4 ms·

Have you called an attorney? If you have one that you're on any kind of friendly basis, I've generally found that you can get a quick read on your case (30 min

Have you called an attorney? If you have one that you're on any kind of friendly basis, I've generally found that you can get a quick read on your case (30 minutes' worth of time) without any cost. IANAL -- first and foremost -- but I would think the best tactic may be to go after PayPal to get them to discharge your supposed debt to them, given that you've already swept the money out. Their seller's assurance contract terms would seem to be vague around what is required for the item to be determined "not as received" -- also, as you mention, there is a a pattern on behalf of the seller -- is EBay/Paypal acting dilligently to protect your interest in return for your seller's fees and auction fees?

jliptzin 14y ago
LOL! What attorney would give a crap about a $500 phone? The sad truth is that in this system of ours, you can screw someone for up to $50-100k and get away with it because that's the minimum potential damages amount that would pique a decent attorney's interest.
- CamperBob2 14y ago
  What attorney would give a crap about a $500 phone? A class-action attorney?
  - NoPiece 14y ago
    The attorney will make millions, the guy will walk away with a coupon for 5% of his next Ebay purchase. There has been some success recently in suing corporations in small claims court. There is an argument that a genreal delivery address should not have been 'verified'.
    - Karunamon 14y ago
      Class action suits are less about getting restitution and more about forming a large enough clue-by-four to beat misbehaving companies with
    - ceol 14y ago
      The point of a class-action suit isn't for the victims to recoup damages. It's to force the corporation (in this case, eBay) to change some sort of behavior that a suit from a single person wouldn't have been able to accomplish.
  - Metapony 14y ago
    Didn't paypal just remove the ability to sue them in a class action suit just recently?
- URSpider94 14y ago
  Jaded much? I think that depends a lot on what you mean "a decent attorney". Sure, a partner at Proskauer isn't going to take your call, but in my experience, the nice woman with the office down the street might be glad to help you put together a plan, critique your demand letter, etc. This kind of "decent attorney" is willing to work with you on the small stuff, in the hopes that you'll come back to her in the future with bigger business, and refer your friends and family as well. A piece of advice -- as you mature and your life becomes more complex, it's not a bad thing to have a good relationship with an attorney. Here are some situations that have come up in my life: Reviewing my ISO and non-compete agreements when I took a start-up job Getting my security deposit back from a landlord who would not pay up Reviewing the sale agreement for same start-up 10 years later Representing me at closing when I bought my first home Advising me when my bank "misplaced" a $10,000 deposit for over a month (they cashed the check but didn't credit my account) Discussing will and estate planning when my first child was born For all of this, and probably some other things I'm forgetting, I probably paid him less than $2,000 total -- and half of that was in closing costs on the house. More recently, a different attorney (I moved) handled another landlord-tenant dispute for me with a couple of letters to the landlord's attorney, and never even sent me a bill.
  - mcherm 14y ago
    I think your experience may be atypical. But it's great to hear such a positive story.
  - gregpilling 14y ago
    I have had similar experiences with attorneys that are single person practices or a partnership. As the firms get larger, they are less likely to miss any minutes of billing. In fact I am meeting my lawyer tomorrow for lunch, I am sure I will pay and I am sure I will not get a bill for his time. I am also sure that we will spend an hour talking about a small legal issue that I need advice on. URSpider is correct, it is good to have a friendly lawyer.

jliptzin 14y ago

LOL! What attorney would give a crap about a $500 phone? The sad truth is that in this system of ours, you can screw someone for up to $50-100k and get away with it because that's the minimum potential damages amount that would pique a decent attorney's interest.

CamperBob2 14y ago
What attorney would give a crap about a $500 phone? A class-action attorney?
- NoPiece 14y ago
  The attorney will make millions, the guy will walk away with a coupon for 5% of his next Ebay purchase. There has been some success recently in suing corporations in small claims court. There is an argument that a genreal delivery address should not have been 'verified'.
  - Karunamon 14y ago
    Class action suits are less about getting restitution and more about forming a large enough clue-by-four to beat misbehaving companies with
  - ceol 14y ago
    The point of a class-action suit isn't for the victims to recoup damages. It's to force the corporation (in this case, eBay) to change some sort of behavior that a suit from a single person wouldn't have been able to accomplish.
- Metapony 14y ago
  Didn't paypal just remove the ability to sue them in a class action suit just recently?
URSpider94 14y ago
Jaded much? I think that depends a lot on what you mean "a decent attorney". Sure, a partner at Proskauer isn't going to take your call, but in my experience, the nice woman with the office down the street might be glad to help you put together a plan, critique your demand letter, etc. This kind of "decent attorney" is willing to work with you on the small stuff, in the hopes that you'll come back to her in the future with bigger business, and refer your friends and family as well. A piece of advice -- as you mature and your life becomes more complex, it's not a bad thing to have a good relationship with an attorney. Here are some situations that have come up in my life: Reviewing my ISO and non-compete agreements when I took a start-up job Getting my security deposit back from a landlord who would not pay up Reviewing the sale agreement for same start-up 10 years later Representing me at closing when I bought my first home Advising me when my bank "misplaced" a $10,000 deposit for over a month (they cashed the check but didn't credit my account) Discussing will and estate planning when my first child was born For all of this, and probably some other things I'm forgetting, I probably paid him less than $2,000 total -- and half of that was in closing costs on the house. More recently, a different attorney (I moved) handled another landlord-tenant dispute for me with a couple of letters to the landlord's attorney, and never even sent me a bill.
- mcherm 14y ago
  I think your experience may be atypical. But it's great to hear such a positive story.
- gregpilling 14y ago
  I have had similar experiences with attorneys that are single person practices or a partnership. As the firms get larger, they are less likely to miss any minutes of billing. In fact I am meeting my lawyer tomorrow for lunch, I am sure I will pay and I am sure I will not get a bill for his time. I am also sure that we will spend an hour talking about a small legal issue that I need advice on. URSpider is correct, it is good to have a friendly lawyer.