Eccentric Flower talk:200906/Breviary

Ursula:

"He was the person, he always said. She was the illusion."

It's always been the opposite, for me. Unfortunately, I've had a lot of practice as an illusionist.

-- 02:24, 18 June 2009 (BST)

Bunny42:

"I feel now like I need a bath, an exorcism, and a watch service for my credit card."

Really? I've never had a moment's problem with eBay. Just recently, I got a lovely pair of "never used" AKG headphones from an auction for less than half retail price, and they arrived promptly, well-packaged and just as described. I've always used PayPal, so maybe that explains why I've never had credit card problems. The horror stories I've heard are anecdotal. I haven't known anyone who actually got hosed by a purchase.

-- 02:46, 18 June 2009 (BST)

Columbina:

eBay is a hotbed of fraud. I've bought from them once or twice before and not gotten burned, but then, like you, I read. People who aren't paying close attention get scammed in droves. eBay doesn't police their sellers in any meaningful way - some allege because they know that shady sellers are actually the engine behind their profitability. I don't know if I believe that, but I realized eBay did not seriously have any interest in cleaning up its high fraud levels when it bought PayPal. This was like Keith Richards hiring Mick Jagger as his rehab counselor. PayPal is a horrendous entity with a long record of nasty and deceptive treatment and with no accountability or oversight whatsoever. When you sign onto PayPal's contract you are essentially signing away all rights as a consumer. I'm waiting for someone to sue them, and sue them hard.

-- 04:05, 18 June 2009 (BST)

Mel:

Paypal is smart, in a way - they seem to inflict the worst of their wrongs on the sellers, who can't really afford to fight back too hard. I've never had any serious problem with either Paypal or eBay, really - but I am very cautious with who I deal with on eBay, as you say. And I really don't buy much on eBay these days if it's something I can find easily elsewhere. (Etsy, for example. I can tell you for a fact that people who make handmade jewelry are flocking from eBay to Etsy in droves.)

-- 05:40, 18 June 2009 (BST)

Bunny42:

Etsy seems to be quite a concept. One doesn't need an extensive inventory to open a store on Etsy. So far, it appears to be mostly home-crafting types who were looking for an outlet for their various talents. Tempting.

As for PayPal, again, I've read about stuff, but have never personally encountered anyone who's been burned. I use only one credit card online, and I'm careful to ensure that the site is encrypted. That's about all I can do as far as protection. Oh, and I read the feedback. I never deal with sellers who don't have at least a 95% positive rating.

If I'm ever tempted to sell something online, I'll probably use craigslist. Nice, that you can deal with locals.

-- 07:17, 18 June 2009 (BST)