[xionja]

I've never had a problem in eBay before, so its stressin me out Basically, the person I'm dealing with is a total asshole. The story:

I bought two Lacoste polo shirts on eBay from the same member, for cheap shipping. I messaged the seller asking if he would combine shipping costs before I bid, but he didn't answer, and so I bid anyways, (It was only 2 hours) So I requested a total through paypal, and he did combine shipping, well sorta, but it was okay.

So the shirts come in the mail, real quick like, but its funny. Cause they're not Lacoste. Well they had the alligator on them. But they were hilariously fake. Like the ID number on the shirts was the same, even though they were different colors. The alligator wasn't embroidered on, and the collar was floppy. They were also really stretchy and big, with huge sleeves.

So I emailed the seller, basically doing a self-serving thing, telling him I wouldn't give him bad feedback or alert eBay that he was selling fakes, if he would give me a full refund, and I would return the shirts to him. Three days later no reply, I'm fed up. So I go to Paypal, and file a complaint through them. He emails me this:

I just got the notification from paypal. I promptly emailed you back when I first received your email. Please advise. Eric ? From: his email Date: August 1, 2005 9:37:54 PM EDT To: my email Subject: Re: Message from eBay Member Thomas, Thank you so much for the e-mail. I fully understand what it means to be a eBay buyer. I also understand that not every buyer is going to be satisfied with the product that is sent. I generally try to treat people as I would like to be treated. I always try to provide great customer service. If you are not satisfied with the item that was sent to you, please mail me the jeans back, I will gladly refund you with whatever you paid, along with the postage. Again, I try my best to satisfy you, my customer, and hope that we can both move forward with this transaction the right way. Please send the item back with your email address, so I know what paypal address to refund to. Eric Ticas address removed Await your immediate reply Eric

But the funny thing is that my name isn't Thomas, and I didn't order jeans, and he never sent me an email. Basically he poorly fabricated a fake email he never sent. At least the Paypal complaint scared him into communicating.

I emailed him back telling him that he really didn't send me an email, and that I'm still pursuing it through paypal, until I'm guarenteed my money back, before I send back the shirts.

So where do I go from here? I really have no clue what to do. Is there anyway to guarentee I'll get my money (63 bucks) before I send them back, and same for him, any way for him to know I sent the shirts before he refunds me?

Anybody been in a similar situation?

[Yontsey]

i bought a nextel phonenextel phone off ebay like a year and a half ago. this phone had only been out like a month or two and there was this dude up in new york who had like 10 of them and was selling them for like $150, they were like 250-300 at the time i think but dont quote me, i just know they werent cheap. well my buddy had nextel too and be bought one and told me about them so i bought one too. long story short the guy never sent the phone. i sent tons of emails and got nothing. i even called him on several occassions and he was like oh im sorry im sorry, ill send it out tomorrow. well id wait and nothing so finally i just sent him an email basically chewing him out and telling him that i was gonna report him and i emailed ebay, paypal, and called my bank to tell them about it. paypal actually suprised me and took really good care of me, they sent me a report sheet, i just filled it out, and then they refunded my money right away. i was so stoked about gettin that phone too, haha. ohwell at least i got my money back. i hope you do too man, sorry to hear that

[judeobscure]

When you paid through PayPal did you use a credit card? If so, then call your credit card company.
File a complaint with Ebay although, they might send you the standard "we prefer that such matters be handled between buyer and seller before we step in" BS.

[Yontsey]

yeah, i used my bank debit card and i called the number on the back and they told me id have to handle it through paypal

[onlyafterdark]

Debt cards are the devil. Always use credit cards if you can. That way if something like this happens you can cancel the payment and challenge the purchase.

[senecaripple]

debit card is like sending cash, really no recourse! complain to both ebay and paypal that item sent was not what was advertised! and demand that seller be removed from ebay! lots of luck anyway and sorry abt your plight! use credit card next time and all the time!

[Moogs]

Eventually if you use eBay (and more specifically PayPal) long enough, you're going to get screwed. PayPal is borderline corrupt for one thing, and for another there are just too many con artists on eBay to be avoided indefinitely. Between Amazon and other retailers like Macmall and Outpost, there's almost nothing I can't find at a decent price.

When I want to sell something but can't with personal connections, I donate whatever it is to a local charity like the Cancer Federation. If it's so useless that the charity won't take it, it's either recycled or goes in the landfill.

[Franz Josef]

Originally Posted by xionja Anybody been in a similar situation?

Very poor. You should complain via eBay and via PayPal. You also ought to make sure there is nothing in the orginal auction details whichhints they are not real - the language in the description is always very important. If he has misrepresented the goods then just check you have communicated this to him (so that there is a good audit trail).

EBay makes people disproportionately sensitive to reputation (ie your feedback) and if he is a major trader, you can leave him blistering feedback which will discourage others from trading with him. Feedback can be withdrawn later (under a mutual arbitration procedure) and it does therefore give you leverage.

Hope you sort it out

[Gargoyle]

Call Lacoste!

[staph]

Originally Posted by Gargoyle Call Lacoste!

Indeed. There's a very decent chance they'll sue him out of existence, and possibly even press criminal charges.

If you're lucky, they'll give you a headhunter's fee, like, say, two genuine Lacoste T-shirts.

[xionja]

Update:

So he emailed me back, appologizing for sending me an email with the wrong information, and saying that if I send the shirts back, he will reimburse me fully, even for the postage I paid. So should I sent them back "cash on delivery"? Is there a way I can guarentee that I will get my money back. It seems a little foolish to just sent stuff back to somebody . . .


To send or not to send (and then what to do if not)?

[Franz Josef]

get him to PayPal you first so he bears the risk