topic Re: Intangible in Buying

Intangible

neilonlyneil — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 03:00:15 GMT

I was not covered by Paypal's buyer protection becuase they said the item was not tangible.

It was an iTunes card that was mailed sent via the post and could not be redeemed for reasons I will never know.

What is an intangible item? I would have thought it was the promise of good and services - something you can not post in the mail.

But I was wrong.

Re: Intangible

the-kazbar — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 03:04:17 GMT

Well I would say that it was because you were purchasing credit.

You were not really purchasing the card itself (ie the piece of plastic itelf has no value), but the credit attached to the card is the item and I guess ebay has deemed it not tanglible.

Re: Intangible

patchoo78 — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 03:27:35 GMT

You know you can buy iTunes cards at pretty much any department store and supermarkets..

Re: Intangible

kopenhagen5 — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 04:17:05 GMT

I have always understood that electronic items or intangible, in other words it's not physical is not allowed. However if you received a card, that is tangible and I thought was allowed, at least I think so by ebay. Maybe PayPal's rules are a little different.

Re: Intangible

putney32 — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 04:23:03 GMT

I remember reading somewhere, that store credits/ gift cards etc are NOT covered by paypal. You'd need to check the paypal website, but itunes would be just like any other gift card

Re: Intangible

lyndal1838 — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 04:28:16 GMT

Gift cards are not covered by paypal at all.

Re: Intangible

phorum_junkie* — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 04:35:35 GMT

Paypal were probably right but for the wrong reason, it was a tangible item but it would come under the category of gift cards as others have said. If you funded your payment with a credit card you may be able to do a bank chargeback.

Re: Intangible

patchoo78 — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 05:12:23 GMT

Technically it is a tangible item, but as others have said, you are not paying for the card, you are paying for the credit which is on the card.

Despite getting something physical in the mail, iTunes cards don't count as tangible.

Re: Intangible

lyndal1838 — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 06:13:35 GMT

It really does not matter whether the iTunes card is tangible or intangible. It is not depending on anyone's ideas as to whether they are tangiible or intangible as paypal specifically excludes coverage for gift cards and have done so for as long as I can remember.

Re: Intangible

2106greencat — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 07:17:22 GMT

Simple reason most likely being, how can you guarantee the value of said card will still be available, someone could use it to whithin an inch of it's life, leave a $2.00 credit on a $50.00 card, and how could you prove who spent what?

Re: Intangible

patchoo78 — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 07:28:26 GMT

I would hate to be the OP right now.. Tried to save $20 and now has lost $80 with no recourse

Re: Intangible

i-once-was-bump — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 07:42:35 GMT

the cards have a scratch panel on the back and you only scratch that when you use the card for the first time, it is how they try to stop anything dodgy by hiding the PIN.

If you get a Woolies card eg you also get the amount it has been charged with printed on the back of the card whereas the itunes have dollar amounts on blank cards.

that way the itunes can be picked up in the shop and not charged with any amount of money and then given/sold but valueless.

There are some safe cards to buy on eBay but you really need to know what you are buying and how it works.

Re: Intangible

carly2579 — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 08:25:09 GMT

you can buy a 20 dollar itunes card at any woolworth kmart coles etc

Re: Intangible

putney32 — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 09:48:22 GMT

if you look on the listing you will see that there is NO Paypal protection listed, because it's listed under gift cards (the category itunes falls under), therefore there was never any paypal protection offered, so unfortunatly you have lost your $80 payment.

Re: Intangible

carly2579 — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 10:49:54 GMT

justa thought but 3 buyers couldnt get them to work depending on where the seller got them maybe the cards were not eletronically unlocked hence the codes dont work try taking it to woolworths or coles they can scan them and unlock them

Re: Intangible

*new2vintage — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 10:55:29 GMT

I can understand why a download doesn't qualify for Paypal protection but a card is a physical item.

Re: Intangible

patchoo78 — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 10:59:25 GMT

Yes, but as stated before you are not buying the card, you are buying the credit on the card for use in iTunes.. Once it has been used, the card has no value...

Also there is no protection for gift cards apparently...

Maybe the cards were stolen.. Just a thought

Re: Intangible

carly2579 — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 11:01:02 GMT

yes they can only be used once too so if stolen they could have been used and then resold.........

Re: Intangible

*new2vintage — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 11:03:03 GMT

I understand the situation but what stands out to me is the card is an actual solid item. Also you can't obtain things without it just like you can't buy something without a credit or ATM card.

Re: Intangible

patchoo78 — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 11:07:08 GMT

You can use iTunes without a gift card, but you have to have a debit/credit card for that..

Regardless of whether the card was tangible or not, it was listed in the gift cards category so no PayPal protection

The cards might have also been stolen without being activated... Seems a bit fishy that the seller would have 3 $100 iTunes cards and none of them worked..

The seller has also not responded to any of the feedback left