eBay

fiddyone · ‎06-11-2021

Hi, TRS here, I sold an item and they requested a return, 30 days into the return, I call ebay to close the return because they haven't returned the item, ebay says no problem and the return will be closed the following day. 3 Days later, the return wasn't closed but the buyer opens a case against me, I have no idea what for. 2 more days, ebay says the item is delivered, but no tracking is in the dashboard. I call them cause I have no item and they send me the tracking number. Says delivered and signed for, not by me. I didn't supply the label. I got proof of delivery from USPS, and the package was delivered to a groceries store in my same city. The person on the phone said it was a very small envelope and the packaged I sent was quite a large box.

I called ebay said I had this proof and they sent me a link in my e-mail to upload the doc. The next day I receive an email saying that the item shows delivered and they are siding with the buyer. I keep calling and they say the same thing. I didn't print the label, USPS says they delivered it to the right address on the shipping label. I filed a police report and uploaded it again and still nothing.

I don't know what to do. The item was $1500 Am I screwed or do I have anything I can do?

Thank you

titipeo · ‎06-11-2021

This is a known scam by buyers. Buy expensive item, ask for refund, sends something else, or shipped to wrong address. Buyer is refunded and they keep the goods. Seller has no $ and no item.

You need to furnish proof of the delivery address, second a case needs to be logged with the postal facility of the wrong labeling/scam being done. This is a tedious process and will be hard, since eBay already deducted the money from your account, and most likely wont be able to get it from scammer.

little*blackdog · ‎06-11-2021

eBay sucks!

Since you didn't send the buyer a return label there's no way of proving what address was on the label the buyer used!

And yes, USPS delivered to the address on the label. That's hardly in dispute. But the fact remains the address on the label wasn't YOUR address!

This is really rotten and eBay is so enabling these thieves to continue to rip sellers off like this (and in other ways as well). I would call eBay every day until I reached someone who could help you get your money back. eBay can give you the money back... they aren't going to take it from the buyer... but they can give it to you from their funds. They blew it. They need to fix it.

toysaver · ‎06-11-2021

Ebay's more suited to selling less expensive items, it's basically a flea market. To get paid for anything pricey I recommend to get cash in hand in person.

fredoniacoinandtreasure · ‎06-11-2021

Filing the police report was a good start, file a criminal complaint with the USPS. You should have the buyer's address, contact the police in their home town or the
FBI. They are committing fraud, the amount makes it pretty serious fraud, expect it to take time to resolve. I have my ebay payments sent to a special account just for that, I remove the funds from it promptly, that means they can't just grab my money without my cooperation. Thank heavens I have not run into a scam like this one though.

fiddyone · ‎06-11-2021

Thank you for the responses. I am filing a report with the postal inspector. I just tried to view the refund specifics and now it says that the ebay user no longer exists. Big bummer.

little*blackdog · ‎06-11-2021

Of course he's gone with the money!

He'll just sign up again in a few weeks with new information and do it again to someone else.

That's even more reason to contact the police department in that buyer's hometown.

He's a thief.

stuff4divas · ‎06-11-2021

@fiddyone

Post your situation on Twitter or Facebook

https://Facebook.com/ebay

AND-OR

https://Twitter.com/askebay

Ebay customer service is superior on those sites

I've only had a few buyer issues (i'm the seller) and they took care of them quickly and professionally in my favor. I use Twitter.

auctionpet · ‎06-11-2021

@fiddyone wrote:
Thank you for the responses. I am filing a report with the postal inspector. I just tried to view the refund specifics and now it says that the ebay user no longer exists. Big bummer.

If the ebay user no longer exists, it's cuz ebay has banned them. This in turn is very telling and means they are aware of them being a scammer/fraudster. No ebay user can immediately remove themselves from the site, only ebay can do this. You need to contact ebay again and point this out.

duffy4444 · ‎06-11-2021

Here we go again... I don't know how many times I've said this on this forum because of the big rise in buyer scams against Ebay sellers, but here it is once more:

Until Ebay gets their act together and comes up with real Seller Protection against buyer scams, Never, Ever ship a high-value item, unless you are prepared risk losing the item AND perhaps even your money. Shipping your sale opens up a gold mine of opportunity for scammers.

Because of this happening more and more lately, it's the reason why I will not ship anything with a value over $60-$80, until Ebay gets off their butts and institutes Seller Protection with some teeth in it against scammers. Anything over $80 value gets sold with local pickup. And I will even cancel less expensive orders that have red flags in either the buyer's longevity on Ebay, or in the texts of their feedback. I certainly wish I didn't have to do this, but because I do, I don't get scammed.

It is best to use Ebay's Local Pickup, where you have more common-sense control over the transaction, can possibly negotiate receiving cash, and you take the shipping scams out of the equation. Or use Craigslist or similar venue. Sure, it will take more time to sell your item, but can your business model handle losing high-value items AND your money? Quite often, one large loss like this is too much for many sellers to handle. The risk is your choice.

I'm very sorry this has happened to you, and I really hope you don't run into this again in the future. Sellers should never have to be put into the position of having to file cases and endless appeals, complaints, police reports, contact the FBI, contact the USPS Postal inspection Division, or have to rely on Ebay's Customer NoService, which appears to currently be in an identity crisis, and get differing answers and too often obvious and uncalled-for scammer refunds for what should be a slam-dunk final decision in the seller's favor.

Cheers, Duffy