scammed when selling bitcoins on ebay

[deepceleron]

The trick to selling bitcoins on eBay is to sell a physical product (that you can track) and slip-in a paper bitcoin(s) at no charge.  Like this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160771756692

That way you have ammunition if buyer disputes/charges-back.

The buyer will file a item-not-as-described, and eBay will tell them to mail back the item. When the buyer mails back a package with a tracking number showing something was returned, regardless of whether they returned an empty box, a rock, or a piece of paper with a now-empty bitcoin address, the scam buyer gets their refund.

[Xmufa23X]

I got suspended for selling paperclips with free bitcoins 2 days ago, and yes i sent the damn clips with a tracking number. They want all kind of documents to re-enable my account. I had only positive votes with them but the fees are killing me so i think i will pass doing something about it. They will get to know bitcoin in the end.

Ahh, so are you the guy that stole my paperclip idea? I've never seen it done before, so I thought I'd give it a try with 5BTC+Paperclip. About a week later a couple of auctions using the same stainless steel paperclip, and even copy/pasted text, showed up. Hilarious that I get to meet the guy that stole me idea.

[amexpay]

Never EVER buy virtual currency on ebay!!

[Electricbees]

One time, in the past, I tried to buy New Zealand on ebay... I was outbid very quickly...

[paraipan]

I got suspended for selling paperclips with free bitcoins 2 days ago, and yes i sent the damn clips with a tracking number. They want all kind of documents to re-enable my account. I had only positive votes with them but the fees are killing me so i think i will pass doing something about it. They will get to know bitcoin in the end.

Ahh, so are you the guy that stole my paperclip idea? I've never seen it done before, so I thought I'd give it a try with 5BTC+Paperclip. About a week later a couple of auctions using the same stainless steel paperclip, and even copy/pasted text, showed up. Hilarious that I get to meet the guy that stole me idea.

haha, the copyright is yours i just used it without change because they were perfect. Should start pouring paperclips or personal autographs on ebay with free bitcoins so they find out what the free market is. They trowed their TOS at me a few times without specifying clearly why the suspension, say it's a routine check.

[Xmufa23X]

I got suspended for selling paperclips with free bitcoins 2 days ago, and yes i sent the damn clips with a tracking number. They want all kind of documents to re-enable my account. I had only positive votes with them but the fees are killing me so i think i will pass doing something about it. They will get to know bitcoin in the end.

Ahh, so are you the guy that stole my paperclip idea? I've never seen it done before, so I thought I'd give it a try with 5BTC+Paperclip. About a week later a couple of auctions using the same stainless steel paperclip, and even copy/pasted text, showed up. Hilarious that I get to meet the guy that stole me idea.

haha, the copyright is yours i just used it without change because they were perfect. Should start pouring paperclips or personal autographs on ebay with free bitcoins so they find out what the free market is. They trowed their TOS at me a few times without specifying clearly why the suspension, say it's a routine check.

Yeah, I actually only did that one auction with the paperclip, then stopped because I ended up getting scammed on it. I called up Paypal, and they were actually pretty cool about it. I figured it was a hacked Paypal/Ebay account that bought the coins from me to begin with, and he confirmed that.

I had a pretty good chat with him for 20 minutes wondering when they would support Bitcoins, and other forms of electronics goods. I told him that at the rate goods are becoming "digitalized", that Ebay/Paypal will be at an extreme loss if they don't join in on the market. If they can't protect Sellers, then they will end up selling elsewhere instead of Ebay. He agreed with me, released the funds ($50), and even gave me tips on selling electronic goods and Bitcoins on Ebay. Totally not bullshitting.

Dunno why everyone hates Paypal so much. If you call them up with this mentality:
"Hurr Derr, Bitcoinz are soo cool and hipster! Paypal sucks balls and you guise should give me my monies back or I'll call teh cyber police on yo bitch asses!!!!"

Then yeah, what comes around goes around.

[ForceField]

Paperclips are not nearly transparent enough.  Any human that reviews your auction/sale will immediately see you're trying to bypass the rules.

