eBay robbed me for 8k and blocked my account

[thebarterguy93]

So I sold someone a necklace worth $8,000 and they ask for a refund which was fine . But then ended up sending nothing back to me. eBay sided with them and blocked my account that I’ve had for 3 years . So I lost the money and the necklace and owe what 800 dollars in fees for something that was stolen from me .. I reported the buyer called eBay everyday , did a form for seller protection but nothing worked . eBay wrote be back and said we are sorry your item was returned in a different condition then what you sent but we’re refunding the buyer and your SOL

[lakefor94]

Looks as though you have had more than just this recent problem over the last year. Online selling may not be for you.  I would suggest selling the expensive jewelry local for cash, perhaps a jeweler or consignment shop. 

[orangehound]

Sorry that you were a victim of a crime.

There is an unfortunate reality on eBay where criminals who understand the eBay system prey upon naive sellers who do not.  There are ways that sellers can somewhat protect themselves (by using eBay seller protections), but new sellers don't know how to list in order to activate them.  So, eBay steps aside.

This is a crime.  Report the crime to local law enforcement (either where you reside, or where the buyer resides).

[robbie31415]

I would suggest you don't sell high value items online unless you fully understand how the protection systems works.

eBay will typically help you if, you didn't refund and they forced it, and you can show from an actual USPS document that the item was not delivered to your address.

If however tracking was to your address, but they didn't send back the item then you'd have to issue a 50% refund.

Eligibility for 50% refund is free returns for above average sellers, or 30 day returns for TRS.

Outside of that you can report the buyer to the USPS inspector general for mail fraud, IC3 for fraud. You can also peruse the buyer by  other legal means such as small claims.

[mam98031]

I think we are missing some details.  I get the basic story, but some details are missing.

Did the buyer open a Request for Return in Ebay or did the buyer file a Chargeback with their credit card company?  This is important as you and Ebay handle the two situations differently.

Ebay does not restrict a seller for one bad transaction or dealing with a buyer.  So there is a little more going on with why you account got restricted or suspended.  Each word means something different.  So were you restricted or suspended.

The email you got from Ebay should tell you.  It would be helpful in an effort to try and help you if you posted a copy of that email, but make sure you black out any personal info.

What is "...did a form for seller protection but nothing worked ."  What exactly did you do, what kind of form?

You said the item wasn't returned to you but your post also says "...your item was returned in a different condition then what you sent...".  So did you get the item back but in a different condition???

We need some clarity that only you can provide.

[inhawaii]

If ebay (or anyone) robbed me of $8,000, I would file a police report.

[12345jamesstamps]

Refunding someone that amount plus the fees...probably was the reason "blocked my account".

Spending that money which you made and now having to return it plus fees...I can probably understand what happened. It would ruin my banking account.

It should have been authenticated where it goes to a third party...and returned back per the third party.

Something of that value...jewelry...should not be sent directly to the buyer.

[sumsum70]

For eight grand, I'm showing up and making things right, anywhere in the country.

[12345jamesstamps]

I would google address...and...

[ittybitnot]

.. they ask for a refund which was fine . But then ended up sending nothing back to me. ...

@thebarterguy93 
Did you actually refund simply because the buyer asked?  What was their problem? 

Did the buyer file an eBay claim?  What was the reason?  How did you respond? 
Or
Did the buyer file a payment dispute (aka chargeback)? How did you respond? 

To what city/state did you ship this item?  Was the address that of a Freight Forwarder? 

Was there a "delivered" notice on eBay regarding this?  i.e. the return says 'delivered' only you got nothing?

[vintagecraze50]

How in the world were you allowed to sell an 8 grand necklace on here without sending it to their authentication service? If you are a jeweler and have some credentials and a lot of other successful sales I think they exempt some, but if I were to sell that kind of high priced over 500 bucks worth of jewelry I would. Have had to go to their program first, and get better protection as well.

[vintagecraze50]

Yep. That’s what I would do.

[isaiah53-57]

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@thebarterguy93 wrote:

So I sold someone a necklace worth $8,000 and they ask for a refund which was fine . But then ended up sending nothing back to me. eBay sided with them and blocked my account that I’ve had for 3 years . So I lost the money and the necklace and owe what 800 dollars in fees for something that was stolen from me .. I reported the buyer called eBay everyday , did a form for seller protection but nothing worked . eBay wrote be back and said we are sorry your item was returned in a different condition then what you sent but we’re refunding the buyer and your SOL

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@thebarterguy93

EXACTLY the reason we stopped listing here - I cant believe ANYONE would list ANYTHING of any value here...

[silverstatetreasureboxes]

@vintagecraze50 

That is exactly what I was going to say when I read OPs post. Everyone of these expensive Cuban link pieces that are listed right now are going to the authenticator 1st, how in the world did the OP get around this one and why would they not want it to go thru the authentication process? I have a guess....

[the-hook-and-the-loop]

Maybe eBay will install that running total billboard that displays how much people were scammed on their website, kind of like the national debt calculator.