Complaint Review: EBay - San Jose California

Here is the converstaion I had with Ebays live Billing chat about my account: Hello and welcome to eBay Billing Live Chat. My name's Mark. How may I help you? maxmarsjewels2: I'm curious to find out why I have not heard back from Ebay ont he $894.58 funds that were taken from bank account yesterday. We did not authorize this transaction and all of our bank account information has been removed from Ebay. We asked to be removed from direct pay and sent letter stating this on 04/20/2005. Mark O.H.: Sure I'll be happy to help you with this. Mark O.H.: Sure I'll be happy to help you with this. Mark O.H.: First, I'd like to take a quick look into your account and verify your information. Can I please have your name, address and phone number? m*****: **** ***** **** *** *** ******** ** Mark O.H.: Thank you, please hold on a moment. Mark O.H.: Thanks for waiting. Mark O.H.: I located your account, Mark O.H.: and confirmed the following entry: Mark O.H.: Jun-03-05 15:21:33 PDT PayPal Payment Reversal Account closed or unavailable. $894.58 m******: I closed this on my own accord. Mark O.H.: It was posted to your account on the 3rd, and please give it a few more days for that amount to be credited to your PayPal account. Mark O.H.: You can verify this information by reviewing your account status page. Mark O.H.: 1. click on site map at the top of the eBay page. 2. Scroll down the center column and click on 'check my seller account status.' m******: I am sending my sellers fees to you. Mark O.H.: Also please do note your PayPal account will be credited for that exact amount shortly. Okay, sure, thank you very much for your effort. m*******: No I want it back to my bank account that's where it was taken Mark O.H.: We do appreciate your kind effort. Mark O.H.: Oh I see, you will need to contact PayPal directly for that request. Mark O.H.: Once the PayPal account is credited, you can request it to go to your bank account. m*******: That's okay as I will take this to my bank as I am disputing the charges with my bank. m********: It came directly from Ebay INC. Mark O.H.: Okay. Mark O.H.: Thank you very much. maxmarsjewels2: it is on my bank account as Ebay INC. Mark O.H.: Yes, your PayPal has your checking account as a funding source, right m********: No you guys did. You took it directly from my checking account. m********: I must get back to work but I will file this conversation with my bank. Thank you Mary Mark O.H.: Sure Mary let me apologize for any inconvenience this caused you. In the meantime, would you kindly contact PayPal support? PayPal Customer Service Agents are available to help you during the following times: 4:00 AM PDT to 10:00 PM PDT Monday through Friday 6:00 AM PDT to 8:00 PM PDT on Saturday and Sunday Call them at: 402-935-2050 Mark O.H.: Thanks Mary for your time! Take care now. Mark O.H.: Bye Mary The agent ended your chat session Okay so I contacted their customer support no answer. The charges will be reversed by my bank and I am sure Ebay will owe this back to me. I am tired as many people are of Ebay ripping off everyone who are good sellers. I closed my PayPal and no longer do business on Ebay. I never will again!

I have been selling on Ebay for over 5 years, and I also do one high end flea market a month. Ebay is so much easier, though time consuming. Contrary to some of the postings, there are great deals on Ebay , and there are many honest and easy to deal with people. The point is: I can get much more for each item, because they reach many more people. People still can get a deal , becasue how much does it cost in time and money to run around looking for that special item? I've saved lots of money BUYING on Ebay, too. I tried selling an item for $1 at a garage sale. Luckily, the one person who picked it up didn't buy it. I found a tag inside - it was over $1,000 when new. I sold it on Ebay for $277 , and they got a deal. The great thing about Ebay is: You can sit at your computer and do almost nothing , and get something you have been looking for, sometimes for years. And , it comes to your door. As in any huge company, there will be problems. To cry about one problem when faced with countless benefits , is like throwing the baby out with the bath water. Life is full of petty problems, we deal with them.

