It's Christmas in July for about 60 eBay shoppers.

Unfortunately, that's Christmas 2003 in July 2004.

Since last November, a group of antique aficionados has been trying to lay claim to furniture they bought on eBay from the China-based company Fufu's Chinese Antiques. The shipment sat in Long Beach, CA since then, tangled up in billing and legal disputes after Fufu apparently went too broke to pay its shipper.

On Saturday, July 10, the container of furniture finally saw the light of day. Some shoppers - some of whom flew to southern California for the occasion - took their goods home immediately. Some will have them shipped later. Other buyers are still disappointed, as not all the merchandise was found.

How did this eight-month tie-up even happen?

He Said/She Said

Some of the trouble started while Fufu's Chinese Antiques' PayPal account was limited last fall, and the company couldn't use its funds to pay its shipper. The shipping company, which presumably wanted its money as much as the buyers wanted their furniture, refused to release the goods when they reached California.

As if often the case when auctions go bad, Fufu's scorned customers lay some of the blame on eBay and PayPal. Buyers charge that PayPal started getting complaints about Fufu in May 2003 and limited Fufu's PayPal account in August 2003, but allowed buyers to transfer funds to Fufu until November 2003. PayPal spokesperson Amanda Pires said Fufu's account was restricted on October 22, "when numerous complaints began and PayPal began the investigation into the account. PayPal stopped all transactions as soon as we saw issues around this account."

Pires added, "The Fufu account is permanently suspended due to risk, with a zero balance." However, Fufu buyer and Los Angeles attorney Kellie Ann Moore alleges that when the account was frozen, there were funds in it, and "PayPal did not refund them. Credit card companies were told a service transaction was performed - yet was never completed."

Moore also has issues with eBay's policy of allowing feedback up to 90 days after the close of an auction, arguing that this is inadequate since some goods will take more than 90 days to ship. She suggested that eBay allow buyers to leave feedback for at least six months, which would better protect buyers in international auctions whose goods ship, as Fufu's furniture did, by sea.

eBay spokesman Hani Durzy defended the policy. "Six months [after an auction], do you have that transaction fresh in your mind?" he asked. Knowing the time limit for eBay's protection policies, it's up to the buyer to contact the seller and see how long shipment will take, said Durzy, then "it's entirely up to them" to decide to buy or not.

A Chinese soap opera

Meanwhile, Fufu's Los Angeles agent, Rodney Fee, had disappeared on the heels of a rumor that his wife had had an affair with another Fufu employee. A man who claims to be a Fufu employee in China says Fee took $60,000 with him - money that was supposed to pay the shipper.

According to Moore, the shipping company then decided to sell the furniture to whoever wanted it, to recover its shipping costs owed by Fufu. That's when buyers stepped up the pressure on local detectives to start a criminal investigation. On Christmas Eve, the Long Beach Police Department transferred the shipping container to its own warehouse.

Fortunately for Fufu's embattled buyers, Moore's legal expertise helped free the furniture: California Penal Code section 1407-1413 basically states that when the police receive stolen property, it can be given to the owner (and cannot be sold, like the shipping company wanted). Buyer Nancy Abbey found the group of Fufu buyers when she emailed a shopper who'd left negative eBay feedback for the company. She convinced another attorney, her friend Alan Pitcaithley, to join Moore in representing the group of buyers for free. The buyers split the cost of phone bills, faxing, stamps, and other costs.

Through payment receipts and item descriptions, the buyers proved themselves the legal, paid owners of the furniture. It was legally considered stolen, and a judge agreed that the penal code gave them the right to claim it. After a little bit of legal wrangling, a judge signed two orders to return the property. Some of the buyers had a conference call with the city of Long Beach, and everybody agreed to a July 10 viewing, when the city was scheduled to open the container.

The pick-up

Nancy Abbey, who lives not far from Long Beach in San Diego, volunteered to oversee the July 10 viewing of the now-dusty Fufu shipment. The viewing went smoothly: several crates of furniture went home with their rightful owners, and the rest was taken out of police custody and to a local warehouse. They even found a container that wasn't on their list of missing merchandise, and will contact its owner soon. All the furniture was in good condition.

The big pick-up didn't go off without a hitch: UHaul dropped the ball on Abbey's trailer reservation, so she hasn't claimed her furniture yet. Worse, Moore's furniture was not in the shipment.

Next, Abbey will contact shippers and get quotes (and, hopefully, a group rate) for non-local Fufu buyers. When the buyers choose a shipper, Abbey will work out the details, receive a bill of lading, and return to Long Beach to meet the shippers. If all goes well, a few more wronged shoppers will get their belated Christmas, too.

"We're absolutely thrilled," said Abbey, "We couldn't have done it without each other."