Tricky eBay Transaction

[Frugal Farmer]

an eBay seller (Code, Camey & Assoc., codecamey.com) listed the following item on eBay:

if this product is purchased for an average size roof, one needs to order around 30 boxes (~ $3,300). PayPal covers only $200 of this purchase.

To install this product, the purchaser also needs matching accessories (valleys, ridges, gables, clips,..) which the seller also supplies - off-line: (Further contact is needed for accessories and freight estimates....).

I have already gone through the bidding process w/ him once before and the seller added the price for accessories to the final eBay purchase price and then demanded WU/bank draft for the entire purchase to proceed w/ shipping. Credit cards not accepted. Any other mode of payment is fine for as long as the money is in his bank before him shipping the product.

Even though it is possible to get matching accessories from another source, it is a good practice to get all as one package to avoid color mismatch and extra shipping costs.

Being risk-averse, I wonder if it is possible to complete this transaction with minimal risk in case this seller is unscrupulous. An acceptable risk would be to pay with a credit card, examine the goods for quantity and defects once received and should the shipment not match the order, being able to dispute (successfully) and reverse the charge. Getting $200 back from paypal and forfeiting $3100 wont work for me.

Any ideas how to go about this?

[<h>]

Your best option is a credit card, either directly or through PayPal. eBay expressly prohibits Western Union transactions. If you bought something through eBay the seller CANNOT require WU. Report him to eBay and use PayPal to complete the transaction. Didn&#39;t we already tell you this in a previous thread?

[Frugal Farmer]

- yes, you did. However, your "best option" doesnt work for the seller: a) doesnt accept CC b) paypal covers $200 of the total purchase c) eBay doesnt care what happens outside the bidding theater

Also, previous thread dealt mainly with steel shingles and those users who dont care for steel shingles, wouldnt read it; thus, not comment as to what the "best option" is and how to handle the eBay purchase. Perhaps there are other users who are more eBay savvy than those who commented on steel shingles. And those are the ones I am addressing w/ my question.

This thread deals directly with the mechanics of a specific purchase and its parameters. This thread (question) is not theoretical or general in nature as to what the ideal option is. It is about a solution to a specifically tabled problem. For example, I had offered a partial payment and the balance once I received the goods. The seller didnt accept. What other options are open to me? Other than the one I have chosen so far - not to purchase from him?

[jJim McLaughlin]

Yep.

He&#39;s unwillng to listen to anything other than the voices in his head.

I filtered him after his post about not ever responding to the manufacturer / distributor wo contacted him because he "assumed" that the mfg. / distr. would somehow screw him.

He&#39;s a waste of electrons.

[<h>]

Ok, ONE MORE TIME. Use a credit card with PayPal. If you don&#39;t receive the merchandise your CREDIT CARD ISSUER will refund your money. PayPal&#39;s $200 limit is irrelevant. Your best bet is ALWAYS to use a credit card for any purchase, whether it is directly with the merchant or through PayPal. How many times do we have to tell you this? Sheesh.

[Frugal Farmer]

- incorrect ! I had clearly written that it was mainly a financial decision since the mfg, a friend of yours btw, sells aluminum, more expensive, shingles. His product sells for $190/SQ. Payment up front. No guarantees (except yours; and who are you?) the shipment will arrive. Comparable steel shingles sell for $110-$135/SQ. You do the math..

And make no mistake, nobody is asking you to waste electrons if this is all you have to offer. you are not the only one here. There&#39;s thousands of others contributing and asking for advice in this forum. You are here just to pick a fight w/ others if things dont go your way since you&#39;re the self-appointed cop of this group....?

[Frugal Farmer]

And OK, ONE MORE TIME. I told in the previous thread that I took your advice to my bank manager and she told me, in no uncertain terms, that I am on my own and her bank will not reverse the charge because it is in paypal&#39;s disclaimer w/ credit card issuers as to what amount they guarantee for each transaction. Who am I going to believe? You or my bank? are you going to be there when I am out $3100 and say sorry, I was wrong? here&#39;s the money you&#39;re out? If you are ready to guarantee with your own money how my bank will deal w/ paypal, then I am ready to purchase the product on eBay as per your instructions. Are you up to it?

[runsrealfast]

My wife is an ebayer, and her rule of thumb is that if they don&#39;t accept paypal or CC&#39;s don&#39;t use them. She has had problems with sellers but because she only uses paypal they have been easily solved.

John

[DerbyDad03]

Just some thoughts....

According to you, the rules set up by the seller are: "Any other mode of payment is fine for as long as the money is in his bank before him shipping the product."