I have only sold one item on ebay. I sold an old car with a blown head gasket. I was only able to sell it for scrap locally, but the ebay market is open to people on a worldwide level. I took several pictures of the car and described it in total honesty. Someone with zero feedback was the high bidder and then never paid. After 2 months of sending this guy e-mail about it, I told him that I was going to re-list the car. I did so and subsequently sold it. The original high bidder left negative feedback about the car (which he never came to see and knew nothing about it) I can't get that feedback removed, and further: Ebay charged me the listing fees twice. they promised me a credit for the first one since the buyer was a deadbeat bidder, but never did... and of course, there is no phone number to call ebay for any of my concerns. The guy that bought the car feels like he got a great deal on it since he slapped a new motor in it and sold it for 3 times what he had in it. I still buy stuff on ebay, but I am careful of who I deal with. I make sure they have great feedback, and read all of the negatives to see if they are legit complaints. I have had good luck as a buyer... But then again, I make sure I know what I am buying, and don't expect to get it for 1/4 of what it will cost me at Best Buy.

Matthew, I am very sorry to hear you would have to file in a California Small Claims Court. This is an example of how an unethical company can use national laws to evade its obligations under a state's law. Sad to say, I believe you will have to write the $135 off at this point. I have a similar geographic problem in that if I ever need to file a Small Claim, I will have to drive 65 miles of tortuous mountain roads to reach the nearest Court in Ramona, CA, not to mention making at least two round trips--one to get the forms, and one to attend Court. That would be two days' lost time and 260 miles of gas money. In your case I thought that since you were in a city, that such logistics would not be a problem. But obviously I was wrong. I once had a similar sad case--one where a multinational company used geography in this way. I worked for Schlumberger Ltd. in Patagonia, and when I was released in what I considered to be an unethical manner, upon contemplatimg a lawsuit quickly realized that it would likely be impossible: --Company district HQ was in Punta Arenas, Chile. --Regional HQ was in Buenos Aires, Argentina. --Division HQ was in Caracas, Venezuela. --Operating HQ was in Paris, France. --Corporate HQ was in New York City. --International Hiring Office was in Houston, TX. So, how many lawyers would I need to hire? How many plane tickets would I have to buy? Obviously it was a hopeless cause impossible to pursue. I lost not only a career but a nice young family as well. And that is why I absolutely detest public corporations. You have my full sympathies, Matthew.

eBay replies, "30 more days" with each email... Small Claims court told me I'd have to file with the small claims court in California, and I'd have to be there to collect my money. I'm in OHIO which is on the north eastern half of the US. I am totally screwed taking this route. I feel like I have been fully taken advantage of, I feel like I have nothing I can do to get my money. I feel like the US Government has failed in protecting me as a consumer, as I feel that I have ran out of options. There seems to be nothing I can do, I am totally upset about this, I plead to everyone never to use eBay because once you try to collect any credit you'll never get it. This is horrible..

Matthew, here is what to do. No lawyer is needed. 1. Contact your local Small Claims Court, ask them about the procedures to file suit and find out what the maximum amount you can sue for in that Court is. Then get the required forms from them. 2. Fill out those forms and file suit for $135 owed you, plus 18% annual interest for all the time after the first 30 days, plus emotional pain & suffering adding up to the MAXIMUM AMOUNT allowed by the Court. In my county the maximum is $5,000. In Ohio it should be similar, or at least $2,000 or so. 3. Hope that eBay continues to ignore everyone because if eBay fails to show at Court or fails to pay you back, the Court will award you everything you have asked for by default judgement. eBay could also get hit with a criminal Contempt Of Court charge by the Court for failure to appear. Most likely #3 will not happen because eBay will pay you back as soon as it sees that it will have to pay a lawyer $150/hour or more to fight the suit. Why does eBay do this? Because half the people, like you until now, will have no idea how to seek a remedy--and the other half will be money eBay made banking interest on before it had to pay the money back. Hence, either way eBay cannot lose while it robs people blind. Go file that lawsuit!! Small Claims Court.

