ebay shady fees?

[yugimon-the-gathering]

Attached screenshot. I made a purchase. It was a brand new listing, and as soon as I purchase it the seller contacts me and says they actually sold out and don't have it. Okay. I tell him to give me refund. The price was $159 USD. I "paid" 159 USD and I was supposed to be refunded 159 USD.

But according to my credit card, I paid $218.61, and was refunded $209.86. So.... what? eBay took the $9 service charge for a transaction that never happened? 

[femmefan1946]

More likely Paypal since eBay doesn't actually process your payments. And eBay no longer owns Paypal.

There is a difference between the buy and the sell price of foreign exchange.

https://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=1&From=USD&To=CAD

Note that: All figures are live mid-market rates, which are not available to consumers and are for informational purposes only.

If you go to your bank's website you can see what the current rate for buying and selling is. Don't expect PP's rates to be any better.

You could also cross check those buy/sell rates with a local credit union and a foreign exchange company.  They will likely all have different rates.

That may not account for much, but it is a start.

The best place to enquire would be  Paypal Customer Service.

[femmefan1946]

FWIW - your seller is probably worse off.

Not only did he get a Defect on his eBay selling account, which may raise his fees or restrict the number and value of his listings, but Paypal will not refund him the 30 cents + 4.4% of payment they charged him for processing your payment.

But that's his problem not yours.

You paid $209US and you got back $209US. The difference is somewhere in the currency exchange.

[ichopshop]

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@femmefan1946 wrote:

More likely Paypal since eBay doesn't actually process your payments. And eBay no longer owns Paypal.

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Could be Ebay Managed Payments, but same exchange rate issue applies....

Ian

[lady.stark]

When you paid with PayPal, did it say the exchange rate would be determined by the credit card issuer? If so, your credit card company kept the difference based on the exchange rate on the day the refund was made. I would call them to ask if they would agree to use the same rate as the one when you made the payment since it is a refund.

But they could refuse.

[brettjet38]

The difference is ``currency exchange fees`` which are the Buyer's responsibility and are not refundable...

[lady.stark]

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@brettjet38 wrote:

The difference is ``currency exchange fees`` which are the Buyer's responsibility and are not refundable...

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Some credit card companies will accept to do it as a courtesy. Especially if you are a long term client.

Others won't.

But you never know unless you ask first.