Am I being scammed $2000 ?

[le-jac1]

I bought a Macbook Pro last night around 11:30 pm. The seller told me he had sold it in the physical store 20 seconds after I paid for it. It was midnight. I asked him if he could get a picture before I paid, he said he would like to but it was already to late, that he would do it  the next morning. 

I called ebay, ebay says it's a paypal problem; I called paypal, paypal says it's a ebay problem.

Here is what happened:

Your previous message
Hi mate, I'd like to buy your macbook. When do you think you can ship?

ji_jile_gklkiwy:

Hello, As soon as I have received the payment. Thanks

Your previous message

Thanks, mate. Do you mind sending me a picture of the back of the box with all the specs on it? I'll pay once I make sure it's the model I want.  Thanks a lot.

ji_jile_gklkiwy:

I don't mind but its already late here. I will once I open my shop early in the morning, if it will still be available for sale

Then I paid for the item.

The seller immediately marked the order as "shipped" but with no tracking information. 

ji_jile_gklkiwy:

Hey mate. Sorry to tell you that the item has already been bought in our physical store. Kindly dispute the transaction because I can't refund from my side. I am so sorry but we will be restocking in one weeks time. You can check back in a weeks time.Sorry

A dispute will ensure you get all your cash back in your paypal.Thanks

login to your paypal the the transaction you made to me click it you will see details .click it you will see dispute this transaction.

say item not received

To do so:

Log in to your PayPal account. Go to the Resolution Center.Select the dispute you want to escalate, then click Escalate.Follow the instructions.Click Escalate to a claim.

Your previous message

Then why did you just ship the item?

ji_jile_gklkiwy:

did I ship it?? Sorry

Your previous message

I know you can refund, just do it. I don't want any trouble.

ji_jile_gklkiwy:

which trouble now. Just say you din't receive the item...Paypal will just escalate the case and have your money back in full. It is held on my side .

Do you want me to mark the item as not shipped or what

Jist remarked it as not shipped.Ain't here to scam you or something just that the item has already been sold

The seller didn't mark the item as not shipped.

I went to bed.

I call ebay this morning, ebay says the seller is right, I should do what the seller told me to.

Then ebay gives me the number of paypal, tells me that paypal has a better solution.

I call paypal, paypal tells me my money is protected. That they can't do anything since they can't prove the seller is a scam. 

What's the seller up to?

Clearly there is no Macbook and no physical store. There is no shipment. The seller won't get the money.

Why the hell is he doing this?

[brerrabbit585]

I'm quite sure if he just cancels the ebay transaction your money will automatically be refunded - no need to even go into his paypal account.

I'd like to know why you bought something when you weren't even sure it was the right one, let alone pay for it before you knew. That's just making work for the seller if it wasn't what you wanted and they had to cancel it.

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

was the seller's first name Ricky by any chance?

[audistarelectronics]

If it as easy as you describe to get ripped off on Ebay, there is no way I would be parting with that sort of money in the first place regardless of the sellers reputation/feedback.

[phorum_junkie*]

There is no need for anything complicated.

Just log into Paypal, find the transaction and open a dispute for item not received. You may or may not be able to escalate to a claim straight away, if you can do so. If you can't wait however long you have to (I would try again every few hours) and then sit back and wait for your refund.

Don't get involved in any further communication with the seller or start calling Paypal unless for some very obscure reason they deny your claim. In the unlikely event that happens come back here.

Once you have your refund leave the seller an appropriate neg.

I think you have probably dodged a bullet and should have asked for that photo before you purchased, heaven alone knows what you have received if the seller hadn't realised that you were not going to easily accept sommething that was not all it was made out to be.

[le-jac1]

Thank you for the reply.

Some background:

The item number is 292093193268

It was a new listing and very good price. I thought I was lucky but in fact I was being stupid. 

I knew that all the 15 inch Macbook Pros have a graphic cards: 450 or 455. I paid anyway because either one was a steal for $1900.

I was certain the seller was a scammer when the seller shipped immediately after payment and told me he sold the item in the physical store ( at 12:00 midnight).

I was confident that I could get the money back by dispute on ebay in two weeks.

One thing I didn't know was what's the game here. What's in for the scammer.

Then I read this reply and it all make sense. I think this is the plan: By luring and guiding me to file a dispute on paypal (instead of dispute on ebay or give me the refund immediately for that matter), he could send an empty box to my address without providing the tracking information and leaving me in the dark. Then he could make me a scammer easily and ebay/paypal might favor the seller.

The sad thing is, I had this concern in mind and told ebay and paypal my concern but the way they handle this situation is disappointing. 

I made two 15 min calls to ebay and one 10 min call to paypal.

They know my situation and they have to "follow the rules". 

Anyway, here is where I am now:

I opened a dispute on paypal this morning. The seller has no response yet. I figure the seller is waiting for me to escalate the dispute, which I won't. I'll wait for the "shippment" and open a dispute on ebay.

Funny thing is that when I inquired the seller's contact information, I recieved a name Jill **** and a phone number.

I dailed and said "May I speak to Jill please?"

A lady says, "This is her."