While I'll never be a seller for eBay again, I still have yet to receive any response from them regarding my money. I have filed a complaint with the Ohio Attorney General's Office, and they had told me there is nothing they can legally do to help my cause. I am beginning to feel that I will never see that money again, as I dont think there is anything I can do to get that money. It's a real shame, they have my money, and they wont give it back, and its some how legal....... I dont get it, but oh well.

Paul, Now why would someone who is just going gangbusters on eBay be wasting time posting in here of all places? I suspect we both know the answer. Saturday my last, final eBay lots close and I can hardly wait! KAPLOOSH once and for all to eBay--on down the porcelain 'Thomas C-way' if you will. That says it all IMO and serves eBay right for outright attempted theft out of my bank account (which my bank kindly reversed for me, thank God). Now I just have to worry about financial cyber retribution or some other backstabbing technique before I can get out of there. Matthew, are you paying attention?

First, it is one thing to criticize a major corporation such as Ebay, it's another thing entirely to criticize the entire selling community. Paul, before you deny that you did just that, yes, yes you did. Some of us are honest, some of us are intelligent, some of us don't sell junk that cannot be unloaded any other way, some of us even month in and month out for well over a year support a family of 5 by selling on Ebay. Not that I can't hold a "real job", I can and have. It is simply that Ebay provides a way to make a comfortable income and allows me the time to work around the schedules of my three children. It allows me to share holidays and birthdays on my terms. Not to mention Ebay provides me with a "store front" with countless anounts of traffic being drawn to it for 10 bucks a month "rent" and not a dime from me for the billions of dollars in advertizing. They provide a service and their fees are not a secret, they put them right out in black and white for you to accept or not. Ebay is not the road to become rich overnight. It's like anything else, you have to want it to work and you have to work at it. I feel for you, Matthew. I look over my invoice monthly and have found errors. I have to say Ebay Customer Service has been quick to respond and curteous and professional in fixing the errors. I hope it isn't just because I'm power seller.

