PayPal Community

Guys, guys, guys.    The solution is simple, though I found out by chance.   I used to have an account in an internet bank, just for  an automatic deposit to go into that, and then transfer it to my regular bank account. I had used that account with paypal. I usually paid for everything with my debit card from my regular account, which I had not given to paypal. Then one day, I forgot to change the payment source to credit card for 2 payments, and paypal send them to my bank, which did not have enough to cover, and they were presented 3 TIMES before they went to my credit card, costing me $180 in overdraft fees. I contacted my bank, and worked out a deal with them to the tune of **bleep** you guys, I am closing my account. (They agreed to waive the fees and consider the account to have a zero balance which meant I lost the $39 that were there at the time of the **bleep**up, so the acount still exists, but is inactive.)   So I went to paypal to remove the account, since it was closed, and was warned that I would lose my verified status. So I did not remove the account. Therefore I remained verified, but if Paypal ever wants to steal my money (I doubt it, but some of you are worried about that), they will not be able to. I still have my debit card on file and use that for payments, same as before. I am verified, and Paypal is covered because they have my card info as well as the original verification proccess from my acount. (In 5 years since I verified my account, there have been no Paypal transactions or inquiries into it by paypal other than this **bleep**up, so if I had closed it, they would have no way of knowing, besides which, I had a credit card on file I had cancelled for over 2 years before Paypal asked me to renew it since the expiration date was nearing, so once you verify and put an account or card on file, it stays there till you tell them otherwise or it expires in case of credit cards).   So my solution to you, based on my experience: Open a new account in a bank  of your choice. Some banks give you no-fee checking if you have other relationships with them, like a loan or mortgage. Use that to verify, the keep it empty or near so. If you still worry, just close the account after a while. (I cannot be 100% sure that that will work, but I had a closed account on file, as a second accound, for a couple of years that nobody bothered with),  Paypal is happy because they verified your identity, and you are happy because they have no access to your main bank account. Everybody is happy, case closed. ... View more

I second the part to buy from reputable sellers. I always check the feedback of the sellers. Other things to consider is how long they have been ebay members and the value of the items they usually sell. I bought a phone recently for $320 from a seller with only 3 feedback, but all three were spaced out over a period of a year all for items over $1000. If it was a new user with 10-15 positive feedback in the last few weeks for items worth 0.99-$5, and all of the sudden they were selling expensive phones, cameras or coins for bargain basement prices, I wouldn't buy. I would rather miss a good deal, that risk my hard earned cash, with a scammer. Beware of people building feedback by buying and selling ultra low cost items, just to be able to show  some positive remarks. There have been occasions where I saw people with 20-30 feedback, all of which was by other people with 20-30 feedback, that also had theirs by the same group of people. All based in China, they were giving each other feedback buying and selling emailed info on feedback for $0.01. There used to be auctions like that (haven't checked lately) where you bought the info for $0.01 just so that the seller would give you a positive. Lots of scammers out there, so you have to watch it a bit.   However I do not agree on the part about buying from the US only. Prices can be much lower abroad, especially for coins and notes. The main reason I sold my Fed notes (1934 and 1928 $500 and $1000 notes) before I left the US, was that if I sold them from Greece, I would have to list them for far less. I have been living outside the US for 4 years now, and still buy a lot of things from US sellers, but only for the fast shipping,  since USPS (at 5 days average) is still faster than most other countries, save for the Germans (2 days to Greece). Worst offenders are Canada Post and then Hong Kong, taking up to 60 and 45 days respectively sometimes. But I buy from Australia, US, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, UK, Germany, Indonesia, France, and others with no specific preference other than shipping time (and in the case of expensive items custom duty considerations) I trust eBay and Paypal to support me if there is a dispute, but I do not wait more than 30 days, even if the seller tries to tell me to give it a bit more time. I file my dispute, and if the item arrives I close the case, but I have beaten the deadline in case it doesn't.   So to recap, do your research into your sellers, but also keep in mind that prices on some things, especially collectibles tend to be lower abroad. Much lower. ... View more

This is a reply to the last poster, regarding the money he sent over 3 months ago.   Unfortunately it has been my experience that once the time limits are done, nothing can be done via paypal or ebay. Some banks have longer limits, but that's usually if you use a credit card.   On a couple of occasions I have had to start a dispute with my bank, after Paypal failed to intervene (on one case they had charged my account twice and I filed an unauthorized use claim. Paypal said it was not an unauthorized use, rather a duplicate payment, so they declined the claim, but then once the case was closed, I could not file it again for the proper reason which was a duplicate payment. All contact attempts with paypal, ended with the same canned answer about filing a claim online, which the system would not let me do.)   In any case, Paypal and Ebay will not help you once the 45 day limit is gone. You have to rely on the seller's goodwill, or file a complaint with the authorities in the seller's country. (Some countries will accept online complaints, others will not even have an online presence)    For future reference, if you have a problem, file a claim with Ebay as soon as you receive the item, and then go through that. You will be told to contact the seller, and work it out, just like you did, but you will have filed the claim, and so if after a certain amount of time the seller has not refunded you, you will be able to escalate your claim and get a refund. If the item was substancially different from that described, usually you get your money back right after you ship the item back to the seller, not when the seller receives it. If it was a fake, you don't even have to send it back, though they say you may have to send it to ebay or the authorities, they usually just tell you to dispose of it, and they credit your account immediately.   Just like you I found out the hard way, that I have to file a claim within the time limits, but my bank was a lot more helpful, so I have never lost money on ebay. ... View more