Where Can I Send a Formal Complaint to eBay? Buyer Protection Failed Badly
Summary: The discussion centered around issues with eBay's buyer protection, with participants sharing their concerns and seeking guidance on where to send formal complaints. tinylove100 initiated the conversation, expressing dissatisfaction with how a buyer protection case was handled. Various participants contributed, but no specific solution was agreed upon. One key point was frustration over lack of support from eBay's customer service.
Where can I send a formal complaint to eBay? I was scammed by a seller who took advantage of a serious loophole in eBay system, and eBay’s dispute resolution completely failed - even though I submitted clear USPS documentation proving the item was not delivered to me.
Here’s what happened:
- I purchased a serge sewing machine, $164, which weighs 18 lbs in description, on May 17, 2025. ( I should’ve paid more attention to the red flag - the listing only had many stock photos and no actual item images.)
- The seller provided a USPS tracking number showing “Delivered†to a mailbox in my ZIP code, but I didn't receive anything.
- I called my local post office, and they found the tracking info immediately. They confirmed it was a small package that fit inside a mailbox and was not delivered to my address, just somewhere else within the same ZIP code.
- I then went to the post office in person and got a printout showing the same thing. The USPS scan photo shows it was a 3 oz flat plastic envelope - clearly not a sewing machine.
- I asked the seller to check tracking number, and told them i didn't receive anything, they told me to open a case on eBay. So I did. Then the seller didn’t even need to explain anything - just submitted the tracking marked “Delivered at/in Mailbox†- and eBay sided with them, both on the initial case and the first appeal. Each response came back within minutes. No one actually investigated or reviewed my supporting documents.
- I appealed again and got to speak with an eBay rep, who told me she couldn’t override “the system’s decision,†and even implied I could have fabricated the USPS documents.
- I offered the phone number to my local post office so she could confirm the delivery address herself if she didn't believe me. She refused, saying there was nothing she could do because the algorithm had closed the case.
I’ve been using eBay since its early days and have never experienced - or even heard of - a scam like this. It honestly makes me wonder if someone on the inside knows how the algorithm works and is sharing that knowledge with sellers. Why else would they know to mail a nearly empty package to any address in the same ZIP code, just to trigger a “Delivered†status in eBay system? Since I never received anything, I had no package to photograph to prove the item was not as described - yet the burden still fell on me. Thankfully, USPS scanned and photographed the package, but eBay wouldn’t even accept that.
If eBay had simply required the seller to provide the original USPS receipt (which includes the recipient address, package weight, and dimensions), the fraud would’ve been obvious. I understand that tracking doesn’t show the full address online due to privacy, but sellers have access to that information when they pay for postage. Why eBay dispute case does not require sellers to provide that?
If anyone knows where or how to escalate this beyond eBay’s automated system, I’d really appreciate it. I’ve now filed a dispute with my credit card company, it's been one and half months now, and hope they’ll resolve it fairly.
Thanks in advance.
kh-andreww
·4 months agoHi everyone,
Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.
Thank you for understanding.
fishing-101
·4 months agoI stumbled on this older thread, read some of the responses. Glad your CC company came through. I have been on eBay 28 years. Had the tracking scam done to me about 8 years ago, back then eBay accepted a scan from USPS as proof. This past year has been terrible, on the amount of this scam. eBay apparently is not doing anything to put a stop to it. The main shipping companies (USPS, UPS, FedEx) all contribute to making this work. With eBay it looks like a love-hate relationship, they may hate the fact that buyers get scammed, but they love the commission it generates.
I have thought about this more this year, because of my own experiences, and most all the tracking scams have one thing in common that they rely on. Purchasing a shipping label outside of eBay.
In my mind it would be so easy for eBay to require shipping labels be purchased from them, unless the seller meets certain requirements.
Buyers give eBay our desired shipping address, eBay is failing to see to it that it is shipped to that address.
ed8108
·1 year agoI am really not surprised , thank you for providing us with the details of what transpired
albertabrightalberta
·1 year ago@tinylove100
You are claiming to understand how ebay, disputes, fraud detection and chargebacks work. And in some ways, you are correct but in others, you're wrong.
You are a seller and when you signed up for managed payments, you gave ebay your personal information including SSN, back up bank account, name, address, phone number, driver's license info, etc.
The seller who scammed you also had to give ebay all that information.
