Fraud on ebay is out of control
I very rarely enter negative feedback on a seller. I almost always err to assuming the seller made an honest mistake when there is a mix-up no matter how blatant the error. And the seller usually fixes it. So if you see me make a negative comment, something really bad happened. You see, I have a tendency to use Beckett to review any signature on items I see for sale here, especially at prices that seem to good to be true. That is red flag #1 for fraud - if it's way too cheap, you are buying a counterfeit item, probably with a counterfeit COA they made up. I'm sure the user that I just gave negative feedback on will try to explain it away, but the reality is, well, I'll just quote Beckett:
"After examination, several inconsistencies prevented the item's certification including:
- The signature has an atypical letter slant, angle, and pitch
- There are baseline issues, including misalignment and undulation
- The signature has been drawn slowly
- The formation of the letters and overlapping of strokes is irregular or unusual
- The signature lacks flow, rhythm, conviction, and spontaneity"
This was on a Dave Grohl item. The seller is refusing to refund me. I'll be disputing via payment card and exploring all legal options including litigation to sue them, because fraud is illegal and is not subject to any seller or ebay policy about 30 days or whatever. My point is even if someone has 98-99% approval, look at their negatives, it could be likely that just 98-99% of their customers have never bothered to check if they bought a real autograph.
nonstop247
·11 months agoEbay has become 98% scams, rip offs, and thefts. I can’t take it anymore.
gosimus
·11 months ago@scheu89
< This was on a Dave Grohl item >
I'm not familiar with the Foo Fighters, but the name Dave Grohl was familiar. A long time ago, he played drums in Nirvana before he founded and became front man for the Foo Fighters.
scheu89
OP11 months agoYes, he is a great self-taught drummer that played in Nirvana and other bands before that and founded the Foo Fighters. If you know Nirvana you should be very familiar with Foo Fighters so check them out!
mudshark61369
·11 months ago@scheu89 ,
Have you ever searched online to see what information a valid COA should have in it? If not you should do that now before buying another signed item that has a COA. Fake COAs are common on many sites not just ebay.
Having Beckett, JSA, PSA ... authenticate signatures is a wise thing to do, but often authentication takes more than the 30 days you have to file an Item Not As Described (INAD) dispute, so your Money Back Guarantee protections lapse. Beckett does offer a Super Express service 5-10 working days, but it does cost more, and you cannot recover the costs for authentication from a seller, through ebay.
"My point is even if someone has 98-99% approval, look at their negatives, it could be likely that just 98-99% of their customers have never bothered to check if they bought a real autograph".
One should never go by a seller's feedback percentage alone, checking each seller's profile page needs to be done mo matter what their percentage is. A very high volume seller can have a 98-99% rating but have hundreds or more negatives. (Screen shot below from a 99% top rated seller)
A low volume seller can have a lower percentage for receiving just one negative. Then there are the New or Very occasional sellers who can have a 100% rating but all for buying before or in the last year.
scheu89
OP11 months agoYes, you're on point here. And people even fake real COAs by slapping a fake item # on a real COA. And you're right, etsy being a major offender that's worse than ebay. Now I try to just work with people that have existing COAs that are verifiable from the big 3 or the RACC people. And if the price is too good to be true, it's probably fake.
12345jamesstamps
·11 months agoSo what happened?
You had 30 days to request a refund as 'item not as described.
I am a little surprised with the seller since you buy so much and can be a 'repeat buyer'.
Seller listings are private...that's a red flag for me.
'disputing via payment card'...easy to do online if you have the payment source online...try to be very brief about the situation if you do it online...key word most use is 'dispute'
scheu89
OP11 months agoI received the item on 8/26 which they "guaranteed" to be authentic; it came with an unknown **bleep** company "COA" so I sent it to Beckett and they returned it yesterday and the seller rejected by refund inquiry because of the 30 day technicality. I wasn't going to dispute it without the facts, but maybe that's a solution going forward for anything I find questionable.
bonanza125
·11 months ago"My point is even if someone has 98-99% approval, look at their negatives, it could be likely that just 98-99% of their customers have never bothered to check if they bought a real autograph."
Just so you know most people in this community if not all already know what to do in your situation. All we can go by is what you said and what your seller stated in feedback response which they stated it was authenticated.
kensgiftshop
·11 months agoWhen a seller sets their listings to private, like that seller, I think they are trying to hide something.
If it is fake and the MBG has expired, your only option is a chargeback.
scheu89
OP11 months agoThank you. I have disputed with the bank and will handle it that way and also look into going through ebay and/or the court system to get the seller info and sue them for the additional expenses I'm out of pocket.
soh.maryl
·11 months agoYou seem to be pretty knowledgeable in your field, so I hope I can presume to ask a question:
When you receive an item that's not as described, are you not opening an NAD case? If you are, there is no way the seller can refuse to refund you.
PS: And, if you waited past 30 days to seek a refund, then your next step will be a chargeback on your card.
scheu89
OP11 months agoThank you; that's what I did and excellent suggestion on your end - the law remains the law and you have rights despite whatever seller or ebay policies are! I tried opening a case but the 30 day thing allowed them to reject it -- the problem with autographs in particular is that it takes 30 days+ to have a real authenticator look at them -- in this case I sent the item to Beckett the day after I received it (Aug 26) and got their answer back yesterday (10/4) - unless you are willing to spend hundreds of dollars to expedite, which is an unreasonable expectation for buyers to bear the burden of.