Understanding Seller Scams: Prevention and Awareness
Summary: chulapi raised concerns about sophisticated seller scams on online marketplaces, describing tactics like false tracking and inflated shipping costs. They shared a personal experience where a package was misdelivered intentionally, complicating efforts to secure a refund through eBay and USPS. mam98031 offered insights into eBay's procedures, emphasizing that some claimed scams might result from misunderstandings. Other participants like participatrophy suggested ways to handle such issues, including contacting eBay through specific channels and reporting to the US Postal Inspection Service. The discussion highlighted mixed perceptions of the prevalence and severity of these scams.
With the rise of online marketplaces, seller scams have become increasingly sophisticated. One common scam involves sellers shipping two items but only providing tracking for one, then accusing the buyer of fraud when both items are received. Another tactic includes inflating shipping costs or sending refund checks instead of processing returns through the platform. Given these deceptive practices, how can buyers and sellers better protect themselves against scams? Have you ever encountered a similar situation, and how did you handle it? Share your experiences and strategies that can help our community become more vigilant and informed.
marchair
·2 weeks agoWell, the fake tracking scam is a fairly well-known scam done by some sellers. You need to go to the listing and file a claim, but do not choose "not delivered" as the reason -- because it was delivered, just not to you, and you will lose if that choice is chosen. Some people here say you should file it as "not as described," because "nothing" is not what the description says. If your claim has already been denied, and you appealed and it's still denied, you can sometimes get it resolved by contacting Ebay's social media (Instagram), as mentioned by mam98031.
If all else fails you can do a charge-back through your payment source.
puremichigand
·3 weeks agoThanks - I hadn’t heard of these scams!
kandf_vintage_finds
·3 weeks agohuh?
dhbookds
·3 weeks agoNever experienced the problems. I don't quite understand the question.....you are saying the buyer received the items/refund checks?......how was that a scam?
inhawaii
·3 weeks agoI don't know where you are getting your info but seller scams are not a problemj on ebay, they barely even exist.
mam98031
·3 weeks ago@chulapi
I'm very versed on scams here as I've been a seller for a very long time, but I think I need a little more information on some of what you describe.
Not sure this is a scam on the buyer but a seller thinking they are more clever than they actually are "sellers shipping two items but only providing tracking for one, then accusing the buyer of fraud when both items are received." The seller shipped twice and somehow they make that as the buyer being abusive. Seems the seller is just costing themselves money. The buyer would be fine as long as one of the two packages was what they ordered. If neither were what they ordered, they can simply file an Ebay claim or do a Chargeback and be made whole. How does this benefit the seller??? How does this make the issue the buyer's fault??
"Another tactic includes inflating shipping costs or sending refund checks instead of processing returns through the platform." Well, probably not. Are you aware that USPS has recently raised their rates by a good chunk? That is likely what you are seeing and thinking the seller is doing something wrong when they are just trying to cover their costs. Besides, seller have more costs involved in shipping that just the actual carrier costs. Ebay charges us fees on the shipping as well as we have packaging supplies.
As for a seller issuing a refund to the buyer for the item they purchased and filed a claim on, how is that abusing the buyer. The buyer gets to keep the item AND get a refund. They don't have to go through the process of returning the item to the seller. That seems like a very good seller taking care of their buyer.
None of what you describe requires any kind of protection for buyers that aren't already in place. The first story seems like the seller outsmarted themselves and just cost themselves money without any help from anyone else.
chulapi
OP3 weeks ago · EditedFor those asking questions, in a nut shell:
I bought an item on ebay. I have been a buyer [mostly] and seller since 1998 I believe. Over 800 positive comments on my handle. I bought cheap stuff, and very expensive stuff too. This is the second time it's happened to me in 2 years.
Example [what happened to me] You buy an item, the seller gets paid, they print the Ebay USPS label. The label [tracking number] is tied to your address, but they put another address on top of the buyer's address [mine].
When the item gets mailed, it shows delivered to my address, but it gets delivered to the one that they put a sticker on top. It was explained to me today by the postmaster. Now the fake address could be a random address they pick up from the same zip code or could be someone they know to get the package. As far as the post office is concerned, they delivered the package. The post office shows a letter being mailed that weighs and is the size of a letter. My package should have been at least 2 lbs and mailed in a medium-sized box.
So after taking to the postmaster I got a piece of paper that says where did the package originated from and where it was delivered. The package originated in OPA Locka and was delivered to a place that’s 15 mins away from my house. The USPS trucks have geolocation, and they know EXACTLY where they dropped the package. They even gave me the address. The postmaster said this is very common and they can't do anything about it,
Since I made the post, I went to the address it was delivered to. Talked to the person who lives there. They had lots of packages delivered but not the one that they didn't expect [mine], according to the person I talked to.
I know what’s going on, and I’ve spent 7 hours of my day trying to get help from USPS [we delivered, so we are good; no investigation will be done by them], and Ebay is not making it easy for me to contact them with this information. They have erased my negative review of this seller. So if he’s scamming people or the people he entrusted to ship for him are doing the same, it will take a while for Ebay to realize it. It sucks everything is AI and you can't talk to a human being.
I really want to get hold of a person on ebay. The scammers know the buyers will give up after trying to file complaints, etc. It sucks a company I've been dealing with for 38 + years is making it IMPOSSIBLE to get my money back and flush out the bad actor.
mam98031
·3 weeks agoCarriers are usually far more advanced than that. They don't typically physically read the address on a package that has a scannable shipping label such as is created on Ebay. The carriers SCAN the barcode or QR code which contains the coded information. So the chances are that they are actually shipping via some other note put on the package is slim. Now are you saying that the seller actually altered the Bar Code and/or the QR code on the labels? But stranger things have happened for sure and I'm sorry this has happened to you.
It is not that hard to contact Ebay.
On each Ebay page there is a link to contact Customer Service at the top of the page and again at the bottom of the page.
Things have changed in recent months and Ebay is not offering customer service on any site other than Ebay and Instagram right now.
Here are your options for contacting Ebay Customer Service. Please be aware that for social media CS, you send them a Private Message and briefly explain what your problem or issue is. Feel free to leave your Name, address, phone number and/or your email address in this message. It is private and secure and it may help to speed up the response for you.
https://www.instagram.com/ebay/
https://www.instagram.com/ebayforsellers/
Your options will be on the left. If you use the link below you can only get to the Automated Assistant or Chat box type AGENT in the box and hit enter. You will then get more options. Not all options are available 24/7. It will depend on staffing available. So sometimes you can request a call back and sometimes you can't. Sometimes you have the Chat option available and other times it won't me. If it is important to you to use one of those options, just try back later.
If you use a cell phone or other mobile device, you may need to turn off your Spam filter so that Ebay can call you.
If you are a seller outside of the US or Canada, you will need to use the Chat Option.
https://www.ebay.com/help/eua?id=5275&mkevt=1&mkpid
From this link you can request Ebay to call you in the USA.
https://www.ebay.com/help/home
participatrophy
·2 weeks ago@chulapi
Getting your money back: Go into your Order Details, choose "return this item" from the dropdown, then "missing parts or pieces".
Flushing out the bad actor:
https://www.uspis.gov/report
Make it concise & info-dense. Include all pertinent details (addresses, usernames, transaction numbers, tracking numbers, etc).