Ebay Fraud

LindenCy · 06-05-2008, 05:11 PM

Originally Posted by MNclone

I had almost the exact same thing happen to me. The seller was actually in England. (said Texas on the listing) They had a flawless record, and had even sold a car on Ebay. I bought a couple of DVD sets from them in two different transactions. I sent payments right around $25 each for them. Never got the dvd's about the time that I was wondering if they would ever come, the seller's account suddenly filled with negative feedback. I looked at their seller history and there were hundreds of people who purchased DVD's and never got them after I purchased mine.
I believe that I got $1.89 or some other paultry amount back from Paypal, because there was some fine print in their policy saying that there was a $25 surcharge on the return. I talked to people at paypal about it and got nothing. Since he was overseas, I don't think they had any legal jurisdiciton over what had happened. I just got the "Can't give you details due to an ongoing investigation line." Whenever I tried to talk to someone about it.
I haven't bought anything on Ebay since.

I have had a lot of trouble with paypal. When everything is smooth they were great, but later they basically gave me the "our policy" run around. It was a unique situation though.

tube1 · 06-05-2008, 05:17 PM

I've personally never had a problem, but know some that have. PayPal was great for each of them as well. Just be timely and honest with your filing and you should be good.

Good luck.

Psyclone · 06-05-2008, 05:29 PM

Originally Posted by jtd9046

Anyone else every purchased something on Ebay and the seller was a fraud?

I bought 2 items for a total of $125 and didn't receive them. At the time the seller had 100% positive feedback, now the there are about 50 negative feedback postings in the last two days that are all claiming fraud.

I've filed a claim with Paypal. Has anyone had to do this and did you get fully reimbursed?

I had an issue with a Salt Water Chlorinator I order on eBay. The device was supposed to have been shipped via UPS and I had the information from the originating UPS store. But no package ever arrived. I was a bit worried I was being scammed. It was a device that would have cost me a couple of thousand dollars locally, but I "won" it at $666.

When the problems started the guy seemed legit, but I was worried that I may get my money back, but would have lost the huge savings. That made me believe he would rather refund my money than replace the device. But I gave him the opportunity to fix the problem and he did. He sent me another model and asked that I send the first one back should it arrive. He even went to the extent to provide a return prepaid shipping and only asked that if it didn't show that I would return the label to him after a few weeks.

I felt kind of bad for this seller, because it was costing him for something he had no control of. But I did some Internet sleuthing and discovered his name in an obscure place that allowed me to connect the dots and discovered that he was a pool contractor. I even viewed his business and maybe even his home using Google Earth. Amazing what you can learn in unpredictable ways. At any rate this guy was an honorable seller and the device is making my pool life so much easier.

AIT · 06-05-2008, 05:40 PM

I bought a camera on Ebay a few years ago that never arrived, and it turned into a giant mess. I filed a claim through Paypal, they ruled in my favor, and said I was due a full refund. The guy didn't have enough money in his Paypal account to cover the refund, though. I got a partial refund (I think it was about $150 on a $1300 purchase), and Paypal froze the seller's account until he had enough money to cover the refund. Of course the seller disappeared right after that and never used his account again. When it was obvious I wasn't going to get my money back, I called the credit card linked to my Paypal account, and they did a chargeback to Paypal, refunding me the difference and leaving Paypal out $1000+. I don't think Paypal liked that, but I never heard back from them.

This was a $2000 camera for retail, so yeah, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.

MNclone · 06-05-2008, 05:48 PM

Originally Posted by AIT

I bought a camera on Ebay a few years ago that never arrived, and it turned into a giant mess. I filed a claim through Paypal, they ruled in my favor, and said I was due a full refund. The guy didn't have enough money in his Paypal account to cover the refund, though. I got a partial refund (I think it was about $150 on a $1300 purchase), and Paypal froze the seller's account until he had enough money to cover the refund. Of course the seller disappeared right after that and never used his account again. When it was obvious I wasn't going to get my money back, I called the credit card linked to my Paypal account, and they did a chargeback to Paypal, refunding me the difference and leaving Paypal out $1000+. I don't think Paypal liked that, but I never heard back from them.

This was a $2000 camera for retail, so yeah, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.

Ahhh, yes, this is what happened with my case as well. They didn't have any money in their paypal account, and closed the bank account that it wa attached to. My paypal account was connected directly to my bank account, so I got no refund from that.

Cyclonesrule91 · 06-05-2008, 06:08 PM

A couple years ago I was checking out trucks on ebay. I found a listing of a truck that I really wanted and was going to try and bid on it. When I tried to, a message came saying that I had to submit my name, address and email address to legitimize me as a serious bidder. I sent in mine but used an old address and asked them a few questions about the truck. They never responded back, tried again as the auction was a few hours from ending, again no response. Looking through the pictures I seen a auto sales sign in the background so I searched the name and called the guy up because the auction was coming to close to the end. Some guy answers and I tell him what I am asking about, he asks for the listing, and when he sees it tells me it was a truck that he sold 9 months earlier and those were his pictures and it was a fraudulent listing. He called ebay and 10 minutes later it was gone.

Then the next day I got two invoices in my email saying I bought that truck and also some fancy sports car. I called ebay and they straightened it out but I doubt I will ever try to buy a vehicle on there anytime soon.

AIT · 06-05-2008, 06:51 PM

Originally Posted by MNclone

Ahhh, yes, this is what happened with my case as well. They didn't have any money in their paypal account, and closed the bank account that it wa attached to. My paypal account was connected directly to my bank account, so I got no refund from that.

Ouch. As someone who almost got cheated that way, I feel for you.

Here is a good Ebay scam story. A guy lists a Powerbook on Ebay. When he gets an offer from an obvious scammer, he plays along and winds up burning the scammer pretty good.

LindenCy · 06-05-2008, 07:22 PM

I found ebay is best for collectibles and easy to ship items. I have never gotten a physically large item on there.

cyclonedave25 · 06-05-2008, 07:59 PM

One time I ordered something small (less than $10) and it never came. It was a long time ago, so I sent a cashier's check. So, i said screw it, because i didn't want to go threw the hassle just for $10.
Ever since, I have never had a problem.