I think I was scammed on eBay
So, I won a drone on ebay, I am in a Nato base in Europe, so currently overseas
I paid the seller via paypal same day, as I've done thousands of times
The listing had the seller as being in California
Two week past, I asked the seller how the shipping had gone and for a tracking #
He stated that something with paypal had told them there was an issue blah blah, just playing for time
He then stated his "sister in law" would be sending the drone, that now was in Florida for some reason
This must be where one of his cash mules lives
I was provided a tracking # that took a stupendously long time (think one month) to get to Chicago IL, this is the military hub for all overseas APO mail now
The item was promptly sent back with a return to sender tracking on it in Chicago, probably something they did on purpose to the item to buy even more time!
As soon as I saw the return to sender track, I reported the item as not received on eBay
I sent a message to seller, he stated wow, not yet?! I will look into it, this is the last I heard from him, he has since ghosted me
The tracking has since been completed with a item delivered "left at front porch", but somehow it's showing as delivered to my zip code and APO which for some reason now is in Florida and not in Europe
Military post offices don't "deliver" any mail, we get a notice that we have mail and have to go there with our government id to pick it up
eBay has since told me to "work it out" with the seller, because for some ungodly reason this isn't covered by ebay guarantee, even though the original listing clearly states it is
So now it seems I'm out $400 and the scammer got away with it...
Anyone else go through anything similar? Any ideas on a resolution? Thanks!
reallynicestamps
·2 years agoYou are also covered by Paypal if you used that, for 180 days from Payment.
More importantly, you are also covered by the credit card you really used* for at least 120 days from payment and usually 180.
Call the 1800 number on the back of the card or on your monthly invoice and ask about a chargeback.
*But not a debit card nor a gift card, those are like sending cash in the mail.
mudshark61369
·2 years ago@nevesnet,
"This seller had 100% rating with 470 stars, account since 2000, just hadn't been active for 6 months".
When you look at a feedback profile if you see nothing but From Seller on their recent feedback received, you need to click on the As a seller tab. You also have to change the Sort from Most relevant to Most recent, (a change ebay made to feedback profiles about 6 months ago).
Had you done that you would have seen the person had not sold anything in more than a year. They have been buying in the last 6 months. just not in the last 30 days.
Because the seller has not sold in over a year, they had a 21-30 hold placed on their payments received, by ebay. They likely did not know that would happen or how to deal with it.
Depending on how long after the last estimated delivery date, you filed an INR dispute with ebay you may have been past the 30 days from the last estimated delivery date which according to the listing for domestic shipping was 4 to 11 days from March 24, which was Sunday so the last estimated delivery date would have been about April 3rd. So you would have had 30 days from that date to file an INR.
The seller also only ships domestically within the U.S. using USPS ground Advantage, a domestic delivery only USPS service, so creating the shipping label would not have generated a customs form which would have been needed for a foreign APO address. That info can be found on a listing page by clicking on the Shipping, Returns & Payments tab.
It's been over 50 years since I received mail or packages via the APO system so I'm sure changes have been made to it. So I have to ask if your Unit's main APO address is in Florida? I think my mail back then was sent to the Fleet exchange, San Diego, Ca. for forwarding to my unit in Vietnam.
From the info I've gathered, I don't think the seller was trying to scam you. I think it was their inexperience that caused the problem. They delayed shipping because being a returning seller and probably not being aware of the payment hold, which showed your payment as Pending on their account. They didn't think your payment had cleared, and may have taken your shipping questions as you trying to scam them somehow. Add to that that the shipping service they use is for domestic Ground shipping only and you have a perfect storm of a transaction.
You are entitled to a refund, but now are outside of ebay's normal Money Back Guarantee protections. Contacting them through their Facebook page will probably be the best way to go (Link Below)
Use the blue send message button on that page. Give the rep who fields your message the 12 digit ebay item number, the date you won the auction, and the last estimated delivery date shown when you paid. All of those things should be in your Order details. Do tell them if you filed an INR dispute or not and the results of the dispute, and have them check the tracking delivery zip code against yours on the details page. You should be able to post a screen shot of the tracking information which you say now shows the package being returned to the sender. Sign the message with your real and ebay username. It can take a few days to get a reply.
https://www.facebook.com/eBayForBusiness
Good luck.
zgnisaer
·2 years agoYes, that's rubbish: Your seller doesn't get paid from PayPal.
eBay collects your payment from PayPal, then eBay in turn pays the seller.
