eBay stories of buying and selling

[coinsarefun]

Okay, we have yet to start any threads here regarding eBay and selling or buying.
Horror stories or buying rips.......let's here them!

[jtabie]

Well not really a horror story but pretty interesting otherwise, just days before Hurricane Katrina I bought a 1982 Washington half dollar on eBay and it was shipped quickly there after.  In the meantime Katrina makes landfall and I evacuate south Louisiana, but only for about 4 or 5 days.  I returned home and expected to find my coin waiting in my P. O. Box.  It was nowhere to be found.  I figured the weather could have possibly delayed the mail so I gave it a few days before contacting the seller.  After about 3 weeks, and still no sign of my half dollar, I informed the seller that my coin had not arrived.  He offered a refund, but having only paid $5, I advised him that I'd wait it out and let him know when it arrived.  7 months later (September -April) my coin finally arrived.  It had been a long time coming and I did as promised, I informed the seller.  He said that he was glad that my coin had arrived and that he did remember the transaction, since I was the only customer who hadn't received a shipment that he had mailed.  This is just one of my many Katrina stories and a very memorable eBay story.

:-)

[jpcienkus]

Last December, as I was expanding my interest in coin collecting, I happened to see a raw 81-CC Morgan on eBay for roughly 1/2 the price of an AU50.  Coin appeared to be MS63 or higher.  As I was new to the hobby, I tend to be conservative on grading, but I knew that the coin was going for a discount ($100).  I read the sellers "story" and decided to buy one of the few he was selling.  As soon as I tried to pay using PayPal, I knew there was a problem.  It took 3 days for the PayPal payment to finalize.  The problem was not on my side, but the sellers.  Shortly after the payment went through, the listing was pulled by eBay.  They automatically opened a case via PayPal.  I'm not sure how that worked, but let me skip ahead.

PayPal tries to contact the seller to send me the coin.  After a couple weeks, the coin arrives, well kind of. I go to the post office to sign for it and the package is empty and there is a tear in the padded envelope the size of the coin.  Not only that, but the coin was shipped from China.  I notify PayPal that I got the package but not the coin.  PayPal notifies the seller.  In the meantime, I get a note in my mailbox that the coin was found and I could come pick it up.  I get the coin and notice immediately that it's fake.  I notify PayPal that I got the coin and it's fake.  They want me to return it to China.  I object.  Mind you, this has been going on for weeks.  I'm not all that stressed out because it's only $100 and I'm thinking, here's your first lesson.  The PayPal customer service immediately gives me my refund and tells me to keep the coin.

The fake Morgan now resides on my desk next to my computer as a daily reminder to do my homework before purchasing a coin and as a warning when buying raw coins on eBay.  All worked out well and now I have constant reminder to be vigilant when adding coins to my collection.