Scammed

[heckyeahvintage]

Hi there.

I wanted to send a warning out to other doll sellers in the ebay community. I was scammed by a buyer.

I am surprised and confused since she has over 1000 purchases and positive reviews. But if she threatens and scams people the way she did me then it would make sense that they would be scared to leave a negative review.

purchased an American Girl Lot from me. It was an original Samantha doll that I received for Christmas when I was 10. It had all original items and was in excellent condition. I noted in the post that the lunch box was in poor condition because it was discolored/oxidized.

When she recieved the package, she sent me a message saying that the dolls tights were too big and the purse was too small. She also said that the lunch pail was in poor condition and the dress had a rip in it. She wanted a full refund. But I sensed something was fishy.

I told her I didn't know what she meant about the tights being too big and the purse being too small because they were the original items. It seemed as though she was implying that they were not the original items. I explained that I had never owned another American Girl and that she'd been sitting in storage for over 20 years. I now know that was attempting to frame me.  I reminded her that I had noted the lunch pail in the posting. I also told her that I was unaware of any rip in the dress but that since i had stated in my posting to expect small flaws and all sales are final that I felt expecting a full refund seemed like a stretch.

Now, usually, I don't have a problem returning items if there is a legitimate reason but this situation seemed really strange. Instead of answering my concerns and confusions, she replied with aggressions and threats that she would leave me a negative review and file claims with ebay for the "damages." 

She requested a return with the reason that she "just didn't like it." Now, I should've called ebay at that moment to see what rights I had. If I had done that I would have denied the return. Which, in my gut I knew I should have done. The eBay appeals dept later told me that because the reason for return was listed as a remorseful decision I could have denied the return and blocked any negative feedback from the buyer. But, because I went ahead and accepted the return I'm pretty much screwed.

When the return box arrived, I was checking to find said rip and was shocked to see that she had stolen the original dress that had a specific tag dating 1986 and replaced the dress with a newer version that does not have a tag and has reversed velcro. She also had stolen the original tights and replaced them with some tights from some doll with bigger feet because the heel stitching is running up the backside of the dolls leg. Hence her attempt to frame me by complaining of a "ripped dress and too big tights." Also in the lot, I had listed that there were 3 plastic hangers and 3 plastic garment bags included. I did not photgraph them because I thought they made the pictures look sloppy but I included them in the bottom drawer of the trunk and wrote them in the listing as an added bonus. She just straight stole those. THen to top it off, She didn't protect the dolls face in shipping as i did, and she didn't indicate which side of the box was the TOP so it got completely toppled in shipping and everything fell out of the drawers and something scratch the dolls face. 

So, now my once prestine original lot is back in my hands and it's not longer pristine OR completely original. But, since I accepted the return I basically have to accept the faulty return because ebay does not cover faulty returns. 

I wroter her a note explaining my shock that she stole the dress, tights, hangers and garment bags! She again tried to pin it on me by pointing out some super minute flaws like a tiny ripple in the trunk. She said she didn't know where the hangers and garment bags were and that she didn't touch the tights. 

I got this doll form "Santa" when I was 10 years old and she is very special to me. I took exceptional care of her and I contemplated not selling her. But I really needed they money and I don't really need another thing in storage. It is appalling to me that someone who manipulate, lie and steal from me and leave me with an item that is now worth less than it originally was.

I wanted to post this because not only am I completely blown away but I want others to know about this buyer. And if anyone else has been scammed we should take it up with ebay. 

Thank you,

Virginia 

heckyeahvintage

[aprilmoviebuf2000 · Accepted solution]

Good morning,,

First off, I want to say how sorry I am that this happened to you.  Truly.  

This is the very reason why I never list large lots, especially high dollar ones.  They are ripe for "cherry picking", meaning so often this happens to unsuspecting sellers.  Buyer purchases a lot, picks out/replaces the items they want, and files a return for the rest.  No amount of photos, appeals, etc will help the seller in cases like this.  These buyers know what they are doing, and have likely done it before and know how to work the system.

I do want to point out that your "all sales final" wording is not enforceable here, unfortunately. The ebay Money Back Guarantee trumps that, as well as your no return policy.  If the buyer had filed a Not As Described claim, and you did not accept the return, you not only may have lost your entire lot, but the money as well....and earned yourself a defect.  You did accept the return, so that is a smart move on your part.   However I also want to point out that ebay reps are notorious for giving false information.  You say they claim you could have denied the return.  But, all the buyer would then have to do is escalate the return, which I guarantee would have happened.  This is the part they don't tell you.  If you then had continued to refuse the return ebay would have refunded the buyer for you, and you would have received one of those mega defects Cases Closed Without Seller Resolution.  

I am very sorry that you did not get the items back in original condition......but at the very least you got most of the items back.  Perhaps you can break apart the lot and list some items seperately, or in smaller less expensive lots.

Keep in mind also that negative feedback no longer counts as a defect against sellers.  If you wish to reply to the feedback, keep it short and sweet, no name calling, in a manner that puts you in a good light as a seller.  Something like, Return accepted, Buyer refunded in full.  I know that is not what you would like to say, but keep in mind that is the only thing future buyers will see, they don't know the whole story.  Best to keep it professional.  

