Scam

[ahousefullofjs]

I’m looking for advice on how to proceed.

I sold my iPhone for $650 to a buyer located in Miami. 3 days after receiving it they reported it ‘not as described’ requesting a return, with a message that they were having problems and wanted to ask questions. 
I responded that I’m happy to answer any questions or help them troubleshoot. 
I got no response. I sent additional messages stating the same each day. (At this point, I hoped that the buyer was just having trouble figuring out how to use the phone and when I didn’t get a response, I assumed they figured it out.)

Ebay then forced the return accept. So, I went ahead and sent a return shipping label. 
2 more days went by, before I received notification that the item was being shipped back to me from New York. (Strange since the buyer was in Miami.)

It was supposed to be delivered today. (Also strange because I get email informed delivery from USPS showing all mail to be delivered each day and that package wasn’t listed.)

Tracking of the return label showed it was delivered today, but it wasn’t. Or at least it wasn’t delivered to me. 
Ebay says I now have 2 days to refund to buyer. 
What do I do? Will they force me to refund? 

[buyselljack2016]

The "Miami" buyer ........................................... just reeks of being a FF deal where USPS Postal Inspectors, and others would meet a dead end with no authority beyond that location.

[robbie31415]

I'm so happy for you. Good job getting things done ASAP.

I hate when good people get taken advantage of.

Happens to buyers too. Plenty of scam sellers out there.

[ahousefullofjs]

Update 2: 

I got this email overnight:

We decided in favor of the buyer and deducted funds from you

The buyer asked us to review this case again. After our review, we decided in their favor.

We refunded the buyer US $659.55 for their purchase and deducted this amount from your total funds. For more information on how you were charged, see the case details. How in the world were they able to do this if it was a closed case yesterday and they were reported to the Trust and Safety dept.

[pjcdn2005]

I don't know.  But you should contact customer service on FB again.  At the very least they should give you a courtesy refund.

[robbie31415]

This happens, like @pjcdn2005 said I would contact the support on facebook about this.

I've seen these things ping pong back and forth.

[ahousefullofjs]

Thank you. I contacted them again. They reversed it again. 

[bonjourami]

Thats a freight forwarder, Ebay is not ever going to block ff's. If you look hard enough, you will see scams on most ff's, they reship thousands of pkgs a day.

[toyman198]

I had the same issue with a STEM unit.  What the scammer did was send a piece of cardboard to a business within the same zip and city.  So techinically it is marked recieved and ebay refund the buyer.  I found the business name and addy from the post office, and I called them up.   The guy even posted on his FB page that he got a piece of card board from somoen and had no idea what it is.  Ebay stiff refund them and charged me $600!  I talked to ebay at least 7 times and spend many hours explaining, all they keep on saying it is MARK AS Recieved and CANNOT open a dispute once it is closed.  Talked to a few supervisor and one even hung up on me saying that she needs to disconnect now.  This is a complete waster of my time with ebay support being NO support at all even thou I had emails and actually pic of the FB page of the package with the ebay refund tracking.  They are probably not giving me the refund because they paid the scammer already, so now I'm disputing it wtih my AMEX card....Been here for 23 years and this is how I get treated...arrrr..

Any other suggestions?

[toyman198]

I guess that I'm going to have to file a police report.  I guess that I'm not exactly sure how to do that...do I just go to my local police station? But since it involes out of state transaction, that's what throws me off...The scammer returned a piece of cardboard to a business with the same zip/city as mine.  That's why the USPS marked it as recieved, because they don't go by addresss...

[ahousefullofjs]

Did you contact eBay through Facebook messaging or Twitter (X) messaging? 
Thats how I got results. Twitter was actually faster. They responded quickly. Make sure to upload any documents you have to back your claim. Make sure to let them know it was a freight forwarding address. (Assuming it’s the same scam that happened to me.)  The following is a copy of my initial contact with eBay messaging on Twitter.  You are welcome to copy/paste (using your own item # and case#. ) I hope it helps. 

Hello, I'm dealing with a fraudulent return scammer and requesting assistance.
Item number: xxxxx
Return Case number: xxxxx
Summary: Buyer filed a not as described claim, then they had a package shipped to a different address/different name in the same zip code as me to force the refund.
I obtained documentation from USPS showing the discrepancy between the original return label and the altered one which used the same tracking number.

[zgnisaer]

---

@ahousefullofjs wrote:

I obtained documentation from USPS showing the discrepancy between the original return label and the altered one which used the same tracking number.

---

What's that document look like @ahousefullofjs can you block out the sensitive info and post?

[ahousefullofjs]

It was USPS internal data showing where the package originated and the route it took (I went to my local USPS location, explained the situation and the manager was very helpful) I also had the original label that I paid for to return the package, and the actual altered label showing a different address 

[jaesoon_park48]

I am a newbie...well, actually selling stuff on ebay from time to time since 1997 but never a professional seller but just got scammed for the first time and checking here, I realized it's exactly same established pattern. I didn't think of scammer actually altering the ebay issued return label and cause the misdelivery... this all makes sense now. Yep, I've been contacting the ebay chat to report the issue with return and stop ebay from issuing the refund and they have been pretty useless... all they said was "Not to worry" and quick to disconnect. Facebook or Tweeter it is.. wish me a luck.

[ebduckdl]

Hi All, 

Here is the final solution if you don't want to read my story: Go to USPS local office which delivers your daily package, they have the image of the modified shipping label even before it is delivered. You can either show this to the eBay as evidence, or ask the post office to intercept the package for you. You have to be quick in responding to this case though because once the package is delivered, it seems that the buyer may be able to request refund immediately (or in 2 business days?), alternatively you can explain to the supervisor to put the case on hold for a longer time.

-----

Thanks for sharing the information, which helped me quickly locate what's happening because I had exactly the same case. The buyer purchased a phone, and reported there was an issue and wanted to return, but when I asked them the detail, they didn't get back to me and then they just escalated to eBay when the time is up.  eBay issued a shipping label automatically upon buyer's request. Like what other people are saying here, the item was shipped to Miami but the return started from New York, NY. I went to the local post office with the tracking number and they showed me my correct address is in the system and the image of the shipping label with a nearby address and a different name used. The goal for the scammer is to get the package delivered by USPS but not to me. In my case, the scammer is stupid because he didn't know my nearby address is actually managed by a different postal office, so even if I don't contact the postal office, the post office will figure out the issue.

Anyway, wish eBay have better ways of managing those cases in the future, otherwise it really hurts sellers with such a big financial lost. 

[jaesoon_park48]

my result... well, I was too late. I only reacted after tracking showed it was delivered. That's when I became suspicious but I still didn't move fast... bening naive and all and I also prematurely submitted the appear. there was an weekend involved so I didn't do much. I also trusted eBay too much thinking if I report the buyer, they would take time to investigate more. oh boy was I wrong. anyways eBay rejected my appear becasue upon checking the tracking number, it showes it's delivered, end of story and once appear is rejected, it's final and ebay would not consider it again. Never mind it's a US mail fraud... and never mind multiple cases have been described in this post... eBay doesn't want to hear about it, doesn't want to anything to do with it. buyer returned and it's delivered. end of story. Instead I  got slapped for getting ebay involved. No final value fee refund. I lost my drone and ended up with less money than I had before selling this... 😠