I think I've been scammed
Sep. 16th, 2026 11:38 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
adoreI sold a signed first edition of the Watersprite Tarot by Alison Muir McDonald on Facebook Marketplace. Or at least, I thought I sold it, but it looks like I've given it away in charity to an untrustworthy person.
The buyer PayPaled me after I dispatched the deck, so I thought it was all right. I had included a free Tarot of A Moon Garden deck as a gift, and when the package arrived safely he let me know and thanked me for the free deck. I got emails from PayPal confirming that I'd received the money. PayPal sends money automatically to my bank account so I didn't think to check further.
A few days ago I got an email from PayPal telling me that his payment was returned to him because I didn't "claim" it. PayPal never asked me to claim it! I talked to their customer service and they said all payments not in USD have to be manually claimed. I'm so angry. PayPal did not tell me that I needed to claim payments that aren't in USD via email before this, they only emailed me after the payment was returned and it was too late. And they say they can't help me now.
I have to keep good faith and trust that the buyer will repay me, since the payment was returned to him. I messaged him asking him to check his bank account and PayPal, since he would have received the return payment on the 12th of September. But while he has been coming online every day, he's ignoring my messages. It has been four days since the payment was returned to his account, and he would have been alerted of money coming in. So I expect him to say something about it. I wasn't worried at first, because our previous interaction led me to think (naively perhaps) that he could be trusted: he had paid me promptly before this and seemed genuinely grateful for the extra deck I'd included as a gift.
But he's not opening our chat despite logging in the past few days. Despite the notifs he's definitely getting of new messages from me. So there's a chance he won't pay me back, thinking he can get away with it. And maybe he can. PayPal doesn't have seller protection for something like this. And because this payment was returned after thirty days, it can't be disputed.
I've got to stop obsessively checking Facebook. This can't ruin my peace. I was inclined to trust him based on our previous interactions. All his thanks about the package arriving safely and the gift deck I'd included might have been insincere, I guess. I hate having my faith in humanity shaken. It's like I'm being punished for believing the best of people.
I also hate that this one source of extra money for me in my unemployed state is shaken, too. It's like I'm being punished for trying to make money, even though everyone is supposed to make money and I'm not doing something wrong. I'll probably still sell my other decks eventually, because having them weighs on my mind, as though I'm being extravagant by having so many (I know, I'm allowed to have nice things, but I'm not able to enjoy them because of how I feel about money right now). I'm not going to let one sly guy and stupid payment platform ruin it all for me.
All the same, I might get myself another copy of the Tarot of A Moon Garden, since I gifted the one I had with seemingly misplaced goodwill. Perhaps I'll get it as a present to myself the next time I land a job. There's now a borderless edition out and it's an affordable mass market deck.
The buyer PayPaled me after I dispatched the deck, so I thought it was all right. I had included a free Tarot of A Moon Garden deck as a gift, and when the package arrived safely he let me know and thanked me for the free deck. I got emails from PayPal confirming that I'd received the money. PayPal sends money automatically to my bank account so I didn't think to check further.
A few days ago I got an email from PayPal telling me that his payment was returned to him because I didn't "claim" it. PayPal never asked me to claim it! I talked to their customer service and they said all payments not in USD have to be manually claimed. I'm so angry. PayPal did not tell me that I needed to claim payments that aren't in USD via email before this, they only emailed me after the payment was returned and it was too late. And they say they can't help me now.
I have to keep good faith and trust that the buyer will repay me, since the payment was returned to him. I messaged him asking him to check his bank account and PayPal, since he would have received the return payment on the 12th of September. But while he has been coming online every day, he's ignoring my messages. It has been four days since the payment was returned to his account, and he would have been alerted of money coming in. So I expect him to say something about it. I wasn't worried at first, because our previous interaction led me to think (naively perhaps) that he could be trusted: he had paid me promptly before this and seemed genuinely grateful for the extra deck I'd included as a gift.
But he's not opening our chat despite logging in the past few days. Despite the notifs he's definitely getting of new messages from me. So there's a chance he won't pay me back, thinking he can get away with it. And maybe he can. PayPal doesn't have seller protection for something like this. And because this payment was returned after thirty days, it can't be disputed.
I've got to stop obsessively checking Facebook. This can't ruin my peace. I was inclined to trust him based on our previous interactions. All his thanks about the package arriving safely and the gift deck I'd included might have been insincere, I guess. I hate having my faith in humanity shaken. It's like I'm being punished for believing the best of people.
I also hate that this one source of extra money for me in my unemployed state is shaken, too. It's like I'm being punished for trying to make money, even though everyone is supposed to make money and I'm not doing something wrong. I'll probably still sell my other decks eventually, because having them weighs on my mind, as though I'm being extravagant by having so many (I know, I'm allowed to have nice things, but I'm not able to enjoy them because of how I feel about money right now). I'm not going to let one sly guy and stupid payment platform ruin it all for me.
All the same, I might get myself another copy of the Tarot of A Moon Garden, since I gifted the one I had with seemingly misplaced goodwill. Perhaps I'll get it as a present to myself the next time I land a job. There's now a borderless edition out and it's an affordable mass market deck.
no subject
Date: September 16th, 2026 08:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: September 16th, 2026 04:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: September 16th, 2026 09:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: September 16th, 2026 04:48 pm (UTC)Also your icon being so apt has made me smile :)
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Date: September 16th, 2026 11:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: September 16th, 2026 04:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: September 16th, 2026 11:40 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: September 16th, 2026 12:10 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: September 16th, 2026 02:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: September 16th, 2026 04:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: September 16th, 2026 03:00 pm (UTC)Also, it goes without saying, but still: Fuck PayPal.
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Date: September 16th, 2026 04:44 pm (UTC)Thanks for going ahead and saying it anyway, because it's so satisfying having it said on my behalf!
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Date: September 17th, 2026 03:09 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: September 19th, 2026 01:53 pm (UTC)