I was scammed
Bought a piece of musical gear a couple weeks back. Seller listed item at a relly good price so i bought it. Seller didnt update a tracking number until a week later AFTER and it shows delivered. I opened a case as i was home the whole week and nothing was delivered. The scam is the seller gets your address and ships an empty box or worthless item to another address in your zip code. When you track an item with USPS they don't reveal the shipping address for privacy reasons, so the package simply says "delivered". Since the seller didnt use ebay to ship the item they have no way of verifying the shipping address either. i have USPS Informed Delivery and the tracking number provided by the seller isn't listed in my Informed Delivery, more proof the tracking number wasn't for an item shipped to my address. So i just got an email saying they closed the case in the seller's favor. Looking at the seller's feedback he has done this before but i missed it because the feedback is in german. The seller profile is in France, the item location listed as NYC and the tracking shows a shipment from NC. I will file an appeal but if ebay doesn't get my money back i am done with them after 27 years and 100% feedback.
ittybitnot
·10 months ago@bqbguitar
So glad eBay gave you a refund. What you experienced is nothing new, and is reported here all the time.
The following is copied/pasted from another post that presently outlines the options a buyer victim has a through d:
You are an apparent victim of the infamous "fake tracking scam". The crooks know how to play this so well it has been going on for over a decade. It is quite successful, and eBay knows all about it. Unfortunately, they don't provide any information in their policies, and if a victim files an "Item not received" claim (because they didn't receive anything) they are going to lose. They lose even if the "delivered" status is fake and was for a package of paperclips delivered to your local tavern or gas station in your Zip Code (the worst case is they send it to an empty lot, and it ends up being returned). The Money Back Guarantee is going to be a FAIL.
There are basically just a few ways you can gain redress.
a) As suggested above, just file an "item not as described" return/claim. "Missing parts or pieces" is a pretty good reason. The "seller" will have three days to issue you a return label, or send you cash in advance (via PayPal) to pay for the return, or simply refund. Never accept a "replacement", as you see it just makes this sort of problem worse. If you get a label, simply ship back what you got i.e. a package of AIR.
Though not always a preferred solution, it is still quick and effective. It simply serves to beat the crook and the eBay denial bots at their own game.
b) Give up on the idea of "Item not Received" altogether in favor of what this really is....FRAUD/Fake Tracking Scam/Shipped to wrong address. Though mentioned above, eBay USED to require written documentation from the carrier stating the parcel was not intended nor delivered to you. It was "required" because that was impossible to obtain, leaving both eBay and the seller "off the hook" for this crime.
Things have changed a bit in the last few years, and that requirement may not be required at all. In cases where the seller had already been reported for this crime, or they are no longer a registered user, you may not be required to jump through as many hoops as in the past. I would pay a visit to my local post master in person with record of your tracking information and explain you wish some assistance with FRAUD fake tracking scenario, and see what you can get as far as documentation. Then contact eBay via one of the following links. These are their social media portals that connect you with eBay customer service employees based in the US. They know all about this, and unlike the regular CS you get in a call back or chat, typically don't lie to you, and do have the authority to help you with this problem.
https://www.facebook.com/eBay/ (use the blue message button)
OR direct message through one of these:
https://www.instagram.com/ebayforsellers/
https://x.com/askebay
Tell them you need assistance with a fake tracking issue, and see what they say to do to proceed.
c) If eBay throws you under the bus, and you paid with PayPal, you can file a claim there. Do NOT be in a hurry and pick "Item not Received". Look farther down in the dropdown and choose "shipped to wrong address". Otherwise, the claim will be forwarded to eBay who will respond with the same phony delivery information and you will lose again. Note that you should NOT file with PayPal or your credit card company until you are done with eBay. Otherwise, eBay will simply close your case and no longer be required to help you.
d) File a chargeback with your credit card. Again, DO NOT CLAIM "INR" but be clear it is a case of FRAUD/fake tracking. This should be done basically as a 'last resort'. Never enact all the options at the same time.
