It may be possible to reclaim money from paypal!

RFW

An 'auction' or the legalities thereof is enforced by the ability to view the item in person, so most Ebay auctions aren't valid as auctions. If the offer to view the item being sold is given (even if it was something ridiculous, eg between 4am and 4.10am on a Wednesday morning!) the buyer's rights diminish.

Common sense would say that if the item sold is nothing like the picture on Ebay then no amount of saying "its an auction" would get the seller anywhere.

cyril82

if ebay auctions were not classed as auctions due to lack of a physical auctioneer all auctions online would be covered under distance selling regulations, the fact is they are not not as stated by the OFT HERE .... http://www.oft.gov.uk/advice_and_resources/resource_base/legal/distance-selling-regulations/regulation-exceptions

if what you were saying was true and paypal were Legally water tight in forcing refunds on these peole surely they would stand by their decision with the conviction that you show, but they do not as demonstrated here... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/article-1170012/Friend-foe-Money-Mail-raises-new-questions-online-payment-service-PayPal.html
Several people including half of a file of cases collected by the Mail were refunded.

Also there is no legal case that shows online auctions are anything but auctions and none of you have provided a case law example, so excuse me if i don't believe you.

Also since this thread and the Daily mail article referenced related more to private sellers (consumers) rather than business sellers who try to sell off a few personal items and end up out of pocket or being harassed by debt collectors, it does not make one iota of difference whether or not the law classes online sales as auctions as private sellers are not governed by the distance selling regulations where they are selling only personal items from around the home.
So it really is not relevant to this thread whether or not ebay sales, in the eye of the law are auctions, private sales are exempt and so are auctions (if they are auctions), so it's pointless bleating on about it.

Even if your point about ebay auctions not being auctions was true, it would still be irrelevant to private sales as they too are exempt and so the seller would have grounds to refer their case to the ombudsman

.

StaffsSW

Having found the article in the Daily Wail, it seems the crux of the problem is that sellers are not posting items either to confirmed addresses, or without proof of delivery so when a stolen credit card is being used to fund the purchase, the rightful owner of the credit card is doing a chargeback.

Because the seller is not following the Seller Protection Policy, Paypal are not fighting their case.,

End of story.

So why is there two pages of inane rants and delusional drivel from "bar-room lawyers"?

Oh yes - it's the Daily Mail effect. Make a huge story where there is in fact none.

From their own article it clearly states at the bottom...

WHAT CAN YOU DO?
• Check on the feedback of any buyer and seller. You can see this by looking at their name. Their feedback will be a percentage written next to the seller's name (100 pc means all that person's transactions have been a success).
• Send goods only to the seller's address or to one they have confirmed on eBay.
• Send any packages by recorded delivery. This costs more, but the buyer will pay. It also gives you proof that the item has been received.
• Keep all records of the transaction for 45 days after payment. After this date, the buyer can no longer complain.

(this last point however is incorrect - credit card chargebacks can be completed up to 6 months after the event, but since this is the Daily Wail it must be truie - Cyril says so...)

cyril82

Steve people have the right to complain to the ombudsman if they feel they were treated unfairly, they may get their money back , they may not but it's risk free.

Once again, going to the ombudsman is not taking a legal route so me pointing out that this is an option for these people is not legal advice, amateur or otherwise.

Therefore i take it you "bar-room lawyer" jibe was aimed at those trying to convince me and readers of this thread that there is some difference between the English common definition and the legal definition of an auction and that we are just too stupid to understand it while they are legal geniuses and we should just take their word for it, ..... i agree with you if they can't even link to a previous legal case that sets this precedent they should give up the amateur legal advice, damn armchair lawyers, :beer:

shinjukumaster

I've been buying and selling on eBay from the start, and seen it go downhill compared to what it was. This is due to scammers, and other such people moving in, forcing things to tighten up in terms of trading conditions. Also, eBay are pushing to make their business more successful - shaping the eBay community accordingly. It seems they have stitched up the market, especially with their own payment service, PayPal. I for one am moving away from eBay, and mainly use Amazon now, along with Craigslist, and local classifieds. I found I'm driving everywhere to do eBay deals in person, so I might as well use local classifieds. Just my opinion, but eBay is now awful. And its near impossible to make a living from it. One seller told me 40% of his turnover was going on eBay fees. Save yourselves the stress, it's not worth it.