I personally have never been screwed by Ebay or PayPal but, I know someone that has had problems with them in the past. On one ocassion a buddy of mine built a custom swingarm for a Raptor 700 and sold it to another member on a popular Raptor 700 forum for $650.00 using PayPal. My buddy shipped the swingarm after funds had cleared and then the buyer filed a claim with PayPal saying he never recieved the swingarm and was refunded his money. So he got the swingarm and his $650.00 back. What really chaps me about Ebay is when someone does not leave feedback. I buy all the time and leave positive feedback but then the sellers never want to leave feedback. Now that is B.S.

I'd say they are doing the best they can. The current policy is a good balance between protecting buyers and giving sellers the chance to move their stuff. It's a fact that nearly anything will sell for more on Ebay than other online forums. They've built a market and are entitled to profit from it.

There will always be scammers and deadbeats, and there will always be victims of said trash. It's still up to you to spot an unethical person and refuse to deal with them. Photos that don't seem right, spotty feedback history, sketchy descriptions, etc., all say "move on" to the smart user. The safeguards are there to protect the gullible from scammers, and they do a pretty good job. I didn't like the new feedback rule for sellers either, but I also know that sellers were very prone to feedback blackmail against buyers who had problems, so sellers wound up with better ratings than they deserved. There is a recourse for non-paying buyers and feedback blackmailers for sellers to use, so it's about as good as it can get in an online venture.

I have read this entire thread and was a bit worried about any future sales on eBay. I use Paypal and accept the high fees as a quicker way to get the transaction over with. But this hold for 21 days or until positive feedback is a legitimate concern for any future sales. Then I read further down the FAQ and saw the following:

30. What can I do to avoid having eBay item holds?
Your payments WILL BE NOT HELD if you meet all the following requirements:
eBay Tenure: Greater than 6-months
Total Feedback score: More than 100
Dissatisfied Buyers %: Less than 5%

Fortunately I fall into this category, but I do understand the concerns of others.

Same here. When eBay was working on the changes, they invited comments from eBay users. There are even forums on eBay for registered users, they were seriously buzzing with dissatisfaction. I voiced my concerns then, along with thousands of others. In the end, they basically ignored what there customers told them, and the unfair proposals became policy.[:@]

By putting the current policies in place, eBay ran off thousands of users who only sold things occasionally. The new rules didn't really affect well established sellers. But, it makes it really difficult for new sellers to become well established. Oh well! If you want top dollar for your items, then you will accept the rules and continue selling on eBay. Otherwise, you have to accept lower seling prices and less hassle on other sites. And, I suppose that's ok too!

I have never sold on eBay but as a buyer I have done very well finding the impossible at very fair prices - if you know what you are doing. Anyone have a 1959 Thimble Drome Curtiss Pusher for $128.00?

Bill

The money holding is to protect the buyer, and on the flip side, paypal now makes interest on the money tied up in escrow, view it as a big savings account, that they charge you to put money in and to list the item (ebay). So they nail bolth parties for a fee, and the money "in transit" is collecting a interest rate in thier account, well at say 2% on 100 million, that's 2 million a day. not so bad for a 21 day holding period. 21 calander days is legally the timeframe for the monies to earn the interest so it can be considered a calander month. So is paypal protecting you the buyer, yes, are they screwing you, more ways till sunday then you'd like to know!

This is new to me. I have done a ton on ebay and paypal and have never had this happen. Is it something they are doing to everyone? I did a ton this week and it still doesn't do it to me. I hope they don't start. That would tick me off bad.

Since when is making money un-American? Do you have any idea what the credit card issuers are hoseing you for? Detroit has been giving us the business for over 50 years and not even kissing us first.

[X(]
Bill

I'm sorry your friend got burned but I am glad that Pay Pal stands behind the buyer. I have heard here otherwise. I have been royally screwed by a few sellers and have just taken my lumps with no negative feedback on my part. I try to give the seller the benefit of the doubt. I recently bought a Sullivan starter that arrived DOA. I attempted to repair it but made the situation worse and wound up throwing it away in disgust. I gave the seller zero feedback and told them so but let them know that it might have been a good idea to try the starter on their auto battery before listing it. The seller felt bad and offered a refund. Upon receipt of the refund I gave them positive feedback. Let's not discuss the Aquacraft Tunnel Hull that arrived broken in shipment with a K&B 3.5 outboard that required the assistance of RC Bearings to repair and my LHS to provide 5/40 screws to repair the 4/40 screws that were stripped in the cylinder head. The Futaba transmitter is now in the hands of Waste Management and I'm shopping for a new radio. I'll be into K&B for various parts also to the tune of about $22.00. Oh, and Tower Hobbies is going to get and order for about $100.00 to correct the screw-ups of the original model build. The seller said he had a brand new crankcase to help with the stripped cylinder head screws problem. Three weeks and no crankcase. The seller better hope that I don't vacation in Florida and catch him in a dark alley.

There is no gravity, the earth sucks.

