Read ebayer's Profiles-Be careful!

[George & Helen Myers]

Angry that I was so stupid!!!

I always felt I was a rather cautious ebayer, never being unhappy with a purchase and always receiving just what was described and receiving it promptly.

I have always read the seller's profile before bidding. Well, sometimes seller's are new to ebay and other times they are "ebay smart".

Some of you may remember the seller name of carissa1975! Well add these three additonal names to avoid. cpillars, metal_working_history and apparatus_priscus are the same person as carissa1975 or are in the same household. Not all bad in seller's profiles but enough to make one leery.

I am still awaiting item which was paid via Paypal minutes after the sale ended. Sent at least 4 messages with no response, also called Seller on the phone. Received very little satisfaction on the phone either. Will report incident to PayPal shortly but want to give Seller the benefit of the doubt before persuing.

After sending the $s via PayPal, I immediately asked the Seller when the item would be shipped because I realized Comstock Park, MI sounded familiar.

Since then I have done further research and I feel that there are probably several more Seller's names being used.

It was a small sum!

Just be careful! Helen

Correction of apparatus_priscus (underline instead of dash).

[Harry]

A word of advice!

File your objection with PayPal within 30 days. After that time, you are out of luck.

DO NOT CANCEL the complaint with PayPal until YOU are completely SATISFIED, no matter how much the other party squawks and squeals!

Once you CANCEL a complaint, you CAN NOT reinstate it.

-- Harry

[Rob Skinner]

I'm currenty resolving a transaction with a crooked seller. The merchandise never arrived and the seller kept stringing me along saying it was delayed in the mail.

I was DUMB about it. I thought I had 90 days to complain and started a complaint around 60 days. Neither ebay nor paypal responded to my action; I filled out the form, but they just ignored me. Finally I navigated their round-a-bout web page and found a phone number to call. They told me at that time I was out of luck to the tune of 72 quid.

Then I waited around some more -- even DUMBER. Finally I called my credit card company (all my PayPal payments come off my credit card). They said the deadline for my complaint had elapsed, but credited my account anyway and opened up a claim against PayPal. MasterCard came through for me. Hopefully they won't change their minds.

My advice to you is to contact your bank or your credit card company, whichever was the original source of the funds. Tell them that the seller never sent the goods for which you paid. Maybe they'll help you. Don't count on ebay or paypal. It appears that they don't care.

Good luck.
Rob

[Al Wait]

I would most strongly suggest that people NEVER pay with anything other than a USPS money order. If the seller won't accept money orders, don't buy. Nobody needs anything on ebay that badly. Al Wait

[Jim McIntyre]

How does paying with a money order protect you?

I've had great luck w/ Paypal as a buyer. In my experience, they definitely favor the buyer - so much so, that I don't accept paypal as a seller, because if a buyer says they're not happy, paypal will take my payment back even if their complaint was unjustified.

[Chris Epping]

George,
Had the same problem with the same seller. Cpillars & carrisa are the same, but I didn't know they had others. They had a little scam going last winter with some high priced advertising books. I got in on one deal with them & I filed with Paypal & got every penny back. They never even replied to Paypal's emails. Like Rob says, be timely on your complaints & Paypal is very safe. With their feedback, I don't know why eBay lets users like that remain active, but they don't seem to come down too hard on crooks. The only people they seem to care about are those who buy/sell from/to other people without going through them & paying their ever rising fees. Just thought I'd let you know you're not alone! Good luck,

Chris

[George & Helen Myers]

Chris, my problem is with a Metal Book. Like I said when I completed my PayPal transaction, the name Carissa White and Comstock Park, MI rang a bell. I still had the lists I had printed of items she was buying and selling in the earlier incident where she was posting other seller's photos before she even had the merchandise to resell. The 1923 Hart Parr Catalog from that list was what triggered it. A reprint of the original is now on sale under apparatus-priscus. I found the Comstock Park on a larger item that she is selling and should be picked up on location. I also checked for feedback on some of the high priced items she had purchased at that time, these items do not show up anywhere in the feedback. That is why I say I think some buyers and sellers will avoid posting negatively, they don't want a rebuttal on their record. Carrissa1975 is no longer a registered name on ebay.

