Buyer Scam

[matthepaulto_0]

I recently sold and shipped a mint condition iPhone X, but the buyer claimed that he received an old, non-functioning speaker. When I contacted him for more information, he went completely dark and did not respond at all. After a few days passed, he escalated his claim and eBay decided in his favor. Within 15 minutes of the claim being decided he uploaded tracking information showing that the package had already been delivered to me (obviously impossible). 

I called eBay to sort out what went wrong, and they said that the buyer just input the tracking number wrong and that I should wait 10 days for the package to arrive (they also gave me the real tracking number they used on their label) and only give a refund if I receive the package within this 10 day window.

The problem is that I am concerned that the buyer will return a non-functioning speaker and eBay will force me to give a refund. This was my first time selling on eBay (so I have no selling history) and I am afraid that I'll lose the money and the phone (and that there's nothing I can do about it).

Is there anything I can do?

[sin-n-dex]

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@matthepaulto_0wrote:

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@bigbadmomma45wrote:

Wow! I'm wondering did you take good pictures of the product? If so, do you have a receipt for the product? It's a long shot but it might help...... Just know, ebay very seldom takes the side of the seller unless you are really crossing all t's and dotting all i's and even then you still might lose.  You must have receipts, good pictures and even recordings of you sending package to customer and with something expensive like that, pay the few extra dollars and insure it. You should be able to open a claim against the buyer. I'm so fed up with the way ebay handles buyers in situations like this.  Good luck!

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I took good pictures and sent my receipt to eBay. Unfortunately, I didn't take a video of me actually packing the product. Hopefully eBay recognizes what's going on here.

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Video won't help, no one will watch it. For all the viewer knows, they could be actors.

You have some good advice on how to get back at your "buyer" by filing a police report and the IC3 report (forgive me, I'm in Canada, so I'm not 100% familiar with this stuff, just what I read here).

Is your buyer in the USA? That will make it a whole lot easier to do these reports.

I kind of wish posters would show up here when they get the message from the buyer the first time, before hitting reply... if someone told me they got an old speaker, I would start with "I'm so sorry to hear you received a speaker. I swear I sent you a brand new iPhone X. Someone at the post office must have stolen it. I'll get right on this and make sure this is resolved right away. Please provide me with..." You get the idea.

Of course hindsight is 20/20 and it's easy to think on how to handle something after the fact. You can only learn for next time.

Cheers, C.

[sin-n-dex]

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@bubbleman2010wrote:

Around 4 am CST tomorrow morning the case will get escalated and closed all within a 5 min. time frame. They like to do it early while you're asleep....

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Probably because the servers are less busy then... my case with the German buyer was escalated in the middle of the night and closed out within a few minutes (in my favour, because he never sent anything back).

Cheers, C.

[mikeystoyz]

File a police report in the guy's town.  You are talking about a 1000 item.  File mail fraud.  The PO takes it seriously.  File an FBI report on their fraud page.  Brick the phone.  And as said, sue him in small claims court.  Make their life miserable.

[ericlovescameras]

sorry that happened.

for future reference ... you know what sells for ask, no hassel cash, in one day on craigslist? working iphones.

[ericlovescameras]

and don’t assume ebay won’t make this right. despite all the horror stories on this board, so far ebay has been fair to me when dealing with bad customers.

i do know how to make a lot of noise without losing my temper. a skill necessary when dealing with any csr department. 

[the_fancy_fox]

They know and won't do a thing about it. If you have the information of the phone call the carrier and report it stolen. 

[matthepaulto_0]

eBay did decide in the buyer's favor, which wasn't unexpected. But when I called them to see if there was anything I could do, the Customer Service Rep actually ended up opening another claim and deciding it in my favor. While this situation has been a mess, the Customer Service (live people on the phone) has actually been really, really good.