Two times in two years have I been burned using PayPal. It all comes down to the fact that PayPal is not a credit card. Always buy with a credit card on Ebay or over the Internet. With PayPal's exisiting policy the vendor is protected, not you. If they can hold you off from expecting a shipment for more than 45 days you have no recourse with that vendor and PayPal will do NOTHING. Even if you buy through Ebay, they only offer you up to $200.00 refund. So if you buy a $500.00 item you are screwed for $300.00.
The key is buy anything you can over the Internet with a credit card or you have very little leverage should a deal go sour.
This goes hand and hand with my recent article on Poor Customer Service. I have been waiting for legislation that forces PayPal to act like most legitimate businesses of the world but that has not yet happened. Don't think it can't, it should. Should a class action suit pop up, I personally will be a part of it. Until then, take my advice don't use PayPal if you don't need to. Of course unless you are an unscruplous vendor such as the one I just got cheated by:
Collectors Warehouse & Gifts
23126 Hawthorne Blvd.
Torrance, CA 90505(310) 375-2255
This company ignored multiple e-mails then sent a bulk boiler plate response out to everyone that bought the same product I did only to ignore my mulitple responses to that e-mail where I asked them for a refund. ZERO response, zero customer care, zero worthyness of your hard earned money. When it came time for a refund through Ebay, they said the product was already shipped. But it wasn't. Couldn't provide tracking... Good luck to you if you want to do business with them. What I say happened, did. At least be careful buying from them if you want a real Darth Varder Supreme Costume. I guess I'll be Spiderman for Halloween this year.
FOLLOW UP: I've recently learned you may still have hope if your PayPal account is linked by a credit card. You can dispute the charge for non-shipment etc... through your Credit Card vendor. If you know this to be true or false comment here. I will once I've explored this option.