It's not spoofed, and it's not fake tracking.
USPS tracking now will always show a Return to Sender
-- as delivered at the original destination to the original recipient
-- although it was actually delivered to/picked up by/etc the original sender.
This then makes it appear @nevesnet that the buyer received the item
-- and perfectly satisfies eBay, PayPal, and the card issuer to see a "Delivered" to that zip code.
Again, USPS tracking says it was delivered to the recipient's zip code
-- because the sender deliberately "fixes" the address to cause a return to sender.
nevesnet
OP2 years agoThis is exactly what happened, so I'm guessing eBay knows about this and the item was indeed returned to sender by USPS as I stated? I should chat up a rep on facebook? Thank you all for the help!
As many have asked, here is the sender...
https://www.ebay.com/fdbk/feedback_profile?username=photojnki
albertabrightalberta
·2 years agoI believe that this is a case of the account being hijacked and the seller in question wasn't the actual seller.
@nevesnet
When you won the item, did the "seller" give you his Paypal email address to make payment?
rseuqinh
·2 years agoSo @nevesnet is this the USPS tracking:
- The second-to-last scan shows e.g. arrived at post office/out for delivery
-- at the seller's/sister's zip code in Florida.
- But the final scan just hours later shows delivered
-- at the front porch to your APO overseas mail military hub zip code in Chicago, IL?
nevesnet
OP2 years agoYes, USPS is doing some crazy tracking where as the return to sender gets the original addressee's zip on as delivered, seems like a smart choice and no way that might cause some confusion! LOL
AE is Armed forces in Europe, not located in Florida as far as I know...
Thank you all for your help, I have asked eBay to look into this and reported the seller, it's in their hands now.
mudshark61369
·2 years ago@nevesnet,
"I have contacted the postmaster for the APO address, there should be NO way to spoof a zip code delivery. If this is the case, then nothing is safe any longer, people can ship things out knowing it will be returned to them and keep the item and your money! Pretty much the end of eBay and any other person to person website".
Given what you have written, I would say that you have been the victim of a fake tracking number scam. The post master at your APO was wrong there are ways addresses and/or zip codes can be changed, so that they will show Delivered someplace different than the address in your Order details. This has become a very popular way to scam people on 3rd party online listing sites like ebay.
The address in Chicago might be eBay's international shipping hub, actually located just outside of Chicago in Glendale Hgts. next to O'hare airport. Which would explain the long shipping time for it to be delivered there before making it to Florida.
"As soon as I saw the return to sender track, I reported the item as not received on eBay".
Do you mean that you filed an item not received (INR) dispute through ebay, if you did there should have been a record of that just above your purchase history. Unfortunately, the automated INR system is dumb, in that all it can do is search for a Delivered scan, it doesn't take into account where a package was delivered.
If you did file a dispute, and it was turned down, there should be an Appeal button in the message telling you that. In order to successfully appeal, you have to get proof of the wrong delivery address. If the tracking showed delivery to the Florida APO's zip code. (Each APO has its own zip code) before being returned to sender. You can appeal telling the rep to check your order details showing your European APO's zip code, and add a screen shot of the tracking showing delivery to the Fl. address's zip. Also ask the rep to review the messages from the seller saying the item would be shipped to their sister in law in Fl. who would forward it to you. That information should be enough to get you a refund.
You posted some info about the seller's feedback profile, But I think there is something you have missed. If you post the ebay item number (not the Order number with hyphens in it) for the listing, we can check for some other info you may have missed when you checked the seller's feedback profile page.
campanaelia
·2 years agoContact the ebay reps on facebook they are more helpful with this type of scam. If you file a claim at PP it will void your ebay buyer protection.
candd205
·2 years agoFile a case through paypal.
nevesnet
OP2 years agoI have contacted the postmaster for the APO address, there should be NO way to spoof a zip code delivery. If this is the case, then nothing is safe any longer, people can ship things out knowing it will be returned to them and keep the item and your money! Pretty much the end of eBay and any other person to person website.
