eBay

tristangre997 · ‎04-23-2024

I sold a phone on eBay and the dude immediately wanted a refund when it was "delivered", I found out later he was using a freight forwarding service.

The package he sent back had a fake name and address on it so the post office sent it back, I talked to the post office and they gave me the image taken when packages are sorted and a letter confirming what happened, but eBay still said they confirmed what label the buyer used.

The PO also gave me all package details and I also sent them to ebay, it had everything that they should need including weight, which didn't match the phones weight at all.

Are they stupid or just in on these types of scams?

ittybitnot · ‎04-23-2024

Are they stupid or just in on these types of scams?

@tristangre997

eBay's first line of defense is denial in hopes that you give up and go away. What you need to do is quit using the outsourced foreign customer service you get in call back or chat, and contact eBay about this via one of their social media portals. One such contact is to use the BLUE MESSAGE button at the top of this page:

https://www.facebook.com/eBayForBusiness

It will put you in contact with US based eBay employees that are quite familiar with this, and do have the authority to help you. Since you have the USPS letter, you need to explain that you are a victim of a fraudulent fake tracking return scam involving a buyer that used a freight forwarder. You can, once contacted, upload jpg's . of the USPS letter, and any other evidence that was provided to you without the info. crossed out.

Generally speaking, buyers that use Freight Forwarders give up the right to file MBG claims at all. The problem is, eBay treats it like any other sale. So unless the seller is knowledgeable about the protections afforded to sellers who ship to these buyers and know how to get the claim dismissed BEFORE they are required to accept the return, the usual fake tracking return scam will ensue.

The fake returns will either ship a cheap trinket to you using another label, or change the eBay generated PDF label to reflect alternate addresses in your zipcode.

BUYERS that are victims of the fake tracking scam can seek redress through PayPal or their credit card. SELLERS victims are at the mercy of eBay, for they do control the money and the outcome, so be nice!!

Know also, that you are not alone. It is a quite common scam, and you can read more here. Do let us know how it works out for you. While you are waiting for a reply, here is some reading material that may mention things I forgot to tell you. Good luck!

tristangre997 · ‎04-24-2024

Hey, the message in the screenshot is a message from the eBay for business Facebook account.

They said the team was able to verify the label the buyer used, even though the post office says otherwise. I was thinking they were either stupid, lazy, or in on these scams.

sin-n-dex · ‎04-24-2024

@tristangre997 wrote:
Hey, the message in the screenshot is a message from the eBay for business Facebook account.
They said the team was able to verify the label the buyer used, even though the post office says otherwise. I was thinking they were either stupid, lazy, or in on these scams.

You could be the victim of a bot response. You might not have been talking to a person.

C.

crazystuff4sale · ‎04-24-2024

Others have been through this same routine of losing an appeal followed with poor customer service responses.

I would keep contacting until you get someone who will actually look at the letter.

ittybitnot · ‎04-24-2024

@tristangre997

I did not realize that was an eBay for Business response. It is unlike them to actually take the word of their regular foreign CS reps, and in your screen shot I cannot see the full communication.

The use of the freight forwarder should be grounds for denial of their claim and to support you in this situation. "Buyers" use the eBay labels for returns, and since they are in PDF format, it is easy to change the address and retain the tracking number (issued by the eBay return system). The only thing I can say is to TRY AGAIN. Somedays it appears they have 'newbies' manning the chats. It could be as well that they just refuse to help. They don't have to, and may have been mandated to start denying instead of assisting which would surprise NOBODY here. You are not the first person that reports being denied that had the required documentation the past few days either.

So sorry I could not offer you more help.

ten_o_nine · ‎04-24-2024

I know what you're going thru, but eBay's customer support may not have the necessary training or expertise to handle complex cases like this. Freight forwarding services can be used to disguise the true recipient's identity and location, making it difficult for sellers to detect fraudulent activity.

a_c_green · ‎04-24-2024

@ittybitnot wrote:
"Buyers" use the eBay labels for returns, and since they are in PDF format, it is easy to change the address and retain the tracking number (issued by the eBay return system).

This is something I tried (apparently in vain) to explain to the eBay Shipping people at the Chicago meetup last year. I had a PDF label on my phone and showed it to them, bringing up the document's security settings to show how the label was not password-protected against modification, and thus could be changed to any other address at all. I guess it went over their heads, although to be fair, we were at a really noisy event in which alcohol was served. 😉 eBay in-person events seem to be few and far-between these days, so I don't know when my next opportunity may arise.

The USPS will deliver on the basis of the printed address, not the actual address embedded in the tracking barcode.

tristangre997 · ‎04-26-2024

I message them often on Facebook, and got a police report filed earlier. I'm also going to call them again and see what they say now.

tristangre997 · ‎04-26-2024

I'll keep trying until I get my money back, I'll get someone to actually look at the label the buyer actually used. I also got a police report and am going to report it stolen to Samsung, maybe they'll also tell me where the phone is at.