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EBAY WILL NO LONGER INVESTIGATE FAKE TRACKING WILL SIDE WITH SELLER WITHOUT LOOKING INTO ISSUE
BELOW IS ONE OF MY MANNY CHATS/CONVERSATIONS WITH EBAY ON THIS ISSUE
Fri 4:50 PM
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I always thought eBay had my back until this happened to me. I bought a mini computer on eBay at a reasonable price—about $20 to $30 less than Amazon. The delivery day came, but the item never arrived. I was advised to wait an extra day in case there was a USPS error. Still, nothing.
I filed a missing item claim, and the seller provided tracking that showed a delivery in my zip code. eBay closed the case. I appealed and spoke with multiple representatives, but they upheld the decision.
After contacting USPS, I was told that the package had been delivered to someone else in my area—not to my address and not in my name. I reviewed the tracking information and noticed it appeared to be linked to an Etsy order, meaning it was a complete scam. USPS informed me that they couldn’t disclose the recipient’s address but would verify the details with eBay if they called.
I spoke with multiple eBay representatives, but they refused to contact USPS for verification, insisting that the tracking showed delivery and the case was closed. Even when I pointed out that another buyer had recently left feedback describing the exact same issue with the seller, eBay didn’t care and simply repeated: case closed.
At this point, I don’t know what else I could have done to prove that the package was never delivered to me. I’m out the money and have spent a lot of time trying to resolve the issue with eBay, only to be dismissed. This experience has completely eroded my trust in eBay’s buyer protection policies.
DONT BUY ANYTHING FROM
MINISFORUM Mini PC UN150P,Intel Twin Lake N150,16 GB DDR4 512GB M.2 2280 PCIe... | eBay
Case ID
53586312025358631202
1:30 AM
eBay
eBay
Hey, thanks for reaching out to eBay 👋 we'd be happy to take a look at this for you! First, we'd need you to authenticate your account so we can locate it and be authorized to access it; you can do that by signing in at the link below. ~Shane
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Thank you I went ahead and authenticated
1:52 AM
eBay
eBay
Thanks for authenticating, Joseph âœ”ï¸ and sorry to hear of the issues with this order. As an appeal has already been denied we unfortunately have no further ability to step in here via social media. We will refer this matter to our Trust & Safety for further review, and you can do the same here: but there unfortunately isn't any other action we can take with regard to the case. If you're able to reach any other agreement with the seller or need any further info, we'll do our best to help. ~Shane
eBay
eBay
Dear Joseph Burley,
Please take a moment and complete our online survey by clicking on the following link:
http://spkl.io/6005f73hD. We look forward to your feedback. To unsubscribe please click this link: http://spkl.io/6006f73hE
12:52 PM
You sent
How in the hell should I reach an agreement with a scammer. I hold eBay responsible because you guys will not call usps and verify what I said that the package or whatever they sent was not sent to me or my address in fact it’s a stupid Etsy order that placed it docent even go back to them. You need to fix this you have a buyer protection guarantee and it clearly covers this, just because you don’t want to do your job or only rely on some stupid ai isn’t may fault. Refund my money now!!!!!!
kh-light
·9 months agoHi everyone,
Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.
Thank you for understanding.
ccomic
·9 months agoI think eBay just needs to make the "entry barrier" for sellers a bit more difficult. For example, perhaps a $500 to $1000 deposit to enable an account to list anything for sale (or make the seller's total listing limit equal to their deposit).
This would discourage a few amateur sellers to be sure, but would go a long way to stopping the easy exploits.