So when you filed a chargeback and won it, ebay took that money from the SELLER'S account.
@albertabrightalberta "So it's the seller who you would sue if you were to do so."
@tinylove100 : NO, that’s incorrect.
FYI, I’m not just a buyer, I’m also a business owner with a brick-and-mortar store for over 20 years, so I understand how credit card processors, merchants, and chargebacks work.
On eBay, sellers are vendors operating under eBay’s platform, but eBay is the merchant of record for buyers. eBay takes the buyer’s payment, deducts their fees, and then pays out the seller. That means, from the buyer’s side, eBay is the one who charged the card - not the individual seller.
So yes, in small claims court, buyers sue the merchant (eBay), not the vendors. Then eBay can recover the loss from the seller who scammed the system. Or better yet - they could actually fix their broken algorithm to prevent these scams in the first place."
Again, @tinylove100 , you are mistaken.
I don't know whether you've ever watched Judge Judy, People's Court or similar TV shows but over the last 20 years, there have been many cases on those shows in which buyers took sellers to court or sellers took buyers to court.
In fact, here's one show that has the buyer suing the seller. They bought phones and received pictures of phones.
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x76fp4v
tinylove100
OP1 year ago@albertabrightalberta
I’m a business owner in the real world - brick-and-mortar—for over 20 years. Sorry, I don’t watch any TV shows. My experience and sources come from actual business practices, not entertainment.
I already won my chargeback dispute against eBay. How eBay recovers the loss from its vendors (sellers) is not the buyer’s concern. In any legal or credit card dispute, the merchant of record is the responsible party. In eBay’s case, that’s eBay - not the individual sellers.
Had I not won the dispute through PayPal, my lawyer would be sending a formal Notice of Dispute or Demand Letter to eBay’s or PayPal's legal department. I can tell you from experience how these companies operate when real professionals get involved — they’ll settle with victims before allowing arbitration or risking small claims court. Why? Because they know they’d lose and end up paying even more in these obvious fraud cases.
Let me be clear: I’m not here to attack eBay. I’ve used it for years as both a buyer and seller. I think it’s a great marketplace when it works. But if eBay continues to ignore clear system flaws and enable scammers through broken dispute protocols, consumers have every right to hold them accountable.
There are always new scam tricks emerging, and platforms like eBay need to keep up if they want to protect their customers for the sake of their own business reputation. Instead of relying on outdated algorithms and overseas outsourced agents who offer no real help, eBay should invest in real fraud prevention and resolution.
As a buyer, the lessons I’ve learned are:
Don’t buy from sellers who only use stock photos and don’t show real pictures of the item. (In my case, the seller had 1,042 reviews with 100% positive feedback, so I didn’t bother reading them. After the scam, I went back and saw the first review said: “Seller drop-shipped from Amazon, which is not obvious or stated.†That might have been a red flag — maybe the seller was scammed by their vendor, or maybe they were in on it.)
Don’t use PayPal Mastercard — read my other posts if you want to know why.
tinylove100
OP1 year ago7/22/2025 Update: I won the chargeback dispute case against eBay.
Like many long-time users - both buyer and seller - I was shocked to learn that fake tracking scams have been allowed on eBay for over 15 years. Even more shocking is that eBay has done little to improve its algorithms or dispute resolution system to protect its customers.
That said, I want to thank the helpful members here like @ittybitnot who offered solid advice.
To any future victims (and I truly hope this stops soon):
You absolutely should open a dispute with your credit card company - and make it clear this is not just an “Item Not Received†issue, but a fraudulent charge made through eBay’s platform. That makes eBay the responsible merchant in the eyes of payment processors.
I still appreciate the value eBay offers as a marketplace for buyers and sellers - but they must do more to protect users from these scams, instead of deterring victims by denying their cases. And even when a victim wins a credit card chargeback dispute, eBay could still recover the loss through its business insurance. Maybe that’s the easier route, but I genuinely believe it’s a business’s responsibility to protect its customers.
If more victims successfully win chargeback cases, maybe eBay will finally fix its flawed systems instead of continuing to enable scammers.
kathiec
·1 year agoMy apologies, I missed that minus sign before your Paypal balance. Of course you can't transfer a negative balance -- there's nothing to transfer.
kathiec
·1 year agoThere are some inaccuracies in your conclusions. EBay didn't charge your card. Adyen, eBay's payment processor charged your card, on behalf of the seller. It appears under the lump designation 'eBay Commerce' because Ayden can't do each transaction under an individual seller's name. EBay gets a fee from the seller for selling the item, but they make no other profit off the sale. So they have no skin in whether a chargeback is processed against the seller. The only entity against which you have a cause of action is the seller.