It is very difficult to get any information when there is no feedback.

I would bet that there are several additional names being used. When I spoke to her on the phone, she wanted to know what the item was that I had purchased. Her response then was that she would have to check on that. Still haven't received an email or anything....Helen

[ronm]

I always sort of shied away from Paypal, & only used it as a last resort until about a year ago, I bought a Blake co-ax indicator from an individual in N. Carolina. When I got it, it took about 10 seconds on the mill to realize the shaft was bent...I contacted the seller, & first he tried to say it was OK, then said I damaged it, & refused to take it back. I filed a claim w/Paypal, & after about a month, & having to send the indicator back to the factory, then back to the seller, I got my money back. I don't know what club they used on him, but it worked...raised my opinion of P-P several notches...
PS-I'm still doing w/o a Blake-still gunshy after that experience...I suspect that same item is still out there somewhere, listed under a new name...
Ron in CO...

[Meco3hp]

Al,
I wouldn't hold out much hope for USPS money orders much longer. My bank has decided not to honor ANY money orders at all. Seems they have gotten burned on some. So they have decided to refuse all of them. I talked this over with my local postmaster and he said they had been expecting this to happen because of some counterfit USPS money orders. I haven't seen one of them, but I have been told that they are dead ringers for a real USPS money order right down to the strip inside of them! I asked the post master how I was going to pay for things online and he just shrugged his shoulders!

Talked to you all later!
Richard

You guys are right about people not leaving bad feedback. I have had hundreds of transactions on ebay, both buying and selling and have had two bad transactions, both of those were made right by ebay and paypal. Even though it was the other partys fault I did not leave feedback because I knew if I did that they would leave unjustified bad feedback for me which I did not want to risk as I have worked very hard to maintain a 100% positive score. I realize this does not help you guys when you run into these lowlifes, but until Ebay fixes the feedback system to protect the innocent then it will continue to be this way and the dirtbags will continue to do business!

[dragon]

Originally Posted by Al Wait

I would most strongly suggest that people NEVER pay with anything other than a USPS money order. If the seller won't accept money orders, don't buy. Nobody needs anything on ebay that badly. Al Wait

Hi, I once believed USPS money orders were secure, because of their federal status, but not anymore. I had one bad transaction where I used a postal money order and never received the item. Ebay cancelled the sellers account because of several similiar complaints. I filed the appropiate USPS forms but it was a waste of time.

[Harry]

Originally Posted by meco3hp

My bank has decided not to honor ANY money orders at all. Seems they have gotten burned on some. So they have decided to refuse all of them.

This is part of the Nigerian scam thing. So many people had caught onto the Nigerian counterfeit cashier's check trick that the scammers made the switch to counterfeit U.S. Postal money orders.

It very well might be that PayPal turns out to be the safest method of payment. It's just that you need to be timely with any complaints.

Caveat Emptor!!!!

[ronm]

Originally Posted by Chris Curtis

You guys are right about people not leaving bad feedback. I have had hundreds of transactions on ebay, both buying and selling and have had two bad transactions, both of those were made right by ebay and paypal. Even though it was the other partys fault I did not leave feedback because I knew if I did that they would leave unjustified bad feedback for me which I did not want to risk as I have worked very hard to maintain a 100% positive score. I realize this does not help you guys when you run into these lowlifes, but until Ebay fixes the feedback system to protect the innocent then it will continue to be this way and the dirtbags will continue to do business!

Right on, Chris-I forgot to mention in my Blake story that I left no feedback for the jerk, I read the retaliatory stuff he had left for other unsatisfied customers, & didn't want to lose MY 100% rating...

