Rant:

I learned this lesson the hard way. After over 100 eBay transactions over the years, I think I let my guard down a bit too much and trusted people. I figured a buyer with a 99% positive feedback rating was good enough to not have to worry about being scammed. My mistake, and it cost me an iPod.

I sold a 5th gen video iPod for $120, and shipped it via USPS First Class Mail. I've done it this way before many times without incident. This time, however, the buyer is conveniently claiming that I took too long to ship it (even though I shipped it next business day), and that I ignore her emails despite replying promtly to every message she sent. In one email she asked how I shipped the iPod, and I replied with the USPS First Class Mail info. At that point things took a turn for the worse. Now she has filed a complaint with PayPal, saying the thing was never received. Seems that there is this nice little loophole in eBay and PayPal where if an item is shipped without a tracking number, the buyer can simply claim to have not received it and get their money back, while also keeping the item. So when I told the buyer that I shipped it First Class (meaning without tracking), that opened the door for her to contact PayPal and get her money back.

The worst part is this: When a claim is filed with PayPal, the money is instantly transfered from the seller's account. Then the seller must prove that they shipped the item (which is impossible to do if you send something First Class), and within a few weeks the buyers gets their money back. Case closed. Too bad, seller. You're crap out of luck.

So the harsh lesson here is this: While I wish I could continue to trust people and give them the benefit of the doubt, the fact is that people on eBay are generally scum, and will steal the shirt off your back first chance they get. I have to assume the worst and always ship things with tracking. Which screws the honest people since I have to raise my shipping costs to cover this added expense, and they are the ones who really pay for it.

What is most amazing in the whole ordeal is how little PayPal and eBay do to help sellers. They make it so difficult to protect yourself, in any dispute they side with the buyer by default unless there is undisputable evidence to the contrary, and they have recently removed the negative feedback rating feature for buyers. So after all this, getting ripped off, I can't even leave negative feedback for this buyer to warn others of her scam. She gets away with it and moves on to her next victim, and no one can do a thing to stop her.

One other little tidbit for any ebay sellers out there that might save you some money: If you think tracking info is enough to protect you, think again. If your item sells for over $250, you need to have tracking info AND have required a signature at delivery. If it's left on a doorstep, you're not protected.

It's seller beware at ebay, and it's open season for crooks to steal at will. All they need to do is shop for auctions that ship via non-trackable mail and it's an unstoppable crime.

sounds fair enough to require a tracking number and a signature for over $250.
I bet there would be a lot more seller scams if this wasn't required.
You'll have to be more careful in future.
PS. I've been stung by sellers several times on ebay, the old feedback system sucked cos any unscrupulous seller would always leave retaliatory feedback, so buyers could never be honest. Much better this way round, just means that the seller has to make sure they cover their ass, a good plan in any business.

Quote from: Lcjtripod on December 16, 2008, 09:06

Buying on eBay is not the problem. PayPal and eBay both favor the buyer not the seller!...

That's the issue I'm having. I'm willing to chalk this all up to experience and a lesson learned. But what is most disturbing is how heavily eBay and PayPal favor buyers' rights over sellers'. The policy seems to be that if there is any doubt about who is scamming who, favor the buyer. The scales are tipped so far in the buyers' favor that all it takes is the simple suggestion that a seller didn't ship an item and the money is immediately yanked back by PayPal.

Quote from: Microbius on December 16, 2008, 05:35

... just means that the seller has to make sure they cover their ass, a good plan in any business.

Apologies, for "business" read "business transaction"
eBay isn't a business for most people. I'm a casual seller, and after using eBay for many years I had no idea that I had no rights to any seller protection if I didn't ship items with tracking numbers. Of course the powersellers probably know all these things, but the casual seller might not and there are predatory buyers browsing the listings right now looking for just these sort of sellers. If a listing says USPS First Class as the shipping method, it's a golden opportunity for scammers and thieves.

The policy of "The customer is always right." has been with us for a long time.  If you want to be in business you need to get used to it. 

Also, If you don't have any tracking information how can anyone possibly know you have been ripped off?  USPS does lose things.  Packages do get stolen from doorsteps.  It is up to you to protect yourself.  Why would anyone believe you over your customer?  It is just your word against theirs.  Without some basis for deciding their is no reason for you to be compensated any more than for your customer to lose out on what they bought.