As for the money being in your Paypal wallet, it's easily transferable to either a credit card (which will incur a fee) or to a bank account, which is free. I routinely transfer money out of my Paypal account to the bank account attached to it.
tinylove100
OP1 year ago"EBay didn't charge your card. Adyen, eBay's payment processor charged your card, on behalf of the seller. "
Thanks for the info. It's good to know Adyen is eBay’s payment processor. But in practice, as a buyer, I paid eBay, and eBay deducts their fee before passing funds to the seller, so the merchant that charged my card is still eBay Commerce. That makes eBay responsible for the transaction from the buyer's perspective.
"it's easily transferable to either a credit card (which will incur a fee) or to a bank account"
I appreciate this info, this is very helpful. If PayPal continues to favor eBay, I should try transferring the negative PayPal balance to Synchrony, then finally I can open the dispute directly with the real card issuer. That may finally get this resolved fairly.
Thanks again!
tinylove100
OP1 year ago"As for the money being in your Paypal wallet, it's easily transferable to either a credit card (which will incur a fee) or to a bank account, which is free. I routinely transfer money out of my Paypal account to the bank account attached to it."
That information is not accurate. I just tried it myself. PayPal does not allow you to transfer a negative balance (from a reversed credit) back to your original credit card, nor do they let you pay it off with ANY credit card. The only option they give you is to add funds using a bank account or debit card. This effectively blocks me from resolving the issue through the actual card issuer, Synchrony Bank, which means I lose my ability to dispute the charge fairly.
I will stop using PayPal or the PayPal Mastercard in future, and I’ll tell everyone I know - don't use PayPal or PayPal Mastercard, especially on eBay!
xadexane
·1 year agoPayPal would be the payments processor here, not Adyen. And it wouldn't make cents for Adyen to take the PayPal payment as then it'd cost 2 processing fees.
If @tinylove100 had paid with the card at eBay Checkout then the payments processor is Adyen. If so, no dispute can be opened at PayPal.
But yes, Adyen handles and responds to PayPal disputes, and card chargebacks (against PayPal, and against Adyen) on behalf of eBay.
kathiec
·1 year agoPaypal hasn't processed payments for eBay for several years. The buyer's payment may go through Paypal, but that payment is processed by Adyen, who transfers it into the seller's bank account.
If the buyer selects Paypal as their payment method at checkout it's no different than paying directly with a credit card where disputes are concerned. You dispute with the buyer's payment source. When you fund with a credit card through Paypal you have two levels of protection -- through Paypal and through the credit card, although that apparently doesn't work too well with the Paypal MasterCard.
tinylove100
OP1 year agoAnother hard lesson I’ve learned in this scam and credit dispute:
To all PayPal Mastercard holders — if you need to dispute a charge, do not file it through the PayPal portal, even if that seems like the only option. You need to call Synchrony Bank directly at 1-844-373-4961. They are the actual card issuer and the only party that can handle the dispute fairly, but they don't offer online portal for this PayPal credit card.
Overall, after this experience, I will no longer buy anything on eBay that doesn’t include real item photos, and I will stop using the PayPal Mastercard. The card’s lack of transparency and how difficult it is to access proper cardholder protection make it simply not worth the risk.
reallynicestamps
·1 year agoand told them i didn't receive anything, they told me to open a case on eBay. So I did.
The case you opened was Item Not Received?
The Seller showed Delivery (falsely, I agree)
EBay found for the seller.
In hindsight, you would have won with a Not As Described dispute, and could even have opened an NAD when the INR went against you.
The seller would have been required to provide Return Shipping or abandon the "sewing machine" and then refund.
But that's hindsight.
You did the right thing in going for the credit card chargeback.
gosimus
·1 year ago@tinylove100
< I’ve ... never experienced - or even heard of - a scam like this >
I believe it, because you didn't know what to do. It hasn't happened to me – yet – but I've read so many threads here on the boards that I'm acquainted with the procedure. If you had been a frequent browser of these boards, you'd have known too. Note, I'm not blaming you for not knowing, just pointing out that it's preferable to learn from the mistakes of others.