I said, "I bought a laptop from you yesterday." and before I could say anything more, the lady says "No, you did not buy a laptop from me, somebody scammed you, not me. Thank you." Then she hang up. I could hear that she was very upset and very emotional. But I didn't say anythign about scamming. I think she gets calls like this a lot recently.

I then googled the seller's "name" and it was a Mental Health & Counselling in Sydney. The seller must have left a fake name and number on ebay. 

Thank you all for the kindly reply. It's very helpful. 

[le-jac1]

Thank you for the reply.

Some background:

The item number is 292093193268

It was a new listing and very good price. I thought I was lucky but in fact I was being stupid. 

I knew that all the 15 inch Macbook Pros have a graphic cards. 450 or 455. I paid anyway because either one was a steal for $1900.

I was certain the seller was a scammer when the seller shipped immediately after payment and told me he sold the item in the physical store ( at 12:00 midnight).

I was confident that I could get the money back by dispute on ebay in two weeks.

One thing I didn't know was what's the game here. What's in for the scammer.

Then I read this reply and it all make sense. I think this is the plan: By luring and guiding me to file a dispute on paypal (instead of dispute on ebay or give me the refund immediately for that matter), he could send an empty box to my address without providing the tracking information and leaving me in the dark. Then he could make me a scammer easily and ebay/paypal might favor the seller.

The sad thing is, I had this concern in mind and told ebay and paypal my concern but the way they handle this situation is disappointing. 

I made two 15 min calls to ebay and one 10 min call to paypal.

They know my situation and they have to "follow the rules". 

Anyway, here is where I am now:

I opened a dispute on paypal this morning. The seller has no response yet. I figure the seller is waiting for me to escalate the dispute, which I won't. I'll wait for the "shippment" and open a dispute on ebay.

Funny thing is that when I inquired the seller's contact information, I recieved a name Jill **** and a phone number.

I dailed and said "May I speak to Jill please?"

A lady says, "This is her."

I said, "I bought a laptop from you yesterday." and before I could say anything more, the lady says "No, you did not buy a laptop from me, somebody scammed you, not me. Thank you." Then she hang up. I could hear that she was very upset and very emotional. I think she gets calls like this a lot recently.

I then googled the seller's "name" and it was a Mental Health & Counselling in Sydney. The seller must have left a fake name and number on ebay. 

Thank you all for the kindly reply. It's very helpful. 

[le-jac1]

Thank you for the reply.

Some background:

The item number is 292093193268

It was a new listing and very good price. I thought I was lucky but in fact I was being stupid. 

I knew that all the 15 inch Macbook Pros have a graphic cards. 450 or 455. I paid anyway because either one was a steal for $1900.

I was certain the seller was a scammer when the seller shipped immediately after payment and told me he sold the item in the physical store ( at 12:00 midnight).

I was confident that I could get the money back by dispute on ebay in two weeks.

One thing I didn't know was what's the game here. What's in for the scammer.

Then I read this reply and it all make sense. I think this is the plan: By luring and guiding me to file a dispute on paypal (instead of dispute on ebay or give me the refund immediately for that matter), he could send an empty box to my address without providing the tracking information and leaving me in the dark. Then he could make me a scammer easily and ebay/paypal might favor the seller.

Anyway, here is where I am now:

I opened a dispute on paypal this morning. The seller has no response yet. I figure the seller is waiting for me to escalate the dispute, which I won't. I'll wait for the "shippment" and open a dispute on ebay.

Funny thing is that when I inquired the seller's contact information, I recieved a name J **** and a phone number.

I dailed and said "May I speak to J please?"

A lady says, "This is her."

I said, "I bought a laptop from you yesterday." and before I could say anything more, the lady says "No, you did not buy a laptop from me, somebody scammed you, not me. Thank you." Then she hang up. I could hear that she was very upset and very emotional. I think she gets calls like this a lot recently.

I then googled the seller's "name" and it was a Mental Health & Counselling in Sydney. The seller must have left a fake name and number on ebay. 

Thank you all for the kindly reply. It's very helpful. 

[springyzone]

Other people may know more than I about the process as I have never had anything like this happen, but I think you might be best to escalate as soon as you are able to.

The seller will not send any empty box without tracking, there would be no point. Sellers have to have tracking to prove delivery.

After you get all your money back from paypal or ebay, go to a proper shop to buy your Macbook. Ebay isn't the best place to buy computers or expensive things like that. Not saying all sellers are scammers at all, but you have to be very careful with expensive items. If they seem suspiciously cheap, don't be tempted to buy.

[kopenhagen5]

If a case with eBay fails a case with PayPal can be opened but not the other way around.

eBay require proof delivery in a case, PayPal only need proof of postage.

Edit - padi ..........................

[padi*0409]

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@le-jac1 wrote:

Anyway, here is where I am now:

I opened a dispute on paypal this morning. The seller has no response yet. I figure the seller is waiting for me to escalate the dispute, which I won't. I'll wait for the "shippment" and open a dispute on ebay.

---

If you open a Paypal dispute first you cannot go back to an eBay dispute through the MBG, from eBay to Paypal yes, but not the other way around.

Edit.       Snap Kopes...................."all for one mate"