Bill

There is two things I don't do... buy my planes from E-bay and I don't use Pay-Pal! I heard too many horror stories about the two to think I'm special enough that it won't happen to me.

Stay away from them unless you like to gamble.

I have never had any problems with either Pay-Pal or E-bay.

It must have something to do with the fact that I never have and I point blank refuse, to deal with either of them.

Ed S

You are entitled to your opinion. But, it's just like the news. You rarely hear about anything good on the news. People only want to hear the bad. Between my wife and I, we have over 800 eBay transactions, There have only been 3 minor inconveniences in those 800+ transactions. I have always been cautious in my on-line dealings, and I have never been outright screwed over. Maybe it has more to do with due diligence than it does luck. Hmmmm....

Wow, its funny how so many have so much trouble with it. I have been using both for years. I just bought a $25000 van on ebay and last year bought a $55000 mercedes on there. Both are fine. I bet I have bought and sold over 400 airplanes on there and the only thing I have ever been burned on is a heli I bought from a dork with no feedback and no pictures. The price was too good to be true and I can only blame myself for that one. If you do good research and stay away from no feedback sellers, you will do fine. If you are paranoid about buying online, stay away from it.

There are a lot of sellers on ebay that state they will only accept paypal. I had to establish a paypal account to buy a set of ink cartridges last week. I hope they stuck the co. with a hefty fee.

The dollar amount isn't going to make me think again about paypal being a saint, they are just like banks, they're not in it for charity. I never said that making money is un-american, so don't even try to tack that to my name. I've had lot's of good luck with pay-pal, it's easy, the money usually comes in a few days and if I dispute a item, then I have someone who will get my back. But the fees for bolth ebay and paypal have been going up and up over the years. They hit you to list it, to sell it & to collect the cash(depending on total value). So they get 3 ways everytime, unless you opt to use other means to collect monies owed to you. I still use them, but look at the two services eating up you final sale amount, over time that little bit here and there adds up to quite a bit.

LOL, why? The seller just passes those costs along to you, the buyer.[sm=confused.gif]

Hi, as I read this thread I find myself in a mess for the first time on Ebay with a Seller. I bid and won a Balsa USA Spad X111 kit NIB for 326.00. I promptly paid the next day and still have not received my kit. The seller won't answer emails and so I have filed a claim with Paypal. Now I sit wondering if I will ever see my money back. I did some research on the seller and found out he has a hobby shop in New Hampshire. I found on several sites where this same guy has been ripping off people for years. He has 13 negative feedbacks which he didn't have when I bid on his item.
This seller is calling himself, kosciusckosquadronz on Ebay. He runs the O'brien's Hobby shop. Do some research here on RCu and on RC groups and you will find out a lot about this guy. I only found out toooo late.
When I read that Paypal and Ebay holds the sellers money it made me extremely happy as maybe I will see my money back after all. I have contacted the local authorities and I will be pursuing a criminal case against this guy if possible.
So just a warning,,,stay away from this seller on Ebay....

I went and looked at his stuff. Most of the neg feedback was stuff that sold in the last 3 weeks. Something could have happened to him. His feedback before that was good. I would find a number from ebay for him and call him. Hopefully nothing happened.

I know I had a lot on ebay when I had my accident. My sister luckilly had the whit to cancel all my auctions because they didn't know if I would live let alone how long I would be down.

chit happens. I hope you get your kit, or your money back but its been only 15 days. With the easter holiday, you never know what happened. He may just be out of town. Bad timing but see what happens. I would try to contact him personally, by phone.

They charge about the same fees as a credit card company, but make buying on the internet a lot safer and easier. I don't understand why people hate them so much. [:'(]

Flyboy, it's obvious you didn't check up on this guy. If you would do the history on him you would see that he has been cheating and stealing from people for years. He hasn't provided a phone number and won't answer emails. The phone number that's on the internet sites for the hobby shop is no longer good, they won't answer. He has the same pattern of ripping off people in the hobby industry for a long time. Here are some links to study about him. You give him way too much credit. He just got 3 more Negative feedbacks on Ebay..

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...ight=O+Brien+s

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_57..._1/key_/tm.htm

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=686181

http://local.yahoo.com/info-10338316...-s-londonderry

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_5669012/tm.htm

well now we will see the upside of using paypal. spiritwind, i hope you get your money back. keep us posted.

Thanks David,,, it's just sad to see all the people this guy has hurt. I've talked to some of the other victims and they all have had the same experience with this guy..

I just did a quick look at his feedback, most of which is positive ecxept for the last few weeks. Seems odd. I would have probably sent him money just like you did and got hosed. Hope you get it back.

I guess feedback can lie, best check him out very well to keep you covered.

I am in the middle of a deal I bought on ebay for a car. I am getting nervous on it as well. Its a whole lot more money and they are 2 weeks behind. Scares the crap out of me. 100% positive feedback all on cars, but they wouldn't answer any of the 5 phones they have. I finally got them last night. She got hurt and it slowed it down. I still am a little nervous. Hate deals like this.