Ive just fallen victim to an ebay policy i wasn’t awareness of so I wanted to share. Apparently a buyer has 6 months to return an item, regardless of whether or not the seller said theyd accept returns if paypal was used as the payment method.
In my case, the guy has had a guitar I sold 3 months ago, is returning it and nothing I can do about it. He’s basically used it for a project, doesn’t want it anymore and can send it back for a full refund.
So, for anyone looking to sell on eBay, be very careful. I think it’s rare but if a buyer knows the policy, you will get ripped off.
Comments
Instead of creating a safe marketplace they have created a scammers paradise where they cream off a percentage of all sales.
Vast majority of people are genuine but when things go wrong, intentionally or not, it turns into a real mess very quickly.
That's a terrible policy, and obviously open to abuse. I do sell a few things (guitars) on there, but will only deal face-to-face, even if that means a long drive (which I don't mind) and deal in cash or transfer there and then. I will talk to the buyer or seller first and try and get a feel for them (fnaar).
As they're relatively expensive guitars, it's worth the extra effort and I've met some nice people along the way, as well. I wouldn't courier anything and I wouldn't use PayPal - I hear too many stories about scammers to get involved in that. Gumtree has been pretty bad for that, and there have been a few attempts, but luckily I haven't been 'done' so far (on the selling side anyway - I've bought a couple of cheaper guitars online that weren't as described) and I think I'll stick to my policy of 'face to face' buying and selling, even if it makes it a bit more difficult in the short term.
Either way he is taking the piss, so personally I would return the favour.
You might just receive a guitar shaped box with bricks in it........
PayPal have a 180 days protection policy which is in place mainly to cover fraudulent transactions.
It is not intended for the purpose described by @chris78 - so you need to phone PayPal and argue your case. It is likely that this will get this reviewed in your favour. At the moment this is all being dealt with by PayPal ‘bots’, not humans, so you need to speak to them directly (not by email either). If the guitar was ‘significantly not as described’, this should have been noticed by your buyer when they received it, not after 3 months.
(This is a PayPal issue, not EBay)
http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/57632/
tbh even if they are still the same as when you shipped it...... might be worth getting tad of revenge... say you are unsure if they are the same model.... etc just to cause some grief back the other way..