The blu-ray (or other small tangible item) is much better because it moves the bitcoin to the secondary ("gift") position.  You're selling the small tangible item (not something silly like a paperclip) and makes the btc free.  If the scammer wants to dispute the sale he/she has to dispute the physical item.

Exactly.

If you've decided to take the risk and sell on eBay, then you may be better off using an inexpensive physical container for the Bitcoins such as:
CD / Floppy Disk / SD Card / USB Drive.

[Melt_Down]

isn't the record in the bitchain prove of delivery?
ofcourse he should have told you his bitcoinadress by "ebay mail"

[R-]

PayPal is notorious for being easily duped when dealing with disputes.

[blablahblah]

Isn't Paypal owned by Ebay, and Ebay owned/partly owned by the US Gov?

Bitcoin + (Ebay | Paypal) = playing with fire.

Individuals on the help lines might be very nice about Bitcoin burns, but I doubt that's the official policy.

[sd]

Paypal is a scam.

Exactly this. Paypal isn't slightly dodgy, it's not just that some people got on the wrong side of them, it's a long con to extract cash from people.

They have locked and kept the funds of a very large number of legitimate people including charity funds.


If you deal with paypal they will rob you. It's just a matter of time.

[R-]

Never EVER buy virtual currency on ebay!!

I think the moral of the story is ever SELL a virtual currency on eBay.

Robert

[Raoul Duke]

PayPal is not a scam.  You just have to play entirely by it's (sometimes extremely frustrating) rules.

Just like Bitcoin they have their protocol in place. The ones that don't follow the protocol get orphaned and rejected. Simple as that.

[paraipan]

PayPal is not a scam.  You just have to play entirely by it's (sometimes extremely frustrating) rules.

Just like Bitcoin they have their protocol in place. The ones that don't follow the protocol get orphaned and rejected. Simple as that.

true, true, great words hmm, we should try a 51% on them ?

[blablahblah]

good luck getting 51% of the copyrights and payment volume
none of them should be impossible but the price tag is ... challenging

Why buy when you can FORK?

I hereby present: PwnPal*

• A commercial wrapper for Bitcoin.
• Ridiculous fees.
• Nominal customer service.
• And one thing sure to put a smile on merchants' faces: no chargeback!

*If symptoms persist, please see your doctor.

[markus]

Paypal is a scam.

Exactly this. Paypal isn't slightly dodgy, it's not just that some people got on the wrong side of them, it's a long con to extract cash from people.

They have locked and kept the funds of a very large number of legitimate people including charity funds.

If you deal with paypal they will rob you. It's just a matter of time.

+1

They'll lock your account just for receiving too much money...

I wonder if they make more money from fees or from keeping funds.

[Raoul Duke]

Paypal is a scam.

Exactly this. Paypal isn't slightly dodgy, it's not just that some people got on the wrong side of them, it's a long con to extract cash from people.

They have locked and kept the funds of a very large number of legitimate people including charity funds.

If you deal with paypal they will rob you. It's just a matter of time.

+1

They'll lock your account just for receiving too much money...

I wonder if they make more money from fees or from keeping funds.

Your post just shows the utter ignorance most people have about Paypal.

They don't keep the money. At most they freeze it for 180 days, in case they close the account. After those 180 days they just send a check with the account balance to the address that the user registered with them.
If then user gave them a fake address and never get the check because of it is another matter.
If you're doing serious business why would you lie to them about your address in the first place?

[Xmufa23X]

ITT: Paypal is the devil! Hurr derr!




 

[cliffbtc]

It's against paypal terms of service to trade bitcoin on there. Sad to say  you don't really have a case, I would just cut your loses and not use paypal/ebay in the future.

[R-]

If then user gave them a fake address and never get the check because of it is another matter.
If you're doing serious business why would you lie to them about your address in the first place?

Exactly. Most of the people complaining about PayPal are under the age of 18. They clearly state in their TOS that you must be older than 18 years old. If you are using a fake address, there is probably a good reason for it (read: BAD REASON), and that is why PayPal will limit your account.