Please Help. I was scammed with a fake phone. What do I need to do to get my money back? :(

[dimeter7]

Hello everyone. Hopefully, I can get some insight here. For reference, I have included some of the screenshots I want to use as evidence. I recently purchased a Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus. The entire thing was really sketchy and I should have paid more attention instead of being greedy. Immediately after I purchased the phone the seller asked me to leave him feedback so that he could get his money sooner so he could buy something (first red flag should have stuck with my gut). He also asked for my phone number which eBay tells you not to do. After going back and forth with him I left a review.

A few days later I get the phone and I started to notice a few things that were really off. First, the phone didn't really look like a galaxy s10 Plus. The lock screen was slightly different. The phone was really laggy and slow and didn't even activate until 30 minutes later when I put my sim card in. Bixby looked completely off from what my friend showed me. I tried to activate the fingerprint sensor and there isn't even an option for it. I tried to enter recovery mode and I got this weird error screen. The keyboard is the generic android keyboard. If you shake it a little bit it rattles. I also searched for the IMEI and no website could find it. The front camera looks very different, it has one of the old android phone lights on the top of it and none of the galaxy s10 models have it. When I tapped on the play store icon it continuously said that the play store couldn't be found until I restarted a few times. Then I started to do research to see if the phone was fake and one of the suggestions is that I run a benchmark test. I run the test using GeekMark with the phone still on the charger and its way below the benchmark score set for a Samsung galaxy 10, event a 10e. 

I brought up that the phone wasn't working as expected and that the phone was fake to the seller. His first response is that I sell it to someone else. After trying to talk to him some more about it he offered a 20% refund when I opened a return request. I told him that I wanted all of my money back and to return the phone but he refused. He said that he read the eBay guidelines and called and said that eBay was on his side. His ultimatum is that either I take the 20% refund or have eBay open a case and get nothing back. I added some screenshots as evidence to the return request and tried to discuss things more with the seller but he refuses to respond now.

Is what he is saying true and am I just wasting my time? Will I be able to get the money I spent back? What am I supposed to do in this situation? 

Thanks for reading this and I apologize for the length but I need my hard earned money... I'll never buy a phone online again.

[itz_stacey]

---

@dimeter7 wrote:

He said that he read the eBay guidelines and called and said that eBay was on his side. His ultimatum is that either I take the 20% refund or have eBay open a case and get nothing back.

He is either pulling your leg or he isn't actually aware of how ebays MBG works, lol. He doesn't have a whole lot of feedback so I suspect that he's actually just clueless....but trying to make you think he isn't.

Is what he is saying true and am I just wasting my time? Will I be able to get the money I spent back? What am I supposed to do in this situation? 

Open a return case and select "not as described" as the reason. At that point he is not only going to be FORCED to accept the return, he will also have to PAY for a return shipping label. If he does not cooperate with the return request then you'll need to "ask ebay to step in" as soon as the option allows. If ebay has to handle it then he will get a defect against his account and ebay will either supply you with a return label (and charge his account) or they'll just issue you a refund and tell you to keep the phone.

Good luck! 

---

[orangehound]

He probably sold you a counterfeit phone.

This is not difficult ... it is a Money Back Guarantee claim.  No need to continue interacting with this seller.

1. Open a return request with the reason "Doesn't work or defective" or "Doesn't seem authentic".  You can either go to your purchase history and open the return request, or open the return request through the resolution center.
2. You can add a sentence about the problem in the details section.
3. Follow the instructions and you will eventually be presented with instructions and a free postage-paid return label from eBay.
4. Carefully package the phone and return it.
5. When the tracking demonstrates that the item arrived back to the seller (or that delivery was attempted), the seller has 2 days to fully refund your money plus any shipping costs you originally paid.
6. If he doesn't, escalate the claim with eBay.

[dimeter7]

Thanks I opened a return request but unfortunately I was so frustrated I didnt add much details just pictures. Hopefully eBay will help when they escalate.

[dimeter7]

Thanks for the input! I opened a return request already, now I just have to wait for eBay to step in. 

[orangehound]

---

@dimeter7 wrote:

Thanks I opened a return request but unfortunately I was so frustrated I didnt add much details just pictures. Hopefully eBay will help when they escalate.

---

You don't have to add much detail at all ... the most important thing is the return reason.   If you selected one of the two reasons I mentioned, then you are good to go.