Need help cancelling a scammed order
Summary: collectorscatalogue3663 ordered ear tips for their AirPods from a domestic seller, which marked the items as shipped using an old tracking number almost immediately, preventing order cancellation. They expressed frustration after communication with the seller yielded only a vague response about shipping the package. lady_madonna advised waiting for the latest delivery date to pass before requesting a refund through eBay if the item doesn't arrive, while kensgiftshop suggested opening an Item Not Received case. broto_64 and ryry-jj recommended patience and verifying if the package actually arrives, acknowledging similar 'tracking games' often played by certain sellers. collectorscatalogue3663 insisted on the importance of transparency and expressed strong disapproval of these business practices.
Hey y'all, so I needed to order some spare ear tips for my AirPods, and I did so from a seller here in the US for $3.19, except this was last Wednesday..
The seller (which I'm now realizing shouldn't have been trusted after their 107k items sold since April 2024 and 46k+ feedback entries in the last year, with 800+ warning of what I'm about to say) marked the order as shipped with a phony USPS tracking number dating to June of last year within the same day. This essentially locked me out of a chance for cancellation. I contacted the seller last night asking for a cancellation and they responded stating that they "sent my package to the PO, and they will tell them today to ship it", I responded asking for an actual tracking number that wasn't the old one from 06/2025 and they never responded (go figure).
Keep in mind that the seller marked my package as shipped and responded to me in the dead of night, almost like they're in a different time zone.. some of the negative feedback entries were also suspicious of that and suspect that the store might be falsely marked as in the US to gain buyer trust.
What's the best course of action for this? I'm not sure if we can namedrop eBay sellers here on the forums or not but any mods willing to help that would be great.
broto_64
·2 months agoYou want to wait to see if the order actually arrives, quite a few sellers on ebay play silly "tracking" games in order to skirt defects since the item itself is being sourced from a third party (aka dropshipping). And yes it could be a scam, but for $3.20?
Just wait...
If the item doesn't arrive when it should come back here and let us know and we will guide you further.
Does your Purchase History show the item as Delivered?
collectorscatalogue3663
OP2 months agoEven at a small dollar amount it could still be a scam. The item says 1.7k sold on that item specifically so that’s $5,400+ to them off petty $3.19 sales.
It doesn’t say delivered as of now but again, it’s not about the money it’s the principle of being given a fake tracking number, what does that say about the seller? I’d personally never do that just because I like being transparent with my buyers.
broto_64
·2 months agoOh believe me I despise dropshippers (specifically those playing games - like placing the actual order with a third party vendor AFTER I've paid) with a passion, unfortunately ebay (and just about every online sales venue) apparently welcomes them with open arms despite TOS to the contrary.
So what can we do, I report them and will open case after case in hopes they get deactivated but... If I get what I paid for then I obviously do nothing of the sort, which is why I said wait - Besides, there's really not much doing until we're past the latest estimated delivery date.
ryry-jj
·2 months agoYou are not able to cancel, you just have to play the wait game to file on the appropriate issue, either an INR or an INAD case. Double check the tracking before file for the proper case
lady_madonna
·2 months agoThe seller was not obligated to agree to your request to cancel your order.
What is the latest estimated date of delivery according to the Order Details in your Purchase History? Has that dfate passed already?
IF/WHEN the latest estimated date of delivery has already passed by at least 1 day, you have up to 30 days past estimated date of delivery to file a Refund Request:
Go to your My Ebay page >> Purchase history
· Select “More actions” beside your item and then “I didn't receive it.”
· Click the box beside I want a refund.
· Select Send request.
If the seller does not respond to the refund request, after 3 business days you can ask Ebay to step in to help you.
· Find the item in your Purchase History
· Select See request details
· Select “Ask eBay to step in.”
collectorscatalogue3663
OP2 months ago · EditedYes of course I know of the usual "seller is not obligated.." etc etc., that's why I'm here on the forums since this is an odd circumstance.
I'm about 3 days past the estimated delivery date so that is why I initially got suspicious. The one year old tracking number is what really did it for me though. You can't fake a shipped status like that it's just not right.
kensgiftshop
·2 months agoOpen an Item Not Received case.