Just discovered frightening information about Ebay

[ev_healer]

I am in a bitter dispute with my buyer. I have an excellent seller record. I have never had a complaint. I have handled large ticket priced returns with no issues. In this case a few days prior I did a $599 dollar return with NO issues.  Then this one buyer decides to scam me claiming I sent him a different item than pictured.  First he demands some money back. I told him no. Why would I give someone extra money back when I didn't send the broken item he claims I did. Then he threatened my feedback score if I didn't so I told him to open a case if he has an issue with me. That seemed the most protected thing I could reply with. I called Ebay after he trashed my feedback & they restored by removing it. All in total I have spent 6 hours on the phone with Ebay. 4 times reassured I would win the dispute based on my detailed photos and that his claim has even a different serial number than what I sent. Imagine my shock when he won the case & can just "send the broken part back".  

He has heat in his house because of my good part and he going to send me back the broken part he removed to put mine in and I am the one eating the sale.  Folks this is a $200 sale plus about $60 in shipping.  Needless to say I was furious. I called Ebay talked to a supervisor and discovered some frightening things.

First of all your history as a seller and feedback score mean NOTHING to those deciding a case.

All cases are merited by the information of the sale only.  Is that not insane. I have hundreds of good sales and that doesn't count.  He has a feed back of 62.  Really.  My history and return history as a seller makes no difference when deciding a case like this. 

I thought that was what Ebay scores were all about. We all know Ebay tends to rule more for the buyer than the seller but when you have large ticked items these ruling can ruin your back account and in this case my daughters Christmas. This man has threatened me. Tried to extort me. Yet they gave him my part and his money back.  This is not justice.  Yet I know when the part comes I can open a case that they didn't send what I sent back.  That isn't the point.  My point is fair and valid.  Why would a seller with an impecable history who have large ticket returns with no issues suddenly decide to screw over this guy?  I assumed my history was part of judging me as a seller.

I am now considering limiting my Ebay sales to nothing over $50 as I can't afford scam buyers

to ruin my bank account like this.  I am devestated to hear how Ebay decides these cases. I wanted

you all to know that it's shocking to discover this I had no idea and for those of you out there selling please keep that in mind. Your sales history means NOTHING when it comes to deciding a case.

[retrose1]

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@nawlinsron2 wrote:

Maybe I speed read these replies, too...but...not one reply has noted the different serial numbers.

Some "facts" are disputable...serial numbers are NOT.

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Unfortunately ebay has never been known to look at facts, even undisputable ones.

[chuck-r]

This is a common scam. Ebay sides with the buyer almost every time, which is why this scam continues. This is why I don't sell much on Ebay.

Many electronic items have serial numbers. So save the serial number of the item you sold, and have the seller take a clear pic of the serial number of the item they claim is broken. You might find more cases in your favor this way if you can positively identify the item with your serial number.

[fashunu4eeuh]

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@ev_healer wrote:

 ...I haven't recieved the return but I know what I will be getting.  He claims I won't let him send the part back because it doesn't match the photos of what I sold.  He is right. I want my part back or him to pay. So I know what is coming in the mail. This man knew what he was doing.   I will open a case when it comes but I am not holding my breath after this horrid experience...”

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OP, what do you mean that you will “open a case” when the item comes back? As another poster pointed out, there is none. There is no such case option for a seller to open to get satisfaction over a return gone bad or a MBG awarded to the buyer. You said you want your part or his payment—that’s not going to happen now.

(Also, if the refund has already been made, it is not likely you will receive anything back if your buyer is a scammer.)

Always respond with “Return for Refund” as others have advised. With the ebay odds stacked against sellers,  sometimes sellers have to eat the cost, so that an escalting war does not break out between buyer and seller.

You stated in your first post that you were locked in a “bitter” struggle with your buyer—that should never be allowed to happen as it ends badly on this platform for the seller. Once a buyer turns to Ebay for resolution, it’s over. You end up with a serious mark on your account for case closed without seller resolution. But hopefully others will learn how to handle things from your posting about your situation.

So sorry this happened to you. Best of luck moving forward.

[femmefan1946]

Femmefan: Did you not read that the serial numbers don't match? It sounds like a crooked buyer to me.

Apparently the seller has not received the part back.

So he has no way of knowing if the numbers match or not.

He is assuming that the once unhappy and now angry customer will send a different part.

[campesinoplastic2014]

Old NKVD saying (Sad but true)

"Don't let the facts get in the way of you finding this man guilty"

[ev_healer]

Your wrong. The part he recieved had serial numbers on it. The part he claims I sent has a different serial number as his upload pictures clearly show. He is claiming I sent him the very broken part he was replacing my item with. You can't change serial numbers on a part.  Yes I refused a refund because I will not refund what I didn't send out. He put my part in his furnace and is trying to say his broken part is the one I sent him.  Your welcome to believe what you wish but my pictures are very detailed and you can't find the part serial number he claims I sent him in my photos.  I know what I sent and it wasn't that part. I would gladly have refunded him if my part was damaged in transit but it wasn't my part it's his old broken part.  Just so you understand I know the difference in serial numbers.  I also know what I sold and what he claims he recieved. They are not the same.  But as you just pointed out it's a he said she said but when you look at my other sales it makes no sense for me to screw him over. I told ebay if he sends me back the exact part I sent I will refund his money but I want what I sent to be what comes back. Sorry if you can't understand how I feel no blame for any of this. I was  honest and what I sent is not what he claims I sent so there was no damage in transit there is a person who just doesn't feel he should have to be honest.  Your welcome to take out of my experience what you wish but I know he is scamming me as that part he claims I sent is not what I sent or have pictured it's his broken piece.  Thanks for you feedback but I don't buy you claim anywhere I know the truth I am living this truth.  It's a nightmare for me. 

