Buyer accused me of selling a stolen Iphone

[donniej]

I was just informed from a buyer that the Iphone he purchased from me on November 30 2024 is now not working (as of today) and is supposely stolen! what?? I bought a Walmart Pallet and the phone was on it. It is on the manifest as well. Before I listed it on Ebay, I did a though search to be 100% sure that I would be able to sell it. I checked the black list, contacted Apple and everything came back fine no issues! So I listed it and the buyer bought it and now says it doesnt work and its stolen..what should I do? what are my rights and how do I resolve this issue? I would Never sell something stolen Help!!

[az93]

I think you mean to say that you would never KNOWINGLY sell stolen merchandise. I  would apologize, accept the return and chuck it.

[donniej]

Yes exactly1 Knowingly! I still dont understand he has been using the phone since Nov. why now is it not working and said to be stolen? It was factory sealed too

[inhawaii]

Don't  go back and fourth with the buyer.

Let them accuse you all they want.

If they are not happy with their purchase and think the phone is stolen, they can request a return through ebay and get a full refund.

Simple.

[ryry-jj]

Is this the same transaction the buyer "daisan" has inquired about under the buying thread?

If so, have the phone returned, issue a refund, take your manifest with you to Att and turn the phone over to them.  Att is the one that blocks the phone and knows who the actual owner of the phone is.   

To be very blunt...when it comes to the possession of stolen property the only rights you have are the right to a  defense attorney.  You need to do what you can to not be complicit.   Now, this is all assuming the phone was actually stolen property.  But get the phone back and take it to the service provider

[ryry-jj]

Being from Walmart this could be a case of the phone being the property of the service provider until a contract was signed.  No contract, then the phone remains the property of the service provider.  Walmart didnt have the authority to sell just the phone, as they never owned it....that might explain things a bit, don't really know.

[donniej]

No I am not the seller who sold it to the buyer "daisan"  

I dont understand if it was new factory sealed when I bought it on the pallet, how is it stolen? It just doesnt make sense....

[tiberius848]

The buyer is probably a scammer trying to get a free phone. Do you have a 30 day return policy? If so it's out of the return window so you can just ignore them.

[dbfolks166mt]

Yes exactly1 Knowingly! I still dont understand he has been using the phone since Nov. why now is it not working and said to be stolen? It was factory sealed too

     Quite possibly a Christmas present that is either not working or where the buyer changed their mind. There always seems to be an increase in returns after the holidays. As others noted the first thing to do is have the buyer open a return request, accept the return and issue them a return label. 

     Regardless of what you receive back you will need to refund the buyer once you have the package back. If it is not the item you sold then return here and you will get advice on your options at that point. If you do not refund the buyer once you have the item back or you refuse the return the buyer will simply ask eBay to step in and eBay will side with the buyer and refund them with your funds. 

[theteamsetguy]

@donniej ,

Let me take a stab at this one. It looks like the phone is T-Mobile Apple 16 Pro Max which is a current top of the line model. As a long time Apple shareholder I’ve learned that Apple sells most of their current model phones directly to the carriers or thru their own stores.

I think someone bought their phone at Walmart for a gift and it was returned. Instead of returning the phone to T-Mobile it was mixed with the other return merchandise and that is how you luckily eventually got it. T-Mobile after it realized the phone was returned but they never got it back so they deactivated it. 

It takes a while for this to happen. If I were you I would accept the return and send buyer a return label on your dime. Once you get the phone back immediately refund the buyer. Otherwise, if the buyer  asks eBay to step in, they will rule in the buyers favor. If that happens, eBay will refund the buyer and take the money from your account, you will still owe eBay their FVFs, and you will get a defect on your account for not resolving an issue with the buyer. Get too many defects and your days as a eBay seller will be short lived.

Bot 8673509

[theteamsetguy]

@donniej ,

Just because you didn’t knowingly sell a stolen item doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take responsibility for it. 

In this case I would issue a return label and when you get it back refund the buyer his dough.

Bot 8673509

[kensgiftshop]

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@theteamsetguy wrote:

@donniej ,

Otherwise, if the buyer  asks eBay to step in, they will rule in the buyers favor. If that happens, eBay will refund the buyer and take the money from your account, you will still owe eBay their FVFs, and you will get a defect on your account for not resolving an issue with the buyer.

---

If it was bought back in November, the MBG has probably expired and Ebay won't get involved.

Buyer can still file an INAD, but it'll be between the buyer and seller.

[dbfolks166mt]

@theteamsetguy wrote:

@donniej ,

Otherwise, if the buyer  asks eBay to step in, they will rule in the buyers favor. If that happens, eBay will refund the buyer and take the money from your account, you will still owe eBay their FVFs, and you will get a defect on your account for not resolving an issue with the buyer.

If it was bought back in November, the MBG has probably expired and Ebay won't get involved.

Buyer can still file an INAD, but it'll be between the buyer and seller.

     Buyer can always open a INAD chargeback with their CC company. CC companies have to follow the current Federal laws and don't really care much about eBay's MBG. If the buyer opens a chargeback for NAD they are VERY likely going to win the chargeback, they will be fully refunded and they will be allowed to keep the item. 

[donniej]

So, where it stands right now is 

The buyer is getting return and refund.

We kept communicatuin about what first happened to we thought it was resolved through T mobile, we both were on the phone with them explaining the issue, then when my next message from the buyer was sent

BAM a new and even more crazy issue came up

The buyer said T mobile told him that it was Not them that reported it stolen but some ebay buyer with the username TGriego I  What???

I am beyond confused... The iphone was new factory sealed from a walmart pallet in Indiana! 

how could a ebayer report this? It never was used..sounds so crazy!

Anyway, I am waiting for the phone to be returned then after I inspect the phone I will give him a refund.

I plan on doing an investigation on this. take it to the local police .

[funfactorychannel]

It was explained to you why it was stolen.

Walmart Pallet does not mean it free and clear. If phone is in system and it shows the 2 year payment plan is not paid and phone is active, it is considered stolen. Stolen doesnt mean someone just steal another persons phone.