ebay selling getting riskier for sellers

[sdowney717]

scroll down to see comment 81
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080205/160733184.shtml
I have had some good sales and only very few bad ones.
I once had a buyer who complained and I actually offered to refund if he shipped it back, he never did ship it back. I did wonder if he would deliberately ruin it. Then if I got it back, paypal would simply refund the money and the seller is left with destroyed stuff. It seems to me that if you sell on ebay it is pretty easy for buyers to rip off sellers now.


DEAR EBAY BUYERS:

WANT TO GET FREE STUFF OFF EBAY? HERE’S HOW:

Buy using PayPal. Then, after you have received the item, file a claim with PayPal and use these magic words: ''NOT AS DESCRIBED.'' PayPal will immediately HOLD the money in the seller’s account--just for you. Next, send back an empty box, for proof of return of course. After that’s done, PayPal will instantly give the buyer their money back, every time. My friends and I have claimed thousands of dollars in free stuff off eBay this way.

Also, ''NOT AS DESCRIBED'' works in cases of buyer’s remorse. It doesn’t matter if the seller's item is described accurately, or even if the seller has a “no return” policy. PayPal is so stupid, they will refund your money back again, and again, and again. You won’t believe how easy it is. Thank you PayPal; you are a Pay Pal.

This is not a joke. If you don’t believe me, try it one time, you’ll see.

[Frak]

That's happened to me before. Way to avoid? Don't use Ebay.

[Mike'sHardLinux]

I have been using ebay since '98, and have not once sold anything for that very reason. Too easy to rip-off a seller. And I agree with you, that it is getting easier to do.

[Queue29]

I just put a laptop up for sale. This doesn't make me feel good. :(

[starcannon]

Thats retail in a nutshell for you. Most buyers are honest, some are not. I bought a turbo on Ebay 2 years ago, it was supposed to be an MHI Big 16g, it was not, it was a cheap Chinese Knockoff. I contacted the seller, sent the turbo back, then had to go through hell to get my $750.00 back(ultimately relying on paypal to give me my money back, and they went after the seller). Blame bad sellers for the over zealous protections geared towards the buyers, it sucks, and I hope they (ebay/paypal) are able to find something that works better, but I do not believe they will ever find a system that can not be exploited, just one that minimizes exploitation.