Here's what happened: An item was stolen from us that is worth about $1100. We filed a police report. We found the item on eBay. Our detective said he needed time to get a warrant. We said we could bid to win, then stall. Detective said do it. We won the item. Detective said to try to arrange local pick up. Seller didn't bite, insists on shipping. Our best option that I can think of: Pay for the item with a credit card through paypal, then open a claim through the credit card company or paypal to get our money back after we receive the item. Hope that the seller puts some sort of return address on the package that helps the detective ID and arrest this felon. This is presuming that the seller has given false info to ebay, because it appears the phone number on the seller's ebay account isn't leading them to him. Here is where my doubts and concern enter: I called both paypal and ebay to ask the same question - "This happened, what do you suggest we do next?" Paypal said we should pay for the item and then open a "Stolen Merchandise Case", which would start an investigation that could take 30+ days to resolve. I am presuming that this avenue is intended for buyers who bought stolen merchandise unknowingly, not people who are intentionally buying back their own stolen goods. (How often does this happen anyways?) Meanwhile, I am out $1000 that I cannot afford, and may never get back. Plus, I searched their help section for stolen merchandise info, and found no information about buyer protection and stolen items. The community forums only have people talking about the hassle it is to get paypal to do ANYTHING to help after they bought something that turned out to be a stolen item. eBay told me NOT to pay and to have the PD contact them. I asked what would happen after that. eBay told me that they would investigate the seller's account, end his current listings and cancel his seller account. I asked how that would help us recover our goods and catch the criminal. They said they would cooperate with law enforcement to provide information (legit or not) that they have. I asked again how we are supposed to get our stuff back if eBay just ends the auctions. They said to have PD contact them. eBay and Paypal are the same company, yet they are advising me to proceed in two different ways. I don't trust either of them to handle this in anybody's interest except their own. Have you ever dealt with ebay or paypal to get a refund when you bought something that was stolen? What would you do in this situation? Thanks.
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