Do come back if you need additional information, and/or to tell us how it worked out for you.
bqbguitar
OP10 months agoEbay took care of it. Issued me a refund. This is very scary how easy this scam is to pull off. You ship someone a package (likely empty box) to a different address in the buyer's zip code and it shows delivered when the seller uploads the tracking number. Because USPS wont publish a shipping address for a tracking number the buyer has no recourse but to hope they get a good person to review the case and rule in their favor.
gosimus
·10 months ago@bqbguitar
< the seller gets your address and ships an empty box or worthless item to another address >
I think that can be assumed as true, even axiomatic. Since part of the scam is that the seller ships a different, worthless item – self-evident, because if he were shipping the actual item, he would have shipped it to you – then in my opinion, the situation warrants opening a Not As Described case. You don't have to implore some recalcitrant USPS, or FedEx, or whatever, employee to give you the documentation that eBay requires for opening an appeal of the closed Item Not Received case.
bqbguitar
OP10 months agoitem not as described would require photos of the item, possible requirement to ship the item back? i received no package. I was home that day and USPS delivered other packages but not that one. The tracking number isn't in my informed delivery so it wasn't sent to my address. interestingly ebay issued me a refund citing "stolen package" which was not the case. maybe easier for them to take care of me but doesn't solve the vulnerability for other buyers. What they need to do is require sellers to use ebay shipping. as it is now i'm not going to make any more large purchases on ebay until this scam is stopped
gosimus
·10 months ago@bqbguitar
< not as described would require photos of the item >
It isn't possible to photograph the purchased item if the buyer received an item entirely different from the purchased item. Thus, the intent is to require a photo of what the buyer actually did receive. If the buyer received nothing, than a photo of nothing should satisfy the requirement. Maybe with an empty box in the background, to illuminate context.
eburtonlab
·10 months agoas it is now i'm not going to make any more large purchases on ebay until this scam is stopped
You should certainly think twice about buying an expensive "too good to be true" item from a seller registered in one location but claiming to ship from another, or from a seller that does not have a long established history of delivering similar items as described, or anything from a seller that has drastically changed selling behavior recently.
The longer a seller has been selling similar items and has been getting positive feedback from actual buyers, the less likely you are to run into a false tracking scam or other potential issue.
roccotacodad54
·10 months agoYou copy photos from the listing. You received nothing so that's what you send back an empty box.
With an Item Not As Described case the seller has to send you return postage, if they don't you get refunded.
You may be waiting a long long time if you won't purchase again until eBay fixes the False Tracking Scam. It's been going on for years.........................
eburtonlab
·10 months ago@bqbguitar
If the buyer actually receives something, the buyer can file a "not as described" return within thirty days for a full refund. In fact, any buyer on eBay can file a "not as described" return, provided the buyer is willing and able to return exactly what was received.
If tracking shows delivery but nothing arrives and the buyer can obtain some hard copy documentation (email is not good enough) that says that the package was not delivered to the buyer's address or documentation that shows the weight or size of the package cannot possibly correspond to the ordered item, or the shipping date precedes the order, then the buyer may be able to contact eBay via social media direct message, provide that documentation to eBay and get help with "false tracking".
With "false tracking" if you go through a standard automated "item not received" case, on the other hand, you will lose the case because the seller can provide tracking that appears to show delivery. If you then appeal, you may have some additional options at that point. It appears that eBay has added a new appeal option regarding "delivery to another address", but I do not know how effective that is compared to contacting eBay via social media with documentation and explicitly mentioning "false tracking", which seems to work provided you can obtain the necessary documentation.
If you are unable to get help through eBay, you may have recourse through your payment method, though you should probably exhaust all your eBay options first since once you go through your payment method, eBay will no longer help with that transaction.
In general, you can avoid a lot of headaches by choosing to purchase only from established sellers that have recent and past positive feedback as a seller for selling items in the same category that you intend to buy. If someone is selling a dozen apple watches, but has no feedback, or only has feedback as a buyer, or only has feedback for selling dress patterns or fishing lures (actual examples I have seen), perhaps wait until they have a track record of positive feedback for selling electronics before you buy from them.
mudshark61369
·10 months ago@bqbguitar ,
A really good price, Seller registered in France but gives an item location as NYC? What part of that did not trigger a possible scam alert?
You can file an appeal, but will not win it unless you do some leg work to get the info you need to win it. Open the link below and click on the Go To Best Answer in it. There you can get instructions on what and how to get the info you need to win an appeal but file it through one of ebay's social media platforms. Use the send private message button on the platform you choose. You will need the ebay item number, seller's username, and sign the message with your real and ebay username.
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Need-advice-item-not-received/m-p/34621715#M496499
Social media links.
https://www.facebook.com/eBay/
https://www.instagram.com/ebayforsellers/
https://x.com/askebay