[heckyeahvintage]

Aprilmoviebuf2000,

Thank you SO much for your feedback!!!! Gosh, I was feeling like I was trapped in a complicated psychothriller eBay mystery!!!

Just as you had mentioned in your reply, I spoke with eBay customer service, securities AND appeals and I experienced each one saying something slightly different and possibly false.

Knowing that this type of theft happens so frequently, it seems that the buyers should have more protections and more rights to tell the truth. And unfortunately this behavior of buying/stealing/returning seems allowed to a certain degree! But even though I know this now, I do feel slightly relieved. the fact that you took the time to explain it to me thoroughly just made me feel better. So, thank you for that.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

-Virginia

[aprilmoviebuf2000]

You are very welcome.  Yes ebay is rather like a twisting turning thriller mystery sometimes!

I have only been selling about 2 years, am not a large seller.  Out of over 300 sales I have only had 1 return request, and it went smoothly.

But I am an avid reader/participant on the boards, the Selling board especially.   If you ever run into any problems and don't know what to do, I would suggest posting over there first, before calling CS.  There are a lot of regulars over there with a lot of experience and good advice.  There are also quite a few threads that seem like doom and gloom, but don't let that scare you off.  I started reading the Selling board months before I even listed my first item.  

Also for future, be very careful about calling CS if you ever have a return request/case in process.  Unfortunately, this rarely works out for the seller.  By calling, CS takes it to mean you want to fight the return and are escalating it. (even if you don't specify this, they do it anyway).  Escalating a return, whether by buyer or by seller, hardly ever works out for the seller.  And before you can say boo they take the money out of your PP account, refund the buyer, buyer keeps item, and you get a defect.  Always best to just accept returns, refund buyer (after you get the item back) and move on.  

Good luck (and I love your AG doll, I hope she is not scratched up too badly).  

[itsnicetwice]

I am saddened that this unethical buyer did this to you! This kind of awful behavior is what makes me fearful of selling on ebay ever again!

[vintagecraze50]

Virginia,
also so sorry that this happened to you. Next time--if there is a next time. When you get a buyer like this basically they are trying to get more bang for their buck. There are many on here like this, BUT, the MAJORITY of people who shop here are not like this. For buyers who are not playing fair, the best you can do when someone makes false claims is to reply "return for full Refund" Do not argue with these people. If they are fishing for partial refunds with their sob stories and threats just REFUND. Some of these people are LOOKING FOR A FIGHT--if you do not fight, they sometimes just back off and just keep the items, knowing, they cannot get your goat, or swindle you out of merchandise. Cut your losses and try to list some items individually at higher prices to make up for the mess this buyer caused. Best to you.

[888gifts]

Thanks for sharing this to us.  Next time just be careful. Not all buyers are honest, sad to say.....

[888gifts]

oh BTW, please report this buyer to eBay and THEN block her completely. If you wish to go the extra length, go to her eBay ID and check where she buys stuff on eBay and also alert other eBay sellers as well, so they also will be cautious dealing with her. Hope this helps.

[dianeklaas]

How do we report a potential scammer?  Ebay member signed up one day, bought large item, sent email saying "Thanks for getting back to me, i am oceanographer and am presently on a business trip to France ,am buying this for my Dad and i want to make it a surprise for him,so he won't know anything about it until it get delivered to him Also i can only pay you through PayPal as i don't have access to my bank account online cause i don't have internet banking but i have my bank account attached to my PayPal account cause is the only secure way of purchasing item online.. So  kindly get back to me with your PayPal email address so i can  proceed  with  the payment and after the payment has been done,i have a pick up agent that will come around to pick it up after you receive the fund thanks."  

This is just so typical of a scammer, we called pay pal and sent an email to ebay.  just don't think this is a true buyer and don't want to be scammed and want to alert the community.

[rosegoldwitch]

I need to reread this and then comment as read it through email nad didnt catch all of it

[goldeneye_-007]

Ebay pretends that buyers are protected, and they are not.  I was scammed out of a hundred dollars on this site.  I made a video about the "seller".  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBy_S16N7EU

[pwilson1520]

I am so sorry this happened to you, I also sell vintage Barbie. I stopped selling for years due to simaluar situation. I sold Vintage Barbie with Original Box for pennies really but thats how it goes sometimes.

The buyer wanted a refund I quickly agreed since I lost hundreds of dollars on this sell. When buyer provided tracking number Paypal issue full refund. Oh my gosh when I opend the box it was 2 cans of soup, no Barbie!

It was a sellers nightmare, I not only lost my gorgeous doll but paid the buyer to scam me!

I recently decided to give it a whirl again, I have 2 seperate cases during one auction. One I reported the other I'm confused as buyer claims she never received item although trackig number shows received.

I am really afraid and very leary of continuing to sell on eBay now. It's sad because 20 years ago it was awonderful tool to meet honest people and make a living.  

Good luck and I wish you the best.