I know that buyers can be dishonest as well, but in their case, they have already put their money at risk. The same should be true of sellers.
mitchgreenberg
·9 months agoAfter going through all the ridiculous hoops that eBay imposes on victims of the fake tracking scam, file a complaint with the Attorney General of California at https://oag.ca.gov/contact/consumer-complaint-against-business-or-company
There is a willful conspiracy on eBay's part to cover up these scams. They close victims' claims without checking the evidence, they remove negative feedback on scam seller's pages and they keep the scam auctions active. Only a massive financial penalty imposed by the State of California will ever stop the criminals that are running eBay's so-called Fraud Department.
jerak-63
·1 year agoAs soon as the tracking in my recent order opened to orangeconnex.com I already know I got scammed. Tracking I was totally fake never get the item. Immediately tried to cancel and of course got screwed and ebay will do zero about it for months..if ever. Will be my LAST ebay purchase. Zero trust... will be closing my account
eburtonlab
·1 year ago@jerak-63
Immediately tried to cancel
If you are dealing with a scammer, there is no point asking for a cancellation; the scammer will not cooperate. And a buyer cannot unilaterally cancel without the seller's cooperation.
"False tracking" is a problem, but it can be dealt with if you read the replies in the thread you are posting in. It is possible to get a refund if you are willing to do the necessary legwork.
ingyhere
·1 year agoWhat I learned from this forum (that I re-engaged recently after years): Consensus advice is to lie to make it about item quality ("Not as described") when it is not received or seller posts fake tracking ("tracking scam" where cash difference is pocketed when nothing comes). This advice is unfortunate since EBay was originally predicated on the honesty of participants and above board transactions. EBay should address tracking scams urgently as it eats away at the foundation of their business model, and they should ban third-party tracking proxy web sites that are open to abuse.
paxilill
·1 year agoJust a heads up that eBay won't look into legit tracking numbers either. A while back as a buyer I had an item boomerang back to the seller half way to me. There was no reason given and all that mattered to eBay was that it showed delivered. It didn't matter that delivered meant the sellers address.
The seller was unresponsive when I emailed them. I'm sure they were stoked they got their item back. To this day I have no idea why it boomeranged back to the seller, it never even made it to my state.
I went round and round with eBay and got nowhere because said it was delivered. I had to go nuclear option with a chargeback. It's crazy that my bank looked at the tracking and was able to use logic, but eBay not so much. I guess it must be about that shareholder value
simba6
·1 year agoIn such cases, an item not as described case must be filed. NOT an item not received. Hey, they did not send the actual item to a random address did they? So yes, it's an item not as described.
magicjohnsonsvariety
·9 months agoProblem is your average mom or grandmother isn't going to know this...and will feel they are doing the right thing by choosing INR because it's the most truthful reason.
Ebay needs to work with USPS to figure this out...or perhaps do something as simple as not allowing sellers to change the shipping address.
safan80
·9 months agotobaccocardyahoo
·1 year agoThis is a reason why one should always pay for your Ebay purchase with a Mastercard or Visa credit card.
A credit card dispute AKA chargeback will almost always require proof of delivery to the cardholder's address - without it, the buyer will win the dispute. The burden of proof for the destination address falls on the Ebay seller.
FWIW When a seller drops off a package at the PO, if the clerk accidentally scans the bar code as delivered, Ebay considers the delivery made and ignores all further scans.
Ebay had better find a fix for the delivery address scam or plan for going out of business.
safan80
·1 year agotodaysstyle
·1 year agoI have found on chargebacks the buyer almost always wins. All they have to do is say "un-authorized". Might as well not even bother countering. Their bank will automatically give them the refund. Have sold on my website and a couple of other selling platforms for around 10 years. I accept CC through stripe and it is always the same with "un-authorized" transactions. Don't know why a seller would go through all the rigamarole of the "tracking" scam when all the buyer has to do is screech "un-authorized" to get a refund and the item they purchased! I think most of these scammers know that. Have had at least a dozen in the past 10 years. Its always the same. When I see "un-authorized" on it I automatically know it is a experienced scammer! lol ðŸ˜
tobaccocardyahoo
·1 year ago@todaysstyle
Unauthorized is a special case. A transaction with a stolen credit card is unauthorized.
Some websites cover their sellers for all unauthorized transactions, the buyer always wins but the seller does not lose. This was implemented when some sites decided not to use the credit card issuers Address Verification System which might not accept an order being sent as a gift or to the buyer's place of business.
