eBay Fraud

[psychocandy]

What is the name of your state? Michigan

On Jan 26th I won an eBay auction for a Canon digital camera:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2908673514

I sent payment almost immediately via paypal (linked to my debit card, I know it should have been a credit card, too late now) in the amount of $340.05. This may seem petty, but it is a good deal of savings for my family and I want a refund or the merchandise promised in the auction contract.

I became concerned after not hearing anything from the seller after a couple days and became even more concerned when I checked the auction page and noticed that the seller was now listed as an "unregistered ebay user." What also concerned me was the fact that the users registered name was different than the name used on the seller's correspondence. In addition, the seller listed Clovis, Ca as the city but I subsequently learned he resided in Lancaster, Ca.

So I contacted the seller many times about shipment status but received nothing until the 29th of January when I was told that I would receive the item as described in the auction and have a tracking number in 2 days. The seller described himself as a busy 26 year old business owner of 2 entities.

Well 3 days went by and I started e-mailing the seller again with request to provide me with an update as to the shipping status of the item. It is now Feb 5th, and even after threatening legal action if he did not fulfill his agreement (contract in eBay) he does not respond.

Would small claims court be the best venue to settle this dispute. Would I have to file in CA or MI? Would I have a good chance at recovering the court costs and travel expenses if I were to have to appear in CA? I really don't wan't to have to hire a lawyer as the cost would quickly surpass my intended recovery amount.

Ebay failed to disclose to me the nature of his suspended account status. Before I bid he had a positive feedback rating of 4, with no negatives. I realize I have limited recourse in eBay after 30 days have passed, but I would really like to see this indidual ante up and be responsible. In my mind there is nothing lower than a thief.

Any advice here would be absolutely priceless to me as I am an accountant but have no legal knowledge except for a 15 year old business law class in college.

Thanks for you time and consideration of my request.

 

[tonia1]

Been there, done that

I don't know anything about the small claims stuff, but if you paid via paypal, you can contact paypal and file a claim to get your money back. The seller has to provide proof of shipment to paypal. I only know this because I was in a similar situation, only I had shipped the item and then like a fool threw the receipt away when she left + feedback. After about 45 days, she filed with paypal and of course I had no proof because I had thrown the receipt from the Post Office and paypal took it out of my checking account that I had on file with them. A valuable lesson on my part! Anyway, I think you can also file with ebay, so you might check on their site as well.

 

[psychocandy]

Thanks for your reply. I have filed a complaint with paypal although they say the user agreement prevents them from guaranteeing full recovery. With eBay you have to wait 30 days before filing a complaint. I think that is pretty stupid considering the preponderance of evidence of impropriety in this case. It seems they provide the framework for buying/selling but that is about it. If you have any problems they will sit on the sidelines and tell you to take your problems elsewhere.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply.