Sellers being scammed by buyers returning different items and ebay takes money out of my account

[mikes.stocks]

Twice now, as a seller I have been scammed by people saying that they had items that didn't match description.  When the buyers returned the items they sent tiny thin packages containing black face masks.  In my case our items are in 24 inch length boxes.  The little envelope with the face mask was only 7 inches long.  I informed  ebay of the situation, and I am not the only one that this is happening to.  I have seen others that also received black face masks instead of the items that were shipped.  I provided pictures of the items I shipped along with pictures of the tiny envelopes with black face masks inside.  My question is how can you put a 24 inch item into a  7 inch envelope?  Impossible to say the least.  But even with the photo proof and notification ebay pulled over 205 dollars out of my account because they said that basically the buyer expects for everything to go correctly.  This situation opens up all buyers to such scams at our expense.  Ebay said I could file an appeal and provide evidence to try and convince customer service of my case. The photos I sent wasn't enough to convice them that you couldn't ship a 16.5 inch barrel in a plastic 7 inch package.  We as sellers are all at risk!

[slyders_finds]

Report to ic3.gov, the shipper and the police from their city. It's Mail fraud. EBay doesn't care. They have been allowing this for decades. Try Facebook group ebay for business. They are the only ones that have common sense. 

[luckythewinner]

This situation opens up all buyers to such scams at our expense. 

Yes, it does. eBay was not there to verify what you sent, or what the buyer returned, and any photographs that either you or the buyer submits could be staged. So from eBay's perspective, every dispute is "he said, she said" situation.  And eBay makes it pretty clear in their policies that the offer buyers a Money Back Guarantee, and the seller agrees to let eBay settle the dispute however it wants. 

We as sellers are all at risk!

Sellers who are victimized by fraud generally give up and leave, and those who are not generally stay and make money. 

You now understand the risk, and are aware that eBay will generally side with the buyer. Knowing this, you must decide whether you want to accept that risk or not. 

[adkhighker]

Shouldn't the proof be right on the shipping labels where the weights are posted by the postal clerks?  Wouldn't that prove that your much bigger item wouldn't fit into such a small box, according to the weight on the label? 

[cassiespark]

File a complaint with the BBB. There are many, many (recent, as in this week) examples of EBay responding and including their Risk Team who will investigate these scams and rule in the Seller's favor.  

[stainlessenginecovers]

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@cassiespark wrote:

File a complaint with the BBB. There are many, many (recent, as in this week) examples of EBay responding and including their Risk Team who will investigate these scams and rule in the Seller's favor.  

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@cassiespark 

Filing with the BBB does the EXACT same as you calling the IRS on April 15th- nothing

or....sending that 'steak' back and expecting a 'new steak' that was NOT spit on. 

Best to NEVER tell people to file ANYTHING with them. They have NO power, NO pull and do NOTHING. 

[zamboni_chick77]

Same recently happened to me, I am a casual ebay user over the last 23 years both buying and selling.  However the way that ebay sided on what was really a lazy scam has left an awful taste in my mouth.  (I had a large item like your situation, got back something in a tiny package in return.  Item was not shipped from the same place as the intial item (500 miles away)). 

Simply google and using the tracking that was all provided in the ebay system was all the proof they needed.  Scammer got the product and their money back.  

[blackberry_hills]

We had it happen to us 3 times now, once months ago, twice recently. Oddly, eBay system will likely initially side with the buyer. I was told by an eBay agent, that is not actually a real person siding with the buyer, but rather the system (AI). I appealed that decision the first time this happened, and got good results from eBay. I now have two more cases escalated (after they were first sided in the buyer's favor) waiting to hear from eBay. I'll keep you posted. 

EBay seems to take fraud very seriously, and has always taken the right action in the end with us. They know it not only hurts us, but eBay as well, to allow these people to get away with their fraud. 

Just be sure to appeal any decision made in the buyer's favor with this issue. This is fraud and it must be stopped. But it won't if decisions are left in favor of the buyer. If these fraudsters make money, they will keep doing it.

[joeb5281]

you have to report all this to attorney generals office  federal trades comm, and BBB  we must wake up eBay,,,, they and us are getting scammed big time,,pass it on,, . once a buyer/seller signs up they need to get all their info and hold them accountable.. something needs to change with these scamming times.

[vintagecraze50]

I understand your concerns and see that you sell pretty high priced items. If you get a scammer who has scammed you out of a very high priced item that is a small claims court case, and a mail fraud case in the USA. AS A SELLER I would pursue every possible retribution by law for these people, and for these peoples information, you are taking great risks performing this scam as a seller can pursue you as an individual. Seller has name address, sometimes phone number on record.

[vintagecraze50]

Even common sense Facebook ebay cannot determine what was sent and what came back. It’s not that they do not care, it’s that they cannot act on a situation where there is not definitive proof. That is where you go to small claims court and judge determines probable proof. Easy to start a small claims case and if the scammer does not show up you win, you may not be able to collect the funds back though but the scammer gets the charge.

[az93]

You are a longtime seller with over 20k positive feedbacks. It is very distressing to read how ebay is treating you.

[impart1731]

We have had this happening on over 15 items.  We have set up requirements for all Buyers to have at least 5 feedback rating.  Wish we could make it 10 but 5 is the maximum allowed by eBay.  Most of the items this has happened on are between 60 and 100 dollars.  Also most of the buyers have a very low feedback rating like 1 or 2.  eBay needs to get this issue fixed fast.

[sextons-sweet-deals]

What was the buyer's complaint of item not matching description issue / reasons?

Just comments / thoughts:

If you don't review a buyer's profile, feedback. & location, I suggest you start and entertain shipping with signature required along with taking your packages to the post office and getting a printed receipt. It will show the weight of the package.

If their profile looks bad, you probably just need to cancel and block. 

You stated two returns and receiving the same bogus item. Sound like the same buyer operating under multiple I.D.'s or a small scam network involved. 

I think eBay could do more on this issue, but sellers need to cover themselves as much as possible. 

If a seller pays for a return label, are they able to track package?

There should be a way that the seller is given the tracking number to follow package and that the buyer needs to upload a photo of the printed label, package, and along with the USPS printed receipt of acceptance in the open case. 

Actually, even if eBay tells buyer to return and buyer pays for the return, this information needs to be shared with the seller. I know as a victim myself, I was never given tracking and never received package back, but buyer was refunded.