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How long does a buyer have to open a case and request a refund, lost items?

I have been selling phones through craigslist for a few years and decided to become more active on Ebay. I am beginning to think I should end selling on ebay because the seller protection sucks against lying buyers.


How long does a buyer have to file a dispute for a phone after receiving it? Is it really 45 days from what i have been reading???!!!!! Anything could go wrong with technology after a few days of being purchased. "knock on wood" Now I am scared to list anything here again. Ebay has been making $800 a month in fees from me, it might not seem much to some but I have had returns that absolutely had no issues and buyers just wanted a refund.



Please tell me 45 days is wrong. More like 7 days to file a claim would be perfect this is ridiculous.


Another question that I have is, How can you file a claim for a phone that goes missing from the postal office. I always ship everything with insurance and signature confirmation but what do they require the seller to confirm the price of the phone? Everything that I buy is straight off good ol craigslist and i do not get any receipts for anything obviously.

Message 1 of 205
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How long does a buyer have to open a case and request a refund, lost items?

Okay, well, one, it's 45 days... I think the time is there to make sure international buyers have enough time to get their packages...

 

And two, do you guys even know what 'Bad IMEI' or 'BAD ESN' is?

I worked for AT&T for over two years and I'll tell you, don't sell them.

 

Bad IMEI or ESN means the phone is coming back as Stolen.

When a person calls in to activate their phone, they have to give the person they're talking to, the IMEI/ESN.  The IMEI/ESN doesn't activate the phone, it just tells the customer service representative, what the  phone is.  There's another code they have to give in order to activate it, for people with SIm Cards, it's the Sim Card number, for people with CDMI phones, it's the very large code (I forget the name off the top of my head at the moment)  but yes, before the phone can ultimately be activated, the representative has to run a check on the IMEI or ESN

 

If it comes back stolen from another account, they cannot activate it.

 

 
Another way it might run into a problem is that another person has the same phone activated on another account.  When the representative attempts to enter in the IMEI, they may run into an error if the last person who owned the phone, didn't call in to have their phone switched to something else.

 

This is typical for AT&T customers because all they have to do is switch out the Sim Card to another phone, and then Ta-Da, it works, no phone call needed.  For Verizon, T-Mobile CDMI phones, and Sprint though, they need to be called in because of the soimple fact, that they don't use Sim Cards.

 

And don't rely on another website to tell you if the phone is stolen or not.  AT&T and Verizon, and all other carriers do not just openly tell the world which phones are stolen and which aren't.  The only reason you're getting a kick back and a website saying the phone is not stolen is because the person who LOST their phone, didn't report it to THAT website.  The only way you're going to get a 'real' answer, is by calling the Carrier and asking them yourself before selling the phone.

 

 

So bottom line is, please do your research before selling those phones, places like Craigslist is are famous for people trying to sell items that they have stolen or "found".

Message 31 of 205
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How long does a buyer have to open a case and request a refund, lost items?

I just had a buyer message me late last night in regard to a jersey purchased 27 days ago, stating that it is not a game worn jersey, and requests a full refund, or else "I'm going through eBay." At no point in the auction's listing, or in the title, was the jersey alluded to as being game worn, team issued, or game issued. It was simply listed as an authentic jersey, as all numbers and letters are sewn to the jersey.

I also had other prospective buyers inquire whether it was game worn, and at no time did I mislead saying that it was. I honestly told them that no, it wasn't game worn, that someone before me had it altered. It is just an authentic jersey.

Now I'm nervous, even though I am innocent and haven't misrepresented anything, because eBay does very little to protect and support its sellers. I'm a college student who is using eBay as a medium to make some money to make ends meet. I'm not making a killing at this. If I'm lucky I get an extra $200 or so a month and eBay sucks out its $30 or so in fees. If I lose this dispute I will be done with eBay as a buyer and seller. I will not take this abuse anymore.
Message 32 of 205
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How long does a buyer have to open a case and request a refund, lost items?


@aeristilheartly wrote:

Okay, well, one, it's 45 days... I think the time is there to make sure international buyers have enough time to get their packages...

 

And two, do you guys even know what 'Bad IMEI' or 'BAD ESN' is?

I worked for AT&T for over two years and I'll tell you, don't sell them.

 

Bad IMEI or ESN means the phone is coming back as Stolen.

