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What Not to Do When Buying From Ebay

What not to do when making an EBay Purchase

Not too long ago, I decided to bid on a used Mac computer on EBay. This was a new experience for me but since my computer is about eight years old and has very little memory and a very small hard drive, it seemed like it might be a good idea. The computer being offered had a very large hard drive and lots of memory. I had heard that if one checked the seller’s reputation it would assure that the purchase was going to be fairly safe. In this case, the reputation was fairly good, not perfect, but good enough. I was pretty happy when my bid for $620 won the computer and I paid for it using PayPal. Now, all I had to do was wait for it to arrive.

After a number of email messages to the seller I discovered that there would be a delay because the seller was sick. At that time, I emailed the seller to cancel the order, but he insisted that the computer would be shipped. When it finally arrived via FedEx I carefully unpacked it and plugged it in. Oh MY! It didn’t work. Not only did it not work, it made a very loud hissing sound and a bell kept bonging while the light flashed on and off. It was an alarming display of non-performance.

The Mistake

When I discovered that the machine did not work I repacked it and asked my grandson to carry it to FedEx Kinko’s to have it shipped back to the seller. I also sent him an email telling him about the problem.

We arrived at a local FedEx Kinko’s and asked the clerk what to do about sending it back to the shipper. I pointed out that the shipper was located in Tennessee. She was very accommodating and said she would take care of sending it back to the shipper. The next day, FedEx returned to my house and delivered the computer again. This time I told the driver that it was a mistake and should have been sent to the shipper in Tennessee. He said he would return it to the terminal and ask the dispatcher to send it back to the shipper. This action set in motion a series of events that resulted in the package going missing.

A few days later I received an email from the sender telling me that there was no record of the computer being returned. FedEx had given it the same tracking number twice and this caused the package to not know where it was going, so consequently, it got lost. Really lost. From that day on I called FedEx daily, some times two or more times a day, to inquire about the missing package. Each time I called I repeated the story of the mistake made by the Kinko’s clerk that resulted in the computer being delivered to me twice and required me to refuse it the second time.

The FedEx customer service people were very patient and listened to my story each time. They began to keep a file on the search for the missing package but each time I needed to speak to another customer service person I had to tell the story over and over again. One time I talked to the personnel at the terminal and there I learned that the driver said he had returned the package to his dispatcher and that the dispatcher had placed a new label on the package and sent it back. Another time I talked to the personnel at the terminal and they said they needed an address to send it to so I provided the address of the seller in Tennessee.

What I did not know at the time was that the package had been shipped from a company that had a contract with FedEx called Postal Connections and the return needed to go to them instead of the seller. Because this company had sent the package, they needed to file a claim with FedEx for the loss. First, they had to be contacted by the person who had used them, the seller of the computer. Next, they needed to acknowledge that it had been lost. When they did finally file a claim FedEx needed to determine the value of the package before the claim could be settled.

During this time I asked for a refund via PayPal and was communicating with the seller about the situation. I also filed a claim on PayPal. His email messages were escalating to a high pitch of anger and he said that he would definitely not give me a refund because he had no evidence that the machine had been returned to FedEx and also, he needed to wait for his shipper to file the claim if it was truly lost. I assured him that I had the receipt from Kinko’s but that is all I had and it referred to the original tracking number that caused the problem in the first place.

At the moment, PayPal has settled the claim in my favor for a refund amounting to one third of the amount I paid. They say they will try and get the rest of the refund if at all possible. In the meantime, I now know that if I ever need to return anything to FedEx again, I need to call them and have it picked up from my house. In that way, I can be absolutely certain it will have the correct return label and I will be sure to ask for a new tracking number. As for the Ebay experience, I doubt if I will try that again for a while.

Contributor's Note

I believe PayPal did the best it could and refunded the advertised maximum amount. I do hope they will be able to collect the rest if the original sender does make a claim if and when it is settled.

Julie, you have my sympathy.. an all to common tale of buying a much wanted item and recieving rubbish where ebay is concerned these days.

Thanks for your comments. I still don’t have a computer nor do I have the refund. Ouch. But, I am optimistically hopeful that eventually I will get a total refund so that I can get a computer.

Ebay can be a hit or miss proposition. However, shipping things via a local packaging place is always risky. Good luck in getting your full claim settled.

I've pretty much given up hope of expecting any refund from Fedex. Thanks for your comments about the situation. Writing about it has helped me let it go so I can go on with other things.

I to feel Ebay is selling junk these days!! Do ever order for electronics on ebay I learnt my lesson the hard way just like you!! this might be helpful. I am not accusing all the sellers on ebay but most of them now are just selling junk

Fedex has refused to cover my loss even though they lost the package, and I am fed up with buying anything on Ebay. If the product is defective, the delivery may be just as defective. I sure wouldn’t ever use Fedex again for any reason, if I can help it.

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