Opinions please

[Anonymous]

Do we have any US members who would offer to do this for John? :wink:

 

[JohnA]

Well John, i would do all the paperwork, get my money back, invest it in an airline ticket to this assholes place and smack him round the head with said Fernandes guitar, then return home contented ....

Mick

That would certainly make me feel better :wink:

 

[Rossi]

Just wait untill he sells,then bid like mad,i will help you, then buy with an other account.Then leave neg feedback without paying,ok he might get the neg removed after none payment and you get a none payment strike,but you are allowed 3 anyway,you could stretch it out for a while + i would do one for you as ive got 2 accounts,one i dont use, only now and then.I know how you feel,and this makes me mad, because ive had it done to me and paypal were as much use as a chocolate fireguard :wink:

 

[JohnA]

I'm sure retaliation would make me feel better (physical or via feedback) but it's stooping to his level! Thanks for the offer though

 

[Nani]

This is a very hard case for you John. You have lost money, time, and happiness. I think the buyer playing the fake/counterfeit card helped himself with paypal quite a bit.

How can you protect yourself as a seller? If you add terms of return to the sale, does that take precedence over paypal's own policies ("no returns" or "in the event of a return, shipping and fees are not refundable")?

Or is it just bank wire transfer from now on?

 

[JohnA]

This is a very hard case for you John. You have lost money, time, and happiness. I think the buyer playing the fake/counterfeit card helped himself with paypal quite a bit.

How can you protect yourself as a seller? If you add terms of return to the sale, does that take precedence over paypal's own policies ("no returns" or "in the event of a return, shipping and fees are not refundable")?

Or is it just bank wire transfer from now on?

I had a return policy, a very fair one. 'If you want to return the guitar send it back and I will refund the cost of the item less shipping' Playing the 'counterfeit card' meant he got the whole lot back from Paypal instantly on privision of a trcking number. I'm expecting the guitar back in pieces today, just hope it's been packed well and isn't damaged!

Unfortunately there is no protection for the seller against clowns like this, fortunately he's in a minority! My main gripe is with Paypal who simply were not interested in my evidence that the guitar wasn't a fake and have been hopeless throughout the whole case.

 

[villager]

there is now no protection for ebay sellers using paypal..

after 2 recent bad experiences with moronic buyers, I have decided the only way to use ebay now is to accept only bank transfer, ok so you may lose some bidders, but at least you are not exposed to the complete sham of the paypal ''arbitration'' process..

 

[JohnA]

there is now no protection for ebay sellers using paypal..

after 2 recent bad experiences with moronic buyers, I have decided the only way to use ebay now is to accept only bank transfer, ok so you may lose some bidders, but at least you are not exposed to the complete sham of the paypal ''arbitration'' process..

I think you're right Mark, I'm sure as more people do this and ebay see their profits start to dip, they will try do do something to address this, probably in their own interests rather than the sellers.

Was there not some talk that ebay was going to make Paypal compulsory?

 

[Anonymous]

Yes, I thought that accepting Paypal was now compulsory for sellers - have I got this wrong?

Quite apart from Paypal's ridiculous fees, I have always preferred to sell guitars to people who collect and pay cash. That way, there can be no misunderstandings - even if I had made an error in describing the guitar in some way, the buyer has the option to withdraw from the sale before handing over his cash. I know when somebody leaves with the guitar, they are a satisfied buyer. I guess being in London makes that a bit easier for me, as there are so many people withing travelling distance.

I wish there was something we could do about this case of John's - it's so wrong the way he has been treated by both the scumbag buyer and the idiots at Paypal. John - how about contacting the BBC's Watchdog consumer programme? An expose on Paypal and eBay just might do some good.

 

[JohnA]

Not to worry Mike, I'm venting my frustrations here :wink: I've got better things to do with my time than writing letters to watchdog. It's annoying, but not the end of the world.

 

[villager]

i didn't know paypal was compulsory????

no more ebay for me then...heh

 

[Nani]

I think used guitars, unlike some other items like books or shirts, are subject to a lot of problems when selling. If you can't play a guitar before you buy it, it is hard to know the exact condition, originality, and model designation.

I believe some buyers have learned how to work the system when it comes to buying on ebay, and use the partial refund threat or paypal dispute to make life difficult for sellers.

Buying is always risky, especially overseas. The shipping cost alone is enough to make you think twice about returning anything. Shipping both ways from Japan has got to be about 150 quid plus other costs, which could be 15-25% of the guitar's cost!

 

[JohnA]

Well, the guitar arrived back, it's undamaged and apart from being disassembled it's just as I sent it. More by good luck than anything else I haven't had to pay any import duty, so maybe I should count my blessings.

On close inspection, the guitar may have had a replacement decal at some point, but if it has it's a very good job! The cut lines around the decal look a bit straight, but it's hard to be certain.