Question : PayPal & eBay Scam - What Can I Do Now?

I sold a Sony Bravia projector on September 9th, 2008 in brand new condition via eBay to a buyer in New York -> seller name: PowerSellerNYC. The transaction was completed through PayPal. I sent him a message through eBay to make sure he was satisfied. He said the projector was scratched up and in horrible condition. I had used it for only a few hours to test it out and then put it back in the original packaging for UPS to deliver. It arrived at his residence three days later per the tracking number.

He filed an NSAD (Significantly Not As Described) with PayPal; PayPal ruled in my favor and put the money back in to my account. Then he went to his credit card company and had the charge reversed, so now I'm out the $777.10 for the projector. He won't return the projector now and I can't trust that it would be returned in the same condition.

I transferred the money out of my bank account; now, I owe PayPal $777.10. I don't even have the projector anymore. What can I do? Anyone been in a similar situation?

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             Here's the e-mail (I've removed personally identifying information for myself and the buyer):
 
"
Dear James [deleted, My Last Name],
 
As you know, we have been using the information you provided to dispute a
chargeback filed against the transaction detailed below. Despite our best
efforts, the buyer's credit card company decided in favor of the buyer.
 
Unfortunately, we do not control the outcome of the chargeback decision
reached by the buyer's issuing bank in a credit card transaction. By
accepting the terms of the PayPal User Agreement, you agreed to accept the
decision of the issuing bank as final and legally binding for this type of
dispute.
 
Please review the information below for more details about this case.
 
-----------------------------------
Details of Disputed Transaction
-----------------------------------
 
 
Buyer's Name:[deleted, Buyer's Name]
Buyer's Email:[deleted, Buyer's e-mail Address]
Buyer's Transaction ID: [deleted, Buyer's Transaction ID]
 
Transaction Date:Sep 9, 2008
Transaction Amount:-$777.10 USD
Case #:[deleted, Case Number]
Your Transaction ID: [deleted, My Transaction ID]
 
 
-----------------------------------
What to Do Next
-----------------------------------
 
We encourage you to contact the buyer directly to try to resolve the matter
or to recover your merchandise.
 
We understand that you may not have been expecting this chargeback. If this
chargeback has made your PayPal account balance negative, please reimburse
us by adding funds to your account or by sending a check to the following
address:
 
PayPal
Attn: Accounting Department
P.O. Box 45950
Omaha, NE 68145-0950
United States
 
-----------------------------------
Due Dates
-----------------------------------
 
None.
 
 
-----------------------------------
Other Details
-----------------------------------
 
There are no other details regarding this transaction at this time.
 
 
Thank you for your patience and cooperation in helping us with this matter.
We appreciate your business and regret that you experienced a chargeback.
 
Sincerely,
PayPal
Chargeback Department
 
Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and you
will not receive a response. For assistance, log in to your PayPal account
and click the Help link in the top right corner of any PayPal page.
 
To review the PayPal User Agreement, visit the PayPal site and click the
"User Agreement" link on the bottom of any page.
[deleted, tracking info]
 
 
 
----------------------------------------------------------------
 
PayPal Email ID [deleted, PayPal email ID]
"
           
         

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Answer : PayPal & eBay Scam - What Can I Do Now?

Well I know for a fact here in Australia with visa or mastercard if your not happy with the product they can do a chargeback like what has happened to you. But I thought they would have delved into the situation a bit better than that.

Before contacting a lawyer as I had first described try contacting PayPal again if you have not already done so. Even though they said it's out of their hands it looks like just a computer generated email reply.

Did he leave feedback for you after he had received the item? If he left the positive feedback afterwards well he doesn't really have a leg to stand on! I'm positive in the court of law he is just trying to get the projector for free and that's it. Simple as that. And I know you already know that, i'm just saying this just to reassure you that there is someone else that is supporting you.

You need to write out all the times that you have contacted this buyer, when you sent the item, when he received the item. Print out the tracking number and the details. And if you have photos of the item before sending it.

Another thing is did the buyer contact you directly to try and resolve this issue or did they file for one of those refund things through PayPal?

Ask the buyer to send you photos as well of the projector and the packaging. If he doesn't, well he is digging a grave for himself really.

If you decided to take this to court I would be very surprised if you didn't come out on top. The biggest thing that you need to do though is to gather all your evidence before charging in, be prepared! I learnt the hard way mate, I should know. I wasn't prepared at all with my ebay dispute. And I looked like a bloody idiot. But once I had all the evidence it was all sweet.