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Scam or Not!
I've been buying from eBay for years....maybe more than average....meaning I like doing business with them. I've ran into some problems that have always been addressed asap by eBay. I'm writing because of what happened with this last problem and something that may cause fellow buyers a headache. I bought a bike and 2 days later received a tracking number...and the very next day, I got the message that it had been delivered. I was happy but very surprised. I looked outside and there was no package.. I waited a couple of hours...checked the eBay status...still no package. I contacted the seller. They told me that they had attached and sent me the wrong tracking number...and they would send me the right number to fix it and not to open a case to give them time to fix it. I waited a couple of days and still no action on the seller's part....so I opened a case. Oc course eBay was right on it. Now...when you run the tracking number, it would come up with my name and address marked "delivered"....but still the seller themselves admitted they had made a mistake...and I had no package. Ebay sent me a message saying they were closing my case and no refund was being given because the seller showed that the item was delivered. I knew that wasn't right and felt eBay had either did poor investigating or no investigating at all. I ran the tracking number on the FedEx tracking web site...it said it was delivered to my address...but it wouldn't show proof of delivery. So I called and spoke with an agent. She ran the same tracking number and asked for my name and address. It wasn't a match. She told me that the package associated with that tracking number did not go to my address and didn't have my name on it....it was not to me. She told me that she would not nor could not give me any information as to where it was delivered...becouse of course I asked...but it was not delivered to my address. When I tried to appeal, eBay didn't want to let me because I had no new documentation to support my appeal. I tried to call but it didn't want to let me through because it looped back to their results of their investigation...but I kept trying and found a way to speak to a live agent. She said they would refund my money but for the wrong reason. eBay wanted to say that the package was delivered to me but it was stolen off my porch. I kept trying to correct her but I'm not sure if she understood the difference. The item was not stolen from my porch, it was never delivered. The seller may have gotten paid twice for the same item....something to think about...no one to report it to.
eburtonlab
Mentor9 months ago@dtango3
If the buyer actually receives something, the buyer can file a "not as described" return within thirty days for a full refund. In fact, any buyer on eBay can file a "not as described" return, provided the buyer is willing and able to return exactly what was received.
If tracking shows delivery but nothing arrives and the buyer can obtain some hard copy documentation (email is not good enough) that says that the package was not delivered to the buyer's address or documentation that shows the weight or size of the package cannot possibly correspond to the ordered item, or the shipping date precedes the order, then the buyer may be able to contact eBay via social media direct message, provide that documentation to eBay and get help with "false tracking".
https://x.com/askebay
https://www.facebook.com/ebay
https://www.instagram.com/ebayforsellers/
With "false tracking" if you go through a standard automated "item not received" case, on the other hand, you will lose the case because the seller can provide tracking that appears to show delivery. If you then appeal, you may have some additional options at that point. It appears that eBay has added a new appeal option regarding "delivery to another address", but I do not know how effective that is compared to contacting eBay via social media with documentation and explicitly mentioning "false tracking", which seems to work provided you can obtain the necessary documentation.
If you are unable to get help through eBay, you may have recourse through your payment method, though you should probably exhaust all your eBay options first since once you go through your payment method, eBay will no longer help with that transaction.
In general, you can avoid a lot of headaches by choosing to purchase only from established sellers that have recent and past positive feedback as a seller for selling items in the same category that you intend to buy. If someone is selling a dozen apple watches, but has no feedback, or only has feedback as a buyer, or only has feedback for selling dress patterns or fishing lures (actual examples I have seen), perhaps wait until they have a track record of positive feedback for selling electronics before you buy from them.