Posted on June 30 at 9:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)

It is not just an opinion. If you noticed in the beginning of my statement I mentioned that I am a Powerseller on eBay which means we sell a lot and 90% of that is with PayPal. We have had issues with PayPal but in all cases it worked out.

If we had not paid attention to eBay's and PayPal's approved process, we would have lost some money, but we didn't and neither did any of our customers.

When I research individual's claims, I find out that they ignored or did not read different items. There has to come a time when we accept responsibility for our actions and sometimes they are not smart. I have seen it from the buyer side and seller side.

A buyer who did not read the terms of the listing became upset when they wanted to return something and it was clearly stated, no returns. A seller was warned about selling designer clothes without proper identification, had their listing shut-down and warned not to list again without documentation and did it anyway. They lost their rights to sell on eBay.

Were they mad? Sure, but who's fault was it. To hear their story they got screwed by eBay. The blankity blank so and so did this and that. They get on the boards you refer to and vent. That is fine, but take it with a pound of salt and consider that you are not hearing “the rest of the story”.

Today you hear about eBay being ordered to pay 60 million dollars for not doing enough to stop knock-offs, or counterfeit sales of designer items. Then you read on the boards how eBay should not restrict our right to sell. How do you win?

I question anyone to tell me a safer way for strangers to buy and sell than PayPal. It isn't Visa, since I have my own story about how they did not back me up on a $1,300 camera sale. It sure isn't cash or wire transfer and as a bricks and mortar merchant, we have had money orders that were no good and checks with similar problems.

We had more loss from checks, counterfeit money and bad credit exchanges than I have EVER had with PayPal. You just have to follow the rules.

I hear the gripes all the time and feel that it is time for someone to stand up and say while nothing is ever perfect, it is the best I have seen. IN stead of just griping, I challenge these folks to tell us what is the perfect answer for safe trading?

On Consumer Watch: Check eBay seller reputation before bidding on 'treasure'

Posted on June 28 at 9:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Hi Ellen,

Your advice is good, as you probably know. eBay and PayPal take many precautions to try to make the exchange between buyer and seller as safe as it can be.

Do things get crossed at times, yes, BUT in most cases there is a lot more to the situation than we see in the heated e-mails. I speak from the experience of a Power Seller and as an Education Specialist trained by eBay. I am not employed by eBay, just trained by them.

As a teacher I get e-mails from my students and local people in the Shelbyville, TN area who know what I do, asking for advice on their particular scenario. 100% of the time, I do not get the full story until I ask questions and then it turns out that they did not cross their Ts or dot their Is.

It would be nice if eBay allowed certified people to help individuals with their claims, but to date, no one gets access to their information, except the direct customer. There are many good reasons for that and with 200 million or more members, it could probably get out of hand quickly.

Does eBay do everything I think they should or want? You can guess that answer, but no, they do not. But I do not see what they do, nor have the huge job they have. I do however, trust that they are acting in what they believe is the best for the trading platform. It might not be best for me and as you see from the previous post, they do not think it is the best for them, but I do not agree that eBay or PayPal are trying to "rip someone off".

By the way, I am sure you understand but it is good to clarify that eBay is just the go between for buyer and seller. eBay does not rip off a buyer. They might not be able to protect you all the time, but they try very hard. They will cancel any listing they find that requests cash or wire transfers and if a seller persists, they will shut down their account.

The old say of "the devil is in the details" probably applies for all of the issues people have. Something was not documented or handled accordingly and therefore legal hands are tied.

Legal considerations heavily regulate what eBay or PayPal can say to you or advise. I discussed their Trust & Safety issues with them at eBay Live this year and they are legally "hogtied".

If you would like to discuss this more, feel free to contact me.

On Consumer Watch: Check eBay seller reputation before bidding on 'treasure'