EBay razor win from shady seller.

[Luminose]

Yesterday I was happy to win a DE razor off of eBay France, that was until the seller contacted me.

The seller wanted to be paid by either personal check or bank transfer, both of which are against eBay's policy for accepted types of payment in this category.

I contacted the seller to inform them and ask for their PayPal info. He told me he would accept PayPal but only if I paid an extra 12 euro for fees and assurance.
I contacted both eBay and PayPal and they both agreed that a seller isn't allowed to charge extra for using PayPal or ask for wire transfers.

I informed the seller about this and that I had contacted eBay. He told me if I didn't want to pay his fees he would have to cancel the auction.

So I now have a canceled razor...

I've won multiple razors from France in the past and never had issues like this. I've bought and sold on eBay for years and everybody knows the seller has to pay PayPal fees out of their incoming sale but I've never run into someone who is willing to lose around $55 so they don't have to pay $1.90 in PayPal fees? I have no idea where the seller came up with a PayPal fee of $17.49 he wanted me to pay?

 

[nuclearblast]

Sellers are not forced to accept Paypal. Many sellers on eBay France and Germany don't accept Paypal, only personal check or bank transfer.
If Paypal wasn't mentioned in the listing, it was not seller's fault. You can't force anyone to accept Paypal.

 

[brbowles8]

Yeah just make sure PayPal is mentioned as the payment method on the listing. When I'm razor shopping if they don't accept PayPal I move on.

 

[dpm802]

everybody knows the seller has to pay PayPal fees out of their incoming sale but I've never run into someone who is willing to lose around $55 so they don't have to pay $1.90 in PayPal fees? I have no idea where the seller came up with a PayPal fee of $17.49 he wanted me to pay?

I think the seller may have dropped a decimal point in his calculations, and he might have tacked on some extra fees to account for conversion of USD to Euros ... whatever he did, the amount he asks is excessive.

PayPal allows the buyer to pre-pay the fees on the front end, and the final payment will be delivered to him in Euros. So he would net the same amount as if you did a wire transfer. True, it adds $1.90 to your final cost, but its easier to pay that than to fight it out with this seller.

I'm not sure if eBay requires that all sellers accept PayPal, but I've never seen one that does not. It would be to his advantage to do so, but convincing him of that might be a struggle on your part.

 

[Musikmann]

I'm trying to remember if I ever bought anything on eBay from an international seller.

 

[NotNick]

Yeah just make sure PayPal is mentioned as the payment method on the listing. When I'm razor shopping if they don't accept PayPal I move on.

Yes. This is the operating principle for Ebay. On the other hand, I've sent out cashiers checks for thousands on Gunbroker. Then the legal system is the only recourse. But I'd never do that on an international transaction.

 

[BSAGuy]

As much as you want the razor, I'd advise you to walk away. You've got payment issues, mailing issues, customs issues, etc. If seller is uncooperative and demanding up front, how is he going to be to deal with if there are any hiccups? At least in USA, you only have one shipper to deal with.

 

[dpm802]

I'm trying to remember if I ever bought anything on eBay from an international seller.

I have. I won a Russian DE from a seller in Hungary. No issues at all with PayPal, shipping, customs, or delivery. It arrived in my mailbox in about 10 days after closing.

 

[Renaldo]

Walk away from the auction and remember never to bid on that seller's items. That razor will come around again from a seller who is easier to work with.

 

[htownmmm]

As much as you want the razor, I'd advise you to walk away. You've got payment issues, mailing issues, customs issues, etc. If seller is uncooperative and demanding up front, how is he going to be to deal with if there are any hiccups? At least in USA, you only have one shipper to deal with.

Walk away from the auction and remember never to bid on that seller's items. That razor will come around again from a seller who is easier to work with.

Sound advice-listen to it.....


marty

 

[MrAstro]

I do international purchases all the time - mostly from the US

Never had any trouble.

Actually I've also bought Feathers from Thailand, Derbys and Astras from Turkey and DE razors from Germany, France and England. No problems there either.

As for Pay Pal - it's convenient but their exchange rates suck.

 

[MercerGent]

Sellers aren't forced to use paypal, but they do have to use one of their accepted payment methods to stay within Ebay's terms of service. That deal sounds too fishy to me. I never do personal checks or wire transfers for online purchases.

 

[oakeshott]

Not necessarily anything fishy with the seller except for the unusually high "accommodation" he was willing to make to accept paypal. Lots and lots of sellers on eBay France don't take Paypal. I don't know why and that plagues the French board more than any other eBay site I've ever used. In fact, it's a problem only on the French board. Never run into it anywhere else.

I think the terms of service are different in France and so the sellers aren't required to use Paypal. Some choose not to, but it doesn't mean they're dishonest. Just foolish. Getting Americans to bid on their old stuff is only going to raise their average selling prices.

 

[DrAwkward]

Not necessarily anything fishy with the seller except for the unusually high "accommodation" he was willing to make to accept paypal. Lots and lots of sellers on eBay France don't take Paypal. I don't know why and that plagues the French board more than any other eBay site I've ever used. In fact, it's a problem only on the French board. Never run into it anywhere else.

I think the terms of service are different in France and so the sellers aren't required to use Paypal. Some choose not to, but it doesn't mean they're dishonest. Just foolish. Getting Americans to bid on their old stuff is only going to raise their average selling prices.

I have seen this also in Germany. Bank transfers within the EU are very easy and cheap, so many sellers refuse to accept Paypal because it costs them more money. I sent a transfer by Western Union to buy a very rare razor from Germany. Terrible idea - Western Union is quite expensive - but I really wanted the razor. Would I do it again? Maybe, depending on how motivated I am to get my grubby hands on the shiny razor in question.

 

[nuclearblast]

Bank transfers within the EU are very easy and cheap,

Bank Transfers are free since February this year. They invented a thing called SEPA ( Single Euro Payment Area) and all transfers between countries using the Euro are free, and very easy as you say.

 

[DrAwkward]

Bank Transfers are free since February this year. They invented a thing called SEPA ( Single Euro Payment Area) and all transfers between countries using the Euro are free, and very easy as you say.

Paypal should follow suit ...

 

[nemo]

Bank Transfers are free since February this year. They invented a thing called SEPA ( Single Euro Payment Area) and all transfers between countries using the Euro are free, and very easy as you say.

That's different than IBAN - BIC transfer codes?

 

[nuclearblast]

That's different than IBAN - BIC transfer codes?

No ... these transfers still require the use of IBAN and BIC codes. In fact, the transfers are made the same way as always, just that now they are free, much like domestic ( same country) transfers were already.