Warnings and things to watch for

gemsurf2

You'll find information on ebay/paypal surcharging here:

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/listing-surcharges.html

I complained to ebay that a seller was asking for an extra 50p if paying by paypal - the item only cost £5.60. Plus they were asking £1.30 p+p, when it actually was light enough to send with a first class stamp. Some sellers can be so greedy- but then some people are willing to pay them. I really wanted to buy the item but wasn't prepared to line their pockets.

This seller's up and coming auctions were then cancelled and they had to re-advertise them without the surcharges.

d.o.o.g

Not sure if its been mentioned already, but there are many people on ebay advertising goods whicht hey subsequently order from Amazon/Play.com or wherever and have delivered straight to you.

I'd say always check the cheapest price of a dvd before you buy on ebay, there are surprisingly few good deals on there now.

I recently bought a hammer horror box set on there from a seller who would only accept cheques. It took her a month to clear my cheque (it was out of my account after 5 days), and another two weeks after that to deliver, and guess what . . . when the dvd arrived it was from Play.Com and she had bought it for £5 less than I paid.

Hintza

Don't worry it will have cost them virtually that to list it and FVF........

Pity you didn't pay by PayPal that would have cost them amother 3.4% +30p

I reckon fees are about 20% of value around £20 dropping to about 10% on £100.

lynneinjapan

Re surcharging for PayPal:

It's true that you're not allowed to do it, but what you CAN do is to offer a discount if the buyer chooses to pay by an alternative method. I've just started putting a bit extra on my P&P charge and telling bidder that P&P will be reduced by 40p (on low-value items) if they pay by a method other than PayPal. Most people will choose to pay by PayPal anyway, as it's easy and free for buyers.

I express a preference for online bank transfer, which is free for me as well as for the buyer, but it doesn't offer buyer protection like PayPal does.

And a warning about Nochex:
I've also signed up with Nochex but have just learned - too late - that I can't use the balance of my Nochex account to pay for things; they don't warn you of this when you load money into your account (so that you can pay sellers who can't accept debit card-funded payments) so you end up with them keeping your money and refusing to allow you to spend it. As far as I can see this is simply a ploy to force people to pay withdrawal fees on top of the fees that they've had to pay to receive payments from their buyers. They may be cheaper than PayPal but this approach strikes me as very devious! What do others think?

loafer_2

I use nochex for incoming payments only, as a buyer I would never use nochex due to their frankly unfair terms on chargebacks Etc.

But it depends which end of the deal your doing I suppose

Debs1968

Help! This is rather embarrassing :-[

Last week I had an email from "Paypal" telling me I needed to provide them with certain details in order to continue my account with them. That same day i had bought some goods, via my paypal account, from a company called Low Carb Guys based in Wales (no problems with them at all, the goods arrived promptly) I therefore assumed that my paying them through my Paypal account had triggered this account renewal email from Paypal. I was halfway through filling the form in when I started to get very suspicious, not only did they want my bank details but they also asked for my social security number and my PIN no. for my card.
instead of sending this form, i sent them a rather curt response saying I wasn't prepared to provide them with such sensitive information, now this is the dumb question bit - do you think they were still able to read the bank account etc. that I had already input on their form - I can't remember deleting it. Sorry to send in such a stupid question, but i am beginning to panic abit now and still have to "confess" to my husband! Would be grateful for any reassurance, if possible.

Debs

soolin

Hi Debs,

If you are not sure whether you may have inadvertently sent them any info then assume you have and protect yourself now. You'll need to change all your log in details with Paypal and get in touch with your bank or credit card company or whoever you think you may have left details of in the e mail, and tell them your details may have been compromised.

I know it doesn't help, but in future don't bother responding at all as it just tells the scammers that they have hit on a real account.

Soo

Debs1968

Soolin

Thanks for your advice - I will get onto the credit card company etc. today.

Cheers

Debs

TheLydons

Debs

So long as you have not submitted the form, your inputted details should not have been sent to a third party.

However, it is best to err on the side of caution as spyware, malware and key logging programs do exist and depending on the nature of the "form" that you were filling in, the information may have been collected.

It is good practise to regularly change your passwords on a regular basis, always read terms & conditions on sites (no matter how pedantic it may seem), use a firewall, use virus protection software, have an email address that you only use for requesting info from websites (and don't use this particular email address through an email programme like Outlook Express etc - read it via a webmail service online). Obviously this list is just a quick selection of some of the options that you can do to protect your information and prevent identity and credit card fraud.

It does sound like an awful lot to do but it can be all done for free and the risk of something nasty resulting from not doing anything and "trusting" third parties is a bit like not having car insurance - it will cost you a hell of a lot more if you are not covered and have an accident, than just the monthly premium.

I'm currently in the process of writing a paper on internet security and how to keep yourself safe. If you or any others would like more information, please drop me a line via the mail service here. At the moment, I won't be replying to the mail, but I will register your interest and will let you know when I have finished my study - otherwise, I'll never get it finished!

Robert_Sterling_3

always trust your gut.

Could you explain what exactly this entrails?