Watch out for these types of SCAM Sellers....

[brispaul]

Hi Everyone,

Just thought I should mention here about one method of Scam sellers are using.  I got caught out, fortunately was able to recover my payment via paypal but it was a stressful event to go through so if I can save someone else the same misfortune...please read on.

I have purchased a number of items from China and never had any problems what so ever.  I recently purchased a Brand new Polar Heart Rate monitor from a user with good feedback on an account that had been operating for over a year. In theory safe.

The item was dispatched with tracking the same day I purchased, all good I thought.  During the next 2 weeks I noticed that the seller was starting to receive BAD feedback.   They then made their profile private so comments could not be read.

About 2 weeks later I received my item.  Not a heart rate monitor watch but a Red Piece of string with a plastic carving attached....bit like a lucky charm...or not so lucky in my case.

I immediately tried to lodge a dispute on EBay BUT the seller had listed the item under vehicles/Go Karts which are not eligible for disputes online as it is assumed you pickup the item.  So I called EBay who said I needed to try and contact the buyer, after about 10 Days I would be able to lodge a formal dispute. 

A great delay tack-tick by the seller.

I instead opted to call PayPal who froze the payment until an investigation had been completed.  They assured me this would be sorted and I would get my money back.  About 4 days passed and PayPal then requested I send the item back to the seller for a refund using a tracking service.  They ignored the fact that I had been scammed and were treating this as a normal "not as described case"

I then investigated myself and found that the Sellers Ebay address was non existent. Their contact phone number was just a music service and the address paypal told me to send the item back too was also non existent. Ie They asked me to send it to a random character name with numbers in it. Not even a real persons name. The actual address was nothing more than a city and country SO had I returned the piece of string it would never have arrived.

Yet more delay tack ticks by the seller.

I then called Paypal again with my new evidence. The call centre representative was quite adamant that I had to send the piece if string back. They even refused me sending them a picture/evidence of what I had actually received and starting to real off some legal terms that I would have to get a police report etc etc. At this point I demanded that I talk with a manager. I was put on hold and then told my case had been ruled in my favour and a refund had just been made.

Since then I have seen the same article using the exact same description being listed by random seller id’s. Whilst I have reported the items to Ebay, they continue to be left active, people are buying the items and now I’m starting to see bad feedback again on these other accounts.

So my advice to others…..

Check the item is in the right category….or at least one that can be disputed online.

Do not accept the run around that you are likely to get from Ebay / Paypal during a dispute. I could quite have easily posted the piece of string back but realised it would never have arrived and a refund would have been further delayed if paid at all.

Happy Ebaying

[2106greencat]

BUT the seller had listed the item under vehicles/Go Karts which are not eligible for disputes

Yep, that one has been going around for a little while, seems to be the new you beaut way of scamming.

But so long as buyers, like you,  stick to their guns and speak to paypal and don't just accept the Not Eligible reply, most will be refunded.

Pity these smart people who come up with these scams couldn't put their smarts to good use and actually make money in a ligitimate manner.

[i-love-my-sheep]

Does that seller still have active listings? If so, could you give us the item number of one please? Just today, we successfully had all a sellers (scammers) items removed where they were listing in the automotive category. If we all band together, we might be able to get this sellers listings removed too.

Of course these scammers just create a new account and start all over again, but it might just save a few people from the stress in the interim.

So glad it was a positive outcome for you. 

And to reiterate what you said, to remind others, check the category of the listing you are interested in before hitting the button.

[aifaul_23]

Im being a victim too😭😭😭

[aifaul_23]

I purchased a sling bag amount #300 and two days ago seller block me

[tazzieterror]

It's because you paid in # and not $.

[imastawka]

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@aifaul_23 wrote:
I purchased a sling bag amount #300 and two days ago seller block me

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More details are needed please.

How is it a scam?    You only purchased 2 days ago?

That's not enough time to say you didn't receive it, nor that the seller hasn't posted it.

And how do you know the seller has blocked you?

If they are not answering, they may not be on their computer 24/7

Did you pay by Paypal or bank deposit?

If you can provide an item number, we can have a look at it for you.

[springyzone]

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@aifaul_23 wrote:
I purchased a sling bag amount #300 and two days ago seller block me

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I am not sure what is going on here or exactly why you say you are a victim.

Firstly, did you actually purchase the bag, as in buy on ebay and pay for it via paypal etc?

If that transaction went through, then it doesn't matter if the seller blocks you from further purchases, he or she would still have to honour the original purchase or else refund your money. 

How do you know the seller has blocked you?

If you mean that you TRIED to purchase a sling bag for $300 but couldn't get the transaction to go through and maybe the computer showed a message that said the seller could not accept the purchase, then that is a different thing altogether. You wouldn't be a victim as you would not have lost any money. Sometimes sellers have blocks on sales to different countries or they have blocks on people who may have previous unpaid item strikes etc. Was your seller located overseas, by any chance?

[porcelain_dolls_by_me]

 6 years since the first post - obviously things have not changed much!

[kywal-5006]

 

What’s the contact number for eBay? How does Auspost know this sellers email is fraudulent? It states the item has been delivered, to someone else. I was home ALL DAY