item I paid for or to return my check.
I chose to have the check returned because of his poor customer service. Now let's see if he keeps his word and returns my check.
I know many of you who do use ebay use paypal for payments but I prefer not to use paypal for personal reasons. I don't trust ebay's security when it comes to using paypal on their site especially after a security breach a few years ago with Paypal and ebay.