This seller had 100% rating with 470 stars, account since 2000, just hadn't been active for 6 months, I'm usually very careful whom I purchase anything from... just sad panda really.
Even did a reverse image search on the listing's images, and the images weren't found anywhere. Just seems like alot of sophistication for a measly $400!
ittybitnot
·2 years agoI have contacted the postmaster for the APO address, there should be NO way to spoof a zip code delivery
@nevesnet
Unfortunately, your 'postmaster' is sort of 'late to the party' so to speak. There are a few ways it is accomplished, but basically all that needs to be done it to send a parcel to a local tavern or gas station in that zip code, get a delivery scan, and the seller is basically good to go with the eBay bots and the regular customer service provided by call back or chat. The buyer is declined redress for any INR claim at this point.
The item can even be sent to an empty lot, or abandoned building which often provides an 'undeliverable' or 'return to sender' update on the tracking. As far as eBay is concerned this is also the buyer's fault for not providing an accurate address. I think that the use of the APO address has complicated matters as well. Can your postmaster determine if the parcel was actually addressed to you or intended for you in the first place? If so, will they put it in writing that the parcel was actually addressed to you?
That is the information you will need for eBay.
If you seek redress through your credit card, be advised that you need to UNTHINK "Item not received" and proceed with "Fraud/Fake Tracking scam". If you paid with PayPal, they even have added "sent to wrong address" choice in their dropdown menu. Again, your situation is further complicated by the APO factor.
You can confirm easily the country of your seller by putting their name on this form. You will never be able to access this information from a listing if the seller has ZERO feedback, or has been dormant for a long time:
https://pages.ebay.com/services/forum/feedback-login.html
Though just a suspicion, I don't think your seller is in California.
Whatever you decide to do, DO NOT file claims with more than one entity at a time. Understand you are not an isolated victim either. You can read through some of these so you can see the pattern, what is NOT successful, and what YOU must do. Good luck, and do let us know how it turns out.
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Ebay-still-allows-this-basic-scam/m-p/34200329#M471797
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/FedEx-tracking-scam-resolution-help/m-p/34200076#M471780
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Scam-in-progress-How-to-report/m-p/34202408#M471983
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/My-item-hasn-t-arrived-and-got-delivered-to-the-wrong-address/m-p/34213622#M2336744
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Seller-used-wrong-address-how-to-get-help/m-p/34214801#M472679
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Two-orders-from-two-carriers-in-two-days-shipped-to-someone-else/m-p/34217849#M472866
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Seller-shipped-to-wrong-address/m-p/34219071#M472993
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/A-typical-buying-scam/m-p/34219558#M473030
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Problem-with-a-purchase/m-p/34224961#M473358
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/seller-close-case-with-fake-tracking-number-ebay-refuse-to/m-p/34237315#M474167
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/ebay-ai-helped-in-fraud/m-p/34237061#M474150
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/ebay-enable-scammers-by-closing-case-then-lying-facts/m-p/34237663#M474193
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Fake-Seller-shipments/m-p/34237759#M474196
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/eBay-s-money-back-guarantee-is-a-fraud/m-p/34239213#M474296
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Scammer/m-p/34239068#M474287
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Seller/m-p/34241530#M474404
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/how-to-contact-ebay-for-an-item-that-did-not-get-put-in-my/td-p/34242223
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Another-quot-fake-tracking-quot-scam-this-time-with-the-package/m-p/34244130#M474589
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Did-not-receive-items/m-p/34245181#M474623
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/eBay-Won-t-Step-In/m-p/34256703#M475318
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Fraud/m-p/34261461#M475547
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Feb. 2024
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Fake-Tracking-information/m-p/34266951#M475809
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/scam-ship-to-address-my-item-sent-to-a-bogus-address/m-p/34269398#M475981
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/incorrect-usps-tracking-number-9400108205499733679358/m-p/34269348#M475977
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/How-can-Ebay-say-to-me-we-know-you-did-not-receive-item-and-not/m-p/34268298#M475923
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/That-Dreaded-Aquilline-AGAIN-Delivered-to-WRONG-ADDRESS/m-p/34274186#M476225
