eBay customer support is abysmal

[therauls07]

The eBay customer support is abysmal to say the least. I wanted to purchase a phone, approached eBay customer support expressing concerns over the seller's profile and genuinity, i was assured the seller was legit and should proceed with a $999 transaction. Phone purchased and payment issued via PayPal. A tracking number was provided, a week later it was all marked as delivered, yet NO phone. Contacted the delivery provider who advised the tracking number was valid, an item was delivered. However the item was NOT addressed to me. turned out the tracking number was a SCAM. eBay was advised a case was raised, 3 days later my case was CLOSED without any investigation even thought i provided all correspondences and evidence from the courier company. I finally managed to get my money back from PayPal who were awesome.

DO NOT use eBay unless your payment provider facilitates online purchase protection. eBay is torrid in this regard and will NOT back you up where you need it. this organisation is NOT the same as they used to be, the platform is full of scammers and i wont be surprised if eBay was part of it all.

PLEASE BE AWARE.

[davewil1964]

Simple. Don't buy phones online unless from a registered Australian business that is also an authorised seller/reseller of said phone.

If a phone is cheaper than one of the above-mentioned sells it for there is a reason. And it not the ability to discount, especially if Apple. They don't discount.

Customer service has nothing to do with it. The CS reps in Manila have no more idea of a seller's credibility than you do. That's what feedback and country of registration are for.

[jellybirddesigns]

If you had initial concerns, you should not have proceeded. Account may even have been hacked.

Was your seller based in Aus or overseas?

I don't think Ebay is the place to be spending the better part of a grand on a phone, but that's just me. There is no way you would have had any warranty backup if things went wrong, no matter what a seller might put in the description (unless they are authorised sellers0

It is far better to come to the boards before purchasing if you are thinking there might be red flags - the sellers here have a huge amount of experience - far more so that a random CS rep.

What was the item number?

[sugar249]

So you had concerns about the seller, and you went ahead and made the purchase.  Enough said

[springyzone]

You've got every right to feel furious because you were given very poor advice by ebay customer support.

Unfortunately, from what I can make out, the ebay reps are a very mixed bag and you're not talking to anyone high ranking, you are just as likely to get different advice if you talk to 2 different reps. 

I imagine it is unlikely most of them are going to bag a seller or try to persuade you not to buy, not unless there is something very specific there in front of them about that seller. A few negs etc in feedback would not cause them to advise you not to buy.  About the only thing I can think of is if a seller was at that moment in the process of being removed from ebay, only then might they advise not to go ahead with the transaction.

So what it comes down to is you. You have to be the one to do a little bit of search before you buy. Look at where the seller is located (not where they say the item is located-where the SELLER is located.)

Look at all the recent feedback. If you're getting any doubtful vibes, don't go ahead.

The reality is that if you go ahead with a big purchase like this phone, even if you get a decent seller who sends it, what sort of warranty are you getting? If you're just buying from a random overseas seller, the answer is none, no matter what the ad says.

I don't believe ebay is part of any scamming but there are certainly some scammers on ebay and they tend to be in the sorts of categories you bought in-phones, electronics, electricals etc. Sad to say, you're better off buying from a real shop for some things.

On a more practical note, if you have had no satisfaction from ebay, you could try contacting them again to appeal the decision but if they won't, you could try a paypal claim if you paid that way. Have all your evidence about false tracking number etc to hand when you do.

[australian.book.depository]

Totally agree.

 I have been with eBay over 15 years and just got shafted by a scammer and eBay, and their ‘money back guarantee’. Not only did I not get my $714 back but they removed my negative feedback!! 

I bought prepaid satchels which never came. But tracking said it did. Australia post were awesome. They fully investigated and said that only small envelopes were sent (too small to contain my purchase), likely to another P.O. Box and they wrote me a letter confirming it was likely a scam. The guy also told me on the phone that eBay is aware of this scam but wouldn’t help me and I should seek ‘chargebacks’ from my bank. 

But the scammer told eBay tracking said it arrived and eBay didn’t even bother to give me a chance to reply but decided the case the same day it was escalated to them by the seller (I tried and tried to put in my side but there was no ability to add anything except my initial comments from a week earlier that it hadn’t arrived and I was investigating) because tracking shows it arrived that’s it. I didn’t even get a chance to submit my Australian post letter. Then they deleted my feedback as the final kick up the **bleep**.

[davewil1964]

Yawn