HI all. On the subject of shipping and liability for ebay items, I experienced a scenario about a year ago that ties into this and I thought might serve as food for thought, if not a sort of cautionary to sellers. I sold a wheelset to a buyer, via ebay. The buyer paid through paypal, using his credit card, immediately and asked for a tracking number once I shipped. Within minutes of my emailing the tracking information, I received an email from Paypal that the transaction had been reversed and the funds returned to the buyer. Seems that once he confirmed the package had been shipped, he disputed the charge with his credit card company, which in turn reversed the payment to paypal, and to me. The wheelset was gone, and my payment was gone. Initially paypal referred me to the buyer and his cc company. But the cc company was only concerned about its customer, my buyer, and would not even talk to me about it. I went back to lean on paypal, submitting tracking number, shipping receipt etc. Eventually, I wrote it off as theft and the cost of doing business (my way of rationalization, I guess). I could not get a reply to my emails to the buyer and paypal would just reply that it was under investigation. In the mean time, I wrote off over $400 plus shipping. Ouch. My faith in ebay and paypal was nil. But the good news, ultimately, came in the form of a paypal deposit into my account for the cost of the item, minus shipping. This arrived with no accompanying email or notification, about six months after the 'sale/theft' occurred. I still have no idea whether paypal retrieved the funds from the seller, his cc, or paid me as part of their protection services. Didn't care either. The guy still stole the cost of shipping a wheelset across the USA, and I find comfort in thinking that his shakedown cruise on those wheels was full of potholes and oily asphalt.
Greg Overton
'that's my story'
Logan, Utah USA