How too sue a buyer or get my money owed to me from eBay
Back in 2022 my friend said he sold an antique slot machine for $1.500.
It wasn't damaged in fact the buyer slipped up when he made the complaint to ebay for a refund he took a picture and the item wasn't even damaged like he stated in the complaint from what was shown to me.
Then the guy the buyer sent my friend a photo saying it was damaged and it looked like he took it apart. If anyone knows anything about old antique slot machines they are made out of sold steel and can't be damaged easily. So then ebay told my friend they would look into it and he shouldn't have nothing to worry about he an he still should receive his pay. But weeks when by I seen and they said to him if the payment was $999 he would have gotten paid when the package was shiped an delivered. My friend said But the guy waited 3 days before making a complaint. In the end he never received his money or his product back. And ebay then told him that owe them $250 for selling his slot machine on ebay. But That's crazy he never received his money for the item he sold and the item wasn't shipped back. Then they had the nerve to kick my friend off the platform. So what does my buddy do I hate to see this happen to him.
jerseyboymusic
·2 years agoI think the point folks (including me) are missing is that there was a time that sellers could sell anything "as-is" and "final"... maybe that is where @perfectpictu-92 is coming from.
That business practice, unfortunately, went out the window some years ago. I skimmed through all the posts, and still not sure what happened. Did the buyer want to return the slot machine, but the seller said no?
kensgiftshop
·2 years agoNo, the slot machine could be shipped from the sellers state, but they can't be shipped to the sellers state.
There was no way for the buyer to return the item and the seller didn't think about that before shipping it out of state.
mam98031
·2 years agoThings change. Sites change. Buyers change. Seller change. Everything changes with time. That is just how life goes. We can choose to learn how to best adapt with those changes, do what we can to change things we disagree with, but we all must learn to accept and deal with change in nearly every aspect of life.
Ebay could not have grown if they stayed the way their were 20 years ago. The site just likely would not exist in today's world. So while you may wish the site still operated as it did 20 years ago, you have to remember and accept there are many things that I'm confident you do like, simply would not exist on the site.
Just three things that has simply changed the world of online selling that would not exist here if we reverted back to the rules of 20 years ago; Electronic payments, the Mobile App which represents a LARGE portion of sales on Ebay and online shipping labels. Now there are many other things that would not exist as well of course and the list is long.
I know it is nice to dream of just getting one aspect back, but then that isn't realistic either. To cut out the MBG all together would just mean many many buyers simply would not use the site anymore. Our sales would suffer deeply. We need to keep in mind that that the vast majority of transactions on this site go off without a problem at all. The ones that do are certainly concerning and often problematic, but they are the majority of the transactions. If they were, no one would be selling here.
The OP sold something to a buyer in a state that the seller could not even accept a return from since the item he shipped FROM their state could not be shipped back INTO their state. That is likely something that isn't a good thing to sell on any internet site much less Ebay.
Per the OP.
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/How-too-sue-a-buyer-or-get-my-money-owed-to-me-from-eBay/m-p/34406497#M2384469
janet9988
·2 years agoBack in 2022.... way too late to do anything.
stephenmorgan
·2 years agoWhat are the statue of limitations for your state?
eBay tells you in their policy how to sue them.
Go to section 18
18 Legal Disputes User Agreement | eBay
inhawaii
·2 years agoHow too sue a buyer or get my money owed to me from eBay.
Contact an attorney.
buyselljack2016
·2 years agoAnd any attorney that take this one....................... needs to be sued😎
mam98031
·2 years agoIf your friend refused to pay the fees, that may have caused them after some months passed to lose their selling privileges. Ebay is like most creditors, they have the right to be paid. If that didn't cause your friend to lose their selling privileges on the site, then they had other issues with their account.
Your friend might be able to file a claim in Small Claims court, but they would have to look up and see if the statute of limitation will still allow it after all this time.
theteamsetguy
·2 years ago@perfectpictu-92 ,
As others have said on this thread. Its probably time for your friend to lawyer up. I don't think the statute of limitation is up to file a civil case against the buyer.
Most lawyers will give a free initial consultation to let the potential client know if they have a case worth pursuing. Keep in mind your friend might win a judgement against the buyer but collecting will be another story. Just ask the Goldmans about the 20 million dollar judgement they won against the Juice.