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Ebay-marked-delivery-as-delivered-but-USPS-said-that-it-was/m-p/34273716#M476177
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Your-item-was-returned-to-the-sender-because-of-an-incorrect/m-p/34276250#M476357
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/EBAY-LYING-IN-THEIR-DEFENSE-SUMMARY/m-p/34276296#M476361
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Seller-sent-item-to-wrong-address/m-p/34282633#M476650
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Scammed/m-p/34286691#M476949
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Dollar-xhop/m-p/34287357#M476988
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/another-count-of-Ebay-forcing-buyers-to-pay-for-items-that-never/m-p/34291255#M477188
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Possible-mess-up-with-label-generating-system/m-p/34290499#M477178
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/I-hate-everyhting-about-e-bay-and-paypal-right-now/m-p/34294747#M477466
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/eBay-Enables-Mail-Fraud-and-ID-Fraud/td-p/34296978
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Shipment-delivered-to-wrong-address/m-p/34304049#M478122
___________________________________________________________________________________
March 2024
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Done-with-Ebay/m-p/34324403#M479273
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Loophole-that-enables-theft-via-ebay/m-p/34332383#M479633
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Seller-left-bogus-tracking-number-and-then-lied-to-e-bay/m-p/34345963#M480371
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Not-delivered-parcel/m-p/34340273#M480147
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/contacting-ebay-on-possible-fraud/m-p/34349795#M480633
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/contacting-ebay-on-possible-fraud/m-p/34350054#M480666
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/PayPal-to-the-rescue/m-p/34352326#M480771
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Victim-of-same-ZIP-code-fraud-eBay-denied-my-appeal/m-p/34358840#M481100
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Worst-customer-relations-ever/m-p/34366967#M481558
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/package-that-says-delivered/m-p/34370026#M4817
_________________________________________________________________________________________
April 2024
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Seller-sent-package-to-random-address-in-my-zip-code-and-my/td-p/34403749
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Negative-Feedback/m-p/34404925#M483677
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/I-got-scammed-How-to-fix-this/m-p/34407565#M483824
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Getting-UPS-to-cooperate-in-case-of-a-tracking-scam/m-p/34412795#M484166
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Victory/m-p/34417103#M484423
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Ebay-Denied-Claim-on-925-package-that-was-marked-as-deliverd-by/m-p/34417164#M484428
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Ebay-allowed-a-scammer-to-scam-me-and-even-removed-my-negative/m-p/34419335#M484536
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Issue-with-purchase-receiving-of-an-item/m-p/34418356#M484487
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Ebay-screwed-me-out-of-931-because-they-could-not-see-the/m-p/34425141#M484896
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Customer-Service-Just-Repeats-quot-Policies-quot-and-Does-Not/m-p/34431812#M485349
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/eBay-is-becoming-the-best-place-for-scam-sellers/m-p/34432245#M485377
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/New-type-of-scam-to-me-at-least/m-p/31227146#M325369
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/New-Scam-Very-Odd-For-a-yard-Seed-Spreader/td-p/34430372
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/I-was-scammed-on-eBay-and-now-I-don-t-know-how-to-proceed-or-if/m-p/34430309#M48527----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
May2024
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/FedEx-tracking-Issue/m-p/34447966#M486245
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Item-did-not-arrive-eBay-says-it-did-What-can-I-do/m-p/34451418#M486485
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Seller-never-sent-out-package-EBAY-does-not-do-any-research-on/m-p/34455965#M486761
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Tracking-shows-item-delivered-but-wasn-t/m-p/34461150#M487060
reallynicestamps
·2 years agojust hadn't been active for 6 months,
Ah.
ajs_coins_and_alchemy
·2 years agoBecause it has a delivery scan, and it sounds like you're saying it's showing a delivery scan with your correct zip code, I don't believe you could ever possibly win an INR.
Sounds like a fake tracking scam, others have a lot more experience with those, but I think at this point you would need to file an INAD (Not as described) case or a chargeback for same. Maybe someone else has different advice. Either way, filing INR (not received) will be futile as all the seller needs for proof is a delivery scan to your zip code and they can win.