Yes, that's one of the downsides - you will generally be responsible for
getting the item back to the seller at your own expense. However, I've
always gotten my full payment refunded, including the original shipping
costs TO me. Paying shipping for the return trip is simply the cost of
doing business and part of the risk you assume. Just like in the physical
world, if you buy something from the store that doesn't work and you want a
refund, it's up to you to get in your car and drive to the store at your own
expense. They don't come and pick it up, or pay for your gas as part of the
refund.

I understand that some people have had bad experiences on eBay. My point is
that I have bought a lot of radios through eBay (including one just last
night) and have had few problems. EBay is the ONLY marketplace where such a
large number and variety of radio-related equipment is available, but you
have to follow a few simple rules.

1) Ask a lot of questions and be willing to walk away if the seller is
unresponsive, vague, or seems shady in any way. There is never an item that
you MUST have; another one just like it will come along.
2) Save all email correspondence between you and the seller regarding the
item and it's condition.
3) Pay attention to the seller's feedback.
4) Use only Paypal, with a credit card, to pay for your purchases.
5) Be reasonable in your expectations.
6) If a problem does occur, present your dispute in a professional and
reasonable way.



"Don Bowey" wrote in message
...
On 7/12/06 4:19 PM, in article , "Unrevealed
Source" wrote:

EBay/Paypal do not always support the seller. Although I've had
relatively
few problems, by asking good questions of the seller and being willing to
walk away when things don't seem kosher, in the 4 or 5 times that I've
had
to file a dispute because something was misrepresented, Paypal has sided
with me (the buyer) and I've always gotten my money back. It sometimes
takes a little longer than I would like, but if you're a reasonable buyer
and can provide the facts about why an item was misrepresented, you won't
have a problem getting things resolved.

Also, eBay/Paypal don't "side" more with either buyers or sellers. They
side with the party that is right, in their judgement, after looking at
the
facts. They know that they can't afford to alienate buyers with a
reputation as a place where you are easily ripped off. Confidence in the
buying experience is what made eBay what it is today, and they are not
stupid enough to give that up.

So if you have had bad experiences, perhaps it is because you have filed
complaints that were not reasonable, or maybe you didn't ask all the
right
questions before you made a purchase. Possible?


"Don Bowey" wrote in message
...



See the3 bottom of the page for my reply to this top poster........

On 7/12/06 4:23 AM, in article , "Unrevealed
Source" wrote:

I agree with all negative comments regarding RadioMart, but I think
most
people in the hobby already know about him and have him filtered out of
their eBay searches. He caters to the newbies.

However, I disagree that eBay is a bad place to buy gear. It is
definitely
the largest collection of radio and related equipment available, and
with
careful buying it is possible to avoid being taken.

There is no absolute way to avoid being taken short of trying to buy
elsewhere.

I have had a few
attempts to rip me off, but Paypal is your best friend when it comes to
getting your money back.

Ebay owns Paypal. They watch each other's backs.


EBay knows it can't afford to alienate buyers with
a bad reputation and so it protects sellers pretty well. And the nice
thing
about eBay is that if a particular seller seems shady or uncooperative,
just
walk away. Another one just like it will always come up.

After a sale, when the purchased item arrives and the buyer can see it
was
misrepresented, Ebay always supports the seller; that's where their
money
comes from.

Although eBay is convenient, the company employs dummys, and is
impossible
to deal with when there is a problem.



"Rev. Cleetus Poontang" wrote in
message
groups.com...
"Chuck - K1KW" wrote in message
. ..
Item # 9738158955
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=9738158955
Check this BS out! Amazing that this jerk continues to sell on Ebay
with
his obvious lies and misrepresentation. This is nothing more than a
poor
homebrew fake. I know who made it and he made a few more out of
surplus
items. RADIOMART's stories are totally made up. He has no personal
collections, he swindles SK widows and runs another ebay name to buy
on
the
cheap and then makes up stories about the same equipment to lend
credibility. This guy is a snake. BEWARE!!!!!




There's one born every minute. (Especially on E-Screw!)
Anyone who would buy ham gear on e-Bay deserves to be taken.








None of your assumptions are correct.

The device was a "New" Video Grabber, complete with the power supply. It
was one of 25 identical units being auctioned.

The unit arrived with a Radio Shack universal 300 mA wallwart (obviously
NOT
part of the "new" unit). The Video unit requires 3 Amps, as imprinted on
the equipment.

The eBay resolution was that the seller would return what I bid for the
unit, but I must pay to ship it back to the seller. That is NOT a
reasonable resolution. The seller should, at least, have paid the return
freight.

