Canceling a scam order and getting my final value fee back?

[iiwiltedii]

Recently I decided to list my gaming laptop for $800. A few days into the listing, a buyer offered $1,200 and I foolishly accepted. After the buyer contacted me, we discussed shipping. Standard stuff. Then, the buyer said he would confirm the payment through PayPal and then said that he would use an external PayPal transaction for family and friends (???), and I would get my payment once the item is shipped and he receives it. The email that he sent confirming it was immediately sent into my spam inbox and the email was constructed of complete broken English. This was the final straw and I confronted the buyer that I was not comfortable selling my expensive laptop in this shady manner and that I would only sell if he bought through eBay. The buyer claimed that the funds had already left his account yet he would not show any proof when I asked. After the buyer became angry and called me a scammer, I requested a cancelation of the order. Of course, in a last-ditch effort to win my pity over, the buyer said he was a military veteran living in the Netherlands and that he wanted me to ship the laptop as a gift to his friend who was researching a cure to cancer. It has been 3 days and the buyer has yet to respond but now in my inbox, I have an invoice for $130 for 'selling' my laptop. I have read that the correct way to approach this situation would to file an unpaid item report but I was foolish and did not do that. What happens now because I will most certainly not pay that invoice because I was tricked by a scammer.

[wesk_36]

This is a very common scam.

Why communicate at all? Why are you waiting to hear from them? They didn't pay.

" I have read that the correct way to approach this situation would to file an unpaid item report but I was foolish and did not do that"

Why can't you file a file an unpaid item report? Has it been too long?

Go here

https://resolutioncenter.ebay.com/

and click "I haven't received my payment yet."

The "paypal" email is a fraud.

I would also forward the email to spoof@paypal.com

https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/security/report-problem

[bonjourami]

Once you cancel a transaction, you cannot file for your fvf credit. You didnt follow Ebays procedure for an unpaid item, so thats kind of on you. You are a newbie seller selling a pricey item, so you are a sitting duck for scammers.You'd be much safer using the buy it now feature with immediate payment required, it cuts down on a lot of scammers.

[wesk_36]

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@bonjourami wrote:

Once you cancel a transaction, you cannot file for your fvf credit. You didnt follow Ebays procedure for an unpaid item, so thats kind of on you. You are a newbie seller selling a pricey item, so you are a sitting duck for scammers.You'd be much safer using the buy it now feature with immediate payment required, it cuts down on a lot of scammers.

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Ah, I missed that part!

" I requested a cancelation of the order."

[myboardid]

Did eBay accept your cancellation request?  They will give you credit for the fees when the cancellation is complete. 

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

Don’t sell anything here you cannot afford to lose. Electronics is probably the highest scam category on eBay.

[janet9988]

I do not see that you even sold your laptop.  Offers on buy it now listings can not be for MORE than the buy it now price... it won't go through. I am not sure how you  could have even accepted an offer on the ebay site.

If you are being charged fees my guess is that ebay saw that you attempted to make a transaction outside of ebay and will still charge you those fees as you violated ebay policy.

[dubiousgain]

I'll tell you what you should have done. This is obviously a scam. And you have eBay emails confirming that his methods are scam oriented. You should have just cancelled the transaction and put the reason down as it was at buyers request. What is he going to do.....dispute it? He was a attempting to scam you and you've got the electronic paper trail to prove it.

[ittybitnot]

 You should have just cancelled the transaction and put the reason down as it was at buyers request.

There was no buyer.  Only some crook saying that he paid, when actually he did no such thing.  

[dubiousgain]

That's what I originally thought but she was so concerned about it all I thought there had to have been more to it.  So I guess I don't get it, because knowing that, it really sounds like no foul, no harm to me.

[hawkwind5454]

Had the OP cancled the transaaction, there would have been no FVF issues . .Unless I am not fully understanging the OPs debacle. 🙄

[banana*shoe*boutique]

The OP took the sale outside of eBay. There is nothing to cancel. If you check the OPs sold items, the laptop is not there.

[fashunu4eeuh]

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@banana*shoe*boutique wrote:
The OP took the sale outside of eBay. There is nothing to cancel. If you check the OPs sold items, the laptop is not there.

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I believe the OP's gaming electronic item is still listed, link below. It doesn't appear in the sold's or completed's so they did not end the listing to sell outside of eBay. They would have had to end the listing at some point and it would have appeared in completed listings if he had. This item below doesn't appear to be a relisted item, so it must be the original item in question, still for sale. (if i am following everything correctly)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-Omen-17-an012dx-17-Gaming-Laptop-i7-7700HQ-RX580-1TB-HDD-12GB-RAM-Window...

[nc-daydreamer]

Sorry you were beguiled.  I don't think you are eligible for a fee reversal - but I guess it does no harm to call and beg forgiveness.  It is my guess that eBay saw that you were communicating outside eBay - yes they have access to read all your mail - and decided that the penalty fee was due for an offline sale. However, your saving grace may be the fact that the item is still for sale and you never ended the listing nor shipped the laptop. Explain that when you call - let the rep know you were trying to convince the crook to do the purchase the correct way.  

Get the number to call by clicking on the HELP AND CONTACT link at the bottom of the page.

I wish you well - good luck.

[fashunu4eeuh]

Hi, sorry this happened to you. 

In the future, it is not necessary to carry on a conversation with a scammer. Just block them and move on. As soon as one identifies the scam, cease all communication with them, and report them to eBay. Further discourse only serves the scammer's agenda. But it was a good move for you to listen to your instincts about the whole thing. You knew it didn't add up. 

I am afraid you have run afoul of some of eBay's policies. One is that the sharing of contact information prior to the sale is against policy and can really get you in trouble with eBay. They will think you are trying to take the sale off of the platform, also a policy violation. Buyers do not need your email or phone number to discuss matters-- everything should be done through eBay messages. This is for your protection.

Buyer's don't need to confirm that the payment has been rendered because a seller can go directly and independently to PayPal to verify the funds are indeed in their account. Always visit your PayPal to see if the payment is there. Don't use a link to PP in a message, but go directly to the site. Some scammers use very good fake PayPal messages to fool sellers.

What happens now, you ask. To better help you, can you please clarify who sent you the invoice for $130? What does the invoice detail say? Is it Final Value fees from eBay for other items you sold, or is it for something else? Does it mention the laptop?

As others have said, in this case, you do not need to cancel the gaming laptop order because a transaction never took place. The listing for the laptop is still up on eBay as available for sale. That is the item in question, correct? The HP gaming laptop? You also say you requested a cancellation and are waiting 3 days for the buyer to respond. What are you waiting to hear from the so-called buyer? Sellers don't need to "request" cancellations, you can cancel at any time. You are in control and in the driver's seat. Buyers can request cancellations of the seller, not the other way around.

But as i said, there is no need to cancel a transaction that never happened. Do not communicate any further with this scammer, and add him to your Block List so he cannot attempt another scheme. I will wait for your answers, and let's see if we can assist you further.