I hope this blog won’t apply to any of you, but since it
does apply to me, I’m going to share it on the oft chance that one of you is as
naïve an Internet shopper as I am. My
goal is to applaud those who saved me from learning a hard lesson, while
warning you about the other person who could have cared less about my financial
stress as long as his pockets were lined.
The whole thing started because my husband’s job was getting
a bit shaky. It probably sounds very
selfish, but I wouldn’t be a writer without his paycheck, so I have a vested
interested in keeping him gainfully employed.
Not to sound entirely selfish, I also know that with my health issues, I
would not be able to earn enough for us to survive a week without him working.
The bottom line is that today you need computer skills, and
since my husband is almost afraid to turn on a computer, he needs to learn some
of those skills if he hopes to find a job anywhere. Not to mention if his company rebounds having
these skills may help him move into a different position there.
Okay, enough background info. I went to E-Bay to find a computer. I was shocked to find a NEW computer there
for only $33. All I could think about
was how good this was. Almost too good
to be true. Not almost, it was too good
to be true.
I did not like the fact this computer was coming from
China. Many of you are right if you are
saying it served me right for not shopping in the US, but I do my share of
helping my neighbor; this time, I had to look out for us. So the bottom line was the bottom line - $33.
After several weeks passed and no computer I went to look up
my transaction on E-Bay, but found no record of there ever having been a
transaction. Thank goodness I paid for
the purchase with PayPal, so I knew I had buyer protection. I will forever more call it “buyer aware
protection.” Because even PayPal has its
limits.
In this case, the claim process started with me having no
documentation of the purchase – since E-Bay had no record of it – and I only
had record of the fact that I had made a $33 purchase from wang mingping, in
China. I had a tracking number, and
tried that process only to find the item seemed to be stuck Beijing China Customs
for several weeks.
I had tried contacting the seller to no avail. But finally after weeks of waiting my postal
carrier arrived on my doorstep asking me to sign for what I thought was my
computer. Instead, he handed me a tiny
two by three inch padded envelop. I
opened it almost expecting to find a photograph of a computer, assuming by this
time I had been duped. But there was
nothing inside.
I contacted PayPay once again and said I would keep the
empty envelop in case it was needed, but that I wanted to continue my dispute
over this purchase.
This morning I was happy to see I won the dispute. However, that joy was short-lived when I
realized I was supposed to return my purchase in order to receive my
refund. Did that mean mailing the empty
envelop back? I wasn’t about to spend
another cent doing that.
It was time to actually speak to someone at PayPal. The experience was refreshing. Right from the moment I heard a voice, I
could tell the woman was sympathetic. I’m
sure this is instilled in them through training, but she listened carefully,
then within moments told me I was going to receive a full refund because I have
“buyer protection,” aka “Buyer Beware Protection.”
Then the kind woman told me something that made my day even
more delightful: I was not the only person duped by this seller. There were numerous complaints about the
seller. I was not the only person stupid
enough to believe I would get a computer for $33.
Now I’m admitting my stupidity and passing the information
along to all my readers, hoping to spare them the embarrassment I faced. Though I will be a card-carrying member of
the “Stupid Buyers Club,” you won’t have to follow in my footsteps. I won’t say never shop on E-Bay, but I will
say do you research into the seller, and always use PayPal. You might one day, be glad you did. My day was today.
Read the following to learn more about PayPal's Buyer Protection.