[ev_healer]

The frightening part is that your feedback history your refund history and your seller history are not even looked at when there is a dispute.   For example... If you sell let us say diamond rings on ebay and I find a zircon ring just like it. So I order the diamond and claim the zircon was what was sent. I get a jeweler to claim it's zircon.  Your seller history will not be taken into consideration even if you sold 1000 diamonds with no complaint that one fraudulent person will most likely get away with it because they don't look at your whole ebay history while deciding a claim of he said she said.  That is frightening to me. This is a sum of money that I can't afford to eat just because someone decided to be dishonest.  I am honest with my sales my history proves that yet none of that is considered. That is frightening to me. 

[ev_healer]

Ok so if I understand where you are coming from even though the seller flat out tells me that I sent them an item I didn't. I should ask them to return?   See he asked me for "some money back". Even when he opened the claim.  I would have refunded him no problem if I knew I was getting back what I sent but I am getting a different item back.  I think I am just not cut out for this Ebay selling stuff. I am too honest for this type of abuse to happen.  Your right I learned a hard lesson about how Ebay decides truth in it's cases.   This man from the very beginning made it really clear he wanted the item just wanted money from me too because it was broke but he could "weld it".  You can't weld this item it was a scam.  I am frustrated and thank you all for your feed back but I just think I will minimize what type of items I sell based on this awful experience.  Thanks for your advice. 

[ev_healer]

Thank you for sharing your story I have heard about these kinds of things but am shocked to have to deal with it myself. I feel our history should mean something. JMO. Good luck with your Ebay sales and hope you don't have to deal with that ever again.

[ev_healer]

My point exactly. I don't even have a part with the serial number of the part he claims I sent. He also wouldn't provide full pictures of the part as I asked for both sides to be pictured so I could explain how that part couldn't be mine. I also asked that his broken part and my supposed part be photo graphed in one shot so we could see both the item he claims I sent and the broken part he was replacing because one of those would show my serial number but he didn't send me the photo and ebay didn't care to see that photo or require him to provide it. That alone would have solved this dispute. He should have two motors in his possesion. The one I sent and his broken one.  We would have seen the unbroken one has my serial numbers on it but ebay said they can't make him provide a picture with both items side by side... Why not? I am being asked to prove it and that photograph would prove it.  It's all backwards in my opinion. 

[ev_healer]

Every step I took was per the advice of CS at Ebay. I called them each time asking how to protect myself and respond to this guy.  The supervisor told me that if he sends me back what I didn't send to immedialty call and they will walk me through that claim.  He says the many detailed notes of this dispute will help when determining that claim about getting an item back I didn't send. I am not holding my breath but I thank you for the advice it was the same they gave me.  They already took a buyer abuse claim based on his demand for money or he will keep the item and leave me negative feedback. They claim that is a violation of policy and they reported him for that.   All in all it's just shocking that your history as an hoenst seller makes no difference in a case like this even when you have strong evidence the person is lying.  Thanks for you reply it was helpful. 

[ev_healer]

Cute thanks for the laugh. I needed that after all this. 🙂

[ev_healer]

That is what all the ebay reps who looked at what was happening and helped me said. I am just going to wait for the 10 days he has been allowed to have to send item back. If not right item I am opening a claim on that and disputing the other claim. I hope he just decides not to send anything back to me but if he sends me his broken part I will open a claim for that. Those serials don't match and his threats were clear that he really just wanted some money back he even said that in his claim that he opened that he just wanted some money back. 3 times that was stated. This part is either broke and not in working condition or it's good there is no half way with a motor and there is no "welding" as he claimed he could have done to make it work. Thanks for your input I do plan on following this direction after his 10 days have passed or he sends me something.

[ev_healer]

Thank you for that information. I never thought to check Ebays BBB record. I guess I don't consider this my personal on my own business. My biggest problem with what the president of the company says is this.

If you can get in the middle of a dispute and take money from either side then you have invaded any business model. Either you protect your buyers and sellers or you don't. I don't sell thousand of items or cheap items so Ebay is not the platform for me based on what you just posted. I appreciate all this feedback guys. Thanks so much.

[vintagecraze50]

It's never right to refund a buyer who sends back something you never sent, or a broken item. In situations like this only you know what you sent and only you know what comes back. Ebay usually does take the stance that they cannot determine exactly what happened in these transactions, so, in reality, how can they know? Yes, a stellar record as a seller should count but, again, we are dealing with a sight unseen issue here with them and UNLESS, you are able to find some way to get the buyer to admit they are in the wrong ,(btw, there shoud be a tutorial for sellers on this issue, lol), then they can't do it. 

Look at this from the perspective of the consumer protection laws. You and Ebay are part of this together. The consumer pretty much has MOST of the rights in a sale. It get's even more complicated when you are selling products online which are in reality, sight unseen as well, because anyone can post a photo and say it is this, and it really is that.  So, you as the seller and Ebay as the venue to sell are subject to these consumer laws. From a business perspective in order to cover/protect yourself you must please the consumer, even if they are sometimes dishonest trolls.