Who do I contact on ebay about a buyer committing return fraud/theft?
I already talked with my local post office and filed a report with the postal inspector. I'm not 100% sure how it works, but the buyer opened a return for a laptop with the reason "did not fit," messaged me that the device would power off randomly, and then, due to the return reason not being "not as described," they purchased the return label (might be important because I did not provide the label). The tracking number that was given to me shows the item as delivered, but was never delivered to me. Instead, they somehow had a different label on the package that when scanned, would update my tracking number. The "package" was delivered to a local Home Depot and the picture provided by a postal worker shows a tiny package with a different label as mentioned (so not the laptop). Additionally, the order was originally shipped to Delaware, but the return tracking states for the origin it was dropped off in Georgia. To top it off, nothing was wrong with the laptop so I didn't believe the "issue" to begin with.
I would like to know the best way to go about getting in touch with a real, helpful ebay representative that won't force a refund to a scamming buyer. And if anyone has any suggestions on what other steps to take, that would be helpful. Going back to my local post office tomorrow to get more info and evidence (they were supposed to email the picture but haven't yet).
product2people
OP4 months agoUpdate: Ebay customer service agents did not do what they said they would and now ebay took my money. They didn't put the return on hold and didn't send me a way to upload evidence for the case. Is there no option left like "ebay for business" on Facebook? Can't even contact the official ebay page anymore.
qeqo_0
·4 months agoeBay support is on InstantScam now. Try them there, @product2people.
Upon realising that the eBay site itself is not powerful enough to provide customer service, the staff moved support over to the ad-richer social media on Facebook and Twitter, only to abandon those sites last month as well, as you discovered.
kensgiftshop
·4 months agoIf it was shipped to Delaware, it was probably a freight forwarder and the laptop is in another country or headed that way.
product2people
OP4 months agoThat's what I was thinking. I had something similar happen with a PS5 I sold years ago. However, in that case, I purchased a return label and they sent back an empty/opened bubble mailer. After arguing with ebay, they refunded the buyer with their funds (but I still lost out on the $40-$50 return shipping).
In this case, the buyer didn't even send an empty envelope to me. They managed to get the empty mailer or package sent to Home Depot while still having my tracking number updated. The postal worker I talked to said the post office catches this sometimes, but it's been harder to catch lately. She mentioned they overlap the labels or something to do with the barcodes. I'm not 100% sure as the people behind me were a bit too loud lol. Going back tomorrow to get the information again and submit it to ebay.
stainlessenginecovers
·4 months agoIf the return is 'not as described' and shows 'delivered'- you have 48 hrs to refund or ebay will do it for you, keep their final value fees and ding you in your seller metrics.
You should refund. Then, you can 'report' buyer, although it will do nothing for you- only if it happens to alot of sellers will ebay deal with the buyer, but again, they will not refund you.
You can report to your city PD, buyers city PD, Post Office, IC3 etc. but again, it SELDOM does anything for you or your pocketbook (City PD's have more important things to deal with, typically).
product2people
OP4 months agoIssue is that nothing was actually delivered to my address. They somehow managed to have a different label update the ebay tracking number. Not sure how to explain it. The post office has the evidence that nothing was ever shipped or delivered to me. I've seen the scam online before, but I can't remember how the other sellers resolved it.