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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

PayPal/eBay Nightmare for sellers!!! Tips and big warning!!

somehtiing like this happened to me a while ago on ebay and again a couple of weeks ago...not that bad but people claiming the items were not working/as described (one guy even admitted that he tried to modify the camera i sent?!) and asking for a refund/price break (after the fact of course)...ebay makes this possible....
but i have to say that paypal is still my preferred way of payment and receiving payment....all this has nothing to do with paypal, they just follow ebay's instruction....just like visa would if someone disputed the charges....
 
Amazon is certainly as bad, if not worse as ebay for disputes.

I sold a GH2 to a buyer on Amazon, who hacked it with wrong firmware in the first 3 days, then restored it back to older firmware than the one I shipped,
and then claimed it was defective and wanted a refund.

I refused to take it back, since when I questioned why a perfectly working, well documented camera all the sudden had issues in his hands, so
he changed his story and admitted he tried "updating the firmware" on his own.

I emailed Amazon all the info, they said "I HAD TO" take the camera back, or they'd deduct the whole transaction, completely ignoring my terms and high restocking fee.

So, being forced to take it back for review, I did. Then, when I reviewed the camera and informed Amazon of the tampering and submitted evidence to support my case,
they said I had to refund the whole amount, and I wasn't even entitled to shipping or restocking fee!

I also found out, the person bought the same GH2 camera new from Amazon after a price drop 1 week after he bought mine,
and informed me and Amazon that he'd have to return their new camera if they sided with me!

So, I lost shipping money, had an abused returned product and wasted a boatload of time documenting the entire transaction on video,
with detailed log files and personal witnesses... all for nothing.

In the end, I ended up repairing the firmware and selling to an honest person on ebay for more money,
and that person loved it and was honest!

So, Amazon lost a 10+ year customer in making one bad decision for a quick buck...

I guess you win some, you lose some, but certainly "seller beware" is the best plan nowadays...

Hopefully, the BBB or other 3rd party system gets involved there somewhere to handle disputes, as ebay and Amazon seem incapable...
 
I dabbled in Amazon but the problem is that customers have expectations from Amazon that exceed what normals guys selling their stuff can usually meet. They expect everything to be essentially new and shipped practically overnight. And they expect to be able to return something at the slightest whim. Amazon has them well trained. At least people buying from eBay have somewhat realistic expectations: that they are buying "used" stuff from normal people just like themselves.
 
That's a real horror story Josh. I've been buying/selling gear for quite some time, and now I just stick to wire, check, direct deposit or cash. No more paypal, credit card or ebay for me. As a seller, they leave you exposed. The production community is small enough that you don't need to cast such a wide net as Ebay. Between all the camera forums you can find a customer and close a deal. For real high ticket items, I urge the buyer that if they're worried to hire and send a tech to check out the gear. I bought an OC 2060 from Ketch a few years back (didn't know him at all) and sent an LA AC to check it out. Closed a great deal. When the seal leaked within a few weeks, he met us in the middle for repair. When hunting for gear or selling it, you begin to get a sense who's an honest dealer or who's fly by night.
 
Thank you everybody for all of your posts!

It's so refreshing to hear that this helped a few of you out! Good news on my end! (Whether or not, it be because of this thread, guilt, or whatever) my monitor DID arrive to my house days later -- non-working, but here. Looks like it was connected incorrectly and damaged/broke off a lemo pin inside of the monitor's female connection barrel (or whatever that's called).

Since an entirely separate ordeal is now taking place with my camera body, (and will need to be sent out to red) it's blessing that it's here, because now I can be serviced as well. So -- I suppose you'll be seeing a freshly repaired 7" Red Pro LCD out in the marketplace sometime soon.

I'll be posting another thread soon on a similar subject that happened about six months ago, but because of legal reasons I'm waiting until things settle down. It's just another warning, [to good to be true, kind of deal] but similar (and much larger) than this matter. Definitely, definitely, worth reading if you're planning on buying a used red.

Best of buying/searching/working fellow redusers.

-Joshua
 
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