or so the commercial says....they'll even help facilitate theft

EBAY and PAYPAL are complete joke when it comes to helping buyers

their only concern is with sellers

they don't make money off buyers, only sellers fees that power their engine and executive Meg Whitman' salary, thus the conflict of interest

they even award sellers the rank of POWER SELLER after ripping people off for over $150 while EBAY facilitates the theft

aiding and abetting

best solution is NEVER TO used EBAY or PAYPAL

they don't care at all about buyers

but they'll send stupid email messages about forum abuse, while not doing a thing about buyer's problems with sellers

" don't ask, don't tell " that's EBAY's policy

just as long as the can keep helping sellers rip off unsuspecting buyers and fuel the EBAY conglomermate

Response by same ripped off poster to an ebay volunteer:
no, I take it back and get a refund....and the supermarket will gladly oblige, not turn their backs a la EBAY...you see supermarkets are in a 'customer service' business, thus they treat customers with respect

EBAY, rather is in the business of MAKING SELLER'S FEES....

thus, they don't give a d...mn about buyers, or any of the problems that arise over theft that they help facillitate.....

as for (name deleted), do not make ignorant comments on things you know NOTHING about.....the many hours invested into numerous agencies, attorney generals, Internet Fraud, FTC, ITC, Mail Order Fraud, Better Business Bureaus, local authorities, after EBAY and PAYPAL do nothing

the worst insult is to see the same dishonest thief seller, not only still being allowed to rip off people with EBAY's assistance, but having been awarded a POWER SELLER ranking subseqeunt to her crime

no other conclusion can be drawn after the countless emails ( don't even try and telephoning, EBAY is a ghost when it comes to customer service ) regarding EBAY"S policy

" Aid and abet the seller, and do nothing for buyer "

EBAY obviously has plenty of money to fund worldwide commercials and pay fat cat salaries, but surprisingly no funds to set up, let alone enforce, any resemblance of customer service

Another Ebay user posts:
"No, eBay is no longer a great place to do business..."

Enough said right there.

Not only are prices realized way down, (speaking of the category I sell under,) due to the fact most buyers now assume most sellers are lying in the descriptions, since so many do, but now we see ebay failing to act when someone is being literally extorted by a PowerScammer!

(I can't give details, it would be cause for the post to be pulled.)

Something has to 'give' around here, and it's probably going to be an exodus of a significant number of collectibles buyers & sellers, since it's obvious ebay isn't going to do anything about the fraud... (why should they, it makes them money!)

Sure ebay will go on... it will go on to be nothing but an online shopping mall.

Like so many others, I await a viable alternative site, a site where they will choose to have decent standards, and a level playing field... as in NO "PowerCheaters"!

CC through PayPal won't do any good if the PowerScammer is selling 'fake' merchandise that 90% of the buyers don't understand is bad.

Depends on the scam of course, but the one I'm talking about, even PayPal can't do anything about, since she always delivers the (fake) merchandise.

Ebay KNOWS what the user I'm referring to is doing, and we've reported literally hundreds of her auctions, and ebay refuses to pull even one.

Ebay could stop a lot of people from being cheated, but as long as most of those who are cheated simply don't understand it, ebay seems to have no qualms with letting it go on.

(It *might* be something to do with the fact that she pays in almost $7,000 a month in ebay fees!)

I think the solution is to publicize exactly how to do the scam she does, then MANY MORE people will start doing it, and eventually it will come back to haunt ebay.

After all, if ebay refuses to halt such auctions, that means they consider them to be OK. Therefore I should be able to auction a CD with info on how to do it, right here on ebay.

Another Ebay user posts:
"No, eBay is no longer a great place to do business..."

Well to be more precise, Ebay does not examine all listings, and items. They are a venue in wich a seller can list an item for offers, and the highest offer is suposedly to get the item, if the item exists.

Ebay can not say an item is real or even exist. They can not say the description is correct or an out right lie. THEY DO NOT KNOW.

The system that was to "protect folks" was suposedly the feedback users gave to each other. Even that has become a joke here. Folks are afraid to be truthfull in feedback, due to the retaliation feedback that they will get.

Amusingly enough, though all the boards, the help section, and even the ebay user agreement all state this, follks usume ebay is the responsible party, not the seller.

