Ebayers beware!

I think most of us now at one point or another has had a quick flick through eBay to find that elusive item or bargain and most of us have had positive experiences, but what happens when it doesn’t all go to plan? Most of us rely on eBay to settle any disputes or failing this pay pal to make sure our money is safe or returned if the item is not as advertised, or simply does not turn up, but this isn’t always the case.

There are some exceptions to this eBay protection, some are well known, such as the fact that vehicles are not covered but there are others that aren’t as well advertised. Recently the rise in codes, and information as a commodity has meant that people are willing to pay for what’s known as “intangible goods” these are items that don’t physically exist but can be sent either as information or through the internet. These items are not covered by eBay’s payment protection so if you pay for the item and then the seller refuses to send it the worst you can do is send negative feedback.

So what do you do if you find yourself in this situation, the best way to protect yourself is to link your credit card to your pay pal account, that way you might have a case to claim through your credit card if the seller does not return the money, it would be classed as fraud on their part.

EBay and pay pal are however not becoming separate companies, so if eBay is unable to help, pay pal might be able to.

Other issues with eBay at the moment lies not with the buyers, as was traditionally the problem with unpaid items but now with sellers refusing to send items after the auction has ended, either because they have sold too cheaply or they have changed their minds. EBay makes it clear that it is a legally binding contract between the seller and buyer, the minute you pay for that item it legally belongs to you. So what do you do if they refuse to send it to you, even if they do refund the money it still goes against the principal of eBay, but what are eBay doing about it? The answer is not a whole lot. They can’t physically force the person to send the item and despite one or two stray cases they don’t usually send the police round.

A recent incident that happened to myself was when a seller put a buy it now price on an item, I paid straight away and waited to hear when I could pick it up. A couple of days passed, I sent a polite email, still nothing. 5 days later the money was refunded into my account, but still no message, I checked the notes in pay pal and there was a small note telling me he had changed his mind.

Ebay to their credit were quite good, they gave me £25 to say sorry for the bad experience, even though it wasn’t their fault and were going to investigate the seller making sure he could not sell it again on eBay for more. It left me without the item but at least I could leave negative feedback and later found the same item cheaper elsewhere.

CLICK HERE for five secret tips for finding the best eBay deals.