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An ebay seller sold me a counterfeit Samsung 1TB Micro SD card and not getting any help.
I had an ebay seller sell me (and likely hundreds of other buyers) a counterfeit Samsung 1TB Micro SD card which I received on April 27. I've tried to report this counterfeit item to ebay (and get some kind of customer service help) with no success. Since I couldn't get any help from ebay my ONLY option was to start a return request with the seller on April 27. On April 28 I received from ebay:
The seller let us know that they sent a return label. If you haven't received it, contact the seller.
Please make sure to ship the item back and mark the item as shipped by May 12
Once your item is delivered, you can expect a refund within 3 business days."
And their address , which I think won't be allowed in this message to post so I'll leave it out.
BUT without a shipping return label!!
I've ask the seller they are required to send a shipping return label. I've sent several messages to this seller with NO response each and every time!
Does anyone know if I'll ever get some kind of support from ebay on this issue with this fake memory card and this seller? I'm thinking after a few more days without me acknowledging it's been shipped back, there'll be another help provided? I'm NOT shipping this back without a seller's shipping return label.
I've been with ebay for about 20 years and seem to always find a way to speak with customer support whenever I need help. But this time I'm not able to get ANY help and I've tried calling and everything else that I can find. So this is my last option to see what's available. Keep in mind any customer service links send me right back to this return process to contact seller, in other words a dead-end!
I'm out about $65 and know it could be worse but this might be a good reason to stop doing business with ebay since they're apparently not following their policies anymore and the customer must suffer when this happens without immediate or timely help. The unnecessary stress on this ONE issue has caused too much of my time (which I don't have) pushing me to the point OF NO RETURN!
eburtonlab
Mentor4 months ago@mydoor2yourdoor
If you did not receive a refund or a return shipping label, contact eBay directly. If the seller does not provide a return label or pay in advance for return shipping you should be able to ask eBay to step in and force a refund.
To contact eBay, use the chat assistant that you reach from the Help & Contact page to request a chat with an agent or a call back.
What options you see may depend on your particular issue and how busy that department is at the moment.
Try entering "agent" into the chat window. You may have to provide some context to reach the correct department. If you see a "Still need help?" or "More options" choice, either of those should lead to a call back option.
You can also try contacting eBay via social media direct message:
https://www.instagram.com/ebay/
Counterfeit items are not allowed to be listed on eBay at all. No one is authorized to sell counterfeit items. That fact alone does not stop some people from trying to sell them, however.
The problem is that unscrupulous or uninformed sellers can list genuine items and then deliver counterfeit items.
It is not always possible to look at a listing and know in advance exactly what, if anything, the seller intends to deliver. For one thing, a scammer can simply copy a listing from a genuine seller, using a genuine photo of a genuine item.
Except for a few specific categories of items that go through authentication, eBay never sees what the seller ships or the what the buyer receives, so there is nothing for eBay to check unless someone complains about what was received by invoking eBay's money back guarantee.
Sellers are responsible for the descriptions they provide, and buyers should not assume that eBay screens the listings in advance.
As long as counterfeits exist and there are folks trying to sell them, buyers will still have to be on the lookout for them, and avoid deals that are obviously too-good-to-be-true, whether they are being sold by accounts registered overseas or by domestic sellers wittingly or unwittingly buying counterfeits from overseas to sell here.
Buyers that doubt their ability to distinguish a genuine article from a counterfeit one should only consider purchasing from trustworthy sellers that have an established reputation for delivering exactly what was described, and should avoid deals that are too-good-to-be-true, or deals that are offered by inexperienced sellers that might disappear soon after the transaction is made, or else be prepared to get items authenticated by trusted sources within thirty days to be able to take advantage of eBay's money back guarantee.
If you have waited too long to ask for help from eBay, you may still have some recourse through your payment method; many credit cards offer some protection for purchases for up to six months from the date of purchase.
mydoor2yourdoor
OP4 months agoI don't see a chat option anywhere, did ebay remove this or do you know if they still provide a chat option?
lady_madonna
Mentor4 months agoEbay will not be able to help you until 3 business days have passed since you filed the return request.(which was yesterday according to your original post)
mydoor2yourdoor
OP4 months agoOkay thanks! I'm hoping after 3 days I'll get ebays help.
mydoor2yourdoor
OP4 months agoI'm still not able to contact ebay, my return request was started April 27 and still NO "Select Ask eBay to step in and help."