I don't know if your experience is with scammers or thieves, or if it matters which. With a swiped card, I think it is more likely to be stolen, not a scam.
todaysstyle
·1 year agotobaccocardyahoo - when I receive orders on my website I always compare the address on the card to the address on the order. If it is a match I will ship the order. If it is not a match I will cancel the order as it is just to risky not to. I do prefer buyers pay with Paypal though there is still a risk of un-authorized. In most cases Paypal covers charge-backs. I have only had one on Paypal they did not cover. I was told charge-backs are not covered by Paypal if the buyer files directly to their credit card instead of filing with Paypal. If the credit card is stolen then why would the item shipping address be the same address on the buyers credit card? Also, it never fails that it is the more expensive orders that do the charge-backs and of course the buyer never offers to return the item they purchased and received supposedly as an un-authorized transaction.
I also prefer Paypal as if a buyer files a charge-back with Stripe there is an automatic 15.00 fee and now they have notified us that there will be an additional 20.00 fee to counter the charge-back. I am not sure why this is but that started the 1st of June. So now even thought the seller is in the right and wins the charge-back there will be a 20.00 charge just because the buyer decided to be dishonest. Over-all if the seller loses the charge-back they lose 35.00 plus the cost of shipping and the cost of the item or if they win they still have to pay a 20.00 fee (I call it a theft fee). Go figure! 🤔
todaysstyle
·1 year agoWhich is why I said the post office does not usually do that. When you take a tracking number to the post office and they pull it up they see the same thing you do. I don't really think a mail delivery is going to remember 1 package out of all the packages they deliver. (who it is too, or where it is from . . . Etsy) This is not information the post office would give you. Not saying the postal person did not say this but maybe they were speaking out of turn, or even just suggesting that may be what has happened. But think about it . . . this package was delivered to this persons city and zip code (which is what you see when you pull up a tracking number) but was addressed to someone else? What is the chance any seller, regardless of selling on 1 platform or 10 platforms will have two orders for the same city and zip code at the same time? Just not very likely. I guess it could happen but I think the chances are extremely thin. Just my opinion is all ðŸ˜
tinsoldierunderground
·1 year agoYou seem to be oblivious to the fake tracking scam... It runs rampant on this site, we hear of it on an almost daily basis. The way the USPS maintains delivery tracking is by GPS when the carrier scans the item as delivered. Carrier doesn't need to remember where it was delivered.
todaysstyle
·1 year agoYa'll are right, I'm wrong. I did just go back and re-read the post and no I absolutely do not know how someone would use a fake tracking number. The tracking number has to go to the city and zip code of the buyer so I don't see how they could possibly use a different number and have it do that. Also, as a seller why not just pull up a copy of your shipping label and e-mail it to the buyer. That is what I would do. If they purchased their postage online Ebay should be able to see who it was addressed to. I ship my packages through my shipping easy account, other than the few sales I have made on Ebay this past week, and I can pull up a shipping label from a year or more if I need it for reference. I actually just had "repeat" buyer on another platform, I pulled up their information and it had been 3 years previously that they had purchased the same item from me so why not ask for a copy of the shipping label that was used? Don't you have to use Ebay shipping?
tinsoldierunderground
·1 year agoThe sellers who scam on here will sell, say a $500.00 camera. Buyer pays, seller ships a $.99 bag of gummies to a gas station or office building, etc. randomly chosen in the buyer's zip code. All ebay sees initially, is that the item was delivered - they don't look beyond the zip code, especially now that AI handles this phase.
Crooked seller is betting buyer will open an INAD case, as many do. Ebay rules for the seller based on that delivery scan in buyer's zip code. This becomes a nightmare for the buyer very quickly, as the burden of proof falls on them. If you read my first post, you'll see the current unofficial remedy for this nonsense.
todaysstyle
·1 year agoIf it shows as delivered could it have been delivered and then taken by a porch pirate? I don't think the post office can give you information like that. Maybe the postal person is speaking out of turn? Also, with sellers what is the chance of having a two orders for the same zip code at the same time, even if they are selling on other platforms? I think I would have to agree with Ebay on this. It shows delivered to your zip code I don't see how they could not rule in favor of the seller? Especially with all the porch pirating going on now. I watch the door cam all the time that shows dishonest people taking other peoples packages. I would definitely be thinking porch pirate. Just a thought.
mudshark61369
·1 year ago@todaysstyle,
If you had read the replies to the original post, you would have seen that @jbburley , provided info that proves this was not a case of porch piracy. They were told the address on the shipping label associated with the tracking number they received, did not match theirs.
