I think I've been scammed.

[binderzz]

24Dec I bought "Microsoft Office Professional 2010" for $59.  The seller is a dormant account only coming back alive to sell 65 copies of the above item over Christmas.

The seller has picked up their first negative with a comment saying something about the seller only "providing a tracking number" two weeks ago with no followup actual shipping.  I suspect I'm in the same boat and other negs will soon begin to pile up.

The seller is "located" in Omaha.  The FedEx tracking number has an Inglewood, CA origin.  The seller's paypal email is Russian.

Is there anything to be done or should I just wait it out expecting to go through the refund resolution process in a couple of weeks?  I know I'm jumping the gun more than a little bit.

[bonjourami]

You really cant do anything until the estimated delivery date has passed.

[binderzz]

That's kind of what I thought.  I hate to sit here and wait knowing what's coming down the pike.

[binderzz]

Ho, ho, ho - "We removed this listing from the site. For more information and next steps go to Messages.  For information about delivery, view your order details."

It must have been a hijacked seller account.  The negative feedback has been removed and the item re-listing disappeared.

[southern*sweet*tea]

---

@binderzz wrote:

Ho, ho, ho - "We removed this listing from the site. For more information and next steps go to Messages.  For information about delivery, view your order details."

It must have been a hijacked seller account.  The negative feedback has been removed and the item re-listing disappeared.

---

File an INR with Paypal. State in the notes that the seller has been removed from Ebay. You can do that now.

[emerald_door]

Is there any advantage to filing with PayPal rather than eBay?  

[reda3615]

---

@emerald_door wrote:

Is there any advantage to filing with PayPal rather than eBay?  

---

Yes, it takes 18 days or more to get a refund at PayPal: 7 days to escalate, 10 days for the missing seller to create a fake Delivered tracking number, then 1 day for the PayPal bot to see the Delivered tracking number.

Plus, when you open a dispute a PayPal, you're talking to the seller, not to PayPal. Why tell the seller "Hey, you've been removed from eBay" @southern*sweet*tea the seller already knows that.

[southern*sweet*tea]

---

@emerald_door wrote:

Is there any advantage to filing with PayPal rather than eBay?  

---

With Paypal you don't have to wait.

[southern*sweet*tea]

---

@reda3615 wrote:

---

@emerald_door wrote:

Is there any advantage to filing with PayPal rather than eBay?  

---

Yes, it takes 18 days or more to get a refund at PayPal: 7 days to escalate, 10 days for the missing seller to create a fake Delivered tracking number, then 1 day for the PayPal bot to see the Delivered tracking number.

Plus, when you open a dispute a PayPal, you're talking to the seller, not to PayPal. Why tell the seller "Hey, you've been removed from eBay" @southern*sweet*tea the seller already knows that.

---

The notation is for Paypal to see, not the seller.

[reda3615]

---

@emerald_door wrote:

Is there any advantage to filing with PayPal rather than eBay?  

---

You can immediately, no waiting for the Estimated Delivery date, start an Item Not Received refund request on eBay when the seller/listing has been removed.

And you'll get a refund within 3 business days, or sometimes sooner without having to click Ask eBay to step in it if that seller/listing already has other refund request started on it.

[binderzz]

I started the ebay item-not-received process even though it's way early and the paypal option was also there.

Three minutes later the funds were refunded and the case closed.  It's almost as if ebay was waiting on me to ring them up.

The seller's single negative feedback was removed.  The seller's account was - I assume - hijacked.  And thus all is right with the world again.  Peace and harmony abounds.

[emerald_door]

I'm glad that eBay acted quickly. 

[binderzz]

Run a search for "Microsoft Office Professional 2010,Full,Windows,32/64-bit W/CD&Key NEW SEALED".  The seller is back with a different hijacked account and "selling" the same $59 item.

[jazzman0722]

Report that listing to ebay .

[binderzz]

So, now it gets weird.

It's 3 weeks later and I received the purchased Windows Office 2010 in the mail today.  With only a Chino, Ca return PO box address and no name.  The original seller account (location:  Omaha) was apparently hijacked.  Ebay removed the original listing and removed negative feedback left by others on that account for other copies of the same item.  They refunded the purchase price.  The same item (with the same photos) mirrored under other "hijacked" IDs all disappeared, apparently reported away.

I'm confused.

I'd return this to the "seller" but I'm not sure who that would be.  The software retail box appears to be sealed and genuine but I'm reluctant to install "dubious" software with a funny history.  I' not sure how to rescind the refund anyway.  I'm more inclined to just toss this in the trash and move on.