Tom Lowe Oct. 4, 2004 I sell postcards on eBay under userid tomloweculturalanthropology, along with some stamps and postal history. I am a professional cherry picker with good knowledge who sells quality individual items and have about 3400 positives and two negatives which were both from incorrigible PayPal deadbeats before I began accepting PayPal about a year ago to capture more foreign sales. Late in 2003 I went to automated checking account withdrawal of eBay fees. eBay has a web page where one is allowed to select from one of several days of the month. I chose the tenth. Since March, here are the dates that eBay has withdrawn money from my account: March 22 May 5 June 16 June 29 Sept. 8 Oct. 4 Does anybody see anything wrong with this picture?!? Do you see any withdrawals on the tenth?? Well, one is two days off and the rest are all at least five days off. (Paul is now laughing and for good reason.) After a while of this I became suspicious that eBay would ram a withdrawal in early in order to bounce my bank account. On Oct. 4 eBay actually did so, and I will have two or three bounced checks this week as a result. Naturally I called my bank. They said they have no control over it and that I have to deal with eBay over it. They said it is fully legal to use arbitrary dates for withdrawals. Then they got nasty with me. So here is how I am going to deal with it: 1. No more selling on eBay after current lots end. Due to eBay illegally playing with my bank account, I would be an utter idiot to, as I'm sure Paul would quickly attest. eBay has in effect taken over partial use of my bank account. 2. Firing PayPal this month. 3. Firing my bank this month. 4. Returning to stamp and postcard shows in the LA and SD areas, where I sold stamps professionally for 12 years, for CA$H. I've been doing eBay full time since March 1999 after moving out to a peaceful spot in the desert with low overhead. It's nice here. Lots of parking. Sunny. Warm. No suits. No war criminals. No muni police in blue with billy clubs, rifles and brutal attitudes. So it was nice to sit here in peace and sell on eBay without always having to argue with chiselers at shows. But while I have always made money and a good markup on eBay--every single month--it has never been enough due to the very real technological constraints on scanning and getting enough fresh, new lots up vs. cost of living, even in rural Eastern California. And I don't even pay rent as this is a duplex we own and the rental next door pays mortgage and all. I would never have even remotely considered eBay if I had to pay rent or a mortgage. I can do 80-100 new lots per week at most and that is it. If I try to reduce presentation quality to increase number of lots posted, then realizations per card drop accordingly and I end up selling the same gross but with higher fees, less unsold postcards left over as stock of value, and more shipping labor & costs. In fact EBay is a very stochastic market: no matter what you try or how you try it, you end up with about the same result every time on a statistical basis. And while its predictability is wonderful, the pathetic sales gross due to tech constraints and overall lack of cash flow power resulting from eBay sales is absolutely abominable and unacceptable for most full time operators, including me. In short, Ebay is just not professional quality. Ultimately, it is intended for amateurs who do not count their time, like the lady who posted above selling off unwanted personal items. Because I do this for a living, I must make enough money and I must count my income per unit of time, in spite of all those idiotas out there who proclaim "You can't count your time!" But in reality that only applies to tax forms, otherwise a lot of people in sales would starve. I analyze my eBay sales results statistically and I can do this easily and clearly because I have basically run at least 60-80 similar lots and up to about 250 similar lots per week for over five years straight of world wide material. In fact I can almost tell you which parts of the world and US are doing well at a given moment and which are not, just from statistics generated by my postcard sales on eBay. But overall, by now the trends are very clear, and eBay just ain't it, folks. eBay has failed to be what it promised, but that process of moral decay began as soon as it became a public company, and for several years I had sensed that this state of affairs where I have to jettison eBay would finally be reached, and it has now been reached. The fact that when I go to a postcard show in Pasadena, that most of the dealers selling there have more postcards than are on eBay, should tell people how much intensive labor is involved in getting one listed. It's a surprisingly complex chore just to scan and list one postcard, let alone dozens per day. The show dealers won't even bother, even though I get several times higher prices on eBay. But as Paul pointed out so clearly, even if one is making money and getting ridiculous high NYC prices like I get on eBay, the high fees and massive time commitment render eBay virtually impotent as a business vehicle for nearly all sellers except crooked ones. Most sellers are still enthralled with the high realizations as was I, but not any more in my case. The eBay selling mechanism is, technologically, a very clumsy contraption with all these devioces interconnected to do this and do that like scanning, digicams, etc etc, and even as the Internet boom peaked around 2000 I was laughing to myself about how people would one day look back upon the eBay era as a technological absurdity, which it is and has been. I was offered Power Seller status a few years ago, but I told eBay its reputation was not worth having and declined the offer. Still glad I did because in this world of 2004, "Power Seller" has almost become synonymous with "pro crook". Since about 2002, my monthly fees including PayPal have risen from about $150 to about $300 on the same sales volume. So for the past number of months eBay has been on probation with me, but now, eBay's recent highly dubious banking behavior is the final straw. PayPal? I fought it off tooth and nail for four years. I still have hundreds of emails from well over 50 hours of time spent telling would-be PayPal customers that I did not accept PayPal even though all my lots clearly stated so. PayPal wasn't bad to operate, but it is a flat lie that one's sales will increase if they add PayPal. I have an entire year test period which, in my case at least, proves statistically that eBay and PayPal are both flat liars on this subject. Furthermore, PayPal claims that one will have less deadbeats. That is true--except that the vast majority of deadbeats I had were PayPalers who were bound and determined to shove PayPal down my throat. It was a constant war. Now, peace reigns between my customers and I, but at a cost to me of about $60/month to PayPal. In sum, PayPal solves a problem it created itself--much like the habitual criminal behavior of the Bushco RICO gang. By eBay's standards, I am a total success, yet by my standards, eBay is a total failure because even though I always make money on eBay, I have never made enough. I could go on here forever--for example about the inept farce called Turbolister, about eBay's non-customer service, about eBay's attempts to protect and hide known swindlers in stamps, about eBay's tens of millions of First Amendment violations, etc etc. But I am going to post this message onto a new theread once the smoke clears because others are sure to get hosed the same way I did today. Thank you Paul. For me, you can stick a fork in eBay: it's done.