The way to success is to obtain written & signed letterhead documentation from the carrier that the address associated with the tracking number was not your address. They won't tell you the actual address, but all you need is the statement that it was not yours. Then you have to appeal the lost case to the eBay employees, at the social media contacts, and upload an image of that document. Then you win.
tinylove100
OP1 year agoThe exactly the problem here is why should the burden of proof fall entirely on the buyer, especially when the buyer never received the item in the first place?
eBay presents itself as a resolution center, so the system should be fair and proactive, not one where buyers must jump through hoops, chase down carrier statements, or dig through message boards just to have a valid case reviewed properly. In my case, I already uploaded USPS detailed delivery and routing info and their scanned photo of the package with that tracking number on it, shown they were from their internal system. The rejections came back in munities by their AI system.
If this is a known scam, as you and others have noted, then eBay should be improving its systems to prevent it - not pushing all the responsibility onto victims. As a platform that facilitates these transactions and profits from them, eBay should take direct responsibility in contacting USPS or other carriers when fraud is suspected. A fair dispute system shouldn’t require buyers to become private investigators just to be protected.
roccotacodad54
·1 year agoI agree with you on the thought that buyers shouldn't have to act as private investigators running around gathering evidence etc.
If this happens again there's always the option of filing an Item Not As Described return and when asked for a picture(s) just use the one(s) on the origional listing.
It's not really the 'proper' way to handle this scam but I've heard it works. I see no reason to play by the rules when they aren't. Fight fire with fire as the saying goes.......................
mtgraves7984
·1 year agoThe way to success is to obtain written & signed letterhead documentation from the carrier that the address associated with the tracking number was not your address.
@gosimus
You know, I've heard of buyers (after losing such INR claims) opening NAD Returns (and winning them) by enclosing copies of such documentation into the package they sent back to the seller. Heck, I've started to advise doing that as I like to allow 1) eBay run its course... then move to 2) PayPal, if needed... then to 3) the payment source as a last resort.
tinylove100
OP1 year ago1) eBay run its course... then move to 2) PayPal, if needed... then to 3) the payment source as a last resort.
Right now, I’m stuck between step 2) PayPal and 3) Synchrony Bank.
Now, PayPal agents are calling me to collect what i owe them $164, for a sewing machine I never received.
I called Synchrony Bank, but they told me they can only see the charge and refund on their end. So, they can’t do any dispute at this point. Meanwhile, PayPal has already closed my case twice:
1st time after getting the seller’s tracking,
2nd time, 6 days after I appealed, even though they had said they would contact the post office to verify the delivery. They never did and they didn't get any more response from the seller, but they closed the case.
Now I’ve had to appeal again, but I don’t know if they’ll just close it again. I can appeal until 7/14/25. But I am losing my faith... So after PayPal, move to 4) file with the BBB?
And if so, who do I file the complaint against: eBay or PayPal?
Thanks!
kensgiftshop
·1 year agoThe BBB won't do anything but take your complaint.
They don't have power to do anything.
albertabrightalberta
·1 year agoIf you're a "principle girl," you can always file a small claims action against the seller. It'll cost filing fees ($50-$75 depending on jurisdiction) but you would win if you come armed with the postal documentation showing that the item wasn't delivered to you at your address.
(I'm not sure whether you can also include your filing fees as part of your loss. When you win, maybe they'll make the seller pay that too.)
kathiec
·1 year agoUnfortunately in most cases small claims actions must be heard in the defendant's jurisdiction. And while court costs are recoverable if you win, other expenses, such as travel, housing, etc., aren't recoverable. So unless the seller lives close by small claims is usually not cost effective.
@tinylove100
If you have an appeal avenue open with Synchrony call and ask to speak to their fraud department. They should be familiar with this scam.
tinylove100
OP1 year ago"If you have an appeal avenue open with Synchrony call and ask to speak to their fraud department. They should be familiar with this scam."
The worst part about PayPal Mastercard is how misleading it is. They never tell you that Synchrony Bank is the real issuer, and the only way to dispute a charge is through the PayPal portal.
After I filed the dispute:
Chargeback went: PayPal → Synchrony → my PayPal Mastercard
When PayPal ruled in eBay’s favor, they reversed it: PayPal → my PayPal balance (not back to the card)
At Synchrony end, there were charge and chargeback → no charge on the MC card, so their fraud team can’t help. Synchrony told me PayPal can’t return the chargeback to the card - only to my PayPal wallet. I’m stuck with a -$164 PayPal balance for a sewing machine I never received.
