Warning: eBay/Paypal rant

So I recently purchased some world coins on eBay to add to my Type Set. I ended up making two purchases because I messed up and clicked "purchase" before picking out a few other items I wanted. This is not why I'm upset. I messaged the seller requesting everything be combined into my second purchase so I didn't have to pay for shipping on two orders. The seller refused and I accepted their reasoning about needing separate tracking numbers. The coins arrived and I actually received a wrong set and was missing one that I had ordered. After sending the photos they requested, they sent me the coins I was missing. Up until here, I was fine with how everything went.

Then came the credit card bill. It turns out that this particular dealer requested to have the funds sent as a wire, or something to the like. Note: the dealer is listed as being in the US. The way Paypal conducted the transaction, I was charged two separate $10.00 cash advance fees on my credit card, and another $1.50 in interest because despite the fact that I don't carry interest over, cash advances automatically incur interest.

Naturally, I pick up the phone and call Paypal to ask them why they processed the purchases as cash advances. I scoured the seller's items and saw nothing to indicate the funds would be processed any differently than any other seller. I spend the next 10 minutes speaking to someone on Paypal asking them to explain why they processed the transaction differently. They continued to tell me that they don't know how it was processed and they don't know anything about the $10 fee, there's nothing they can do to help me and I need to call my bank. After the third time the person on the line told me they, the finance company who processes financial transactions, could not tell me how or why they processed something differently, I requested to speak to a manager.

They then left me on hold for a good 20+ minutes (fortunately I can be a very patient person when need be). The person who answered did not come across as one who was in charge, had a very poor connection, and gave me the same smoke and mirrors that there is no way for them to know how they processed a transaction and I would need to call my bank. In fact, this person offered to conference call the bank for me to discuss. At my wits end, I promptly took down that person's worker ID and called my bank. Not 5 minutes into the conversation, they refund all the money and apologize for Paypal.

I still don't know why the items were processed as cash advances or why Paypal can't tell me how/why they process their transactions. All I can think is that I need to block the seller so I don't accidentally purchase something from them down the road and eal with this again... Has anyone had this issue or do they know where the problem lies?

 

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I can't speak to anything else, but I have shipped combined orders and hand entered the same tracking number to both orders.

 

They said the system wouldn't allow it. I have only sold one item on eBay so I don't know any better but it was my slip up so I let it go. They ended up giving me some coins they shipped to me on accident so in the end, they lost out. Had they combined everything as I had asked, I would have forgiven their slip up.

 

I honestly think PayPal is trying to see what they can get away with. Either that, or they are having severe issues with their software coding.

About a month ago, I had an eBay transaction (I sold a coin, so I am the seller in this scenario) where the buyer paid, I shipped the item, and later on that day PayPal refunded the buyer's payment in full. Coin are in the mail, I'm out the money, PayPal blames eBay, eBay blames PayPal, after five or six calls PayPal credited my account until they sorted the issue out. About two weeks later I received an generic email saying basically "something happened, and we're working on it."

More recently, I've noticed the last two transactions I've paid for on eBay using PayPal have been processed as "Pay After Delivery" - an option I never selected, an option I didn't even know existed, and an option I do not care to use. But they've done it twice in a row, now.

According to the PayPal CS rep I've spoken with, it is an option that has to be turned on to be used (I've never activated it) and should not have activated itself without my permission. They are currently "investigating" why it's started up. Do I expect them to explain why it's happened? No.

But for me, this is now the second time I've had issues with PayPal doing things on its own without my permission, without my knowledge, and without any reasonable explanation. So that's two strikes.

 

You lost me at Paypal charging as cash advances. Paypal doesn't do "cash advances". Any charge is passed onto the bank or card issuer and they give you the description of how they want to handle the funds transfer against your account.The credit card issuer / bank holds all of the answers, not Paypal. Generally no financial institution will issue a wire against a credit card. If the card is linked to a DDA they may transfer the funds from the available line to the demand deposit account and do a cash wire from that account. Most banks charge a fee for that service.

 

I'd also go with a glitch in the system. Over the last year or two I've seen some weird things happening. For example, has anyone tried leaving feedback for an ebay purchase lately? When I go to click on 5 stars, it only selects one star and I have to click a bunch of times until all 5 stars finally show up. Also, on the selling side, I'll select 7 days for a listing, but it sometimes switches to some other length (i.e. 5 days).
Either the programming isn't correct or no one ever tested certain features to make sure they work properly.

 

I agree. I think you/they got something confused, but it was with the CC company/bank. Notice how fast they refunded your fees?

 

I've done it a number of times, so the system must allow it.

 

I have also had this issue (unable to select the correct listing time) as well as, my favorite, eBay automatically selecting the Gallery Image upgrade for new listings (trying to sneak in an extra fee on me.) It stopped happening with my eBay account, but for a local consignor whose account I used to list toys, it would happen with EVERY LISTING. I haven't had the same issue with the feedback (as I don't really buy that often unless I'm in a cherrypicking kind of mood.)

Back to the OP's question, I think it's kind of crummy that the seller wouldn't be reasonable with shipping charges (because you can add a tracking number to a sale, I've had to do it before and it takes 30 seconds) - so in that case, they will receive a lower than 5-star rating on "reasonable shipping and handling charges."

 

Not only hand enter the tracking numbers, but hand refund the shipping. But it is definitely doable.

 

@rickmp @rlm's cents
Here's a direct quote from the seller on me requesting they combine shipping and use the same tracking number:
Because each purchase must be assigned a tracking number. If you combine the order and place it at once, ebay negates this and combines this. But for a single it has to have its own tracking number.

 

That is just wrong.

I have no idea what "this" is supposed to be.

Wrong again.

FWIW, here is one I combined - one buyer, paid for separately, and sent together with a single tracking number.

 

Proof positive!

 

Sounds like Paypal has something screwy on their end. I once purchased something from another forum member here and he shipped it to the address Paypal gave him. The only problem is that was my old address from four years prior I deleted. I literally triple checked my Paypal account and couldn't find that address listed anywhere proving I had deleted it a long time ago. Thankfully the address was my in laws house so I alerted them I'd probably be getting a package and they held it for me. Then finally after 3/4 calls with Paypal I got to someone who knew what was going on and they told me that it was an error in their system that was well known. They still gave no explanation for why if it was well known they didn't address it.

 

I've used the same card for every purchase I've made. All others were processed as purchases. I'm not sure what went wrong here.

 

Because the other sellers didn't require payment by wire probably.

 

Possibly processed as a debit instead of credit card which triggered a cash advance

 

Sounds like your bank/card company was the one who made the mistake by processing a cash advance (or debit card transaction) instead. And why your bank fell over itself fixing it. Annoying as PP and eB are, this sounds more like your bank messing up.

 

If they can't pay for a wire transfer using a credit card directly, the only way to do it would be a cash advance on the credit card and then use the cash to pay for the wire.

 

I just last week had a company charge two small transactions as cash advances and the credit card company charged me $15 each time. They said they couldn't refund and to call the company that made the sent the charge.