08-23-2018 12:57 AM - edited 08-23-2018 01:01 AM
In the last two weeks I sold about 15 new iPhone 8+/X’s locked to ATT carrier, they were specifically stated to only be compatible with ATT
conveiently one buyer opened a defective item case for two different phones he bought (1500$ total), other than that I had no problems with the other sales. This buyers account was created 1 day before he bought them.
he said the same sentence in both disputes in broken English:
“phones not work on any SIM card need be unlocked”
I know the phones work, I sell phones full time and i am very knowledgeable of telling Difference between a buyer with a legit problem and a buyer who has no idea what they’re talking about. The buyer seems to be complaining that they’re not unlocked for any carrier.
I can allow the return and lose my depreciation value of the phones, maybe the buyer sends back empty boxes which I’m worried about too.
i can dispute the return and win, or lose and have 2 big blackmarks and have my top rated seller status in jeopardy.
I hear it’s very hard for sellers to win disputes so I don’t know if I should continue fighting it or what ... I don’t know how I could ever prove I am right, and I know for sure my 8 year old top rated seller account is weighted as nothing in ebays eyes against an account created last week.
Any advice would be appreciated
thanks
08-23-2018 12:11 PM
Whether this is a dimwit buyer or a scam to get a free phone, you still have some protections.
You can demand that the buyer return the phones before the refund.
Yes, you may be required to send a Return Shipping Label. This is business. We'll talk about Cookie Jar Insurance later.
If the buyer doesn't use the RSL and return the phone , he loses the case, you keep the money, and (eventually) you are refunded for the RSL.
If the buyer returns the phone, you refund and get your FVF back. No effect on your selling account, although the buyer can leave feedback.
Which takes care of 95% of Disputes.
If there is outright fraud, for example the buyer does not return the phone you sent but something else, then Customer Service must be brought in. And you can politely request that your problem be escalated to more senior staff if the rep is unable to help. Politely.
Now--Cookie Jar Insurance.
This is just setting aside a small part of every sale (in a virtual Cookie Jar) to cover the occasional problem.
In this case the problem is the cost of return shipping, the loss of value to depreciation, and the possiblility of fraud. Plus your time of course.
If a problem comes up, the costs are covered from the Cookie Jar.
You may carry business insurance already. I do* for one part of my business where my items are much more valuable than the cheap paperbacks and sewing patterns I sell on this one.
The virtue of Cookie Jar Insurance (self-insurance) is that you are not paying someone to do something you can do yourself, cheaper and more efficiently.
But basically, remember it's business, not personal.
Get the phones back.
Refund and block the dimwit.
Relist.
Resell.
Move on.
*Hugh Wood International of London, New York and Toronto. They also cover our personal art collection since they specialize in insuring collectors and dealers in collectibles. Highly recommended, but not for your line of products.
08-23-2018 12:14 PM - edited 08-23-2018 12:18 PM
Figured out buyer was using a mail forwarding address. I Contacted the company and they said the parcel is still in transit to some Arabic country.
Then you just won the case.
Have him open a Dispute.
You win because your responsibility ends when the forwarder received it.
And you are only required to refund if the phones are returned.
And you are only required to send the Return Shipping Label to the address you shipped to -- the forwarder.
So your customer would have to receive the phones, return them to the forwarder, the forwarder would have to cooperate in returning the phones to you (using your RSL preferably but they could use their own money) and all this within the window of the Claim.
None of which is going to happen.
You just won the Dispute.
08-23-2018 12:27 PM - edited 08-23-2018 12:28 PM
@cellit wrote:Figured out buyer was using a mail forwarding address. I Contacted the company and they said the parcel is still in transit to some Arabic country.
buyer hasn’t even received the items he’s just making up stuff to get the phones for free. I posted screenshots of the forwarding company’s site and their address matches the buyers address . I Posted a screenshot of their email to me telling me they forwarded it and the person hasn’t even received it yet.
Fingers crossed Ebay doesn’t screw me
If your buyer has used a forwarder, they lose ALL Ebay buyer protection.
You need to call and let Ebay know that buyer has no buyer protection. Give them this link, reference the red text:
Not covered
Make sure they close out the case in your favor while you are on the phone. If the rep won't, hang up, call back and keep trying until you get one who will FOLLOW EBAY'S OWN POLICY.
08-23-2018 04:38 PM
Many thanks man, appreciate all the people here taking time out of their day to help others. I will fight this Arabic scammer and hopefully win.
i can’t imagine being those sellers who sell 1000+ new smartphone. There must be a crazy amount of chargebacks. I sold around 12 and 2 people charged back for 3 phones total.
08-23-2018 09:26 PM - last edited on 08-24-2018 06:39 PM by kh-gary
Happen to me before, someone from another country used a buddy of him living in U.S. to purchased a Night Vision Sight (illegal to export) I was selling, his buddy here was in "friendship" with his local USPS carrier that never scanned at delivery so the item simply "disappeared" in the vapor.....that took me so much effort, lost hours of phone calls, involved some Feds in the case and the Postal Service Investigators to crackdown in the issue. Item was recovered at end and forwarded back to me. eBay and Paypal were no help, they simply said that if the tracking says "not delivered" they could not do anything else....they use blinds like horses and cannot accept the fact that are special cases that do not fall their rules. Other cases that involved scammers, I had all the evidence to prove and even buyers local PD help and eBay simply told me...we will just write off the losses, they don't care about going after scammers...apparently cost them more money. Those guys simply keeping opening new ebay accounts
Other fact, thousands of scammers are making a living from buying/return at eBay, using, exchanging products etc and them asking for return. My daily UPS pick up driver told me that everyday he has packages coming and RS labeled packages getting out from the very same people on his route. I would never try to sell electronics, clothes and small stuff here, this bad situation will only get bigger as more people catching up with how easy is to become a scammer with eBay.
Another fresh one that got me,, buyer using personal credit cards buying via ebay...new trend of scammers, they buy and open a case "item not as described" and want return, you accept return, lose shipping funds "both ways" and refund the scammer. Weeks later, PP will hit you AGAIN and take the funds from your account just because the scammer open a case with his bank credit card.
PayPal representative told me flat out via phone that PP has no power over a bank charge back and may take 90 days until the investigation ends.
At this point I am telling the PP representative, please look at July 14 when refund funds were taken out of my account and issue the refund and why PP is not fighting the Bank alone and instead involving me and taking AGAIN my money? She just said, that's the way things flow....and that's typical from scammers that want to be paid twice as many hi volume sellers will not fight or even noticed until is too late.
Wish you all the luck!
08-28-2018 12:29 PM
well i ended up LOSING the dispute to some 1 feedback arab scammer, ebay = fraud enabelers
posted proof he was using forwarding address, posted email from the forwarding company saying they shipped it overseas and it was still in transit when he complained the item was defective, still lost. can a top rated seller with an account made 8 years ago beat somebody who made their account last week? no