Enough for the monent. I coud right a good small book on this subject.

I will say one thing, If the feedback system is not corrected, eBay wil keep seeing a decline in the Final auction value in most catagorys.

Another Ebay user posts:
I got my point across to somebody last night it really don't matter.

As long as i know somebody had to take The time & trouble to pull that post trying to censor me "puts a smile on my Face."

(which I read & choose every word I wrote there was not a single violation on that post.)

IT just hurt somebody Ebay feeling.aw boo-hoo

Original ripped off Ebay user posts:
Bottom line is this.....the seller you checked feedback on, sent me defective merchandise, agreed to have it returned and return my funds, then reneged and kept my money is excess of $150.....someone spoke of law enforcement....what a joke....repeated calls to my local and Florida State attorney general and other law authorities brought the answer that as a civil issue, I could bring suit if she came to my state or I traveled to Cantonment, Florida to sue....ITC FTC, and BBB reports also were answered that only many repeated dishonest dealings would be addressed ( their quota to lable it a 'scam' )

since the long delay in arrvial of her defective merchandise, the time it took to re-ship it back, and the subsequent time to realize she had stole my money, it had by ONE DAY passed EBay and PayPAl's so-called 1 month limit to file and recover funds

so my sincere apologies if I seem at all upset by a EBAY seller, who after cheating me out of almost $200, is not only still selling, and selling the same defective 'A-just-a' balance boards, but has been awarded the rank of POWER SELLER for her efforts

WAY TO GO EBAY !!!!

finally, this board talks of all the things they do to help others.....show me one piece of advice that I have not tried already or that would prove to, if not recovering my money, would at least force this thief to change their user name to be able to continue to rip-off future buyers

no I don't use EBAY for purchases anymore, as your comment mentioned.....should then I not alert future potential buyers of the inherent defects in EBAY/PAYPAL system ??? oh right, you are here to protect them....I forgot

my posts are not aimed at any good-hearted people trying to help, rather alerting unsuspecting potential buyers that EBAY/PAYPAL will literally turn their back on them if they have problems....

but oh right, you are here to help...I forgot

no where in any post was I seeking help.....if the numerous law enforcement and fraud agencies hasn't done any good, why in the world would I think any volunteers could ???

Again, my posts were to alert future buyers, not to antagonize the 'good-hearted' volunteers

lastly, kudos to (names deleted) for telling it like it is, and not trying to sugar coat EBAY"s ineptness

I received two messages from EBAY's forum monitors teling me I had 'broken the rules' in previous posts by mentioning the offending party by user name

Funny, how they are so on top of the forum thing but did DIDDLYSQUAT to solve the original problem or deter this dishonest seller

as (name deleted) so eloquently put it, protecting $7000 a month in sellers fees is EBAY's only concern ( though I doubt we're talking about the same indiviual )

good luck to all, I find it amusing that people who no little about the problem (names deleted) think they're the magic cure-all

instead of reprimanding ripped-off buyers, their efforts would be better served in resolving the flaws

so my sincere apologies if I seem at all upset by a EBAY seller, who after cheating me out of almost $200, is not only still selling, and selling the same defective 'A-just-a' balance boards, but has been awarded the rank of POWER SELLER for her efforts

Just to clarify something in there OP.. the "rank" of PowerSeller means nothing in terms of how good the seller is. Powerseller "rank" is judged merely on the amount of sales that they do, and heck, the FB standards for PowerSellers maintaining their status is pathetic. Just because you run into a PowerSeller, doesn't mean that they have good business practices. (BTW, I am speaking AS a PowerSeller, so you can see how much I respect that program...)

silly (name deleted) again you do not know ANYTHING of what you speak....a fraud complaint WAS filed with EBAY, WAY before the 3 month time.......they did NOTHING, no resolution, and the seller was NEVER suspended even for a day

go help people you can actually help instead of sticking your nose where you know nothing

you say many people have recovered funds due to your help

bravo...seriously....noone wants to see themselves or other ripped off

but the following list is from another current poster.....I already had tried 80% of these suggestions, all to no avail...

I'll offer you a more sincere apology if you actually can do something instead of reprimanding people for simply trying to alert future buyers...

put your advice where your mouth is....