Ebay's Support of Fraudulent Activity of Buyers

[southcoastantiques]

If any seller out there has had a buyer report an items not as described because of purported damage which was bogus.  Please contact me.  I am going to start a class action lawsuit against Ebay.  They have done this to me twice now.  Once on a $700 phone sale, and now on a $2,250 Tiffany necklace sale.  The necklace was pristine when I sent it.  All my pictures show it.  The buyer provided one really bad photo of a repaired clasp (not mine) and said I sent it that way.  I did not.  The buyer is a crook.  He was a seller on ebay and has some bad feedback about a $6,600 sale from the past.   I am getting back a repaired necklace and he is getting my money back.  I have a re-stocking fee and I paid $48 over the pre-paid postage fee, to respond to the buyers request to send the package Express.  He paid $25 I paid $73.30.  I am through with Ebay, I have been a top rated seller for years, but I am done now.

[donsdetour]

Well as they say
if you can not afford to lose the item and the money paid for it DO NOT LIST IT.

eBay has no way to know what you sent, or what the purchaser received: and no way to know what was returned.   Hence Item not as described is the way to scam folks>

Did you file fraud and theft with law enforcement as well as report it to the shipper used????

[greatmidwestcoin]

We have all experienced a few buyers like this.  I believe eBay doesn't allow a restocking fee so I wouldn't share that here since they monitor these conversations.  Just an FYI.  Good luck with everything.

[eleanor*rigby]

Good luck with the filing of your class action suit. Please post again when you've met with your attorney to let us know what s/he said.

Oh--and make sure s/he sees this clause in eBay's User Agreement before s/he quotes you the fee for his/her services:

1. Prohibition of Class and Representative Actions and Non-Individualized Relief

   YOU AND EBAY AGREE THAT EACH OF US MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS, OR REPRESENTATIVE OR PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL ACTION OR PROCEEDING. UNLESS BOTH YOU AND EBAY AGREE OTHERWISE, THE ARBITRATOR MAY NOT CONSOLIDATE OR JOIN MORE THAN ONE PERSON'S OR PARTY'S CLAIMS, AND MAY NOT OTHERWISE PRESIDE OVER ANY FORM OF A CONSOLIDATED, REPRESENTATIVE, CLASS, OR PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL ACTION OR PROCEEDING. ALSO, THE ARBITRATOR MAY AWARD RELIEF (INCLUDING MONETARY, INJUNCTIVE, AND DECLARATORY RELIEF) ONLY IN FAVOR OF THE INDIVIDUAL PARTY SEEKING RELIEF AND ONLY TO THE EXTENT NECESSARY TO PROVIDE RELIEF NECESSITATED BY THAT PARTY'S INDIVIDUAL CLAIM(S). ANY RELIEF AWARDED CANNOT AFFECT OTHER USERS. If a court decides that applicable law precludes enforcement of any of this paragraph's limitations as to a particular claim or a particular request for a remedy (such as a request for injunctive relief), then that claim or that remedy request (and only that claim or that remedy request) must be severed from the arbitration and may be brought in court (pursuant to Section 18.C below), subject to your and eBay's right to appeal the court's decision. All other claims will be arbitrated.

[terrycece62]

What would be your" stated reason" for suing eBay?

[vintagecraze50]

The sending back of wrong merch and making false claims is an epidemic all over the internet, not just here. People think they are clever doing stuff like this but it I were you or anyone else experiencing this stuff with internet sales I would promptly alert the buyer that they are being reported here and to law enforcement in their jurisdiction and if they send the wrong item back. Get documents from the PO and file mail fraud charges and do tell them that. Also start small claims cases with these people. People stealing items worth over a grand are really pushing it with this and will get caught. Seller must be proactive about this stuff.

[stuff4divas]

Did you file Police and Internet Fraud reports?

An item that is returned after it was used or damaged by the buyer

Sellers who offer free returns and who are not Below Standard are eligible for this protection

• You can deduct up to 50% from the refund to recover the lost value of the item
• We will take care of any issues directly with the buyer for you, including removing any negative and neutral feedback, defects, and open cases in service metrics

How to issue a partial refund when the item is returned in a different condition

To issue a partial refund:

• Go to your Returns dashboard.
• Select View return details beside the item.
• Decide What to Refund.
• Select the percent you want to deduct from the refund amount.
• Add a message to the buyer explaining why the refund wasn't full.
• Select Send.

Read this link re Seller Protection>

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-policies/seller-protection?id=4345&st=12&pos=2&query=Sell...

