eBay closed case. What do I do now?

[rysan9591]

Hello, this is my first post here and I'm not sure if this is the right place to be posting but here goes. So eBay has closed a case on me (as the buyer) and I was wondering if anyone could help solve the issue or at least help clarify a few things to me. First off it seems that I can't find a way to appeal against eBay's decision and another thing is that I can't get in contact with customer service. (assuming cause of covid) So I bought an item for around $700 on 6/25/2020 and received two tracking numbers. One turned out to be a letter from the seller basically saying "thanks for your purchase expect your item to arrive on 6/30/2020. I waited until then and still have not received the item. So I decided to wait a bit more up until the time that was given by eBay which was 7/2/2020. It's still not here so after a day or two I report an INR (item not received) and got in touch with the seller agreeing that a refund would be given if I did not get the item by 7/9/2020. I don't get the item nor a refund yet so I got bit impatient and asked eBay to step in. They ended up closing the case saying "refund will not be given because seller provided tracking number showing the item was delivered." Now keep in mind there are two tracking number, one being the letter which shows delivered and the other being the package which has not updated since 6/27/2020 saying "departed shipping facility, USPS awaiting item." Thanks for hearing me out and any advice/help would be much appreciated.

[rebell45]

You've been scammed, the seller has proof of deliver, the letter, eBay doesn't know it wasn't the package. If you look at your purchase order details, I'll bet it shows the letter's tracking number.

You'll need to open a case with PayPal, if you used them, or your CC company if you didn't use PayPal. Keep all documentation that you have including the weight/label  of the letter you received. You're going to have to fight on this one in order to get your money back.

You may be able to get someone from eBay to call you using the button at the bottom of this page. I'll be surprised if you can get any help there though.

https://www.ebay.com/help/returns-refunds/item-not-delivered/item-not-received?id=4042&from=ContactU...

[ja-2149]

Return the letter as "Wrong item sent" to get your refund, @rysan9591.

To the right of your item here which says you lost the case, click Return this item, or click More actions then Return this item, and start a return request using the "Wrong item sent" reason from the list:

Stop talking to your seller,and do not respond if they ask you to close the case. If you don't get a refund or a return label, after 3 business days, come back and click Ask eBay to step in. Affix the prepaid return label to the letter, covering the original label, and mail it back.

After the letter is delivered back to the seller, you may have to click Ask eBay to step in again after 5 more business days, but you'll get your refund.

[inhawaii]

If you have a legitimate, honest seller, he will be able to provide you with shipping details on both the letter and the package.  If i were the seller, i would. 

LETTER:  Tracking number 000000000, weight 2 oz., shipped First Class Mail on this date

PACKAGE: Tracking number 999999999, weight 5 lbs. 3 oz., shipped Priority Mail on this date 

[orangehound]

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@rysan9591 wrote:

Hello, this is my first post here and I'm not sure if this is the right place to be posting but here goes. So eBay has closed a case on me (as the buyer) and I was wondering if anyone could help solve the issue or at least help clarify a few things to me. First off it seems that I can't find a way to appeal against eBay's decision and another thing is that I can't get in contact with customer service. (assuming cause of covid) So I bought an item for around $700 on 6/25/2020 and received two tracking numbers. One turned out to be a letter from the seller basically saying "thanks for your purchase expect your item to arrive on 6/30/2020. I waited until then and still have not received the item. So I decided to wait a bit more up until the time that was given by eBay which was 7/2/2020. It's still not here so after a day or two I report an INR (item not received) and got in touch with the seller agreeing that a refund would be given if I did not get the item by 7/9/2020. I don't get the item nor a refund yet so I got bit impatient and asked eBay to step in. They ended up closing the case saying "refund will not be given because seller provided tracking number showing the item was delivered." Now keep in mind there are two tracking number, one being the letter which shows delivered and the other being the package which has not updated since 6/27/2020 saying "departed shipping facility, USPS awaiting item." Thanks for hearing me out and any advice/help would be much appreciated.

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Let me first give you some general information:

1. Your seller is a thief, and they know how to manipulate the eBay systems.   They are not a novice.
2. The "letter" you received had a tracking number on it that your thief is using to falsely establish that they delivered your item.  eBay closed the case based on this letter's tracking.
3. The second tracking number with the status of  "USPS awaiting item" is false.   It is just a place holder that the thief is using to try to string you along, hoping that you'll still get the item.
4. If the item you purchased has "FREE RETURN SHIPPING", then the thief has yet another way to con you.

So how to proceed?

1. If the item you purchased has "no returns" or "buyer paid returns", then you can file a return with the return reason being "Doesn't match pictures or description" ... in the comments, write that you received a letter and not the item.  
2. On the other hand, if the item has "Free Return Shipping" (which I suspect), then the seller has the power to withhold up to 50% of the refunded money and a return request would cause more headaches.  I would call up eBay, or get in touch with them through FaceBook or Twitter, and explain the situation ... this is an obvious thief, and make sure that eBay knows this so that they can further investigate.
3. If eBay is unhelpful, I would go straight to my credit/debit card company and file a charge-back explaining that you have encountered a scammer/thief.

Oh ... and next time remember that when you think that getting that $1200 item for $700 is too good to be true ... well ... it's too good to be true.  🙂

[rysan9591]

Thank you all for helping me out I really appreciate it. I'm fairly new to eBay so there's a lot of thing I'm unaware of. I will be using this information moving forward