Sellers and "Ambiguity" or "Integrity" of "item as described" descriptions on eBay

Ebay is the home of pure garbage i would buy nothing or trust no one on ebay.Good luck though!!

Wow, this is an old thread from 7 to 12 months ago, suddenly getting picked up again.

I never paid for the item as I had bought it with Paypal credit and then withheld payment. I canceled my Paypal credit account and sent them a cease and desist letter.

I will try to provide more details later, but the short story is that the seller - from Colorado, he sells audio and golf clubs, go figure - said the item worked perfectly in 4 places in a 1,000+ word ad, he supplied links to positive reviews which was more reading, and buried in small print toward the end of the ad were the words “driver and servo only” which I didn’t even see until after I discovered on my own that the reason it may not be “performing perfectly” was that it needed a non-stock cord that he failed to provide, when I asked him if he forgot to pack it he said it didn’t need it but it most definitely did need it, and without it he could not claim that the unit “worked perfectly” because you would not even know if the servo was controlling the woofer. The guy lied and doubled down on the lie. And Ebay and Paypal took his side.

Paypal paid for the item, I plan to ship it to them since they now own it.

I bought another one from somebody closer to home. He lives in Baltimore (he designs cables for the Pentagon and says “don’t spend a lot of money on audio cable”, lol). It does “work perfectly”.

Good for you!
It is too bad that a few bad apples spoil the Ebay.
Unlike ebm, I have had only 2 bad experiences on Ebay in over 17 years (including the episode I described in a previous post).
Bob

What’s confusing about the experience is that the guy had a 100% rating on over 5000 transactions. He was clearly deceptive and dishonest. 

You did not look at the photos carefully really ? Big mistake. Your responsible is look at them VERY carefully BEFORE you buy anything on eBay or Audiogon or whatever. Basic rules, when you have bought an item you have responsible to filling the contract. Your responsible.
But now you can´t use the item because it´s missing a vital part ? Seller´s responsible. But if the seller accepts return, you can send it back. Basic rules. No worries.

PayPal is fool proof for all buyers because they PayPal doesn´t ask anything. But you actually never paid for the item ?? So you lost nothing, truly ? Why are complaining then ? I have read your sentences many times but I can´t make real sense of it. Well right, I try to see it this way: You have the item but not the vital part for it ? If this is the case it´s your right to sent the damn thing back.

Anyway, you should be lucky that if you had paid it using PayPal they did not freeze your account and kept YOUR funds for unknown period of time. Yah, they stab at your back and say nothing whatever happens. Silent faceless monster.
Like they did mine, nearly three thousand bucks. Just like that. And almost ruined my economy. Well, actually eBay sided me because they finally after my five weeks battle admitted that it was not my fault at all. Of course it wasn´t ´cos I never hided anything. The guy reported to eBay that he wanted museum quality (his words) of a 39 year old TT. But never complained it´s fuctionality, that´s after all the the important thing in all sales. LMAO

Arrogant and criminal buyer, funny from former communist country btw, tried to rip me off but when he tried to fool both eBay and PayPal, that was the icing of his cake : ) Well, this time I was lucky but they don´t fool me, never again.

PayPal has ruined both eBay and Audiogon. And made all honest sellers outlaws. PayPal is the biggest scam artist since communism. If eBay (and Audiogon) some day really gets rid of PayPal as mentioned here is victory to all, especially all honest sellers.
Fingers crossed, the world may still have hope.
And good luck for OP. Don´t get me wrong I´m on your side, just be more careful next time. Your story is way different than mine but we both are victims of circumstances. (In the end I wasn´t, actually).