seller did NOT insure the item as i requested

[alex221187]

i bought a laptop on eBay. asked about direct payment to his paypal account, he accepted it. item price was $644.88 and shipping cost to Rep. of Moldova (where item needed to be sent) - $100. i asked him about the insurance cost, he answered total amount is $745 including shipping insurance. i sent him the payment. when the package arrived to Moldova, i received a call from the post office, staff representative told me that a package arrived for me, but when it was checked by Local Customs the content appeared to be missing. The laptop was stolen during transit. When i contacted the seller, he said that the package was not insured because i didn't pay $7. when i asked how was it possible not to insure the package when he told me by himself that insurance is included in the amount i sent him? he couldn't answer this question. in his last email he said: i don't have the laptop what can i do? seems like he doesn't understand that i don't have it either, the package was sent back to him with Customs Act, or he is just a person who cares only about his own problems. he got my money and he's happy. now it's almost 2 months since i try to get my money back. the seller doesn't even reply to my emails anymore. PayPal denied my claim, because by their Policy they are not responsible for item loss or damages, this is Postal Service's responsibility and seller has to work the things out by himself. help me with an advice who can. thanks

[surplusdealdude]

When you file the dispute, paypal doesn't give the seller the option of refusing to refund.

They refund on behalf of the seller and then go after the seller for the money.

[alex221187]

i know that paypal doesn't ask the seller if he wants it. but the motivation was the following:

"We have completed our investigation of this case. No further action is required by you at this time. We have denied this claim. As stated in our User Agreement, PayPal's Buyer Complaint Policy only applies to the shipment of goods, not to disputes about the attributes or quality of the goods received. We have noted your claim in the seller's record. The seller's account privileges will be limited if excessive complaints are received."

that was the answer to the claim. anyway i don't get it, it sounds like they just protect only if the item(package) doesn't arrive at all. in my case the package arrived but empty. and they say that no action is required by me at this time. what i have to sit and wait for a miracle? when my money will appear from nowhere? that's ridiculous. seems like they didn't even investigated this case. plus there even wasn't any answer from the seller to paypal during investigation. 

[teikyo30]

That makes zero sense on pay pal's or ebay's part. So in that case the buyer is **bleep**ed, not the seller. The seller could ship a laptop box claiming it's a laptop and as long as you sign for the box (which could have a rock in it for weight) that's all they care about?

If so, that's fraud and they should be sued for allowing those transactions to go through. Like all the fake usb flash druves they let stay up.

[alex221187]

Customs told me that the box wasn't sealed, that it was opened during transit. but anyway if that happens the seller is responsible anyway, that's his problem that he didn't purchase insurance for the shipping. even i asked him about it twice. he said that insurance is included, then he told me i didn't purchase it, that's ridiculous at all. like i don't remember that he told me about the insurance or i asked him about it. he doesn't even reply to my emails. i'm thinking to sue him, because he keeps my money. and he's not even doing any moves to find out anything about the stolen laptop. he should be interested in it first and not me. probably he thinks that if i'm not in the US right now, i can't do anything. anyway i'll do my best to get him, but it's not that easy when being in another country

[teikyo30]

I'm guessing newegg doesn't ship to you, but what about Amazon? They seem to have much better buyer protection.

[surplusdealdude]

I would appeal that decision - it makes no sense.

[teikyo30]

I say sue. Sue someone. At the very least they will have to pay a lawyer to handle the case and corporate lawyers bill the company liek $600 an hour so even if you lose it's a win.

[teikyo30]

P.S. I've sued people 4 times in my life. I won all 4 times.

[alex221187]

problem is that i don't have much money for the lawyer. but i found a link to a website on www.econsumer.gov like there are some companies that can help resolve disputes with the sellers. but i'm afraid it's a scam. well you can visit it too, and tell your opinion who can. the website address is: www.resolvemydispute.com. this website has a banner on www.econsumer.gov, so it can be true.

[teikyo30]

I think no matter what because of how long you waited this is going to be an expensive lesson. But next time you'll know what to do.

Where are you from? Are there any other estores with a better rep you can use where you are?