I also told them that, alternatively, the seller could simply ship me a
correct power supply, which he did not want to do.

A correct resolution is that I should not be out anything for this
misrepresented deal. The seller should have paid me for my original
shipping cost and for reshipping it back. Anything less, permits sellers
to
pull shady deals and get away with it, at eBay's profit.

By the way.... Top Posting is the mark of, at least, a non-observant
newsgroup newby.

Don

Unrevealed Source wrote:

4) Use only Paypal, with a credit card, to pay for your purchases.

That brings to mind a question: Is there any way to stop paypal from
insisting on using your linked bank account as its first choice?

The reason I ask, is I accidentally forgot to check "more payment options",
and didn't notice until after paypal finalized the transaction. Paypal
attempted to overdraw my account, and I got charged a $25 overdraft fee by
my bank. The idiots at paypal were going to retry this 2 more times before
quitting, and using my "backup" credit card. If I hadn't noticed, this transaction
would have cost me $75 in overdraft fees. There was no way I could cancel
the payment, and switch to a credit card.

I complained to paypal, because I thought they were supposed to check the
balance on the account before they tried to draw funds, but they ignored
me completely.

-Chuck

Chuck Harris wrote:
Unrevealed Source wrote:

4) Use only Paypal, with a credit card, to pay for your purchases.


That brings to mind a question: Is there any way to stop paypal from
insisting on using your linked bank account as its first choice?

Don't give them an account number in the first place.

The reason I ask, is I accidentally forgot to check "more payment options",
and didn't notice until after paypal finalized the transaction. Paypal
attempted to overdraw my account, and I got charged a $25 overdraft fee by
my bank. The idiots at paypal were going to retry this 2 more times before
quitting, and using my "backup" credit card. If I hadn't noticed, this
transaction
would have cost me $75 in overdraft fees. There was no way I could cancel
the payment, and switch to a credit card.

I complained to paypal, because I thought they were supposed to check the
balance on the account before they tried to draw funds, but they ignored
me completely.

-Chuck

A few years ago I listened to a radio show called 'The Troubleshooter'
done by a guy named Tom Martino, and he's still going today. One thing
he always harped on, hard, was 'Never give anyone access to your bank
account beyond the checks you write.' Not health clubs, insurance
companies, utilities, car payments, rent, paypals, not anyone. My first
wife allowed the insurance company to automatically deduct our /monthly/
premium from our checking account and two days after she'd set that up
they took six months' worth and we were bouncing checks. We had to
close that account and I don't do business with that insurance company
any more. I'm also no longer married to her but that wasn't
precipitated by the bank fiasco.

Hardly a month goes by without hearing about something similar. It
might be difficult to not give Paypal your account info, especially if
you sell on eBay, but I'll never do it. I've considered setting up a
special account just for Paypal and keeping the balance very low but the
monthly low balance service charges and that I'll get dinged just like
Chuck for overdrafts just doesn't make it worth it.

Until banks are more responsive to consumers and allow limits on such
transactions (and I'm not holding my breath ;-) I don't engage in such
transactions.

Tom Martino is still at it,
http://troubleshooter.com/

W8LNA

ORIGINAL MESSAGE:

On Wed, 12 Jul 2006 18:13:36 -0700, Don Bowey
wrote:

By the way.... Top Posting is the mark of, at least, a non-observant
newsgroup newby.

Don

------------ REPLY SEPARATOR ------------

So is failure to trim, Don.

Mr Bill

On 7/13/06 9:24 AM, in article ,
"Bill Turner" wrote:

ORIGINAL MESSAGE:

On Wed, 12 Jul 2006 18:13:36 -0700, Don Bowey
wrote:

By the way.... Top Posting is the mark of, at least, a non-observant
newsgroup newby.

Don

------------ REPLY SEPARATOR ------------

So is failure to trim, Don.

Mr Bill

I agree that trimming is sometimes a good idea.

But as you have done, one can trim too much such that the "real" thread is
lost. All you left was the afterthought.

Also, too often, particularly on s.e.d., I see people trimming to enhance
their position. It's a judgment call whether and what, to trim.

Don

gwatts wrote:
Chuck Harris wrote:
Unrevealed Source wrote:

4) Use only Paypal, with a credit card, to pay for your purchases.


That brings to mind a question: Is there any way to stop paypal from
insisting on using your linked bank account as its first choice?

Don't give them an account number in the first place.

Not practical, paypal cuts you off after you have made an accumulated
$2000 in payments. The only way they will let you exceed that limit is
if you tie a bank account to your paypal account.