When a person calls in to activate their phone, they have to give the person they're talking to, the IMEI/ESN.  The IMEI/ESN doesn't activate the phone, it just tells the customer service representative, what the  phone is.  There's another code they have to give in order to activate it, for people with SIm Cards, it's the Sim Card number, for people with CDMI phones, it's the very large code (I forget the name off the top of my head at the moment)  but yes, before the phone can ultimately be activated, the representative has to run a check on the IMEI or ESN

 

If it comes back stolen from another account, they cannot activate it.

 

 
Another way it might run into a problem is that another person has the same phone activated on another account.  When the representative attempts to enter in the IMEI, they may run into an error if the last person who owned the phone, didn't call in to have their phone switched to something else.

 

This is typical for AT&T customers because all they have to do is switch out the Sim Card to another phone, and then Ta-Da, it works, no phone call needed.  For Verizon, T-Mobile CDMI phones, and Sprint though, they need to be called in because of the soimple fact, that they don't use Sim Cards.

 

And don't rely on another website to tell you if the phone is stolen or not.  AT&T and Verizon, and all other carriers do not just openly tell the world which phones are stolen and which aren't.  The only reason you're getting a kick back and a website saying the phone is not stolen is because the person who LOST their phone, didn't report it to THAT website.  The only way you're going to get a 'real' answer, is by calling the Carrier and asking them yourself before selling the phone.

 

 

So bottom line is, please do your research before selling those phones, places like Craigslist is are famous for people trying to sell items that they have stolen or "found".


Bad ESN/MEID or IMEI does not mean that it's lost or stolen.  Most CDMA phones that have a bad ESN are a result of the owner canceling their service without paying the early termination fee, or getting behind on their bill.

 

If a GSM cell phone has a bad IMEI, then it is usually reported lost or stolen, but sometimes it is due to a customer not completing the monthly payments to buy the phone itself (if they were on that plan).

 

Verizon does openly disclose on their website whether the phone is able to be activated:

 

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/nso/enterDeviceId.do

 

There is also at least one other website which has apparently been given access by the GSMA to the IMEI Blacklist if you have an AT&T or T-Mobile phone.

Message 33 of 205
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How long does a buyer have to open a case and request a refund, lost items?


@soliddealsonline wrote:

@aeristilheartly wrote:

Okay, well, one, it's 45 days... I think the time is there to make sure international buyers have enough time to get their packages...

 

And two, do you guys even know what 'Bad IMEI' or 'BAD ESN' is?

I worked for AT&T for over two years and I'll tell you, don't sell them.

 

Bad IMEI or ESN means the phone is coming back as Stolen.

When a person calls in to activate their phone, they have to give the person they're talking to, the IMEI/ESN.  The IMEI/ESN doesn't activate the phone, it just tells the customer service representative, what the  phone is.  There's another code they have to give in order to activate it, for people with SIm Cards, it's the Sim Card number, for people with CDMI phones, it's the very large code (I forget the name off the top of my head at the moment)  but yes, before the phone can ultimately be activated, the representative has to run a check on the IMEI or ESN

 

If it comes back stolen from another account, they cannot activate it.

 

 
Another way it might run into a problem is that another person has the same phone activated on another account.  When the representative attempts to enter in the IMEI, they may run into an error if the last person who owned the phone, didn't call in to have their phone switched to something else.

 

This is typical for AT&T customers because all they have to do is switch out the Sim Card to another phone, and then Ta-Da, it works, no phone call needed.  For Verizon, T-Mobile CDMI phones, and Sprint though, they need to be called in because of the soimple fact, that they don't use Sim Cards.

 

And don't rely on another website to tell you if the phone is stolen or not.  AT&T and Verizon, and all other carriers do not just openly tell the world which phones are stolen and which aren't.  The only reason you're getting a kick back and a website saying the phone is not stolen is because the person who LOST their phone, didn't report it to THAT website.  The only way you're going to get a 'real' answer, is by calling the Carrier and asking them yourself before selling the phone.

 

 

So bottom line is, please do your research before selling those phones, places like Craigslist is are famous for people trying to sell items that they have stolen or "found".


Bad ESN/MEID or IMEI does not mean that it's lost or stolen.  Most CDMA phones that have a bad ESN are a result of the owner canceling their service without paying the early termination fee, or getting behind on their bill.

 

If a GSM cell phone has a bad IMEI, then it is usually reported lost or stolen, but sometimes it is due to a customer not completing the monthly payments to buy the phone itself (if they were on that plan).

