eBay

dtfdotla · ‎03-09-2025

(Need Help Understanding What’s Happening Here)

I recently purchased a Brother HL-L2420DW printer from an eBay seller with questionable feedback (now at 86%). Seller claimed item was "new" and offered free shipping.

Feb 19: I requested tracking. No response.
Feb 22: I asked AGAIN. Still no tracking.
Feb 24: Suddenly, seller uploads tracking that says the item was delivered on Feb 21.
Problem: I NEVER received the package. No tracking was provided until AFTER the supposed delivery.

At first, I assumed it was misdelivered. Then I checked the tracking deeper… and that’s where it gets weird.
Tracking Shows My Printer Was Delivered To... A Clothing Store?

I contacted UPS, and they told me the package was signed for by "MARQUIS" at Maurices, a women’s clothing store in Alton Square Mall.

That’s NOT my address.
That’s NOT my name.
I don’t know MARQUIS.
Why would a clothing store accept a 15lb printer on my behalf?

At this point, I knew something shady was going on.
Even Weirder: The Listed Sender Wasn't Walmart or eBay. It Was… Talbots?

Digging deeper, I found that the sender was "MGR TALBOTS ACCOUNT PAYABLES" in Hingham, MA.
For those unaware, Talbots is a women's clothing retailer—nothing to do with printers, Walmart, or eBay.

So now we have:

eBay seller "drop-shipping" from Walmart (a violation of eBay policy).
Item allegedly sent from Talbots, a random clothing retailer.
UPS delivering it to another retailer instead of me.

Where Do the Vitamins Come In?

To add to the confusion, I DID receive a package at my address around the same time… but it contained VITAMINS, not a printer.

This means:

The vitamins package was not in eBay’s system (so it wasn’t part of the official tracking).
The seller could have sent vitamins to my real address just to generate a bogus tracking event.
Meanwhile, the actual tracked package (printer?) went to Maurices.

Theories on the Scam Angle

Stolen Credit Card Fraud – The seller could be using stolen credit cards or gift cards to order from Walmart, then changing the delivery address. Since Walmart and eBay don’t communicate, it’s a loophole.
Reshipping Fraud – If Maurices unknowingly accepted a misdelivered package, it could be a way of "laundering" shipments.
UPS Label Switcheroo – Maybe UPS messed up and swapped labels with the vitamins package? Unlikely, but possible.

Outcome So Far: No Refund, No Help from eBay/PayPal

eBay closed my case, siding with the seller because "tracking shows delivery."
PayPal denied my claim for the same reason.
UPS confirmed the package was NOT delivered to me.
Bank of America is now handling my chargeback.

This is not just a simple dispute—it looks like a complex scam exploiting drop-shipping, fake tracking, and stolen payment methods.

Has Anyone Else Seen This Before?

I know eBay technically bans drop-shipping from retailers like Walmart, but it still happens. Has anyone else received the wrong item while tracking claims "delivered" somewhere else?

Would love to hear thoughts on how this works and if eBay is aware of it.

TL;DR: Ordered a printer. Seller drop-shipped from Walmart. UPS says it was delivered to a clothing store. I got vitamins instead. eBay won’t refund. What the hell is this scam?

kensgiftshop · ‎03-09-2025

You could have saved yourself a lot of trouble reading the sellers feedback.

A lot of negative for no deliveries or items being shipped to wrong address.

Have a great day.

valueaddedresource · ‎03-09-2025

@dtfdotla what you are describing sounds like it's possibly a variation on a triangulation fraud/scam, which is a sophisticated kind of fraud which has operated through eBay and other marketplaces for over a decade.

My experience being targeted by this kind of fraud as a seller in 2020:

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Warning-Retail-Arbitrage-Credit-Card-Fraud/td-p/30822324

Typically triangle scams will use stolen credit cards as you've worked out, sometimes they'll use gift cards or in one example which had led to an ongoing class action suit, the fraudsters list items on Walmart, then order them from unsuspecting sellers on Amazon, and then use Amazon's notoriously buyer-friendly policies to force a refund through a false item not received claim.

Krebs on Security wrote about it in 2015 and ironically, the graphic in this article explaining how the different sides of the triangle work actually came directly from an eBay help page at the time (which has since been put down the memory hole), showing that eBay was well aware of the situation even back then.