Further, ebay encourages sellers not to sell to unconfirmed addresses.
The only way to confirm an address is to link a credit card, or confirmed
paypal account to your ebay account.

....

A few years ago I listened to a radio show called 'The Troubleshooter'
done by a guy named Tom Martino, and he's still going today. One thing
he always harped on, hard, was 'Never give anyone access to your bank
account beyond the checks you write.'

I agree with him. That is why I opened this account just for paypal. I
only keep $50 in the account, hence the problem.

Not health clubs, insurance
companies, utilities, car payments, rent, paypals, not anyone. My first
wife allowed the insurance company to automatically deduct our /monthly/
premium from our checking account and two days after she'd set that up
they took six months' worth and we were bouncing checks. We had to
close that account and I don't do business with that insurance company
any more. I'm also no longer married to her but that wasn't
precipitated by the bank fiasco.

Hardly a month goes by without hearing about something similar. It
might be difficult to not give Paypal your account info, especially if
you sell on eBay, but I'll never do it. I've considered setting up a
special account just for Paypal and keeping the balance very low but the
monthly low balance service charges

That is exactly what I did. Credit unions charge no service fees, and
have a $50 minimum for startup.

-Chuck

Don Bowey wrote:

By the way.... Top Posting is the mark of, at least, a non-observant
newsgroup newby.

Don
------------ REPLY SEPARATOR ------------

So is failure to trim, Don.

Mr Bill

I agree that trimming is sometimes a good idea.

But as you have done, one can trim too much such that the "real" thread is
lost. All you left was the afterthought.

Also, too often, particularly on s.e.d., I see people trimming to enhance
their position. It's a judgment call whether and what, to trim.

He trimmed exactly the right amount. He was only commenting on your comment
about top posting.

Personally, I have found it better to allow others to do things the way they
want to. They are going to anyway. So, I tend to avoid making comments about
others grammar, spelling, and top/bottom/or sideways posting habits.

If the post offends me, I tend to ignore it.

-Chuck

Chuck Harris wrote:
gwatts wrote:

Chuck Harris wrote:

Unrevealed Source wrote:

4) Use only Paypal, with a credit card, to pay for your purchases.

That brings to mind a question: Is there any way to stop paypal from
insisting on using your linked bank account as its first choice?

Don't give them an account number in the first place.

Not practical, paypal cuts you off after you have made an accumulated
$2000 in payments. The only way they will let you exceed that limit is
if you tie a bank account to your paypal account.

It comes down to weighing practicality versus prudence. I've closed old
and opened new paypal accounts when I get too close to the limit, even
on the same credit card, and that limit was $10k the last time I opened
a new one.

Further, ebay encourages sellers not to sell to unconfirmed addresses.
The only way to confirm an address is to link a credit card, or confirmed
paypal account to your ebay account.

I've never had a seller bring up the 'verified' issue even when they say
they'll only ship to a verified address, maybe because I contact the
'must be verified' sellers personally in addition to the automatic
post-auction contact. Like paypal, they're mostly interested in the
money and will bend their rules a bit if it looks legit.

...I opened this account just for paypal. I
only keep $50 in the account, hence the problem.

I'm sorry it hasn't worked out better for you and I hope it gets better,
but my experience makes me cynical and it's not that much more trouble
doing what I do now. The again, I don't sell often and I don't take
paypal payments when I do. That may have to change, and I'll have to do
the special account business, and watch it like a hawk on bunnies.

That is exactly what I did. Credit unions charge no service fees, and
have a $50 minimum for startup.

No local credit union available for me.

73 and the best of luck to you,
W8LNA

gwatts wrote in
:


It comes down to weighing practicality versus prudence. I've closed
old and opened new paypal accounts when I get too close to the limit,
even on the same credit card, and that limit was $10k the last time I
opened a new one.


How? When I tried that, they told me the card belonged to a previous
account, and would not let me open a new one. [That was the first thing I
tried when I got close to $2k.]

SamSez wrote:
gwatts wrote in
:

It comes down to weighing practicality versus prudence. I've closed
old and opened new paypal accounts when I get too close to the limit,
even on the same credit card, and that limit was $10k the last time I
opened a new one.


How? When I tried that, they told me the card belonged to a previous
account, and would not let me open a new one. [That was the first thing I
tried when I got close to $2k.]

My experience exactly. I was perfectly happy just using a CC with paypal,
but then I ran out of dough, and had to link a bank account.

And I am happy with that arrangement, but I only want to use a CC for my
payments, and they insist on making my linked account be my primary source,
with the CC my secondary... the cause of my overdraft problem.

-Chuck