In cases of porch piracy, neither the seller or ebay can do anything about it. The seller fulfilled their obligation to ship the item to the correct address, and ebay cannot issue a refund because they did that, and they should not, because buyers are required to provide a secure location for receiving deliveries. Even a shipper will not honor an insurance or lost mail protection claim when a package is stolen.
eburtonlab
·1 year agoIf it shows as delivered could it have been delivered and then taken by a porch pirate?
That can certainly happen, which is why it is essential to contact the shipping service to determine if the tracking number corresponds to a delivery to your name and address or not. If not, then the issue is "false tracking" and has nothing to do with package theft.
Also, with sellers what is the chance of having a two orders for the same zip code at the same time, even if they are selling on other platforms?
That would depend on the seller, but ultimately that is not especially relevant, as mixing up two packages (or two tracking numbers) is the least likely reason for a false tracking situation. It can be something done intentionally by the seller, or without the seller's knowledge by the seller's drop-shipping company. Those can be good reasons to avoid buying expensive items from new or inexperienced sellers, or sellers that show signs of drop-shipping.
einspritzung
·1 year agoI had a similar case in that an item was marked as delivered but it was not. After prodding at USPS they told me the Zip was correct but was a totally wrong address and recipient. Since MY name and address did not match the tracking, USPS would not provide me any evidence. Like you, eBay sided with the seller and my claim denied. By pure luck the scammer had done this to too many people and had several negatives pop up within the next couple of weeks. I was at my last attempt to appeal but needed proof. I was able to do the mobile app USPS support and did a screen capture that I submitted to eBay showing an issue with the name and address with the tracking number (The human at USPS would not provide anything). I was lucky and eBay sided with me on the appeal. Checking back the seller was banned and feedback from other buyers indicated they lost appeals as well. I'm not sure how these sellers are doing it. What are the odds they have a partner at the same Zip and just pocket the money and their partner keeps the item? In any case. Since eBay takes it as fact that an item is delivered without confirming that the address matches the tracking, we can no longer count on buyer protection. If this happens to me again, I'll seriously have to think about finding another way to buy, and I've been a loyal eBay buyer since 2002.
mudshark61369
·1 year ago@einspritzung,
"I was able to do the mobile app USPS support and did a screen capture that I submitted to eBay showing an issue with the name and address with the tracking number (The human at USPS would not provide anything)".
That is great info, but I am surprised you were able to get the information that way. According to postal regulations, label information, Address and package type/size/weight, is only supposed to be accessed by the sender of a package.
That is why a postal employee cannot tell you the address on a shipping label. What they can do is tell you in general if the address on a label matches yours or not. If you read this reply scroll open the link below then on the Go To Best Answer to read how I've been telling people to get the General Info from a postal employee.
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Need-advice-item-not-received/m-p/34621715#M496499
Since you were able to get it, PLEASE give us the step by step instructions, for getting the info via the mobile app. It would be a big help.
einspritzung
·1 year agoYou are correct in everything you said. The USPS employee yielded the information in person but would not write down anything. She gave me the street name that it was delivered to and confirmed that it did NOT match my physical address but only did so after seeing me go in 3 times in frustration because I needed proof for eBay and both eBay and USPS said I need to "work it out with the sender" who was a scammer that did not respond to any of my contact attempts. I lost my case and had no evidence to appeal. I tried the USPS on-line support and it would error out every time on the submission of the case for lost package (I didn't know why but it was because my address did not match the address attached to the tracking number). I then used a link to submit a case using the USPS "Visual Call". That system also ended with an error, but the text specified that the address did not match their record. I took a screen shot of this and attached it as evidence in the appeal. I also attached evidence that "Informed Delivery" information and notices were available for all my packages except this tracking number (because it was not shipped to my address). By this point the seller had gotten 4 feedback comments all stating the same thing, that the seller shipped to another address. I was very lucky that eBay then sided with me on this case. I was more concerned with the justice and principal of not being allowed to be scammed than by the $31 refund. A month of fighting and trips to USPS just don't seem worth it but to get a scammer banned on eBay and no one else get their money stollen was worth it.
mudshark61369
·1 year ago@jbburley,
The title for this topic is wrong. eBay has never been able to "Investigate" the tracking information further than checking the info posted by the carrier. That is due to Federal Postal Regulations that apply not only to the USPS, but to any domestic "final mile" carrier operating in the U.S., Ups FedEx... etc.
