This is a warning to anyone who has recently dealt with this person. ALAN ZIMMERMAN Ebay id is filmalan . He has posted on this board a few times so I hope you read this dirtbag. He bought $410 worth of cards from me on ebay and then filed a "fraudulent use" claim with Paypal. At first he was responding saying that he didn't file a claim and then just started ignoring me. I have heard from a couple other people that he has screwed around before. Anyway, my money and cards are gone, don't let this wiener get anyone else.
And another thing, NEVER EVER send anything of value to an uncomfirmed address and ALWAYS get a signature for items over $250. A tracking number is no longer sufficient for paypal. Jim
OK: Here is a subject that I can identify with. I have been scorched by a handful of eBay losers who know all the variations of this scam. There are pros out there who know this flaw in Paypal's system and they end up getting a lot of the Canuck dealers who don't know about a glitch in the tracking information system.
It seems that PayPal / Ebay want to err on the side of the buyer, I suppose it is due to strong customer protection laws. Scammers will use the following excuses to zap the dough out of your PayPal account; card was not received, envelope arrived with no contents, dog ate my homework…
If you are a Canadian and are shipping high value stuff to the U.S. here is what you have to do. Canada Post does not offer a signature upon receipt of goods so all you can do is fully insure your item and get a tracking number. If you have to file a counter claim with PayPal regarding reversed funds your tracking number will only work by using the USPS.com website not the Canada Post tracking system. This may sound nuts but that is what I found out the hard way.
The USPS system will give you a confirmed delivery with your Canada Post tracking number and that is what PayPal is looking for. Good luck and be warned, there are plenty of buyers / scammers that are on to this racket !! Mike Q.
If paypal isn't offering us CDN's any protection...that is yet another reason to use it very rarely.....they screw us big time on the exchange rates used, plus all the fees they charge....unless it's a really small amount, I can wait for the check in the mail.
Paypal does have loopholes and crooks like this find them. Unfortunatly if I stop accepting paypal, I think my online sales would drop off, especially ebay sales. When I am dealing off ebay, I try to offer incentives like free shipping and a bit more of a discount but people still prefer the convenience of paypal. Even on ebay I accept Can$ at going rate by mail which is about 10-11% and people still don't take the offer. I'll tell you guys one thing, I am never giving anyone the benefit of the doubt again. If the sale is not eligible for seller protection, I'm not doing it. When it comes down to it, you take things like this into account and write it off as a cost of doing this kind of business. $400 is not going to change my lifestyle but he picked a really bad person to screw with. I am home all day at the computer and on the phone, so I have lots of time to look into this. I have talked to paypal again and I have called the police in both Phoenix(paypal address) and California(cell phone area code), to see if this is a complaint they would pursue and the response was favorable. I did not go into detail or give his name and the 2 others associated with the paypal account and addresses I found for his name in California, but I did get a contact person in each city that I called. People think that they can hide behind computer screens but the world is actually a small place these days. Jim
Dan, what part of Canada are you in?
This message has been edited by hockey_jim on Sep 6, 2006 3:54 PM
What if you offer insurance but the buyer does not want it or ask for it?. I have had several times where impatient buyers threatened me but eventually received item. Can they still get there paypal money back and screw me?.
What about UPS?. More expensive but signature for sure.
This message has been edited by hockeywax on Sep 6, 2006 11:35 PM
Insurance only matters if the item actually gets lost. A buyer can get the money back if you do not have a tracking number for items uder $250. Items over $250 you need tracking with signature which is literally impossible to get if a Canadian is sending a package to the US unless you use UPS, Fedex, etc.. I don't know how many cards I send out that a buyer is willing to pay $30-$40 shipping for or I can absorb the cost myself. As it is now I only charge $7.99 for Express and since they don't let you use the prepaid envelopes for psa cards, I absorb between $4-$10 per sale. Jim.
Yes but can they get their paypal money back even if they did not pay for insurance????. It is my understanding if the insurance colum is empty then you are not responsible as a seller.
Whether the buyer pays for insurance or tracking, the burden falls on the sender. The guys that put "not responsible for lost packages" in ebay listings are wasting thier time. If I send you $20 and pay $1 shipping, you are on the hook until that package gets to me. A buyer can ask for the money back anytime and telling paypal that they refused to pay for tracking or insurance won't do a thing for you. Jim.
Current Topic - Warning: ALAN ZIMMERMAN Ebay id filmalan