Here’s the trap:
You can only dispute directly with Synchrony if you call them first - but you don’t even know they’re the issuer. Once you click “Dispute†in PayPal, it’s locked in. And PayPal favors eBay, not the buyer.
Trap after trap for eBay scam victims. So,
Don’t use PayPal Mastercard for purchases.
Don’t buy from eBay sellers who don’t show real item photos.
tinylove100
OP1 year ago"If you're a "principle girl," you can always file a small claims action against the seller. "
In this entire credit dispute, there’s no seller involved - eBay is the one who charged my card. PayPal favors eBay, I think they’re working together on this.
So if I am "principle girl", I’m suing eBay or PayPal, not the seller.
BUT, since eBay got a chargeback from Synchrony, I’m guessing I can’t sue them. They could just say the money was refunded back to the card.
The real issue is: PayPal reversed the chargeback and applied that amount to my PayPal wallet, not my Mastercard. Synchrony says PayPal has no authority to put it back to the card.
Then PayPal had their collections agent call me, saying I owe them $164 - for something I never received.
Wow, scammers can just sit back and laugh, while these big corporations do all the work to protect them.
I just don’t understand why these companies wouldn’t care. If they keep this up, decent buyers and sellers will leave. Also, there are plenty of other credit cards and payment methods too, who would want a PayPal Mastercard after this?
albertabrightalberta
·1 year agoNo, you're mistaken.
Of course there's a seller involved and it's the seller who scammed you by sending a trinket to an address in your zip code knowing they'd win the case if you filed a claim for non-receipt.
So it's the seller who you would sue if you were to do so.
tinylove100
OP1 year ago"No, you're mistaken.
Of course there's a seller involved and it's the seller who scammed you by sending a trinket to an address in your zip code knowing they'd win the case if you filed a claim for non-receipt.
So it's the seller who you would sue if you were to do so."
NO, that’s incorrect.
FYI, I’m not just a buyer, I’m also a business owner with a brick-and-mortar store for over 20 years, so I understand how credit card processors, merchants, and chargebacks work.
On eBay, sellers are vendors operating under eBay’s platform, but eBay is the merchant of record for buyers. eBay takes the buyer’s payment, deducts their fees, and then pays out the seller. That means, from the buyer’s side, eBay is the one who charged the card - not the individual seller.
So yes, in small claims court, buyers sue the merchant (eBay), not the vendors. Then eBay can recover the loss from the seller who scammed the system. Or better yet - they could actually fix their broken algorithm to prevent these scams in the first place.
For what it’s worth, I won my credit card dispute. eBay lost.
grand-and-glorious-purpose
·1 year agoAll you need to do is start a not as described return, they aren't going to send you a label.
12345jamesstamps
·1 year ago'dispute with my credit card'...eBay is out of the picture now other than letting you know of the outcome of the dispute which eBay sends in an email and amount returned to you.
'one and half months'...it is usually very quick like a week or so.
If you have done disputes before with other companies then that could be why it's taking so long for an outcome.
house*of*paws
·1 year agoHi @tinylove100
I’m surprised your credit card company didn’t reverse the charges immediately … letting you know that they were subject to change pending investigation.
eBay is extraordinarily slow in creating policies to help buyers deal with this extraordinarily common scam. [It’s happened to me 5 times already … different selling venues, different shipping companies.]
I’ve been recommending that eBay buyers go immediately to the Fraud Department of their credit card company when they realize they’ve been the victim of the ‘fake tracking number scam’ … at least until eBay awakens from its Rip Van Winkle length nap.
grand-and-glorious-purpose
·1 year agoThe glitch of showing free shipping on mobile for items the had free local pickup lasted for well more than a decade.
I would bet that ebay never creates any sort of policy for these cases.
Not when they focus on adding pictures to feedback, or the words "verified purchase" and other useless features.
kensgiftshop
·1 year agoSince you went to your credit card, there's nothing else Ebay will do.
Be sure to tell your credit card, it's the fake tracking scam.
simba6
·1 year agoOnce you file with your card company, eBay is out of the picture. They can no longer help. That is the classic fake tracking number scam. Card companies know very well about it. It can take several months for them to decide. In most cases the buyer will win.