Do you know another way for me to get ebay to help?
eburtonlab
Mentor4 months agoIf you go to the Help & Contact page and scroll down there should be a "contact us" link. Follow the prompts for your issue, and there should be a link to the chat assistant on most pages in the upper left.
mydoor2yourdoor
OP4 months agoI found the "chat with our automated assistant" button. After going thru a few questions and pages it looks like ebay might get involved to assist after 3 days "We can only step in if it's been more than 3 business days since you requested a return..." of waiting.
mydoor2yourdoor
OP4 months agoThis is what I'm dealing with from this one ebay seller.
This 1TB card is what the seller sold me, and the 512GB card is my own card that I've had for years to show the difference between counterfeit and authentic.
Samsung offers' a software utility (see 1st photo) to verify if the card is an authentic Samsung micro SD card.
So there's 3 ways to spot a fake Samsung micro SD card:
1). Run this Samsung software utility, as mentioned, which seller's card failed.
2). Is there white edges around the card which seller's was black.
3). Is there a circled check mark printed on the back of card which seller's card is missing.
This seller is selling these fakes to hundreds of unsuspecting buyers (likely) not familiar with these Samsung micro sd cards. I've been using these Samsung cards for at least 15 years and know everything there is to know about authentic Samsung microSD cards and how to check them. It makes NO sense why ebay is allowing this profit over buyer treatment and UNNEEDED stress like I'm having right now with this counterfeit card selling scheme. I guess ebay is hoping more users are willing to put up with this type of buyer treatment with seller's selling counterfeit items. For me its not worth it anymore and this stupid fake buying experience has pushed me to end my long ebay relationship.
lady_madonna
Mentor4 months agoEbay cannot physically verify items being sold as being authentic/inauthentic.
That is why they have a 30 day Money Back Guarantee for buyers to use if they receive fake items.
eburtonlab
Mentor4 months agoIt make NO sense why ebay is allow this
eBay cannot look at the listing and determine whether the seller is selling counterfeit SD cards or not, so unless Samsung files a formal complaint or unless multiple eBay buyers actually file "not as described" returns and get their money back, eBay may never even know about what is happening, much less do anything about it.
If you are purchasing items where counterfeits are widely available and difficult for most buyers to easily identify, whether you are buying SD cards, precious metals, gemstones, designer handbags or sneakers, either buy from sources you trust or else be prepared to get items verified in time to use eBay's money back guarantee. Or better yet, both.
mydoor2yourdoor
OP4 months agoI realize ebay can not police everything. But when a buyer with a long positive history (20 plus years!) receives a counterfeit item ebay SHOULD have an easier way to be notified so A. the seller stops selling this item, B. ebay can get more information on the counterfeit item for confirmation to take action (which is in their own policy) and C. Keep buyer for being stressed out even more after receiving the fake item.
Also, it's NOT always convenient or easy for a buyer to find a trusted source without paying market value ($200 plus vs $60 in my case) for an item from a seller whose been selling for several years with a 98% or better rating. This seller is below that now with three negative buyers this week. The only thing in this purchase that was missing, that I usually need to have to be safe, is the photo of the actual item front and back, but let that slide because of the seller's ratings... which I'm NOW kicking myself for and shouldn't if ebay would help better in these situations. I'm just tired of all this and the lack of a quick or reasonable ebay's help on obvious seller pushing counterfeit memory cards.
lady_madonna
Mentor4 months ago@mydoor2yourdoor
EBay is notified about the unscrupulous seller when you file the return request. EBay WILL help you
eburtonlab
Mentor4 months agoI realize ebay can not police everything. But when a buyer with a long positive history (20 plus years!) receives a counterfeit item ebay SHOULD have an easier way to be notified
eBay provides an easy way for a buyer that receives an item that is "not as described" to get a refund. That is how eBay is notified of problems. eBay is not examining individual items or looking at pictures to determine if something is counterfeit.
Also, it's NOT always convenient or easy for a buyer to find a trusted source without paying market value ($200 plus vs $60 in my case)
That should have been a red flag for you: the fact that a new item is selling at a steep discount compared to the market price from trusted sources.
for an item from a seller whose been selling for several years with a 98% or better rating.
98% is not a great rating. It takes more than a feedback percentage to be a trusted seller, particularly if the seller is actually a drop-shipper getting product from who-knows-where.