 

Verizon does openly disclose on their website whether the phone is able to be activated:

 

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/nso/enterDeviceId.do

 

There is also at least one other website which has apparently been given access by the GSMA to the IMEI Blacklist if you have an AT&T or T-Mobile phone.


Honestly, I don't think that's right, as far as the AT&T part goes..

 

That's personal information that customers are given privacy to the moment the sign up for their accounts.  If AT&T was providing the information willingly they would be in breach of their customer contracts... and if someone else is feeding it to their website, they're not only at risk of being fired, but also sued.  Unless there's a subpeona from a judge, there's no way to collect that information legally.

 

As far as it being a 'bad' esn because a person cancelled their contract, this is a yes and no. 

 

Because the origianl account still exisits with the last phones listed as the ones that were used, those are the ones that will still remain attached when the account is closed.  But working as a customer rep and running these checks personally for my customers who called in, it didn't matter.  I could still activate the phone on anyone's account.  The only time I was permitted not to, was is if it came back stolen.  If the phone was attached to a closed or cancelled account, it didn't stop it from being activated, and it certainly didn't kick back as a 'Bad ESN'.  The only thing it could stop was the ability to receive the unlock code to unlock it from the current carrier... but activating it on another account within the same carrier, no problem at all for any customer representative to do.

Message 34 of 205
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How long does a buyer have to open a case and request a refund, lost items?

I sold my brand new phone over 2 weeks ago, and I even check everything before selling it. After using my phone for 2 weeks, the buyer opened a case n said it is defective, so he wants a full refund for the phone. Of course I'm not gonna agree with that, so eBay has made its decision which is I have to issue full refund for that buyer. How ridiculous is that???? Never ever using eBay AGAIN!!!!!!!
Message 35 of 205
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How long does a buyer have to open a case and request a refund, lost items?


@aeristilheartly wrote:

@soliddealsonline wrote:

@aeristilheartly wrote:

Okay, well, one, it's 45 days... I think the time is there to make sure international buyers have enough time to get their packages...

 

And two, do you guys even know what 'Bad IMEI' or 'BAD ESN' is?

I worked for AT&T for over two years and I'll tell you, don't sell them.

 

Bad IMEI or ESN means the phone is coming back as Stolen.

When a person calls in to activate their phone, they have to give the person they're talking to, the IMEI/ESN.  The IMEI/ESN doesn't activate the phone, it just tells the customer service representative, what the  phone is.  There's another code they have to give in order to activate it, for people with SIm Cards, it's the Sim Card number, for people with CDMI phones, it's the very large code (I forget the name off the top of my head at the moment)  but yes, before the phone can ultimately be activated, the representative has to run a check on the IMEI or ESN

 

If it comes back stolen from another account, they cannot activate it.

 

 
Another way it might run into a problem is that another person has the same phone activated on another account.  When the representative attempts to enter in the IMEI, they may run into an error if the last person who owned the phone, didn't call in to have their phone switched to something else.

 

This is typical for AT&T customers because all they have to do is switch out the Sim Card to another phone, and then Ta-Da, it works, no phone call needed.  For Verizon, T-Mobile CDMI phones, and Sprint though, they need to be called in because of the soimple fact, that they don't use Sim Cards.

 

And don't rely on another website to tell you if the phone is stolen or not.  AT&T and Verizon, and all other carriers do not just openly tell the world which phones are stolen and which aren't.  The only reason you're getting a kick back and a website saying the phone is not stolen is because the person who LOST their phone, didn't report it to THAT website.  The only way you're going to get a 'real' answer, is by calling the Carrier and asking them yourself before selling the phone.

 

 

So bottom line is, please do your research before selling those phones, places like Craigslist is are famous for people trying to sell items that they have stolen or "found".


Bad ESN/MEID or IMEI does not mean that it's lost or stolen.  Most CDMA phones that have a bad ESN are a result of the owner canceling their service without paying the early termination fee, or getting behind on their bill.

 

If a GSM cell phone has a bad IMEI, then it is usually reported lost or stolen, but sometimes it is due to a customer not completing the monthly payments to buy the phone itself (if they were on that plan).

 

Verizon does openly disclose on their website whether the phone is able to be activated:

 

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/nso/enterDeviceId.do

 

There is also at least one other website which has apparently been given access by the GSMA to the IMEI Blacklist if you have an AT&T or T-Mobile phone.