Matthew, what can I say to make things better? All you can do is fight like hell to get your money out of ebay. Then never go back! I never meant to insult you. Obviously, you trusted ebay. After all, millions of people use it. They can't all be crooks. From what I see, the sellers and buyers are far more honest than the ebay company. Hell, it's ebay that should be getting the feedback. From the way they treated you, and others with similar problems, they deserve a ton of negative feedback! Try leaving some. Member Profile: PayPal(666) Members who left a positive: 4 Members who left a negative: 676 All positive feedback received: 6 Comment-Bad Transaction! Go fu@@ yourself, PayPal! Comment-Terrible Customer! Slow Payment! A pain in the a*s to deal with! FFFFFF Comment-Slow Payment, Terrible Transaction, Worst EBayer I ever seen!!! Comment-Thanks for nothing PayPal, worst transaction ever. Terrible company! Comment-Kept my $165 for four months! Won't answer email. Then, suspended my account. With feedback like that, why would anyone go back?

Paul, Thanks for your 2-cents... but no thanks.. To say to someone "you're screwed for screwing up" is like adding insult to injury. Heck, that's not even the American Way. You should know that when an American gets screwed, we tend to want atleast our money back.... Regardless, I feel that posting a complaint against eBay is helpful to those who are looking into becoming a seller there. It's not like I bought from a person with 0 feedback! It's not like I thought I was buying a brand new alienware computer for $25.00 and it turned out to be "how to get one" (lol at those listings) (Q:) So why would someone expect payment if they mistakenly over-paid an invoice (to eBay, not a seller) in the first place??? (A:) eBay is a large, international corporation which one would think is reputable enough to pay a seller who over-paid just like a much smaller business (ie: PARTS VENDOR) cuts a check to a DEALER(ie: PARTS BUYER) who has over-paid. So Paul, Thanks for the low blow, I'm sure anyone else who got screwed with eBay appreciates your comments ... To say that all sellers on eBay are fraudulent is good 'ole fashioned Discrimination... ;-) (off topic) And thumbs-down to the guy who says he actually read the statement, his first reply is "thats what you get for buying from a fraudulent seller" gee and to think he turns around says "duhh yeah I was reading it the whole time see this is what I meant" lol you're not fooling anyone reading this page... (end of off-topic rant)

I never purchased on Ebay. Why should I? I live in LA-LA land. Everything I could ever want is right here, a short drive away. So, why in the world would I sign onto an auction site, sitting there hoping to get in the high bid before the clock runs out? And, then, if that isn't frustrating enough, hoping that what I receive is what was advertised. I would have to be a masochist to go through that aggravation! Instead, I go down to a local store, see the item, try it, and then buy it. No ebays, no paypals, no ups service. Plus, immediate gratification. No waiting for shipments to arrive. I take my new item home with me, right then and begin my use. What in the world could be easier? I see people all over here crying about ebay this or seller that. Paypal screwed me, the item was broken, can't get a refund. Look at all the aggravation! You'd have to be nuts to go through that! The largest portion of internet fraud was and still is related to an auction. Jessica, you sell a quality product. No longer wanted or needed? It sounds like you are selling used items. That's fine. But, I challenge anyone to go out and find a line of merchandise to run an ongoing business on ebay. Find something that sells week in and week out. Then, try to make a reasonable profit on your items. After you pay all the overhead costs associated with ebay, what is left? Compare your ebay business with the profits obtainable at a store or swap meet location. Do you really see a big difference in the ebay income? One business always makes money on ebay. That is ebay. So, when I hear people telling me about ebay this or web site that, I know they have their heads up their ebay. Bottom line, a smart businessperson can make money with a yard sale, while someone with no business skills will fail with a 50,000 square foot retail store in a prime location. Looking to get rich? If you can't do it where you live, you certainly won't be able to do it on ebay.