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2015/11/how-carders-can-use-ebay-as-a-virtual-atm/

It also sounds like in your example they may have incorporated what I call the "same zip code tracking scam" - when eBay looks at item not received claims, they are only verifying delivery at the zip code level, so if there is a delivery scan and the tracking number shows the zip code matches the one for the order, that is considered proof of delivery (for items under $750).

Fraudsters know all about that loop hole and use it to their advantage, often sending a worthless item to a different address in the same zip or possibly even just having access to a large database of active/real tracking numbers purchased through the dark web or something.

I've seen it happen on both sides of the transaction - obviously fraudulent sellers can use it against buyers as you've seen, but as a seller, I've also had eBay force a refund on a return because a fraudulent buyer provided a return tracking number showing delivery to the zip code for the return address even though I never actually received anything back.

My advice in these situations is typically to file a chargeback through your financial institution and it sounds like you've already done that - hopefully they'll take care of you because unfortunately in my experience, eBay will not.

ittybitnot · ‎03-09-2025

Bank of America is now handling my chargeback.

@dtfdotla

Hopefully, you did not claim "Item not received" with your credit card. If you did, (or used that reason with PayPal) all that happens is that the claim is forwarded to eBay. eBay responds with the same "delivery confirmation" information, and even though it is fake you will lose the claim. The correct choice if using PayPal would be "shipped to wrong address" or with your c.card FRAUD/fake tracking scam/shipped to wrong address.

Do call the number on the back of the card if you filed INR, and get it straightened out as soon as possible.

Though there have been minor differences or changes to the scam over the years, it can be documented in these forums on eBay going back about 14 years. eBay has no printed policy or procedure for victims of this be they a buyer or a seller getting a phony return delivered scan. eBay's first line is to DENY, deny, and deny some more even though they are well aware of what is going on.

Last year, on this board alone there were 183 reports counted that were posted here. That does not include the one's I missed or the threads that had a lot of "me, too" reports from victims. Here are some for your reading (dis)pleasure, but have various other ways to get your money back. It is important to know WHAT to DO and WHAT NOT to DO when you are a victim.

A credit card chargeback is typically your last resort. Make it count, and good luck!

Jan. 2025

Feb. 2025

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/DHL-Messing-up-shipping-or-a-scam/m-p/34918930#M513039
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Item-shipped-to-wrong-address/m-p/34918657#M513034
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Fake-Tracking-Scam-how-do-I-prepare/m-p/34920656#M513092
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Seller-scamming-me/m-p/34954964#M514849
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/I-just-got-scammed-and-I-don-t-know-how-to-proceed/m-p/34955823...

March 2025

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Tracking-numbers-Can-you-provide-the-street-address-for-the/m-p...
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Getting-scammed-by-seller-sending-tracking-info-showing/m-p/349...
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Tracking-number-scams-why-is-Ebay-enabling-sellers-for-this/m-p...

dtfdotla · ‎03-09-2025

kensgiftshop, point taken I didn't read the feedback because I've been buying/selling on eBay for years & years and NEVER had an issue until now. I just saw the printer I wanted and clicked BIN.

If this is a known and established scam why isn't eBay shutting it down? Why do they offer a "Money Back Guarantee" that I will receive my item, and then not honor it? Why is the onus on ME to PROVE I didn't receive my item, rather than the other way around? Why are they ignoring PROOF that the item wasn't delivered to me?

At this point the amount of time and aggravation isn't even worth the refund but as a matter of PRINCIPLE I refuse to pay for something I never received. I will not relent and I will not let this go.

ittybitnot · ‎03-09-2025

... what you are describing sounds like it's possibly a variation on a triangulation fraud/scam, which is a sophisticated kind of fraud which has operated through eBay and other marketplaces for over a decade.

