Is buyer scamming me?
Just sold a fairly high dollar item last night (Friday, 2/10/23) The very next day (Saturday 2/11/23) I got a notice that the buyer opened a dispute with their bank saying they never received the item. I contacted the buyer reminding them that they had just purchased it less than 24 hours ago and the item was scheduled to be shipped Monday. They said they didn’t open the dispute that they must have been hacked and still want the item, but never responded back anymore. Now I am left dealing with the dispute and not sure if I should send the item or just let the money on hold be refunded and then block them. Sounds like a scammer to me. This buyer has only 6 feedbacks from sellers and they are all good. Any advice?
22 comments
s.scharmu0
·3 years agoI would not send the package till all was cleared up😊ðŸˆ
76c
·3 years agoDon't send the item!! Like I said, cancel the order, use 'The buyer asked to cancel' and refund the money. I have been on here for 23 years now and have developed a '6th sense' when it comes to buyers and know when one is going to be a pain in the you know what and not worth the hassle so I cancel their order, refund the money, if they have paid, and then block them. May seem a bit harsh but that reduces my worry factor.
76c
·3 years agoCancel the sale and use 'the buyer asked to cancel' and refund the money. Not worth the hassle.
mam98031
·3 years ago@76c
The seller can cancel the order, but not for the reason you suggest. By selecting that reason when a buyer did NOT request the cancellation is a breach of the rules and the seller, if reported can be sanctioned for it. There is no reason for the OP to take that risk as they can cancel it for a legit reason.
slippinjimmy
·3 years agoThere is an open case (chargeback) so cancellation for any reason even if it was a good idea is not possible.
mam98031
·3 years agoTrue, but we also aren't suppose to advise other member to break any Ebay rules either.
rschissler
·3 years agoIt sounds to me like the so called buyer, is the hacker.
evry1nositswindy
·3 years ago@ittybitnot Thanks I missed that word bank!
gemarakop_trading
·3 years agoSomeone hacked the ebay account or used a stolen credit card the person replying to your messages is a crook who didn’t expect the credit card owner to dispute so fast.
evry1nositswindy
·3 years agoCancel and then block them. I am more concerned with how a case could have been opened 24 hours later. Sounds like a nightmare situation for sellers.
ittybitnot
·3 years agohow a case could have been opened 24 hours later
@evry1nositswindy
It wasn't an eBay case. It was a chargeback (AKA Payment Dispute).
mam98031
·3 years agoThat doesn't make sense either as it is unlikely the charge is on the credit card that fast. A pending entry would be there but not the actual charge to the CC. You can't dispute a pending charge.
ittybitnot
·3 years agoThat doesn't make sense either as it is unlikely the charge is on the credit card that fast.
@mam98031
See message #3. I get a text message quite often from my c.card and even PayPal asking if I just made a charge to xxxx for $$$$. If I say no, I am sure it is reversed in some manner. What excuse is used to notify the merchant (in this case eBay who forwards it to the seller) is not known.
mam98031
·3 years agoThose would be pending charges. Any vendor you pay with your CC, runs your card at the time of the purchase. That pings your account to make sure you can actually cover what you are trying to buy. It does NOT immediately transfer the money. CCs just don't work that way. It is not instant.
I've experienced exactly what you have. But if your CC notifies you moments after the CC was used, they are letting you know about a pending payment they question. If it is a couple days later, then it is likely an actual charge on your CC.
inhawaii
·3 years agoIf a dispute has been started for an item you haven't even shipped out yet, it seems like a no brainer.
CANCEL the transaction, the buyer gets refunded.
Move on.
reallynicestamps
·3 years agohey said they didn’t open the dispute that they must have been hacked and still want the item, but never responded back anymore.
So was this the buyer who paid or was this the buyer who ordered?
mam98031
·3 years agoThis is an unusual situation. I know what my gut reaction is to this, but I'm not so sure I'm right. If you don't mind, can you wait until we can get the correct information for you. But we can't do that until Monday sometime. At this time I would suggest you hold the shipment until we can get more info on how to properly handle this unusual transaction.
I think we are in need of more clarity and guidance on this specific situation for this OP. Please advise us how what should be done in a case like this. And WHY was the buyer able to open an INR in less than 24 hours of the purchase.
@devon@ebay
@kyle@ebay
@elizabeth@ebay
kyle@ebay
Hey @mam98031 if the buyer has indeed already been able to open a chargeback with their bank, we would advise OP to not ship the item out at this time.
Hey @alanasmom28 I would recommend reaching out to our customer service folks to see exactly where the transaction stands on eBay at this point so that you can see which direction we need to go to get it cancelled and get your fees credited.
mam98031
·3 years ago@alanasmom28
I would suggest that you contact Ebay for Business on Facebook or Twitter for the better trained CSRs.
Here are your options for contacting Ebay Customer Service.
https://twitter.com/askebay?lang=en
https://www.facebook.com/eBayForBusiness/
If when you use the link below you can only get to the Automated Assistant, type AGENT in the box and hit enter. You will then get more options.
https://www.ebay.com/help/contact_us?id=4002&st=10
For the Payment Team
https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/getting-paid/getting-paid-items-youve-sold/payments-hold?id=4816&&redirectedFrom=4155
candd205
·3 years agoI would not send it. No way. Cancel based on problems with the address.
slippinjimmy
·3 years agoDO NOT SHIP!!!!!!!!!!
Proceed through the case process with eBay.
Given the timeline I'd guess the "buyer" is using a stolen credit card, the actual cardholder spotted the bogus charge and had their card locked down.
Back in the day the cardholder would probably not notice until they received their paper statement, if they even checked it, these days people get instant notices on their phone for everything.
theknightsreserve
·3 years agoThat's very strange. What motivation would a hacker possibly have to dispute their eBay purchase? I'd err on the side of caution.