Then you wonder aloud "if it is possible to complete this transaction with minimal risk in case this seller is unscrupulous."

It seems to me that the answer is pretty obvious - No.

If the guy is not going to ship until he has cash (or its equivalent) in hand, you&#39;ll never get the product until you pay him, in full, using a payment vehicle that gives him full control of the funds. It doesn&#39;t get any riskier than that.

If those are indeed the rules, you have 2 options: Buy from him and hope he&#39;s honest or move on.

[Caesar Romano]

On Fri, 26 Oct 2007 11:24:11 -0400, wrote Re Re: Tricky eBay Transaction:

No, it is not possible.

[Zyp]

In all fairness, when it comes to eBay, nothing is fair. I wouldn&#39;t buy this type of product for this amount of money from eBay. I think you are an idiot for even trying.

[Frugal Farmer]

..just got off the phone w/ visa customer rep. Paypal is just a &#39;middleman&#39;. If paypal transaction is covered by a certain amount (i.e. $200 - link at top), it means the seller put up $200 as his collateral. Nothing else.

Now, let&#39;s say transaction worth $3000 goes through. The merchandise is disputed a few days later. Since the seller most likely already transferred (spent) the $2800 he/she received, paypal can only yank the original $200 from the seller&#39;s account, not the disputed $3000. Paypal, as a middleman, is just making sure they dont end up on the hook for uncovered portions of transactions initiated by unscrupulous sellers.

and that goes to show the quality of advice you get here from the likes of Jim McLaughlin and Anonymous.

[<h>]

Your credit card is issued by a local bank? Doubt it. You&#39;re most likely talking to your "bank manager" about your debit card, which has a MC/V logo on it. Debit cards are a disaster waiting to happen, in that the bank never, ever, has to give you any money bank, since it&#39;s money from your checking account.

PayPal is a third-party vendor, and they do not control the terms of your credit card. If you really do have a true "credit card" issued by a local bank which does NOT honor the MC/V guarantees, then you should switch cards. The PayPal $200.00 guarantee is designed to protect people using a bank account to fund the transaction, NOT a credit card.

LAST TIME. As a merchant, I know that no matter the method, if the client doesn&#39;t receive something they bought using a credit card, they don&#39;t pay for it. Period.

Since you&#39;re clearly so afraid of this transaction you shouldn&#39;t go through with it. It&#39;s probably best that you never buy anything online.

[Abe]

You need to just walk away from this deal and don&#39;t look back.

[dpb]

...

But, the Consumer Credit Protection Act trumps PayPal. PayPal may only cover $200 out of their pocket, but if you use a CREDIT CARD (not draft card), and protest the payment the card issuer is on the hook. It depends again, as someone else has pointed out, whether you&#39;re talking credit of debit as to what the rules are; therefore the advice from VISA may or may not be appropriate.

But, as someone else already noted, if you&#39;re uncomfortable with the transaction, your choice is to either bite you tongue and go through with it or not -- the seller doesn&#39;t have to change his published business practice, eBay or not, to cater to you. If he is in violation of eBay policy, then you can take that up w/ eBay, but even if he changes that doesn&#39;t mean he has to accept a credit card, PayPal or no.

--

[Poppin Fresh]

Comments inserted. BTW, there&#39;s nothing tricky about this potential transaction.

Then, tell the seller to run a "Dutch" auction.

You should&#39;ve sent eBay a copy of this along with full headers. You wouldn&#39;t be worrying about trying to deal with this seller which is undoubtly trying to circumvent fees. They would be NARU&#39;ed by now. They also are not allowed to display the Paypal logo, without accepting it.

Yes, get a clue b/4 trying to make a big purchase on eBay. Try getting some eBay experience buying smaller items, b/4 jumping in over your idiotic head.

[bigjim]

[<h>]

The OP seems to think that the credit card company will ONLY refund money if it can recover the funds. Not true. I had my credit card "skimmed" and the entire set of fraudulent charges (over $15,000 in 7 hours!) were reversed immediately. As a merchant I accepted a card which had been skimmed and the real card holder initiated a chargeback which was reversed because the signatures matched and the card was approved when scanned. The real credit card holder got his money back, I got my money back, and the card issuer ate the charges. In the event of a non-in-person sale the seller must prove that the buyer received the merchandise (signature on the delivery slip) or the buyer gets a refund.

The OP just doesn&#39;t get it.

[DerbyDad03]

-- The OP just doesn&#39;t get it.

Or doesn&#39;t want to.

[J.A. Michel]

Yea, don&#39;t do it. This is a no-brainer. Go and buy roofing supplies from your local lumberyard!! I would never buy stuff like that on ebay. You are just asking to get hosed!!