EBay.com
Deceptive Coupon sent to EBay buyers, luring them into purchases, then coupon denied San Jose, California

EBay posted a coupon on my EBay homepage, advertising 10% discount on any auction sale completed prior to 10/30/08. Maximum allowable discount on the coupon was $100. The coupon was in bright yellow, and had a coupon code displayed.

I was not going to buy anything, but after seeing the coupon, I realized that it would be great to buy a Nintendo Wii for my child for Christmas using the coupon. I would not have bought at this time had it not been for the advertised coupon.

I purchased a new Nintendo Wii on 10/28/08. When I tried to pay for the item, I entered the coupon code. EBay accepted the code, then transferred me to PayPal to complete the transaction. PayPal (which is an EBay company) said the code was invalid, and PayPal reversed the coupon deduction.

I contacted both EBay and PayPal. PayPal said that the coupon was not intended for the general public... It was meant for people with "negative EBay buying experiences." PayPal also said they could not see that particular coupon code.

I contacted EBay. EBay said that if the coupon had been intended for my use, it would have appeared in my EBay Message Inbox, rather than my homepage. The EBay Live Help rep said that the code and coupon I used was "for advertising purposes" and that it would only have been valid had it appeared in my EBay message Inbox rather than my homepage.

I cleaned out my EBay message Inbox recently, so I don't know if the coupon appeared in my Inbox. I do know, however, that the coupon was flashing bright yellow on my homepage, complete with a code.

I am not the only person with this problem. EBay has discussion boards, and there are many buyers with this same issue at this time.

One other issue is that EBay has the ability to customize each homepage for each user ID. For example, when I search for Nancy Drew books, the next time I log into EBay, my homepage will be full of Nancy Drew book auctions. If EBay intended this coupon only for a select few, they could have targeted the coupons to appear only in select homepages. They did not do that. They made this coupon available, to the best of my knowledge, to the general population.

I feel I was lured into buying something, and then denied the benefit of the coupon which prompted me to buy something at this time. Further, because I am hassling with this coupon issue, I have not paid the seller of the Nintendo Wii. Fortunately, he is being considerate of the problem that I am having, and I have promised to pay him regardless.

I do not feel that EBay was honest or forthright in this coupon escapade. I believe EBay owes me, and many other buyers who fell for the false coupon, money.

Company: EBay.com
Country: USA
Site: ebay.com

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