[Meco3hp]

Hello,
Over on the Practical Machinist forum that I frequent, we have talked about the way ebay and paypal work. We've come to the point where we feel if the bad seller is selling a large volume of product and making Ebay rich from fees, then Ebay and paypal is very willing to turn a blind eye as long as that seller is making sales. If its somebody that is only selling a few hundred dollars a month then ebay is will to maybe do something about it. It's the same with "shill bidding". There is a large machine shop dealer in California that we are positively sure is the biggest shill bidder around. (here is one of their auctions 7521974667 click on the bid history, alot of these guys are bidding up their own bids!) If you look at the bidders bidding on their auctions most have less than 5 transactions a large amount of them have 0. The thing is these "bidders" bid in suspious patterns. The machines look good but some of the guys that have won machines from this dealer report they are junk, with worn ways and the paint is painted on over oil, grease, and such! Also a lot of these machines go for way over what most real machinist would be willing to pay. The thing is these guys are selling a very large volume of items, so ebay lets them get away with alot of things. This is one that I'd never buy from.

Talk to you later.
Richard

[George & Helen Myers]

Originally Posted by George & Helen Myers

Angry that I was so stupid!!!

Some of you may remember the seller name of carissa1975! Well add these three additonal names to avoid. cpillars, metal_working_history and apparatus_priscus are the same person as carissa1975 or are in the same household. Not all bad in seller's profiles but enough to make one leery.

All communication with eBay and PayPal went very smoothly, no hassles!!

Never received the merchanadise, sent her at least seven emails and called her on the phone. She did respond to a question I had before I even bid on the item. That message was signed "Chris".

PayPal has refunded my money!

Information about her, thus far, follows:

Sellers names have been:
carissa1957
metal_working_history
cpillars
apparatus_priscus

Seller's name is Carissa White.

Email addresses are:
greystreet75@comcast.net
sagharbor73@comcast.net

Tel # 616-560-9591

She lives in Comstock Park, MI but her listing location may be Grand Rapids or Midwest. She will probably come up with a new name again!!!

Not all feedback is bad, she just had one reversed under apparatus_priscus. I probably will not leave any feedback because I feel she would have some rebuttal that would reflect on my record. Also she will never use that same name again.

I will continue to read feedback because sometimes buyers will put a remark in but not list it as negative.

Also, I will still check ebay everyday for those all elusive items I want!!!

Helen

[David Parfitt]

Thanks to Helen, I had a lucky escape with a reprint 1923 Hart-Parr manual from this seller. Does anyone know where I can get a copy of this manual from a more reliable source though?

David

[George & Helen Myers]

According to the current feedback, she must be getting her act together or at least for the present time. I have noticed she doesn't leave feedback for other people. This is under the name apparatus_priscus. I will keep watching for her under new names. She will probably continue using this until it goes bad....Helen

[George & Helen Myers]

Carissa under another name, variation really! She is now offering items under priscus_apparatus5910 that it appears were paid for and not shipped under apparatus_priscus.

Sellers names have been:
carissa1957
metal_working_history
cpillars
apparatus_priscus
priscus_apparatus5910

Make sure you read the feedbacks!...Helen

[Orville D]

I got badly stung on some wood working equipment that I bought using a Money Order. The "corporation" that it was mailed to didn't exist. A friend in Brooklyn, NY checked the address, and told me it was an apartment building, and that the normal post office delivery technique for mail directed to unknown people in apt buildings is to just drop it on the floor inside the building. So, some person drops into the building from time to time, checks the envelopes on the floor, and cashes in on the $$$$.

I submitted a complaint at the FBI's Internet Fraud Operation. I received back a letter indicating that the cae was assigned a case number, and was under active investigation.

I suggest that if you have been the victum of Internet Fraud, that you also submit a case.

Link: http://www.ifccfbi.gov/cf1.asp