Difficulty reporting disreputable seller to Ebay (shipping upcharge scam).
I buy on Ebay, and I operate a store on Ebay, so I know what is and is not allowed.
I needed some gasket material, that is apparently only available in Europe.
I found a listing offering the material: Item # 162619622400 (on the regular Ebay website).
The seller is located in Latvia, and apparently registered through Ebay UK: AUT0SPARES.EU
The listing states the item price, and the international shipping price stated separately.
I clicked through, purchased, and paid for the item.
I received a tracking number (label printed, not submitted to carrier).
24 hours later, I received a message from the seller, saying the shipping cost was unexpectedly more expensive, and they needed more money. They provided a link to an Ebay UK listing, for a "shipping upgrade" costing $17: UK item #154255375814 (This one only shows up on the UK website.) The seller stated that if I wanted the item I had paid for, I would have to purchase the "shipping upgrade".
I've made mistakes, and been forced to eat mistakes. But this sounded fishy, because shipping to the US is the same for the entire country. I dug a little more.
I looked at the seller's other listings, and found 20 listings for "shipping upgrades", starting at $17, and going up to around $300: UK #'s 164326278237, 163931962697, 155256556048, 163931932240, 154274897640, 155062856803, 164488572763, 164257503154, 164366342049, 164962264396, 154571728235, 165969805697, 153712271229, 154255374758, 164594909887, 155373772316, 154042381106, 154521098774. 164955392385.
The little entry under the price for quantity available showed dozens sold for each of those listings. So, this is not some new listing accident that the seller encountered. This seller is doing this as a normal part of each transaction on Ebay. They low ball to get the order, then tell the customer that they need to pay more for the shipping, or the seller cancels out the order.
I responded to the seller that I did not give them permission to ask for more money, and that they should deliver the item as described in the transaction that had been paid.
The seller cancelled the transaction, with the reason "buyer requested a refund".
The act of issuing the refund appears to have cut off all possible methods of reporting the seller.
The seller owes Ebay the fee for the transaction. Entering the reason as "buyer requested a refund" is fraud that steals that fee from Ebay.
Basically, what I am finding is that Ebay has gotten rid of, or made impossible to find, all the ways to report disreputable sellers. Funny thing, I said I have been forced to eat mistakes when I sell, because on the US site, the seller is open to abuse and exploitation. Now, I find a seller who is seriously damaging the reputation of the platform and all sellers, and I find no way to report them.
(As far as feedback, the UK libel laws force Ebay to remove negative feedback.)
Any suggestions on how to report this to Ebay?
soh.maryl
·2 years agoWouldn't that be "make a mental note of the seller"?
kitschy*loot
·2 years agoTry reporting the seller through this link for lying about the cancelation reason; the seller is clearly trying to avoid getting a defect on their account and get the final value fees back.
https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/working-sellers/report-seller-listing?id=4022
chevymontecarlo88
·2 years agoYou could find the relisted item and report that item but not sure what if anything would happen.
Personally I would forget about it and move on. Make a mental note of the seller and avoid in the future.
-Good luck