Need Advice

samiamew · Post by **samiamew** » Tue Aug 18, 2009 1:45 pm

Bid on something on ebay -- lost auction but winning bid was a '0' newbie who 'didn't realize they were bidding that much'

... so, I get a second chance offer -- went back and forth on price/shipping and came to agreement -- but in the meantime the 'second chance offer' has expired -- now they can no longer give me another 'second chance offer' and have asked me to make the purchase outside of ebay -- still using paypal.

One concern -- brand spanking new ebay account on 8/6/09 -- thus the reason why they couldn't do a 'buy it now' option for our agreed $$ (evidently ebay rule). They have attempted to resolve the matter several different ways to no avail -- if anyone knows of a way to complete this transaction thru ebay -- I'd love to hear it

Question -- do you still think completing the transaction is 'safe' (and I don't mean by ebay rules of no outside transaction = no fees for ebay

).

The $$ is large enough of a concern to just 'write off' if the transaction fails -- but I really like the stuffs in the auction.

This would not be anyone from the cel community and I don't know the seller from Adam .......

Any thoughts on the matter would be appreciated.

Drac of the Sharp Smiles · Tue Aug 18, 2009 1:51 pm

I would then look at the seller's credentials. If they're clean.... and I mean *s*p*a*r*k*l*i*n*g* shiny..... I would consider just completing the sale without Ebay in the way. Honestly, I really don't think Ebay offers much REAL protection, they more just make it LOOK like they do. I've been a part of some bizarre Ebay deals with sellers in the past, and all have gone well in the end when the seller is good.

ReiTheJelly · Post by **ReiTheJelly** » Tue Aug 18, 2009 2:38 pm

Paypal should offer some level of buyer protection, too.

If they sound like a person you can trust, go for it. Although I cannot speak for this particular seller, I've done "outside ebay" transactions before and they have all ended nicely for me.

iwakuralain16 · Post by **iwakuralain16** » Tue Aug 18, 2009 5:41 pm

Ive had a RS member who had 100% ebay feedback fuck me over on a sale outside of ebay.. they offered to put it on ebay... but i told them it would be a waste if we agreed on prices and etc and they could save money in the end outside of ebay... still fucked me over though. Thank goodness paypal was able to recover 90% of my money from them. So... I would say no unless it is an amount of money you would not miss.

ainominako · Post by **ainominako** » Tue Aug 18, 2009 6:04 pm

I don't think ebay itself offers much protection -- the refund would come from paypal.

I had someone one on anime-beta screw me over as well. I purchased the cels from ebay and eventually got my money back.

Dealing with anyone online is a risk but I don't think ebay is a deciding factor. Ebay is just as much of a risk as buying from anyone online.

For the most part, people that use paypal get their money back if a transaction fails.

Good luck. I've also been having trouble with some transactions lately.

samiamew · Post by **samiamew** » Tue Aug 18, 2009 6:15 pm

Thanks for the input everyone

Well, I decided to give it a go and made the purchase via paypal -- funny thing was, he had the 'no pay newbie' leave him feedback on my transaction

Kinda makes me wonder if some sort of shilling wasn't going on as she kept bidding everyone up by a few $$ before making the big 'oops!' ............... geez, I'm getting paranoid in my old age

I'm going to trust paypal on this one and hope I get what I paid for -- although I've heard stories of paypal not being able to get the $$ back either.

*keeps fingers and toes crossed* <= .....although that hurts after a while

bran-chan · Post by **bran-chan** » Tue Aug 18, 2009 7:05 pm

To be fully protected pay with a credit card. When you do sales outside of ebay you only get money back if the seller has it in their paypal account. when you buy off of ebay you get it back as long as they have the paypal protected logo on the auction, even if they don't have money in the account.

chibikitty2045 · Post by **chibikitty2045** » Tue Aug 18, 2009 8:20 pm

ask them to run a short auction where you do a buy it now for the price that you have agreed upon. This way you are still protected and you can help the seller build on their 'brand new account'

Scammers are using this tactic now to see what people are willing to pay then go OUTSIDE of ebay to screw you over.

Then neither ebay or paypal can help you. by the time you have filed a claim with paypal they are long gone with the funds.

I hope you get your item but this seems like the safest way for you to conduct your transaction

Angel

chibikitty2045 · Post by **chibikitty2045** » Tue Aug 18, 2009 8:21 pm

oops seems that I posted a little late Surreh!

ainominako · Post by **ainominako** » Tue Aug 18, 2009 8:32 pm

ebay just updated their terms of service stating that if the funds aren't available in the person's paypal account they will request alternate funds.

I just thought was an interesting tid-bit.

Drac of the Sharp Smiles · Tue Aug 18, 2009 8:33 pm

chibikitty2045 wrote:Scammers are using this tactic now to see what people are willing to pay then go OUTSIDE of ebay to screw you over.

I've definitely seen this. However -- and I hope this was what was done -- when a bidder backs out and the item is offered to me, I never pay a penny over what the cost would have been without the vanished bidder. I do not bargain, I simply tell the seller they can sell to me for what the high bid would have been WITHOUT the bum bidder or they're welcome to relist, end of line.

Many Sharp Smiles,
--Drac