@valueaddedresource

Thank you for your post. I know you are very familiar with the "triangulation" scam, but what makes it different than the run of the mill eBay fake tracking scam? Would not the OP have gotten his printer if it was indeed a triangulation situation? Instead a parcel of dubious clothing related origin was shipped to a clothing store in the OP's zip code and that tracking number used to falsify adequately for the eBay bot that the "printer" was delivered. Just asking so I can keep it straight as well because I follow the "fake tracking" issue extensively.

valueaddedresource · ‎03-09-2025

@ittybitnot wrote:
... what you are describing sounds like it's possibly a variation on a triangulation fraud/scam, which is a sophisticated kind of fraud which has operated through eBay and other marketplaces for over a decade.

@valueaddedresource

Thank you for your post. I know you are very familiar with the "triangulation" scam, but what makes it different than the run of the mill eBay fake tracking scam? Would not the OP have gotten his printer if it was indeed a triangulation situation? Instead a parcel of dubious clothing related origin was shipped to a clothing store in the OP's zip code and that tracking number used to falsify adequately for the eBay bot that the "printer" was delivered. Just asking so I can keep it straight as well because I follow the "fake tracking" issue extensively.

@ittybitnot yeah, it can be hard to tell what exactly you might be dealing with when several of these common scams can overlap and possibly even be run together at the same time, which is why I mentioned the same zip code/fake tracking part at the end of my post too.

You're correct that usually with triangulation fraud the buyer will get the correct item - when it's being done by a savvy fraudster who knows that part is important to be able to keep the scam going as long as possible...but not all fraudsters are that smart. 😂

I mentioned triangulation fraud because OP seemed to think there may be a stolen credit card component and wanted to know if anyone had seen anything like that with drop shipping, so I figured it was worth mentioning that yes, many people have seen that.

But based on the other details, it does seem like the main scam here is more about the fake tracking - and there may or may not be a side of triangulation fraud going on as well.

dtfdotla · ‎03-09-2025

I think the point here is how outrageous it is that eBay REFUSES to honor their so-called "MONEY BACK GUARANTEE" because the scammer provides a number showing "PACKAGE DELIVERED."

Even after an appeal they refused to take more than a surface-level look into the matter. Same with PayPal.

The amount of time and aggravation I'm into this incident already represents a terrible ROI (assuming I'm ever refunded, which I expect I will be) but I will persist as a matter of PRINCIPLE.

I will scream about this from the rooftops until this is remedied. Seller should not only be banned but indicted for wire fraud.

simba6 · ‎03-09-2025

That is the fake tracking number scam. You needed to file an item not as described case to win.

If you paid by credit card, contact your card company. Let them know it's the fake tracking number scam.

stainlessenginecovers · ‎03-09-2025

@dtfdotla wrote:
I think the point here is how outrageous it is that eBay REFUSES to honor their so-called "MONEY BACK GUARANTEE" because the scammer provides a number showing "PACKAGE DELIVERED."

Even after an appeal they refused to take more than a surface-level look into the matter. Same with PayPal.

The amount of time and aggravation I'm into this incident already represents a terrible ROI (assuming I'm ever refunded, which I expect I will be) but I will persist as a matter of PRINCIPLE.

I will scream about this from the rooftops until this is remedied. Seller should not only be banned but indicted for wire fraud.

Its FAR from 'outrageous' because the tracking is the only form of protection SELLERS have against Buyers that just say 'I didn't get it'. Thats why. If enough people follow the system for proving what the seller is doing, then eventually they will be removed. It's not a 'first time' thing and for good reason (again, there are MORE crooked Buyers than there are Sellers). But, if the scam was 'automated' the first time someone 'complained' then it wouldn't work and it wouldn't exist. That's why scammers work within the systems.

ittybitnot · ‎03-09-2025

I think the point here is how outrageous it is that eBay REFUSES to honor their so-called "MONEY BACK GUARANTEE" because the scammer provides a number showing "PACKAGE DELIVERED."

@dtfdotla

I don't think anyone here will disagree with you. In instances of the "fake tracking scam" the eBay Money Back Guarantee is a giant fail, unless you know what to do and where to get help. eBay does not provide that information. So long as there is a "delivered scan" for your parcel tracking number, even though it is fake the buyer will lose through the regular channels when they insist on ITEM NOT RECEIVED (aka INR).

PayPal recently provided a claim choice of "shipped to wrong address", but if you insist on INR, you will lose. Same with filing with your credit card. If you keep insisting on INR, you will lose there as well unless you make it clear that this is a case of FRAUD/fake tracking scam.

