I bought an expensive watch and I strongly believe I've been had

[lgngri]

So, I have bought a lady's watch on ebay yesterday... After analyzing the seller behavior I think this was a fraudulent purchase, and here is why.

The seller has relisted this watch yesterday after it sold off at an auction last week. The watch was sold with authenticity guarantee and the price was almost the lowest within past 2 years (yes I am watching these things). I asked the seller why is it listed again, he said the previous buyer has flaked. He relisted at almost the previously sold price but I negotiated him down somewhat. I bought the watch using Buy It Now and paid with Paypal. So far so good.

The seller thanked me and promised he would ship tomorrow (e.g. today). Seen that the item has not shipped yet, I contacted him asking when would he ship. And again, and again (total of 3 times). At the evening he sends me this: "I dropped it off at usps and it should be in the system soon that it’s on its way" (verbatim). The shipping on Ebay is still not updated

The watch was sold with Ebay Authenticity Guarantee, so first the seller would need to ship to the authenticator. From my experience, Ebay only uses UPS of FedEx when shipping to authenticator. Furthermore, when the seller ships to authenticator, they are supposed to use ebay provided label. And when you print your label via ebay, the order status updates automatically. The  shipping on the order has still not been updated. And this is 5 hours past his message.

This is when by spidy senses started going up. I started looking at the seller. It appears, it's an active seller who only sells CPUs. Nothing in the history other than CPUs. Same confirmed by seller's feedback. At the time I was buying this watch, there was nothing listed by that seller, but as soon as I bought the watch, they listed 2 other CPUs. 

I am not sure if this is an active seller account, or hijacked one, but I have a bad feeling that there will be no shipping. The seller would likely keep claiming they shipped and it's an ebay fault the shipping isn't updated. I tried to reach out to ebay for help, but not suprisingly, it is not easy to find a proper channel to read it. And ebay rules dictate that I have wait X number of days to expect anything shipped and if I wait this long, the seller will likely collect the payment and will disappear.

So I am hoping en ebay representative reads this and at least blocks the funds until an authenticator marks the watch as authentic.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

No Ebay representative is likely to read this.

Nothing can be done beyond the provisions of the Ebay Moneyback Guarantee.

Familiarize yourself with it and be prepared to take action at the appropriate time.

[soh.maryl]

eBay reps don't usually lurk here.  And it's doubtful that they would do that anyway.

However, if/when you receive the watch, and it's not as described, you know that, per the MBG, you can open an item not as described, right?

Also, if you do not receive it by the last estimated delivery date, you can open an item not received case the day after that.  

Have you read the Money Back Guarantee and its explanation of how buyers are protected?  

Also, it is not easy for a seller to "collect payment and disappear".  If either of the problems described above, eBay will refund you from the seller's funds.  

[myfrugalboutique]

@lgngri 

You do not need to be concerned..you are protected by eBay. Yes it has to go to the authentication people, and this could easily be legitimate.  If it isn’t, just open a case for INR or not as described, and you are protected. Did you put the tracking number in the USPS.com tracking , not eBay?  Anything that I have sold  has gone FEDEX, and that does seems strange. 

Sounds like you are on top of things. Keep this board informed. Remember you have 30 days to file, but it if comes to that Iam sure you will get it resolved. 

[lgngri]

Thanks all to those who replied... I am least concerned that his is not authentic. Ebay authenticity guarantee covers that.

What I am concerned is that the seller won't ship anything at all. They would grab the money that are instantly available to them and disappear into ether while I will be stuck here with d│ck in my hands, fighting with ebay and paypal. 

Well, just checked and the order status changed to "Shipped to Authenticator", though no tracking has yet been provided. Hopefully, it's just me panicking for no reason...

[myfrugalboutique]

@lgngri 

If this seller is somewhat new, his money is likely being held. You are protected so try and relax. 

[lamber9347]

@lgngri You have purchased an item on a platform that offers a money back guarantee, so you have nothing to worry about. If the watch isn't delivered to your home, just follow the procedures for an item not received case once the estimated date of delivery has passed. Go to your purchase history and select the watch. Check the estimated date of delivery for your item and once that passes simply open an item not received case. Mark it as item not received and follow the prompts. You will eventually receive a full refund. You will not lose your money, but you do need to be more patient and just wait until the estimated date of arrival has actually passed.

No one can simply list an item for sale, accept payment, then never actually ship it. That's not how online selling works and basically no one will ever shop here if that happens. You have a guarantee from eBay that you will not lose your money. Remain positive and all will work out. Best of luck to you....