I will say that the combination of ebay and paypal teams together and takes a good chunk of your money away. all they really do is act as a server for you to post up selling info. Thats it. not much else. So i avoid using paypal as much as possible now so that I don't get double dipped when I sell things. That said, I have a perfect feedback rating and I have never tried to sell "trash" to anyone. I have good products to sell that I either don't want or don't have a need for. Im sorry paul that you have had a bad experience there...why don't you look at feedback ratings first before you buy and if you did (and that feedback was excellend) but were still ripped off, then thats a rarity not the norm.

You overpaid. Ebay kept the money and won't give it back. What's not to understand? Many people complain about Paypal. They pretty much do whatever they like. As you see, there's not much you can do about it, either. Do you have a number to call and talk to anyone? Nope! What's that tell ya? The auction fraud breaks down several ways. 1/the seller cheats the buyer. 2/the buyer cheats the seller. 3/ebay cheats them both. That's what I'm trying to tell you! Sooner or later, it happens to you. Get out of there and stay out. If you are one of the sellers who is honest, good for you. I'm glad to hear that somebody is making money there. However, you still are out $165, right? If you never get that back again, did you still come out ahead? Now, are you beginning to see why you are just better off setting up a local store or swap-meet booth? Shouldn't be hard in Cincinnatti!

Uhm, you did not read my complaint. Did you see anything about me complaining about another seller? How about the title of the complaint? This isn't about being ripped off by another seller. I AM A SELLER. I dont rip off my customers either. This is about eBay not paying me money, not about anyone on the market-place.

Matthew, instead of chasing after your own money, hoping to get it back, why don't you just avoid the fraud in the first place. People see the amount of fraud on Ebay. Yet they continue to risk their money! Why take that risk? Smart people already know there are no deals on Ebay. It's junk that they can't sell in person. That's why Ebay exists. There is always a crook trying to hustle off trash that can't be sold anywhere else. After enough losses, maybe you'll learn too.

Matthew, instead of chasing after your own money, hoping to get it back, why don't you just avoid the fraud in the first place. People see the amount of fraud on Ebay. Yet they continue to risk their money! Why take that risk? Smart people already know there are no deals on Ebay. It's junk that they can't sell in person. That's why Ebay exists. There is always a crook trying to hustle off trash that can't be sold anywhere else. After enough losses, maybe you'll learn too.

Matthew, instead of chasing after your own money, hoping to get it back, why don't you just avoid the fraud in the first place. People see the amount of fraud on Ebay. Yet they continue to risk their money! Why take that risk? Smart people already know there are no deals on Ebay. It's junk that they can't sell in person. That's why Ebay exists. There is always a crook trying to hustle off trash that can't be sold anywhere else. After enough losses, maybe you'll learn too.

Matthew, instead of chasing after your own money, hoping to get it back, why don't you just avoid the fraud in the first place. People see the amount of fraud on Ebay. Yet they continue to risk their money! Why take that risk? Smart people already know there are no deals on Ebay. It's junk that they can't sell in person. That's why Ebay exists. There is always a crook trying to hustle off trash that can't be sold anywhere else. After enough losses, maybe you'll learn too.

After further review of my standing, I would like to correct the ammounts and date as described above. I apologize for the error! The dates shoudl be corrected to June (Not May) The ammount is 165, the ammount due over 90 days is 133. Please look over the screen shots below to show as valid proof of my claims. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v372/tonechild2000/ebaycomplaint1.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v372/tonechild2000/ebaycomplaint2.jpg