" I appealed and spoke with multiple representatives, but they upheld the decision".
Unless you went through the process of getting a call back from ebay, any phone number you found online for ebay customer service, did not connect you to an ebay rep. If you did get a call back, or chat with ebay's C.S. reps, almost all of them work for a contracted 3rd party Call/Chat center. Those people can only read from the play book provided by ebay, that does not cover every issue that people run into. They can only relay information you provide to ebay, even if you have absolute proof of a scam to change the original decision.
In order to appeal an Item Not Received dispute that was found in favor of a seller, You need to get documentation that ebay will accept, and Appeal by opening the dispute you filed which is just above the title of the item in your purchase history, and click on the Appeal button. There you can add scans, photos or saved screenshots of any information you can come up with. FYI, because emails can be faked, ebay will not accept links to them.
" I hold eBay responsible because you guys will not call usps and verify what I said that the package or whatever they sent was not sent to me or my address".
The 3rd party Call/Chat center reps are not allowed by their employers to go online to research or make phone calls other than to an authorized ebay call back. That is standard procedure in the 3rd party customer service industry. They do not want their reps going online to visit other sites or making phone calls from their phones during work hours.
You do still have one option to appeal to an actual ebay employee through one of their social media platforms. In order to get the information you need from the USPS to prove your case. Open the link below and click on the Go To Best Answer button, to find out what you need to do. Because I forgot to add the links to ebay's social media platforms to that reply, they were posted in the next reply. I'll post them below.
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Need-advice-item-not-received/m-p/34621715#M496499
Because the Fake tracking scam is hard to prove, and thus common, you can get proof that can help, by signing up to receive Free enhanced tracking information from: USPS Informed Delivery, FedEx Delivery manager and UPS My Choice. Skip going through the standard automated Item Not Received (INR) system, and go directly to social media with the info from one of the services above.
I only use Facebook where you click on the blue send message button. How you do it on the other 2 you will have to find out yourself.
https://www.facebook.com/eBay/
https://www.instagram.com/ebayforsellers/
https://x.com/askebay
mudshark61369
·1 year ago@jbburley,
This is the third topic you have posted about this issue in the last two days. Posting multiple topics on the same topic is a violation of ebay's spamming the boards policy. So is the naming and shaming of other ebay members.
You have replies to the other topics, and you can reply to those members if you want. If you forget which board you have posted on, go to the upper right corner of any Community page, where you will see the ebay generated avatar circle. Click on it and from the two options that drop down select My profile.
When that page opens you will see your community information in a blue banner. Below it on the left you will see Posts Replies Posts is highlighted and you can click on the title of any of them, to be read the replies you have received, and reply to them if you wish.
kensgiftshop
·1 year ago@jbburley
You posted about this yesterday, no need for 2 new post today.
Have you read any of the replies from your first post?
tinsoldierunderground
·1 year ago@jbburley
This has become a common scam on ebay. Unfortunately, ebay sees the same tracking information that you do, so it gets ruled as 'delivered'. The latest remedy being tossed around on the forums is for the buyer to open an INAD case (item not as described, item doesn't match description). This throws the scam back in the seller's lap, as they will be forced to send you a return label. You throw a pack of rubber bands or paper clips, or just nothing at all into an envelope, and ship it back... ebay refunds you.
grann-4629
·9 months agoAnd there you go folks ... a solution to the problem ...NOT!
You're suggesting that we do the same scam by filing a INAD case, when it's not.
You're suggesting that we send sellers a bunch of garbage to get even, which is just a downright lousy thing to do.