12345jamesstamps
·2 years agoToo old to do anything...back in 2022...you waited too long.
This account was created today...wonder if your friend was maybe you.
caldreamer
·2 years agoEBAY Money Back Guarantee allows customer to lie and claim "damage". EBAY does NOT require customer to prove their claim. EBAY always rules in favor of the customer.
Problem is when customer opens "refund request" (you only have 3-day to approve request and allow customer to return item to you). If not, EBAY will automatically give customer a "full refund" (and allow them to keep the item). Also EBAY fees will not be refunded and you will get a defect on your account for "not following policy". I don't believe that your friend can "file lawsuit" because EBAY clearly states this in their policy below.
https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/managing-returns-refunds/handling-return-requests?id=4115
If a buyer received the wrong item, it arrived damaged, or it doesn't match the listing description the purchase is covered by the eBay Money Back Guarantee policy, they can return it to you, even if your return policy states that you don't accept returns.
If you don't respond to the return request, we may refund the buyer and seek reimbursement from you, without requiring the buyer to send the item back.
perfectpictu-92
OP2 years agoExactly. That's the hole problem. And he told ebay the guy broke it. And provide it to ebay. And told ebay that he couldn't receive the item back because it would be illegal because it's a slot machine. I believe Their is only 3 state's with this law that you can sell slots but cannot receive them in the mail if it's a coin base gambling device. That's so crazy
Lol he's just **bleep** our of luck 🤷ðŸ½â€ðŸ¤¦ðŸ½â€
mam98031
·2 years agoLikely because he waited too long to take action.
hartungcards
·2 years agoNow that winter is over, many streets and roadways have a hole problem.
janet9988
·2 years agoKnowing ebay has a money back Guarantee for buyers your friend should never have tried to sell it on ebay if he could not accept returns in his state.
hartungcards
·2 years agoYou lost me at, "Back in 2022."
kensgiftshop
·2 years agoSounds like your friend should have learned about the MBG and accepted the return and paid return shipping.
perfectpictu-92
OP2 years agoNot all laws are the same for shipping and returning on gambling devices. Sounds like you need to read more or have more knowledge about a situation before you get on a platform and just start typing away. Because you may look slow.
glorybells
·2 years agoThe real problem here is that it doesn’t sound like you or your friend thoroughly familiarized yourselves with eBay policies before jumping into selling . . . And that’s a dangerous combination.
We always recommend that people start out by buying for awhile, and reading these boards. Then start selling a few inexpensive things that you have around the house. Selling something expensive by an inexperienced seller is a recipe for disaster, partially because, unfortunately, new sellers have a tendency to be scammer magnets. There are some people out there who will count on a new seller not being familiar with eBay policy to get something for free. Blame the buyer, maybe, but don’t blame eBay, who makes their policies available.
perfectpictu-92
OP2 years agoIf a company gives you their word about that they see a problem on the other side. They should keep their word and honor it. That's good business. You shouldn't have to worry about being scammed on a platform when you've done everything correctly. Evidence is evidence. They seen that the guy was lieing and still gave him the money back. Seller's have no upper hand or no hand at all on eBay. The rules are in favor of the buyer. I know after personal seeing what happened to someone I'm close to I wouldn't sell anything on eBay.
bonjourami
·2 years ago"It's sounds like you're an ebay scamer. If a company gives you their word about that they see a problem on the other side. They should keep their word and honor it. That's good business. You shouldn't have to worry about being scammed on a platform when you've done everything correctly. Evidence is evidence. They seen that the guy was lieing and still gave him the money back. Seller's have no upper hand or no hand at all on eBay. The rules are in favor of the buyer. I know after personal seeing what happened to someone I'm close to I wouldn't sell anything on eBay."
Thats probably for the best, if you think your 'friend' should be reimbursed and reinstated after two years. Speaking of 'scamers'.
perfectpictu-92
OP2 years agoI was actually was trying to see how many people haves this same situation happened to. And people do sue after a year. And it haven't been 2 years yet. And the hole this is the buyer sent a picture to eBay of the item and it wasn't broken. But then he sent a picture to my friend and the buyer stated that it was damaged. Did you miss the most important part of this story.
bonjourami
·2 years agoI read as much as I could. In a he said, she said, case, Ebay will always rule in favor of the buyer.Ebay does not accept pictures or videos as proof of anything as they can be doctored.
kensgiftshop
·2 years agoA lot of new sellers end up in that situation, because they just jump in to selling.
