Scammers have learned to game eBay’s automated system and we are screwed
I make hundreds of transactions on eBay. But the one time I needed help due to a fraudulent item I purchased, eBay’s automated dispute process failed me. I bought 2 boxes of Pokemon cards. The tracking the seller provided showed as delivered but I never received the item. I reached out the the US postal and they supplied me info that the package was not addressed to me, just the same zip code.
with this info in hand, I submitted a dispute. The seller never replied and eBay declined the dispute in the scammers favor. I’m so disappointed in eBay. I have the documents from the us postal but there automated systems and the “Indian†support does nothing for the buyer.
12 comments
sendorian
·8 months agoI'm experiencing the same scam. Second tracking number added afterwards, directly as "Delivered" via UPS to my town, nothing more. Ebay closed the case. I'm now at Paypal but when I read this I fear that's not better...
ccomic
·8 months agoAt risk of someone accusing me of hating on eBay, bottom line is eBay won’t change until they start seeing the problem affect their bottom line. Right now, eBay shares in any ill gotten gains.
justjeffsworld
·8 months agoyep ebay is not the same and they are allowing it to happen. 5 packages this week. sellers flat out lie. send damaged merchandise then try to take 5.00 off. no the cologne is leaking out of the box. "its tthe postal service" no the shipping package is in perfect condition. then no refunds. then ok we send you new product and refund too. wasted so much of my time. its never been like this
chiro2007
·8 months agoJust wanted to update on my similar situation. I had bought The Upside Down Lego set NIB from a seller that supposedly had 21 of them. New these box sets were selling for $800-$900 depending on a couple factors. I figured that even if it was a scam I could simply get my money back. Then he provided the FedEx tracking and it magically said delivered the day before I got the tracking link. Looked all around it was no where to be found. That’s when I saw one of his feedback from a month ago… buyer said he sent my Nintendo Switch 2 to the wrong address and it was only 1 lb so I know he’s a scammer because it weighs more than 3 lbs.
That prompted me to look up the dimensions of my package from him. 10†x 6†x 3†at 2 lbs. Well the Lego set I bought new in box is 22†x 19†x 3.5†at 7 lbs. So it’s provable he didn’t sent the actual package I bought. Also.. FedEx has confirmed that the tracking number the seller attached to the sale was not sent to my address and my name is not the recipient. Of course FedEx won’t tell me who or where it went to.
Here is the kicker… I left feedback to warn others not to buy from him.. and they simply removed my negative feedback because there is confirmation it was delivered to me through FedEx. Last night the seller renewed the two listings he has and put 20 more up for sale. Today he has sold nine of the 20 available. Had the negative feedbacks been allowed to stick he would be under 90% and nobody would be buying from him. eBay is feeding into the problem. 🙄 Not one of the first 21 people that bought this set has given positive feedback YET. This is mind boggling.
 
ryry-jj
·8 months agoFile a fraud case with your bank, stating "false tracking fraud". Having the GPS delivery statement from USPS is a big help.
The scam is not new, but many buyers fail to navigate through it properly by filing INR case. Personally, I'd file INAD, meaning the seller said physical set would be delivered to me, it wasn't, you got nothing, and the listing most definitely was not described as getting "nothing". See how that works first....you can always go to your bank for the charge back. Just remember once you do, eBay is out of the loop
mudshark61369
·8 months ago@chiro2007 ,
This is not a new scam, it has been going on or several years now. It works because of Federal Postal Privacy Regulations that prevent 3rd parties like ebay to access the shipping label address and package type/size/weight info since technically they are not a party to the shipping contract.
The first red flag was the $600 price, and you should have listened to your gut, and checked the seller's feedback profile Before you bought the item.
chiro2007
·8 months agoYeah.. I guess it's easy to blame the buyer for wanting a good price. I have gotten excellent prices before and they weren't scams. That's actually what eBay is based on. I bought a KitchenAid Fully Automatic Espresso Maker KF6 just after Christmas for $899 brand new... yet it was selling on Amazon for $1,199 at the same time. That was a great price and that wasn't a scam. It was a buy-it-now price as well.
Yes... I did feel it could be but I have always gotten my money back before and I'm sure going to get my money here. I just don't get how this seller thinks he's going to keep the money. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. I actually used that Klana payment or however it's spelled. I paid the first payment of $150 so far. If eBay even tried to deny the claim first thing I would do would be to remove all payment forms from that service.
I was able to access the dimensions of the package this fool sent as I put in my original post. It's pretty easy to prove I didn't get the package. All a representative from eBay would have to do would be to call FedEx with the tracking number and look at the facts: The package was sent to someone else... not my name, not my address, and the dimensions are much smaller and lighter than the actual product would be.
I have full confidence I'll get my $150 back.
eburtonlab
·8 months ago@chiro2007
A great price does not necessarily always signify a scam all by itself, but a great price on a new in-demand item that is much lower than other sources should be a red flag to look much closer before making a purchase. Some prices are so great that they are "too good to be true".
The biggest red flag is often the lack of history of the account selling such an item.
A great price from a very experienced seller that has sold such items before at similar prices going back over time without interruption is relatively safe to purchase.
