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« on: November 27, 2009, 11:24 AM »
Excellent warning. I've adopted the strategy of always using my credit card through PayPal (whenever possible). If any vendor tries to stiff me (by violating the terms of sale), PayPal gets contacted immediately and I register a dispute with them against that vendor. From PayPal:
'If you are unable to resolve a dispute with a seller, you may file a claim that a PayPal investigating agent will review. If you are unable to resolve the dispute, the next step is to file a formal complaint. At this point – depending on fund availability in the seller’s account – the funds are frozen for the amount of the transaction. PayPal will contact both parties. If our investigation team finds the claim in favor of the buyer, the amount of the transaction, if available from the seller, will be transferred back to the buyer.' (Plus, they can revoke the vendor's account with them. As the world's premier e-commerce transaction agent, that can be quite crippling.)
PS - Of course, the above is in addition to the protections offered by my individual credit card issuer(s).