Some think just because they have no returns, they think that means no refunds and they try to fight a return and it ends up the same way.
The most important part of the story is the buyer filed an INAD and that's all that matters to Ebay.
kensgiftshop
·2 years agoThat's the problem, things were not done correctly.
If the item could not be returned to his state, your friend should have listed the item as local pick up only, no shipping to another state.
When a buyer files an INAD, seller has two options.
Refund the buyer and let them keep the item.
Accept the return and pay return shipping.
Since your friend did neither, Ebay stepped in and took care of the buyer.
When Ebay does that, they keep their fee's.
bonjourami
·2 years ago."They seen that the guy was lieing and still gave him the money back"
I just want to mention that obviously your 'friend' did not respond to an item not as described case opened by the buyer. When that happens, the buyer can ask Ebay to step in, and Ebay will refund him as they see the seller as not responsive,and they do not require the buyer to return the item, since the seller did not respond to the case with a return label and refund after return. Your 'friend' also received a huge defect to his account for his non action, and thats what caused him to be suspended.
albertabrightalberta
·2 years ago^^^^ This! It's the most important thing EVERY seller needs to understand.
an-57470
·2 years agoOh, this is SO completely FALSE.
If you are selling online, you most certainly SHOULD worry. There are myriad ways to be defrauded and NO platform is 100% safe.
Before selling, a user needs to understand all policies that revolve around selling, payments, returns, etc… and then a seller needs to understand that, even if everything is done 100% correctly on their part, fraud can STILL HAPPEN if a determined buyer is out to steal.
And let’s not forget… your friend most certainly did NOT do everything right.
To expect any selling platform to protect you is… well… you can insert the word of your choice here.
kensgiftshop
·2 years agoIf the item couldn't be returned to his state, maybe your friend should have thought about that before trying to sell the item.
albertabrightalberta
·2 years agoMaybe that's what your "friend" should have done before listing an expensive item on ebay.
janet9988
·2 years agoAs should sellers before listing an item.
jerseyboymusic
·2 years ago@perfectpictu-92
Your friend may need to talk to a lawyer or paralegal... and make clear what happened. It's nice of you to ask on his behalf, but maybe they need to come on here (or type everything out for you to post) and explain thins a bit more clearly
perfectpictu-92
OP2 years agoI understand but that's about everything I was told and what I've seen . They showed me the messages that he had with ebay and the buyer. Imma tell him to just open up a lawsuit. It's very sketchy on both parts of the buyer and ebay. I think he should sue both I honestly do. When you google this situation it happens more times than it should. I would think a class action lawsuit. It's not the first time for ebay.
broto_64
·2 years agoSorry I don't do "asking for a friend," I understand most folks think of it as some light hearted thing but I find the "asking for a friend" game disrespectful and quite frankly irritating so the first thing your "friend" needs to do is come here and ask for himself or herself these questions. I know the answers but this two and three-stage process of he-said / she-said isn't helping uncomplicate matters and if your "friend" doesn't want to or can't come here him or herself then it isn't really our problem to solve.
soh.maryl
·2 years agoNot much we could do to help resolve the problem anyway, given that this apparently happened in 2022.
perfectpictu-92
OP2 years agoIt was October of 22.
ittybitnot
·2 years agothe first thing your "friend" needs to do is come here and ask for himself or herself these questions.
