Suspicious Activity

[heathersthriftyfinds09]

As a Buyer you may see an item listed at "too good to be true" prices & you can't help yourself, you buy it.

I was braced for the possibility that the sale wouldn't be fulfilled & I'd need to get a refund or maybe receive a fake or different item but instead I got exactly what was posted. 

Sounds good, right?

Well....

I purchased a 6pk of cat topical flea meds at a ridiculously low price of $21  (about $40 below retail and $20 - $30 below regular resale).  The item was drop shipped next day from a well known pet site.  Even at the best sale/coupon combo, the order should have been $30 + more. This made me suspicious.

I'm now wondering if the eBay Seller has hacked someone's account at that site or is using a stolen credit card.

I tried reporting on eBay but can't find a way to report the possible fraudulent activity. I also contacted the pet web site & was told they did not have a fraud department. I gave them all the info I could but they seemed uninterested in the possible criminal activity.

I feel like I should do more. I have had my credit card stolen once & it was a nightmare to work out 😞

Has anyone else bought something they felt may have been stolen? What did you do? Any suggestions on what else I could do?

[heathersthriftyfinds09]

The product is just fine. It is a brand name item, sealed & shipped from a well known pet website. The issue here was that it was shipped from another website & not from a private seller. The item itself is not suspicious. 

[nh7235]

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@simba6 wrote:

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@heathersthriftyfinds09 wrote:

The item was drop shipped next day from a well known pet site.  Even at the best sale/coupon combo, the order should have been $30 + more. This made me suspicious. 

Has anyone else bought something they felt may have been stolen? What did you do? Any suggestions on what else I could do?

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I would not trust it. It could be very dangerous for your pet.  It's not worth the risk.

Too good to be true, always is.

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That pet product arrived from the actual retailer. Did you notice that?

My order at eBay arrived from Home Depot @heathersthriftyfinds09 with a receipt listing multiple gift and debit cards were used to pay more than I paid. It's just past the holiday season, so many sellers may be spending their holiday presents to cover drop shipping, so other than the practice, the payment itself is not nefarious.

[heathersthriftyfinds09]

@nh7235 this wasn't the case of someone using up gift cards. The Seller had more than 100 available and was selling at a cost $30 below the actual cost on the website.  Also, the Seller is no longer active on eBay. It was a scam. They weren't scamming the Buyers as we got the item we purchased but they were scamming someone. 

[an-36344]

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@heathersthriftyfinds09 wrote:

The Seller had more than 100 available and was selling at a cost $30 below the actual cost on the website. 

Also, the Seller is no longer active on eBay. It was a scam. 

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Um, list more than quantity 100 available, then go inactive when you @heathersthriftyfinds09 run out of gift cards, regardless how many are still shown as available? To stop selling is not a scam.

Drop shipping from e.g. a well-known pet supplies retailer however, is not allowed on eBay.

[mudshark61369]

"As a Buyer you may see an item listed at "too good to be true" prices & you can't help yourself, you buy it".

As a buyer when I see a very low or too good to be true price, my scam antenna goes up, and I take notice.   I start digging into the seller's feedback profile to see if there are signs of a hi-jacked account, or major changes in their selling habits. There are things that can be looked for that can indicate that there could be problems.

 Things like a seller whose account shows no selling or possibly buying feedback for one or more years. with one or two purchases in the last 6 months. Whose previous sales were for things like household items. Now suddenly listing new item with multiple quantities available, at below trending prices.   

[soh.maryl]

Sorry -- my policy is this:  If I see a "too good to be true" item listed on eBay or any other site where I cannot examine the item in person, I just pass.  Maybe I've missed some truly great deals in the past, but I know I've also bypassed some headaches.

If it were at a garage sale, sure, I might buy it because I am seeing it in person, but on line, no thanks.