An INR Scam...

[sin-n-dex]

OK, so everyone here knows I live in Canada, and most inexpensive items here are shipped with Canada Post. The item I'm referring to today is an 89 cent lot of stamps going elsewhere in Canada for the price of a stamp.

Buyer had more than 1K feedback, and generally I don't vet people out after a purchase unless there's a red flag. I just go ahead and ship, and for 89 cents, I wasn't going to send it to Niagara NY to pay $7 for tracked shipping.

So a few weeks go by, and he messages me telling me his item hasn't arrived, tells me he wants to hear what I'm going to do about it before he opens a case. On a hunch I checked to see what FB he leaves for others... low and behold, almost everything left to sellers is negative about an INR!!

Anyway, with no choices without tracking, and just being out a few dollars on an item that I got for free, I went ahead to refund and informed him thusly that he's been waiting long enough for his items so I just went ahead to refund him.

To be sweet and very sin-n-dex like... I added that it seems he has a lot of trouble with his mail (judging by his feedback), and I will be sure to contact Canada Post to have his mail route investigated so this doesn't continue. Since I'm in Canada, this holds some water as an idea...

Cheers, C.

[slippinjimmy]

How much feedback does this buyer leave for sellers?

I've seen buyers with a 1000 feedback received as a buyer but they have only left a handful of feedback for sellers (they only leave feedback when there is a problem).

It looks like a wall of red but the reality is that the ratio of negs to total purchases is very small.

Many stamp sellers just use regular lettermail (no tracking) for almost all of their shipments, they rarely report any significant or unusually high rates of INR claims.

[sin-n-dex]

---

@slippinjimmy wrote:

How much feedback does this buyer leave for sellers?

I've seen buyers with a 1000 feedback received as a buyer but they have only left a handful of feedback for sellers (they only leave feedback when there is a problem).

It looks like a wall of red but the reality is that the ratio of negs to total purchases is very small.

Many stamp sellers just use regular lettermail (no tracking) for almost all of their shipments, they rarely report any significant or unusually high rates of INR claims.

---

These stamps aren't good for taking, they have very little value. I had many lots up for 89 and 99 cents, and very few sold, except to this guy who bought a few.

He is a seller it seems, so when I look on his FB page he will leave 20 out of 25 being FB as a seller, and then 5 negs as a buyer, on every single page as far as I kept scrolling, sometimes many negs if he bought several items. He mentions in almost every FB that he didn't get his items, a refund, and had to open a case to get eBay involved (which I think is a violation, but lots of sellers don't have time to deal with noise).

From the shipping price, you have to know there's no tracking if mailed in Canada (although he might not know I'm in Canada, since my location is New York).

I guess to answer your question, it seems most of his FB left as a buyer is negative... I imagine if the seller gives a refund, he might just not leave any FB. I didn't see any positives thanking the seller for a refund.

Cheers, C.

[slippinjimmy]

I've said it many times and so have plenty of others.......

Sellers make the worst buyers!

That said, I regularly get letters for the house down the street and they get mine, our house numbers have two digits swapped (255 & 225). Fortunately both of us know and both of us swap misdirected mail. Doesn't seem to happen to packages but for letters it's a regular thing especially when the carrier is dyslexic.

[secretsquirrelisnowhere]

I hope you put on your BBL

[tellmemama]

To be sweet and very sin-n-dex like... I added that it seems he has a lot of trouble with his mail (judging by his feedback), and I will be sure to contact Canada Post to have his mail route investigated so this doesn't continue. Since I'm in Canada, this holds some water as an idea...

I don't think I'd send that message.  Even if he isn't being completely honest, why antagonize a buyer who is prone to leaving negs?  I honestly might go ahead and have his route investigated anyway but I certainly wouldn't tell him about it.  Plus you've already refunded him so even if you found out he did get them, there's nothing you can do anyway.  I know it's tempting to let him know you're on to him and sometimes the fear of getting on the radar makes scammy buyers go away. 

But sometimes not.

[sin-n-dex]

---

@secretsquirrelisnowhere wrote:
I hope you put on your BBL

---

That was done before I a) refunded, b) replied to his message.

Cheers, C.

[sin-n-dex]

---

@tellmemama wrote:

To be sweet and very sin-n-dex like... I added that it seems he has a lot of trouble with his mail (judging by his feedback), and I will be sure to contact Canada Post to have his mail route investigated so this doesn't continue. Since I'm in Canada, this holds some water as an idea...

I don't think I'd send that message.  Even if he isn't being completely honest, why antagonize a buyer who is prone to leaving negs?  I honestly might go ahead and have his route investigated anyway but I certainly wouldn't tell him about it.  Plus you've already refunded him so even if you found out he did get them, there's nothing you can do anyway.  I know it's tempting to let him know you're on to him and sometimes the fear of getting on the radar makes scammy buyers go away. 

But sometimes not.

---

I've been reading in this group for three years from sellers who are upset at things buyers do to try and ruin their reputation, or keep merchandise without paying for it.

I can't get out of refunding when there's no tracking (and I'm smart enough to know when I should give in instead of fighting).

I let the buyer know I saw his feedback left for others as a hint that I do my homework and know what's going on. As for investigating the mail route... I used to run a postal outlet, Canada Post likely won't do anything unless it's the recipient complaining about their mail. A sender can't complain on something with no tracking. He might know this. He might leave me a bunch of negs anyway. I did gather by his feedback he saved the negs for the sellers who refused to refund him (and I'm sure those items didn't have tracking either).

What gets me is this isn't a high scam item... but I think since he's missing something like 15 parcels in the last month (according to feedback left), there is definitely something going on here.

Cheers, C.

[tellmemama]

It's your business so your call to do as you see fit.  I just don't see the point in alluding to his delivery problems real or otherwise.  If he isn't getting his packages, he's taking it out on the wrong person instead of resolving his issues with the PO.  But if he received them and lied to you or any of his other sellers, it's done now since he's likely gotten his money back.  True, he could still leave you a neg without the message but why stack the odds against yourself?

Ultimately it just isn't worth it to me to poke the already refunded bear over what you've already said is a cheap item.  I sell pricier stuff but the few negs I've received were always for items under $20. 

Those sting much worse.

<edit:spelling>