Beware of pre-order scams

[supercrater1994]

If you are a hobbyist who collects PVC statues, action figures, transformers, or other toys, please be aware of pre-order scammers. These scammers will have a very good reputation with ebay, many with close to 100% positive reviews, because they do in fact honour their in-stock items and sell them legitimately. However, they also will list items that won't be released for several months, which is against ebay policy. These sellers will list the items 6 months or more in advance, enough time so that not even Paypal will give you your money back. They will list it as an auction or a buy it now. It is important to note that there are sellers who will honour pre-orders, but there are many who don't, and there is nothing you can do about it once the 180 day period is up. I'd recommend NOT pre-ordering anything on ebay, but if you do, and are reaching close to the cut off period for a refund, CANCEL the order and get your money back while you still can.

[countessalmirena]

@supercrater1994,

It sounds as though you were caught out.

eBay's Help page for presale listings does state the terms & conditions of such items.

❝Presale listings must clearly state that they are "presale" in the title and description, and guarantee postage within 20 days of purchase.❞

and...

• ❝Presale listings must guarantee that the item will be posted within 20 days of purchase
• The date the item will be available to post must be clearly stated in the listing
• Listings must clearly indicate in the title and description that the item is being offered for presale
• Handling time details should include the time it will take the seller to acquire the item, in addition to the time it will take the seller to deliver the package to the postal carrier❞

If a buyer allows the seller to string him/her along for more than 180 days, then yes, as you've said (and seem to have found out very unpalatably from personal experience?), the buyer has not only blown the chance to rely on eBay's MBG, but also upon PayPal Buyer Protection.

As long as a buyer is aware of the timelines, and the T&Cs, for pre-sale items, then the pre-sale listings can be helpful... but if a buyer of ANY item (pre-sale or otherwise) doesn't act in a timely way when an item doesn't arrive, the protections in place for that buyer will time out and then there is nothing that eBay or PayPal can or will do.

It never hurts to reiterate the message: ACT WITHIN THE TIMEFRAMES FOR DISPUTES OR REFUNDS!

(I've put it in Christmas colours to give it a cheery and gift-like appearance.)