PayPal Takes Sellers Word About Shipment of a Bait and Switch Item

[PFK48]

I purchased a cellphone gimbal that was advertised on Facebook Marketplace and paid through PayPal. After waiting forever to receive the item I got a very cheap plastic tripod. Since I order many things from China, I thought this may be part of something else. When more time passed and the gimbal did not arrive I reported the transaction to PayPal and wanted a refund. They responded that they would investigate and get back to me. Finally, they closed the case in favor of the seller as they provided tracking and delivery information. That was for the cheap tripod and PayPal would not budge. Beware Shenzhen Ruipu E-Commerce Co., Ltd. 

[sharpiemarker]

@PFK48 

Call customer service about that dispute to change the claim to "Significantly Not As Described" and provide evidence that the item you ordered is not exactly as described. Received tripod instead of a gimbal. You will need to return the item for a refund though. 

PayPal has a return shipping refund program for future purchases if this return is not eligible:

https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/refunded-returns

To contact customer service for assistance:

Log on, click HELP on top menu, scroll down to click CONTACT US, and then scroll down to click CALL US or other contact options.

Call early, during business hours, west coast time to try to get a US rep. 

Or contact via social media:

Facebook (US): https://www.facebook.com/paypal

Twitter (US): @AskPayPal 

If that fails, and you paid with credit card, dispute it card issuer instead.

[PFK48]

Let me add to this. If PayPal, Ebay and Facebook did just a little digging, they will see that “bait and switch” scams are more rampant then ever. Some are blatant on EBay when an item is promoted and pictured with a low price, only to discover when the buy now choice is made a menu opens to reveal the item pictured is NOT the one for that price, but a cheap one. The one the buyer wants is available at a higher cost. Needless to say, the buyer has the opportunity to not purchase either, but it is a despicable practice which should not be permitted.

[PayPal_Randy]

@PFK48,

It sounds like you had originally filed an Item Not Received claim.  If you've received an item of lesser value, I recommend reaching out to PayPal's customer service teams for further assistance with changing the type of claim to Significantly Not as Described.  You can click 'Contact Us' at the bottom of any of our pages to get a phone number to reach us at, or you can contact us on Twitter (https://twitter.com/askpaypal) or Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/PayPal). We would be happy to take a look at what options might be available to you.

- Randy