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Payment by paypal,keep your records

Last year I had a guy from Canada bought a pair of cables from me, he said that he is going to have his friend from the US pay me with his paypal account,( around this time paypal doesn't have service for Canadians yet). I'm thinking as long as the money is on my account who cares where I send out the cables.So his friend payed me and I got the payment confirmation from paypal and promptly send the cables to Canada. Here's the problem 7 months later Paypal emailed me saying that the payment that was made 7 months ago was being reversed and they are taking it out of my account,paypal told me that the credit card company filed a claim and that the account that was used to pay me was fraudulent. So I emailed paypal back explaining the situation and even giving them the email address and name of the person that I sold that cables to. Paypal emailed me back asking for proof that I shipped the merchandise, something that they can track it clearly stated.Obviously I don't have a tracking number as I shipped the cables via USPS and who will keep their shipping receipt from 7 months ago?So I emailed guy I sold the cables to and guess what? no responce.And since I did not keep my receipt for mailing the cables to Canada I end up paying paypal the money from my account.

I really learned my lesson the hardway so just a reminder to everybody. KEEP ALL YOUR RECORDS and always use a carrier that has some form of tracking.Hopefully this doesn't happen to anybody else.
128x128rmml
11 responses Add your response
sfseay's avatar
sfseay
496 posts
 
@j_thunders - PayPal has the right to take money from your linked bank account.  Read their terms of service
sfseay's avatar
sfseay
496 posts
 
PayPal 101 - Only ship to a PayPal verified address with the buyer’s name listed on the address,  and always ship with a tracking number.
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kingbarbuda
514 posts
 
You have to be extremely careful with USPS. Always and I mean always make sure you specifically ask for a signature on delivery. Don’t assume that it comes with insurance. Even if you insure your package, if you don’t ask for a signature and you don’t have it appear as paid for an on hour shipping receipt, if Your recipient does not receive the package, USPS will claim they delivered and will show some document showing delivery. However, the burden of proving that your recipient hasn’t received your package is on YOU without a signature. I had a bad experience in this regard. For at least the time being, I am going to use FedEx. 
alexc's avatar
alexc
265 posts
 
Always send Money ORders via Certified Mail and insured for the face value. Well worth the few x-tra dollars. As for shipping gear, I always use USPS Priority Mail, insured AND with Delivery Confirmation. Better be safe than sorry! After being burned once, I also insit on speaking on the phone with folks I am selling to or buying from if the transaction is for more than $ 200.
blbloom
286 posts
 
Unfortunately, I don't believe there is any way to guarantee a safe transaction when making deals on the web. Even a cod, with a deposit, can go wrong if the merchandise isn't as decribed, or worse, damaged. I basically trust people and use my intuition when making deals. There are signs that come up that during negotiations, that will kill a deal for me. If I am a buyer, the seller must communicate in a timely manner, and answer all my questions clearly. I always ask for a phone number and speak to sellers. I have made over twenty deals in the last eighteen months. In three cases, the merchandise was rated higher than it should have been. Twice, I left negative feedback, and lived with it. In the third case, I insisted the seller make good, which, fortunately, he did.

Another thing. I always do my homework. There is a Classe amp for sale, on Audiogon, right now. The seller is listing a retail price of $3000. The right price is $2300. Honest mistake? Maybe. Unless someone lies to me, I will always know what it is I am buying, and what it is worth. I often see ads where the seller lists a blank warranty card. In order to find out if there is a warranty, I will get a serial number, call the manufacturer, and ask. They will give the history of the piece, with repairs and manufacture date.

There are great deals to be had here, and I wouldn't have been able to put together the system I have without them.
jeffloistarca
1,004 posts
 
Money order, by Fed Ex, is the best way to handle transactions in my experience. So far, I haven't been burnt, I attribute my "luck" to the quality of people who visit AudioGon. I'm sorry to hear about your troubles, and concerns me on a personal level knowing a Canadian took you for a ride. There are bad apples everywhere, fortunately fewer than the norm on his site. ATB, Jeff
j_thunders
173 posts
 
Doesn't that only work if you leave money in the paypal account? I never leave any money in it because payors can reverse only if there is money still in the account. Now if paypal started extracting money out of my bank account on their own, and none was left in the paypal account--then Lord have mercy on the poor sucker at the bank that would have to handle my complaint. I'd pack a lunch and turn it into an all day affair.
rmml's avatar
rmml OP
204 posts
 
When I send out money orders I usually use certified mail or overnight express just to make sure that the seller will really get the money order.This way the seller knows also that I know that he got the money. I think paying a little extra for sending your money is very much worth it for your own peace of mind.
lolo's avatar
lolo
122 posts
 
Personal contact via phone helps me get to "know " to determine whether I want to enter into a deal. There are certain questions and responses that can tip you off if you trust the person you are dealing with. GOOD LUCK! FORGET PAYPAL - Sorry you got scammed.
dougholdco
34 posts
 
On those rare occasions when I have mailed someone a money order for something I was buying (I prefer COD for the big stuff) I wondered what kind of mess would be created by having the seller claim he never got the money order. Even if it were really "lost in the mail," which almost never happens, he would wonder whether I really mailed it, and I would wonder whether he actually cashed it but didn't ship. Do you send your money orders in such a way that they can be tracked, or just drop them in the mail?
kublakhan
717 posts
 
that SUCKS!
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