@broto_64
Pretty hard to do if the friend is Naru'd.
perfectpictu-92
OP2 years ago@broto_64
You are correct. I can't stand ignorance. Some people love to comment on things and don't have common sense or just be rude and sound so ignorant.
perfectpictu-92
OP2 years agoMy friend is very old and isn't well with cellphone an computers. And like I said ebay closed out his account. This hole situation is a huge headache. And really unfair. I feel he was scammed by both ebay and the customer.
kensgiftshop
·2 years agoHe wasn't scammed, he just jumped into selling before he was ready and didn't know what he was doing.
broto_64
·2 years agoSo it really doesn't matter, your "friend" can't really use ebay so there's no reason to see about reinstating a selling account.
an-57470
·2 years agoIf any of this convoluted story is true, your “friend’s†recourse is through civil litigation against the buyer (for fraud), not eBay.
eBay does not refund fees in cases like this (it sounds like the return was handled incorrectly from the start).
perfectpictu-92
OP2 years agoSo why would ebay charge him a selling fee knowing that he never received funds. And I'm not understanding why they would even allow something like that to happen on this platform. But my friend I'd uper in age so I tried to help best as I could. But when I googleed it was saying this happens way more often then it should. Basically he got scammed and ebay helped just to try to receive a cut either way.
theteamsetguy
·2 years ago@perfectpictu-92 ,
Ebay wants happy buyers. The reason why eBay kept the fees was because your friend didn't follow procedures to resolve the dispute they had with buyer. Ebay want's sellers to work things out with the buyers without having to get involved. As an incentive for sellers to do this they keep their fees when they have to get involved. Ebay does not want to be involved with he said it was broken and she said it was not disputes.
Sellers have to realize eBays pro buyer stance is highly influenced by visa, MC, and Amex rules that protect the buyer. If eBay sides with a buyer, all the buyer has to do is go to their bank to dispute the transaction by filing a charge back request which is very easy to do. When I log into my banks online banking there is link next to each debit card transaction that says "Dispute Transaction." All I have to do is click on the link and answer a couple of questions and click on submit. When that happens eBay is no longer involved. It is very rare for a seller to win a chargeback request from the buyers bank. They want to protect their customer and they can care less about the seller who is not their customer.
fashunu4eeuh
·2 years ago@perfectpictu-92 wrote:
â€So why would ebay charge him a selling fee knowing that he never received funds. And I'm not understanding why they would even allow something like that to happen on this platform…â€
If your friend never received his funds, then a couple of things could have happened—
1) His funds were being held in suspense by eBay, which is a usual action on eBay’s part for new sellers. The payout is usually transferred to the seller once the item shows delivered and the buyer is satisfied. (Timing can vary.)
Or 2) eBay is also known to automatically hold a seller’s payment when a Money Back Guarantee case or payment dispute has been opened by the buyer. (See the link below for more information about the Payment Holds policy.)
https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/getting-paid/getting-paid-items-youve-sold/payments-hold?id=4816
Both of these scenarios are spelled out in the eBay Help pages for any buyer or seller to read. That is, if they do their due diligence before listing their first item. Apparently this did not happen. Neither your friend or yourself know/knew the policies affecting the choices your friend was making.
You have asked why does eBay allow this to happen? Well, first of all, eBay assumes that every seller has done their homework amd learned all the rules and policies governing the site before trying to use it. eBay provides full disclosure of payment holds, MBG cases, and every other important platform matter. All is disclosed in the eBay User Agreement and the policy pages.
The ultimate reason your friend never received the funds payout for this sale is because those funds were refunded back to the buyer. Your buddy was charged for the selling fees because that is the specific penalty for not following the rules of the MBG.
There is no scam going on here by eBay. You are mistaken in that. If there was a scam, its origins arose from the buyer only. If the statute of limitations has not run out, the next step would be for your friend to investigate filing a suit in small claims court in the buyer’s jurisdiction.
Final thought:
Every seller who lists an item on this platform has given tacit approval for binding arbitration (or single suit) in lieu of class actions, unless the seller opted out in writing. See the link below to the eBay User Agreement and scroll to Section 18 regarding Legal Disputes, for a full explanation.
(PS—eBay did not “allow†this all to happen. The fault lies with those who do not follow the rules.)
https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/member-behaviour-policies/user-agreement?id=4259
an-57470
·2 years agoHe was paid (so he did receive the funds, initially).
Then he was forced to refund.
He chose poorly and opted to refuse the return, so eBay stepped in and forced that refund without requiring the return of the machine (which policy clearly states they may do). In instances like this, eBay keeps the selling fee.
Age has nothing to do with this. It’s all clearly spelled out by policy, and any seller of any age should familiarize themselves with all applicable policies before selling anything of any value on this platform.