Honestly, I don't think that's right, as far as the AT&T part goes..

 

That's personal information that customers are given privacy to the moment the sign up for their accounts.  If AT&T was providing the information willingly they would be in breach of their customer contracts... and if someone else is feeding it to their website, they're not only at risk of being fired, but also sued.  Unless there's a subpeona from a judge, there's no way to collect that information legally.

 

As far as it being a 'bad' esn because a person cancelled their contract, this is a yes and no. 

 

Because the origianl account still exisits with the last phones listed as the ones that were used, those are the ones that will still remain attached when the account is closed.  But working as a customer rep and running these checks personally for my customers who called in, it didn't matter.  I could still activate the phone on anyone's account.  The only time I was permitted not to, was is if it came back stolen.  If the phone was attached to a closed or cancelled account, it didn't stop it from being activated, and it certainly didn't kick back as a 'Bad ESN'.  The only thing it could stop was the ability to receive the unlock code to unlock it from the current carrier... but activating it on another account within the same carrier, no problem at all for any customer representative to do.


I'm not sure what you mean by "that information", but information on whether a cell phone is reported lost or stolen is not a customer's personal information. 

 

The GSMA maintains an IMEI blacklist of lost or stolen GSM cell phones, and the carriers provide them with this info (http://www.gsma.com/technicalprojects/fraud-security/imei-database ). Qualified organizations can get access to this database to search IMEIs against it, and it is all completely legal.

 

As far as your experience activating cell phones, it sounds like you worked for a GSM carrier rather than a CDMA carrier.

Message 36 of 205
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How long does a buyer have to open a case and request a refund, lost items?

Ok, I've got one for you guys....I've been selling on eBay for over 14 years. Nevermind that my sales have dropped from 10-12k a month to just over 2k per month within the last 4 months, but I just had a buyer open a case against me for "Item not as described." The case was opened November 18. The item was sold on August 29th! That's around 80 days after purchase! I have a 60 day return policy and I normally honor it even if the item is returned after 65-70 days....but this has gotten ridiculous! Has anyone ever had this happen to them after this long? I am the biggest push-over there is and as I normally sell items that won't necessarily work for everyone (mainly body wraps), I am very liberal with my return/refund policy. I have to say, I am close to being done and I honestly never though I would say that.

Message 37 of 205
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How long does a buyer have to open a case and request a refund, lost items?

jdhndwh is right.  Someone just opened a case on me after almost 90 days.  This is nuts.

Message 38 of 205
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How long does a buyer have to open a case and request a refund, lost items?

I'm really hoping that your "Egay" reference was a slip of the finger.

Message 39 of 205
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How long does a buyer have to open a case and request a refund, lost items?

I'm sorry some sellers are having issues, but suggesting that people should only have 20 days to open a case is absolutely ridiculous!!! Some items take upwards of 30-40 days to arrive! Only allowing 20 days would mean that the buyer would have NO chance to open a case if an item did not arrive, or was not as listed at all - meaning you'd just be shifting the problem from the seller to the buyer.

Message 40 of 205
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How long does a buyer have to open a case and request a refund, lost items?

I have sold a iphone 5s on ebay.  The payment has cleared and he has recieved the phone.  In my listing it says that the phone is with the carrier AT&T and in the title of the phone it says AT&T.  He is now trying to say that he cant unlock the phone and that he is going to file a problem with me because i ddint say it was locked with AT&T in my description.  Please tell me there is no way he is going to win this case i dont have the money to return to him.

Message 41 of 205
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How long does a buyer have to open a case and request a refund, lost items?

I think E-bay considers the 45 days from when the item arrived to its designation. So this would depend on your amount of time before you shipped it and the delivery time too. Check out the time it was delivered and then count the days...

Message 42 of 205
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How long does a buyer have to open a case and request a refund, lost items?

20 days from the date he received the item, not delivering the item

Message 43 of 205
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How long does a buyer have to open a case and request a refund, lost items?

Yeah there's too much worrying involved to make what little bit of money we get to keep after you pay ebay and paypal AND then get a case opened against you. Screw that. It's more trouble than it's worth, I'll just still to Craigslist and exchange at the police station.
Message 44 of 205
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How long does a buyer have to open a case and request a refund, lost items?

Did the resolution go in your favor?

Message 45 of 205
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