Anyone ever had to file a dispute with Paypal?

[pjstevko]

I've never had an issue buying items from websites, forums or auction sites but with the uptick in scammers these days I thought I'd ask....

Some great tips in here, thanks for participating!

[Gfish]

Yeah. Good stuff to know. Have a PP account but don't use it too often. Only when seller requires it and I really want the item. Never had a problem yet.
Joe, That sounds like a good idea, but how do ya pay for the eBay gift cards?

[oldmanjoe]

Yeah. Good stuff to know. Have a PP account but don't use it too often. Only when seller requires it and I really want the item. Never had a problem yet.
Joe, That sounds like a good idea, but how do ya pay for the eBay gift cards?

I buy the card at the corner store with cash .    There is no fees involved and you use it like a credit card . IT leaves you with a balance so you know if you need to buy another card .  No personal information is attached . If and when it get hacked all you loose is the little balance on the card  10- 30 dollars maybe and it helps me from doing a lot of impulse buying ...

[Midway Tommy]

If I want to buy something online the first thing I check is whether or not they accept PayPal. If they don't I look elsewhere. Amazon purchases, which are rare indeed, are the only occasions I don't use PayPal. On another note, since I don't sell I don't have any bank account tied to my PayPal account. To heck with PP on that aspect, they tried to force it ten years ago with verification. I used an old bank account with $10 in it for a little while. When the bank wanted more $ in it or was going to charge a monthly fee I refused and closed the account. Been fine with PP ever since.

The way I see it, I have double protection. If PP won't do something I can always dispute it on the credit card. 

[Midway Tommy]

I buy the card at the corner store with cash .    There is no fees involved and you use it like a credit card . IT leaves you with a balance so you know if you need to buy another card .  No personal information is attached . If and when it get hacked all you loose is the little balance on the card  10- 30 dollars maybe and it helps me from doing a lot of impulse buying ...

Way too much rigmarole for this old man. 

[PacRat]

I don't mean to hijack this thread but this is related. Last month I made an online purchase at what appeared to be a legitimate online Case knife vendor. They used the official Case logo and case artwork so they looked right. I would have used PayPal but they didn't have PP on their site (the do now) so I paid with my credit card. Their communication sucked so I investigated (GoggleEarthed their address) and it was a Walmart parking lot in Las Vegas. So I filed a claim with the CC company and they refunded me but they could still take the refund back if the vendor prevails.

I have always prevailed with PayPal and/or eBay...but they take their time. I recently had an eBay vendor ship the package to the wrong address and then convince eBay to close the case in her favor (and they did). At that point I had to get USPS involved and they reversed their decision. I always feel safer with PP but it can be a PIA.

[Shellbelly]

I made an online purchase at what appeared to be a legitimate online Case knife vendor.

My experience was similar.  I learned to go to the bottom of the home page, click on the contact link.  If it doesn't work, it's a scam.  Your package was most likely delivered, empty, to a community mailbox near you...like you see in some neighborhoods and apartment complexes.  This practice allows you to track your package.  USPS will verify delivery but won't get it back for you or tell you exactly where it went.  I googled the sender address and it was a vacant lot in St. Louis.

I went so far as finding out the site registration info and discovered names that I couldn't pronouncce.

[PacRat]

They actually delivered to my home. It was just a cheap trinket...a little chain necklace. I think they do this so that the credit card companies don't (can't) press charges. I believe they know that they will lose but in the meanwhile they've had access to our revenue stream. I've forwarded all the photos and emails to my CC company and Case knives. Here's a screenshot from their site:



Here's what the official Case site looks like. Different knife though but you can see that they went to great lengths to look legitimate.

I should have taken more time to look at details. There were a lot of grammar and spelling issues. Things like 'Fold Knife' rather than 'Folding Knife'. Also "High quality and inexpensive" should have also been a tell because American companies just don't talk like this...well they do but they would have said it differently.

I'm just posting this so you guys can be extra careful and know what to look for.

[Shellbelly]

Just think of the time it took to build this site, go through all the USA approval processes...that have NO vetting. 

My adventure was for a brand new 24-249 (with wood knob) handle for 9.99 and I added some other reel parts to get free shipping.  I should have known that nobody makes a handle for a 249 cause nobody cares!

Just shows how far scammers will go to create a fake inventory that includes a 24-249.