This may seem harsh to you, but this is truth.
Whether it is right for the buyer to keep both the money and the machine is another matter… which is why I stated that this is a civil (small claims) matter, if your “friend†opts to pursue it.
But eBay is out of this. They are not culpable. They are fully transparent about what can happen if a seller refuses a return.
No returns DOES NOT MEAN NO REFUNDS. People really need to understand this.
soh.maryl
·2 years agoThis happened two years ago? There is nothing your "buddy" can do now.
If/when the buyer opened an item not as described case, the seller, your buddy, had 96 hours to send him a prepaid return label or the funds to return the item. Upon receipt of the returned item, your buddy would have been required to refund the buyer in full. Important: Your buddy should not have shipped until he was paid. The buyer had 30 days to make a complaint, so 3 days was not out of line.
Evidently, neither you nor your buddy had any idea how eBay works and that's the reason he wound up at a loss. Not sure why you are bringing this up two years after the fact, but, again, nothing that can be done now.
As for the reason he was kicked off the platform, it's possible that there is more to this story than you've divulged.
soh.maryl
·2 years agoAnd your title mentions that YOU want to know how to get YOUR money back, but the story is that it's your friend's money you're concerned about. How does that work?
perfectpictu-92
OP2 years agoIt's called miss spelling.
hartungcards
·2 years ago"It's called miss spelling."
Are you referring to Tori Spelling, or did you just misspell misspelling?
perfectpictu-92
OP2 years agoIn my state you can sell slot machines but you can't receive them. It's illegal. And he told ebay about that situation. How it was against the law to receive coin gambling devices.
Unavailable member
·2 years agoSo let me see if I got this straight.
Your friend is a seller, sold an old slot machine to a buyer who later said it arrived damaged.
The buyer opened a return for Damaged or Not as Described, your friend asked eBay to step in to help and the buyer was refunded?
That is what happens when eBay is asked to step in, they will side with the buyer.
Or did your friend just ship without first receiving payment? If that is what happened that's on your friend, not eBay.
If they banned your friend from the platform then there's more to the story than the slot machine story.
arkworkincs
·2 years agoI had this happen several times removing parts sending it back I even had an item that was delivered a month late and eBay refunded the money and told me I didn’t file an appeal which was baloney it couldn’t be filed it was to late
perfectpictu-92
OP2 years agoClass action needs to happen on behalf of all seller's that's been pain out scammed
hartungcards
·2 years ago"Class action needs to happen on behalf of all seller's...."
Oh, if only I had a nickel for every class action lawsuit proposed to remedy a situation where the seller didn't know what they were doing. Especially a class action lawsuit on behalf of a friend who didn't know what they were doing.
mam98031
·2 years agoTo prevail in any lawsuit, you have to have proof. A sellers feelings or suspensions is not enough. I would think that if your friend thought they had enough proof, they would have filed a Claim in Small Claims court. That would be hugely quicker than a Class Action that would take YEARS to resolve.
arkworkincs
·2 years agoYou threaten to sue your history
Unavailable member
·2 years ago@arkworkincs
I have no clue where you're getting that from. I am not suing anyone nor was it implied in my post.
Possibly you meant that for theOP?
perfectpictu-92
OP2 years agoWhen you can't sue your future slow a...
perfectpictu-92
OP2 years agoYour first part was correct. Ebay sided with the buyer. He was band because he had a lower rating because he was a new seller. It's basically like this. If you find someone new on eBay you can buy something from them and make a complaint. And you get to keep the product and get your money back. Ebay is basically just picking on the new guy.
robbie31415
·2 years agoYou can do that with any seller.
The difference is the more experienced seller knows not to fight it, but accept it and provide a return label.
You can't refuse a return no matter who you are.
Unavailable member
·2 years agoNo, when eBay has to handle a sellers returns they will give the buyer their money back allow them to also keep the item, give the seller a defect for not handling their business a well as not credit any fees charged for the sale. Below you will find screenshots taken from Fees Credits and Money Back Guarantee policy links below.
Fee credits
Money Back Guarantee
an-57470
·2 years agoIt is NOT like this on eBay - at all. 😕