The same price from a brand new seller, or a seller that has never gotten buyer feedback for selling such items before, or a seller that has drastically changed selling behavior recently -- say from selling handmade doll clothing or individual fishing lures to suddenly selling multiple quantities of new crypto mining equipment -- is likely not safe at all.
No one is blaming buyers for wanting a great price; but scammers know exactly how to use that desire to provide tempting bait for their scams.
It is only when wanting a great price overrides a buyer's better judgement that it becomes a problem.
chewy305
OP8 months agoYeah it’s easy to say listen to your gut but eBay also says buyers are protected. I think eBay should also consider the track history of buyers and sellers before automatically siding with the fraudsters. Usually those getting scammed aren’t filing disputes left and right. While the fraudsters are getting multiple disputes.
chiro2007
·8 months agoWow… your post is describing what I’m actually going through right now. Apparently this is the new scam.
I purchased a retired and expensive Lego set (Upside Down Stranger Things) that typically sells for $800+ currently. This seller had around a dozen which I’ve seen people have before as they load up on sets the believe will increase in value and then sell them off at the appropriate time. The price was $600 for BIN and yeah.. I thought.. this seems too good to be true.. but I figured if the seller doesn’t send it I’ll just get my money back.
Monday 01/19 is when I bought it. Wednesday night I noticed there still wasn’t a tracking number so I figured he probably won’t send anything. Suddenly on Thursday morning two days ago I got a FedEx tracking number. I was surprised and thought… hey… maybe I will be getting it. I clicked on the link and it returned nothing. I figured the item just hasn’t been accepted by FedEx yet. An hour later I got an update the item had been delivered THE DAY BEFORE. Weird because nobody saw it. So I looked at the picture of delivery from FedEx and it actually appeared like it was my garage. I went home from work looking for it all over. Then I looked at the picture closer and could determine it wasn’t my garage. So I thought perhaps it when to a neighbor’s house. After looking at a couple houses I decided to call FedEx. They asked me the name that should be on the package as well as my address. My name and address didn’t match. Yet this package that came from Texas all the way to my city of Dover, DE was sent to someone else with a different address.. and of course FedEx wouldn’t give me any information.
So I looked at the seller’s feedback and found my answer. Someone else had a similar experience within the last six months. They said they bought a Switch 2 gaming system and the seller sent the package to the wrong address. Then said the dimensions weren’t even right as they were smaller and lighter than the actual product.
So I went back to FedEx and looked up the dimensions of the package he sent to another address in my home city. 10†x 6†x 3†at 2 lbs. I googled the product size of the box of the product I purchased and it’s 22†x 19†x 3.5†at 7 lbs.
So apparently this is the new scam. I guess they randomly pick someone in your city to send an almost empty box (maybe tissue paper or newspapers) and get the delivery confirmed. Then they are hoping eBay sides with them. I’ve already contacted eBay and told them I’m just one of about a dozen that bought this listing… so I’m sure he did it to them too. He’ll be kicked off eBay very soon I’m sure. What a weird scam.
klhmdg
·8 months agoFile a with your Credit Card company.
Until eBay has an easy way to file a dispute for the fake tracking scam this is the easiest way to get your money returned.
mudshark61369
·8 months ago@chewy305 ,
"I reached out the the US postal and they supplied me info that the package was not addressed to me, just the same zip code. with this info in hand, I submitted a dispute".
If you filed an item not received dispute, the tracking number is looked up by a computer that can only access the Delivered scan and zip code, not the label address or package type/size/weight. Those disputes are found in favor of the seller and closed. There is an appeal button in the message you received from ebay that you can use.
If the info you got from the USPS was in the form of an email, ebay will not accept it because emails can be faked. You need to get hard copy information a note on USPS stationary, to win an appeal.
You need to go to your local P.O. and you need to bring a copy of your order details page which shows your address and the tracking number with you. If you bought using a phone or tablet, you can bring that to show the clerk the order details. You can bring a copy of the USPS email too if you want.
You want to ask the clerk to check the label address against yours on the order details page, and also to check the Package type/size/weight info to see if was is appropriate for what you should have received. If you can look up the Mfr.'s specifications for the item and bring that with you as well.
If the info does not match up, you ask the clerk or Postmaster to write a note on USPS stationary saying in general that the shipping label's address was not the same as the one on your ebay Order Details page, and if applicable that the package type/size/weight was not right for what you should have received. Do not ask them to write specific address or package info, they cannot give it out. Have the clerk or Postmaster print their name then sign and date the note. If they won't write the note Ask the clerk to give you the GPS location of the Delivery on USPS stationary, l and hold on to it.
You can then Appeal, and add a CLEAR photo or scan of the note to the appeal. That should be enough to win the Appeal and get a refund.
You can also contact ebay through one of their social media platforms (links below) Unlike ebays Appeal, or phone/chat reps who work for 3rd party CS call/chat centers, the people monitoring the social media platforms are actual ebay employees, who have the power to overturn the original decision(s) and authorize refunds from the seller's account.
FYI, there is no direct way to call ebay, you have to go through their system to get a call back.
Use the send message or private message options in the links below.
https://www.facebook.com/eBay/
https://www.instagram.com/ebayforsellers/
https://x.com/askebay