Re: Wolf King Dr. Chemical Poisoning Sixth Scale Figure (Breaking Bad)
I trust eBay because of buyer protection and PayPal runs directly through them. I won't preorder stuff there but once items are actually out I'd trust them more than a lot of places (depending on seller feedback and other variables). I've never heard of Monkey Depot so I guess I didn't know how reputable they are.
What is eBay Buyer Protection? That's a rhetorical question. It's simply a program run through PayPal. What are they protecting you from? It's simply a marketing gimmick. If a guy rips you off, you still end up going through PayPal, and if the guy is smart, he will clean out his PayPal account, and PayPal can't do anything.
eBay doesn't offer anything that credit cards don't already do, eBay just charges sellers 10% so that buyers can 'feel safe'. I got ripped off years ago from an eBay seller, and PayPal said "Sorry, there's no money in his account, so we can't refund you." So, I said "Screw it" and called my credit card company. I got my refund a day or two later. eBay has done a tremendous job marketing themselves as some safe haven, while credit cards have always just 'been there'.
Credit cards are just as safe, I'd argue MORE safe than PayPal for precisely that reason. If you don't get what you ordered, you dispute it with your CC, and you get your money back. With PayPal, the seller has to have money in their account for anything to happen. eBay and PayPal make millions in their business, but when it hits the fan, they're not going to help you.
Hell, when my CC got hacked, my bank instantly shut the card down and called me. If my PayPal account gets hacked, is PayPal going to call me and let me know?? Probably not.
Further than that, eBay gives Chinese sellers highly discounted shipping and makes it unfair for US sellers trying to sell the same product. It's ******** that it's cheaper for people to buy an item from China than it is to buy that same item from a US retailer. Why the **** Chinese sellers can ship an item with USPS ePacket for free, and I end up paying $3.55 to send the same item to New York blows my mind. But that's kind of a political discussion that's not suited for the boards, but I just wanted to throw that out there to explain why I have an extreme distaste for eBay/PayPal.
Basically, if you want to support US retailers, buy from a store and pay with a credit card.
/rant