New Buyer Scam?

[youngteacher]

I recently listed brand new in package toilet seats. I had three of them. I listed them for 19.99 with free shipping. My first sale went off without a hitch. Buyer paid for them and I shipped them. 

The second and third purchases were within 20 minutes of each other. Both were from Puerto Rico , both had low or 0 feedback ratings and both had something wonky come up with their tracking. They both filed "not received" and their status on eBay says delivered. When I went to check it out, they had a different tracking numbers that mimicked my address and said delivered but they weren't correct numbers. I entered my tracking number ( I kept a hard copy of the shipping label receipt) and both are still in transit. Something is really fishy about this and  eBay is not accepting calls. They put holds on my funds and I am not sure what to do at this point. They are scamming the system but I don't know if eBay even cares. Any suggestions?

[japan-treazures]

Sounds very fishey to me. I would report to eBay immediately.

You can send an email message to eBay.

Here is the link: https://www.ebay.com/help/account/contacting-ebay-customer-service/contacting-ebay-customer-service?... 

The email option is at the bottom of the link. 

Or you can reach out to customer service using social media: 

eBay on Facebook

eBay on Twitter 

Social media worked for me. I received an answer fairly quickly.  

Hope this helps!

[fashunu4eeuh]

Hi, if the tracking shows delivered, then you will win the case by uploading the tracking number to the case notes.

But i am afraid i am not following how it is you have two sets of tracking numbers, one saying delivered and the others saying items are still in transit. Can you clarify?

Customer service can be reached by email or social media. Click on the Help & Contact link on most eBay pages for email. Or go to their Twitter or Facebook page for help. Hope everything gets resolved to your satisfaction.

[picknparley]

You might want to try sending your buyers a message stating that this has been deemed suspicious and you are reporting the situation to the USPS postmaster General for review of mail fraud, which is a felony crime.  They should be expecting visits from postal inspectors and / or police.  

[gmscds]

Hello:

I am a seller/buyer, from Puerto Rico, and just wanted to mention that I'm sorry this is happening to you because it may give customers from Puerto Rico a bad reputation. Just don't let a couple of "rotten apples" damage your perception.

Regarding the issue, I think that if you provided valid tracking, in a timely manner, everything will be okay. You could try contacting Ebay through Facebook, if you have an account there. I've had all my issues resolved when I contact them through the aforementioned page. Good luck and take care.

[mam98031]

Calling Ebay has NEVER been the only way to get customer service.

https://www.ebay.com/help/home

You can click on the reason for needing assistance and the options for contact will display.  On occasion that could be the ability to call, have them call you back, email or live chat.

https://www.ebay.com/sellerhelp

The seller’s help center give you the ability for file for certain types of assistance.

https://twitter.com/askebay?lang=en

https://www.facebook.com/eBayForBusiness/

It's important to be aware of where you post a question on Ebay’s Facebook page.  A comment on one of Ebay’s marketing posts won't be answered, but comments posted directly on Ebay’s page will.

[mam98031]

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[mam98031]

If the tracking shows delivered and you shipped to the address on the payment notification, you are covered under seller protection in both Ebay and PP.  They can't win.

If you altered the ship to address, then that would be a problem.  

I've never seen tracking on Ebay show delivered and then tracking from the carrier show it is still in transit.  Ebay pulls that information from the carriers data base, so there is definitely something wrong.  

Did you make an error when you entered the tracking numbers?  I've never known Ebay just to change a tracking number and a buyer has no access to change it.

Your assuming they are trying to commit some scam, but typically a scam requires the scamming party to get money that doesn't belong to them.  So far they don't have the product and want their money back.  No one is coming out ahead.

Did you put a trace on the packages?  If you haven't, that should be something you do right away.

https://usps.force.com/emailus/s/

And contact Ebay for advice.  If you do social media go to Facebook.  The response time is better.

[sin-n-dex]

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@picknparley wrote:

You might want to try sending your buyers a message stating that this has been deemed suspicious and you are reporting the situation to the USPS postmaster General for review of mail fraud, which is a felony crime.  They should be expecting visits from postal inspectors and / or police.  

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I did that once to a buyer... he was in Canada, and it was 49 stamp auctions that he bought ($14 worth). Because he was a lowlife, he decided to steal $14 of stamps from me. (In Canada tracking is expensive, and I never would have thought this was necessary with a few dollars in stamps).

I checked out his feedback after he messaged me to tell me if I didn't give him his money back right now he was going to file an INR and leave negative feedback. (And from the feedback he left, he's true to this). Since there was no tracking and I'd lose an INR, I BBL'd and refunded. Then I sent him a message to tell him how sorry I was he didn't get his mail. "This looks like it's a common problem at your address. Don't worry I've filed a report with Canada Post so they can investigate into this further."

I didn't file a report, Canada Post doesn't care about untraceable mail (unless there are a lot of complaints), and it appears it was the buyer who was the problem. But I did take much satisfaction in sending that message. I never heard from the buyer again, and I didn't get a neg either.

C.