Why does eBay not provide a format for victims of this? WE DON'T KNOW, and they are not talking. We only know by sharing information with each other what is working and what is not, and those things change over time as well.

Why is the burden placed on the victim? WE DON'T KNOW and can only surmise, again from years of sharing information on this topic.

Basically eBay, first and foremost, protects eBay. Always "follow the money" if you want to know the motivation for their actions.

dtfdotla · ‎03-09-2025

When I opened the case it looked to me like an INR. It was only subsequently, after contacting UPS, that I discovered that the item was addressed to and delivered to an entirely different address.

Either way, this shouldn't require some esoteric level of knowledge to report properly in order to be refunded. If it's as common as this thread suggests, eBay should have some level of pattern recognition and implement SAFEGUARDS as of years ago.

I shouldn't have to feel like I've done something incorrectly when all I did was buy a printer.

valueaddedresource · ‎03-09-2025

@ittybitnot wrote:
Basically eBay, first and foremost, protects eBay. Always "follow the money" if you want to know the motivation for their actions.

@ittybitnot just to expand on this - I've recently been putting a great deal of thought and research into that broader question of why eBay doesn't do more to stop fraud/scams/illegal activity on their site.

When I had my own experience with triangulation fraud in 2020, I was directly connected with eBay's PROACT (partnering with retailers offensively against crime and theft) department and while they initially acted helpful (long enough to close the complaint I had opened with my state attorney general's office), eventually they ghosted me and stopped replying to my emails or answering my phone calls.

At one point I had offered to provide them with ~4,000 tracking numbers they could have used to trace back in their systems to find accounts committing the fraud - and I even told them I understood for security reasons they could not provide me with any details about their investigation and was fine with that, I just wanted to do everything I possibly could to help in any way I could.

You would think a company which was actually concerned about such things and wanted to do right by their customers would have jumped at that chance - not only could they have shut down potentially thousands of fraud accounts, but they could have gleaned a ton of data about those accounts and the fraud patterns involved which could have helped to inform their security strategies going forward as well.

I was honestly flabbergasted when they politely declined my offer, with some vague line about how they didn't need my data because they had internal systems which track fraudulent activity....blah, blah, blah.

It wasn't until I reflected on that experience years later that I came to the realization they likely declined that information because if they had taken it - they would have then been obligated to do something with it/liable for not acting on it.

You can see the same "cover their ass(ets)" motivation in much of what eBay does - including how they've used Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act as a "get out of liability free card" to avoid ~$2 Billion in EPA fines due to the sale of illegal chemicals, pesticides, and emissions control cheat devices on the platform.

Most people think the financial incentive for eBay to look the other way on this stuff is purely the fees they earn on those sales - and that's certainly part of it - but there is a much bigger picture in play, in my opinion.

eBay reported just under ~$75 Billion in Gross Merchandise Volume in 2024 (the total amount of sales on the platform, including shipping and tax).

Consider how much of an impact it has on the stock price (positive or negative) for GMV to either grow or shrink by only 1-2%.

Then consider what it would do to eBay's stock price if it were ever to become publicly known what % of their GMV comes from fraud/scams/counterfeits/stolen goods and other illegal activity on the site - especially if that knowledge also came along with exposing the fact that eBay has known the extent of the problem for well over a decade and did not disclose it or take significant action to stop it?

Not only would that likely tank the stock price, the shareholder lawsuits that would ensue would be massive.

As it stands now, everyone, including shareholders, knows there's some degree of fraud/illegal activity on every marketplace, including eBay. But because it isn't a quantifiable number, it doesn't really have much impact - and I fully believe eBay will do just about anything to try to keep it that way.

kensgiftshop · ‎03-09-2025

@dtfdotla wrote:
When I opened the case it looked to me like an INR. It was only subsequently, after contacting UPS, that I discovered that the item was addressed to and delivered to an entirely different address.

Either way, this shouldn't require some esoteric level of knowledge to report properly in order to be refunded. If it's as common as this thread suggests, eBay should have some level of pattern recognition and implement SAFEGUARDS as of years ago.

I shouldn't have to feel like I've done something incorrectly when all I did was buy a printer.