[1tuna]

ther is no use in trying to make more out of this than there is.the buyer is unhappy  and wants to undo the deal.

until you get the necklace back its only speculation.not sure who asked for pictures but its not necessary for the buyer with a return.

buyer return abuse is just that but on the other hand its just a buyer who wants to return something

a buyer who wants to retunr something shoud be accomodated

it does not rise to the level of theft unless that takes place and you wont know until you get the package back.

ebay expects sellers to give the benefit of doubht to the buyer on a return

[ed8108]

Name the law firm undertaking this class action.

[southcoastantiques]

I was told by Ebay that I needed a police report for the $700 I phone that I sold in May 2021.  The buyer told Ebay they would return and post tracking no.  They did not post tracking no. and ebay did not contact me prior to refunding $700 to buyer.  Buyer send me a $35 tablet cover under the tracking no. they sent ebay.  I finally received the tracking no. from Ebay and what do you know.   The tracking no. was on the package delivered to me with the tablet cover.  I contacted ebay, they told me I had to have a police report with a no. from the police dept.  I got that submitted that and received a refund.  I should not have had to go to all that trouble.  Ebay should have demanded the tracking no be given to me and not refunded until they knew what had been returned.  Now, 3 months later, I am going through something similar.   I also in the last 3 months had a buyer request that I send something to a different address than listed.  He was a first time buyer.  Ebay is not doing a good job policing ebay or protecting sellers.

[alisonsallohioantiques]

I started marking most items with invisible ink.

[donsdetour]

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@southcoastantiques wrote:

I was told by Ebay that I needed a police report for the $700 I phone that I sold in May 2021.  The buyer told Ebay they would return and post tracking no.  They did not post tracking no. and ebay did not contact me prior to refunding $700 to buyer.  Buyer send me a $35 tablet cover under the tracking no. they sent ebay.  I finally received the tracking no. from Ebay and what do you know.   The tracking no. was on the package delivered to me with the tablet cover.  I contacted ebay, they told me I had to have a police report with a no. from the police dept.  I got that submitted that and received a refund.  I should not have had to go to all that trouble.  Ebay should have demanded the tracking no be given to me and not refunded until they knew what had been returned.  Now, 3 months later, I am going through something similar.   I also in the last 3 months had a buyer request that I send something to a different address than listed.  He was a first time buyer.  Ebay is not doing a good job policing ebay or protecting sellers.

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Well the purchaser did enter a tracking showing delivered: until you proved other wise or a switch as you did with police report you had no proof to over ride the item delivered...

Not easy but can be done. glad that one worked for you.

Glad you filed a report: these crooks just keep doing such: and they will get caught eventually..

Wish there was an easy way around such scams, but their is not.  Again glad you did what you did, to may perps and not enough time. Ahh and that line from>>>

One can understand the

MAKE MY DAY punk.......

Also reminds me of reading about the gangs in the 20 and 30s , one wonders were our society is going...

[katzrul15]

As others shared with you, class action not really viable.

And the scam rodeo has been here a while.

I do understand your angst - we just refunded another order in full that the buyer admitted to damaging.  The item was returned today - no damage and we ate shipping both ways.  Yippee.

We also sell on Amazon and thru FBA.  We have had no fraud cases there in 2021.   Only one INR in FBA that Amazon covered us as a Seller.  Have lost count here  - I think the latest one makes 6, maybe 7.   Whatever the number is, it is too many.

Appreciate your gumption, but class action rally not in the cards.

Better future sales!

[southcoastantiques]

I am working on the paperwork now to take to the Palm Desert Sheriff's stationn tomorrow.  I did the same thing 3 months ago when I had this happen with a $700 I phone sale.  Ebay refunded the money to the buyer without contacting me to see what the buyer returned.   They returned a $35 tablet cover.  I eventually got my money from Ebay, but now without a lot of anxiety and work.  I put together good support for my claim and I am doing so again.  Thank you for the information.  I sold this item for my niece and am afraid to tell her that the buyer is returning a damaged necklace.

[dryophelia]

I sold this item for my niece and am afraid to tell her that the buyer is returning a damaged necklace.

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@southcoastantiques 
You will be very fortunate to receive the item back. They will ship something, but it’s not likely to be the necklace, in any condition. 

@alisonsallohioantiques 

Years ago marking your items with a special mark was very useful. It helped many sellers prove their case. 
Now it doesn’t make a difference. An unscrupulous buyer could return a box of rocks and get their money back.