Well, the eBay saga continues. After the previously posted problems with Cyclo_Network, I also failed to receive any goods 5 weeks after paying another German seller, charley's-auktionen. The seller claimed no responsibility because I had not paid for insured shipping, and stated he had shipped on Dec29, but offered no proof. I again filed eBay and PayPal complaints just before the 30 day PayPal deadline. I received notice today that PayPal had determined the seller was at fault and had obtained a refund of $153 of the $160 price. This seller was offering goods very similar to Cyclo-Network and the format of the auction pages was also similar, so perhaps this is just another Cyclo-Network alias. The mail from Germany is very slow just now - it took me a month to receive a Peugeot from list member Kim Klakow. But apparently PayPal found there was something more than slow mail involved in the charly's-auktionen case.
Being of German descent myself, it pains me, but I have concluded to avoid German eBay sellers in general, except for CR list members like Kim. The deals seem great, but the goods never arrive. I never had any doubts, on the other hand, that the bike from Kim would arrive. I've never been stiffed on a deal by a CR member, so I have a lot of trust in anyone who is an established list member.
By the way, I still resent the way PayPal manipulates members into linking in bank accounts, but I have to admit, they are 2 for 2 in recovering all or most of my money in eBay fraud cases. Credit where credit is due.
Regards,
Jerry Moos
Houston, TX