You would think after all this time, Ebay would have an easy way to handle it, but they don't.

How hard would it be for them to contact the carrier and be told the package was addressed to someone else?

Have a great day.

ittybitnot · ‎03-09-2025

some vague line about how they didn't need my data because they had internal systems which track fraudulent activity....blah, blah, blah.

@valueaddedresource

Thank you for your information. Funny how that same excuse ^^^^^ was almost word for word the reason we were given when eBay removed the "report this message feature" a few years back. Their internal fraud systems would be certain to prevent such messages from ever reaching our inbox, so the 'report feature' was no longer needed. It was certainly some more 'blah, blah, blah since the 'text me scammers' and the 'change of address scammers' continued to prey on newbies just the same. LOL. Though not having more broad implications as your summation, it was just one of many small examples of the "hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil" attitude.

Years ago I used to report 'fraudulent' listings to the tune of a few thousand a day. It was easy since a title and description search of one misspelled word would bring up twenty or thirty IDs with a few hundred each. There was some other scammer that would post the same 3000 listings three times a day under a different ID each time, and a few other "favorites" that were all selling vapor. For a while they had me send the info directly to a person in T&S until I quit (the agent left as well). If I could find those listings in seconds, so could eBay, so I decided to help more with the victims.

As far as the GMV, I suppose a seller of "vapor" who sells a $4000 camera, and sends a box of rubber bands to the buyer's Zip Code counts for the GMV. If eBay can keep the money, all the better. I was wondering how the newbie sellers (who were basically in registered in somewhereistan for 5 days) got to to sell $10K worth of product in five listings. I finally figured it out, and started to report them. "Item xxxxxxxxxxx IPhone was for a wooden spoon the day before, and item XXXXXXXXX new laptop was a curtain, and yyyyyyyyy was a folding chair that was revised as a gaming computer. I also added that the pencil the same seller had for sale was likely to be the next 5K Sony camera in a matter of hours. They let these ride day after day, week after week. The phony products "sold" and we had a new crop fake tracking scam victims. Again, if I could find them, so could their fraud detection algorithms, which either don't work or are too busy looking for fake LV purses or antique postage stamps with Russia in the title...LOL. What does eBay do? Makes it more difficult to get to the feedback page where one can see negatives, the country of registration, and the date the ID started on the site. Transparency continues to erode one thing at a time.

As you said regarding your summation:   and I fully believe eBay will do just about anything to try to keep it that way.

I believe it as well. I am old, but not blind yet.

Possible eBay-Walmart Drop-Shipping Scam – My "Printer" Was Sent to a Clothing Store Instead

Possible eBay-Walmart Drop-Shipping Scam – My "Printer" Was Sent to a Clothing Store Instead

Possible eBay-Walmart Drop-Shipping Scam – My "Printer" Was Sent to a Clothing Store Instead

Possible eBay-Walmart Drop-Shipping Scam – My "Printer" Was Sent to a Clothing Store Instead

Possible eBay-Walmart Drop-Shipping Scam – My "Printer" Was Sent to a Clothing Store Instead

Possible eBay-Walmart Drop-Shipping Scam – My "Printer" Was Sent to a Clothing Store Instead

Possible eBay-Walmart Drop-Shipping Scam – My "Printer" Was Sent to a Clothing Store Instead

Possible eBay-Walmart Drop-Shipping Scam – My "Printer" Was Sent to a Clothing Store Instead

Possible eBay-Walmart Drop-Shipping Scam – My "Printer" Was Sent to a Clothing Store Instead

Possible eBay-Walmart Drop-Shipping Scam – My "Printer" Was Sent to a Clothing Store Instead

Possible eBay-Walmart Drop-Shipping Scam – My "Printer" Was Sent to a Clothing Store Instead

Possible eBay-Walmart Drop-Shipping Scam – My "Printer" Was Sent to a Clothing Store Instead

Possible eBay-Walmart Drop-Shipping Scam – My "Printer" Was Sent to a Clothing Store Instead

Possible eBay-Walmart Drop-Shipping Scam – My "Printer" Was Sent to a Clothing Store Instead

Possible eBay-Walmart Drop-Shipping Scam – My "Printer" Was Sent to a Clothing Store Instead

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