And for things like SD cards, where not every buyer runs comprehensive tests right away, buyers may not realize there is a problem until long after the deadline for getting a refund or leaving feedback has passed. But even so, for the seller you left your most recent negative, there were at least eight negative feedback comments from more than six months ago -- long before your purchase -- about problems with the seller's SD cards, and many more recent comments about fake SD cards.
eBay is not vetting your sellers for you; if you are not vetting your sellers, no one is.
mydoor2yourdoor
OP4 months agoIn otherwords, buyer beware... ebay allows unscrupulous seller's to continue even though buyer's in the past have remarked about fake items. This seller has had on different things with buyer's commenting on fake items. If two different buyers note a fake item in comment at least two different times, ebay needs to STOP the seller until it can be invested and if found that seller did sell a fake item on different occasions, that seller's account should be dropped, period! Ebay should of been aware or investigated these "RED FLAGS" you mention of this seller but it's likely they chose to do nothing. Profits over buyer's safety is what I'm getting from this experience. That's why it's buyer beware on ebay. Ebay should have ZERO tolerance for these type of sellers. Also you and I know ebay has been around many years long enough to know who these sellers are and when they begin this type of behavior. It's not difficult for them to act on this to protect buyer's, but doing so will affect their profits instead of doing what's right for the ebay customer and hardworking sellers too.
eburtonlab
Mentor4 months agoEbay should have ZERO tolerance for these type of sellers.
BUYERS should have ZERO tolerance for these type of sellers.
lady_madonna
Mentor4 months ago>>"ebay allows unscrupulous seller's to continue even though buyer's in the past have remarked about fake items.<<
Ebay does NOT allow "unscrupulous sellers" to continue selling if enough buyers actually take action to report the seller and file disputes if they receive fake items, not just leave comments in feedback.
mydoor2yourdoor
OP4 months agoI'm still not able to contact ebay, my return request was started April 27 and still NO "Select Ask eBay to step in and help."
Do you know another way for me to get ebay to help?
eburtonlab
Mentor4 months agoWhat is the current status of the case? You should be able to ask eBay to step in after three full business days have elapsed if the seller has not provided for return shipping.
mydoor2yourdoor
OP4 months agoWhen I click on "See return detail" I get this....
mydoor2yourdoor
OP4 months agoI sent this message out on this ebay forum just now for any ones help on this...
I'm having trouble contacting ebay on this counterfeit item. I received the fake Samsung card on April 27 and started a return that same day (April 27) after not being able to get ebay customer service to help. Seller responded to the return request with only an address and NO shipping return label. I've ask for a return label multiple times with out any response. As of today May 1st, I'm still not able to contact ebay, my return request was started April 27 and still NO "Select Ask eBay to step in and help" option.
Seller did send a message to me today May 1st... this is the seller's message:
"The label is in your return request. You can download it or print it at a self-service kiosk at a post office."
There is nothing to download on this return request, just an address! I don't trust this seller and don't know why seller can't send me the shipping return label like everybody else has in the past. I don't live near a post office and not sure if there's a kiosk at one that's over 15 miles away. I'm SOOOOO upset and just want to get ebay's HELP!!!
Any help would be great!
eburtonlab
Mentor4 months agoIt might be worth contacting eBay via Instagram direct message to point out that the seller has not, in fact, provided a prepaid return label or paid for return shipping.
https://www.instagram.com/ebay/
mydoor2yourdoor
OP4 months agoNobody is responding on instagram. Why is there no live person messaging on ebay? When I message on that it's AI and sends me back to that "It's time to return" screen or contact seller. I'm getting sick of this!!!
mydoor2yourdoor
OP4 months agoI guess I'll have to wait and hope that something changes on Monday. I've contacted my visa to dispute the charge. Will never buy on ebay again given this $hitty NO help service by ebay.
eburtonlab
Mentor4 months agoContacting your card issuer to dispute the payment will end eBay's involvement and close your eBay case.
mydoor2yourdoor
OP4 months agoHow?
Still NO "Select Ask eBay to step in and help." option to contact ebay.
When I click on "Take action" it sends me back to the "Ship the item back by May 12" screen with the return address (no label of course), "Mark as shipped", "Contact seller" screen.
What do you think's going on?
lady_madonna
Mentor4 months agoYou can ask Ebay to step in to help you with your refund when it has been more than 3 business days from the date you filed the return request.