EBay is covering up fake tracking number scams by not allowing negative feedback.
I opened an "item not delivered" case with eBay for an item that had a fake tracking number showing that it was delivered when it wasn't. I opened a case and initially lost. I won it on appeal. But the negative feedback that I left the seller was never shown on their feedback.
Case details: The first tracking number for the item showed a ship date of June 23rd with an estimated delivery date of June 29th. The item did not arrive. I contacted the USPS and got an email from them saying that the package was last physically scanned on June 24th and they confirmed that the package did not finish delivery by the estimated delivery date. The tracking number showed the item as not being delivered in both eBay's system and the USPS's system.
On July 17th, I opened an "item not delivered" case with eBay. The seller responded by updating the delivery information in the order details. In the order details, the seller had added a completely different tracking number with a ship date of July 18th and showing that the package was delivered on June 29th, which was the estimated delivery date from the first tracking number.
How can the seller produce two different tracking numbers for the same item and the second one showing a ship date of July 18th for an item that was delivered 24 days earlier?
The seller created a fake tracking number to fool eBay's automated resolution system to show that the item had been delivered when it wasn't.
I sent eBay the information about the discrepancies in the tracking numbers and eBay ruled in the seller's favor. I appealed the decision by uploading screenshots of the USPS email and order details EBay gave me a refund for the lost item but under the basis that the item was stolen after it was delivered. Because EBay refused to acknowledge the fake tracking number in their response, I could not use their email of the decision to prove that they knew of the scam.
By closing the initial case in the seller's favor, the negative feedback that I left for the seller did not appear in their feedback. By refunding my money on appeal, they thought it would placate me without taking the money from the seller or acknowledging the scam.
This policy by EBay protects scam sellers from negative feedback that could warn other buyers about fake tracking numbers. When a buyer sees that a seller has a 99% or 100% positive rating, the buyer could be unknowingly dealing with a scammer and EBay will pretend that the scam doesn't exist. It creates distrust of the feedback system when negative feedbacks aren't allowed when cases are closed. EBay has been insidiously covering up this scam since 2020.
simba6
·3 years agoIt started a good fifteen years ago. It took some time to catch on and yes you would have though they would be on to it by now and take measures to prevent it.
campanaelia
·3 years agoAs @simba6 already mentioned, you need to be more creative to beat the scammers.
simba6
·3 years agoSince it said delivered, you lose any not delivered case. However, if you had filed an item not as described case................