Sold Item - Buyer said items missing - am I being scammed?

Hi all,

I sold 2 Game collectors editions lately, both identical and both from same supplier (JB). I sent both last Saturday,

 

Last night I got an email stating that 1 was missing a season pass and it did not appear to look to be packed the same as the ones on youtube videos. i emailed back and advised I sent these the same day I received them, in the same box and all boxes were sealed. I have asked for photos etc.

 

The other buyer was very happy, left feedback on Tuesday, problem I am facing is this other buyer with the issue is only telling me about it 4-5 days after he received it (he may have opened or may not before this time) and he also only has 1 feedback.

 

Now reading ebay forums it appears ebay would side with the buyer in this case at all times, but seems like im being scammed, it could be true but alot of red flags.

 

He emailed again this morning and advised 3 digital codes are missing, I have asked for photos and a complete list of what he received and what is missing, also for the barcode to see if I can contact Sony to confirm if codes are used, I have also emailed the retailer I purchased this from. I also gave him a copy of the email I sent to the retailer.

 

He advised he is contacting ebay to see what he can do for the "missing bits"

 

I don't sell very often on ebay but my feedback is all positive 107 across sold and bought, I just feels a bit weird that its so late considering the buyer was mesaging me everyday to confirm if I had sent, and seemed very excited to get this game.

 

Any advice would be apprecieted

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Sold Item - Buyer said items missing - am I being scammed?

I would say that it's (at the very least) odd that all of the digital components of the item appear to be missing, but unfortunately, since the box was sealed, it's difficult to know for sure what the exact contents were and also makes it pretty much impossible to prove the box contained the codes, so I suspect that any request will result in the item having to be returned and a refund issued. 

 

At this stage, I would try to gather as much info as is possible - I don't know if those kinds of codes are linked to specific packages, but if the game itself required an activation code, any subsequent codes that were used in conjunction with that would likely be verifiable (whether you can gain that info is another question, though). 

 

If it did require an activation code of some sort (as is usually the case with PC games), then I'd ask the buyer for that and contact the software company to make some general enquiries - they'd probably be able to tell you if any additional codes have been used for the game, and if not, may be able to issue replacements to the buyer.

 

 

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Sold Item - Buyer said items missing - am I being scammed?

I would say that it's (at the very least) odd that all of the digital components of the item appear to be missing, but unfortunately, since the box was sealed, it's difficult to know for sure what the exact contents were and also makes it pretty much impossible to prove the box contained the codes, so I suspect that any request will result in the item having to be returned and a refund issued. 

 

At this stage, I would try to gather as much info as is possible - I don't know if those kinds of codes are linked to specific packages, but if the game itself required an activation code, any subsequent codes that were used in conjunction with that would likely be verifiable (whether you can gain that info is another question, though). 

 

If it did require an activation code of some sort (as is usually the case with PC games), then I'd ask the buyer for that and contact the software company to make some general enquiries - they'd probably be able to tell you if any additional codes have been used for the game, and if not, may be able to issue replacements to the buyer.

 

 

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Sold Item - Buyer said items missing - am I being scammed?

First off thank you for replying,

 

I am still awaiting a reply from the retailer I got it from, its a PS4 game Collectors edition.

 

I have asked for all photos, items listed he recieved and items missing, I have also asked for a photo of the barcode to see If I can ring sony or the game developer to ask if the DLC codes are linked. He messaged back and confirmed if he wanted me to take photos after I already asked him and I replied yes.

 

Just seems very weird, that the other one I sold was fine, and this one is missing digital only and this user only has 1 feedback and contacted me 5 days after he recieved it.

 

At this stage it doesnt appear he wants a full refund, as he said he will contact ebay on how to work out the missing items, which again this item is super rare, so he appears to want to keep it, but not sure

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Sold Item - Buyer said items missing - am I being scammed?

First let me say I know nothing about games and their codes etc but I don't think it is unreasonable for someone to receive an item in the mail early in the week but not set it up till the following weekend.

It happens here.....my husband works long hours so if he needs to do something with an item bought during the week it is usually left till the weekend when he has more time to play around.  He would not open the box in case small components went missing.

To label your buyer suspicious because he did not find out there were missing pieces for a few days is a bit off IMO.

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Sold Item - Buyer said items missing - am I being scammed?


@lyndal1838 wrote:

 I don't think it is unreasonable for someone to receive an item in the mail early in the week but not set it up till the following weekend.

 


In general, it isn't unreasonable. 

 

The liklihood of DLC codes not being included aside (it can happen with games sold unsealed, which some retailers do, but these were sealed - some games, eg the collector's edition of a recent big release game, MGSV, apparently didn't include codes because they were issued by email afterwards), a buyer who is nervous and/or excited enough about a purchase to be messaging a seller (as noted in the OP) every day asking if an item was sent, doesn't sound like the kind of person who would then wait to open the box, IMO. 

 

That doesn't mean it's impossible, nor that there is definitely something shady going on, but I can understand why it looks strange on the surface. 

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Sold Item - Buyer said items missing - am I being scammed?

Hi, just letting you know that sometimes the codes are on the purchase receipt that you need to redeem online. I just brought the new COD3 and they were on the receipt.

 

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Sold Item - Buyer said items missing - am I being scammed?

Thank you all for the replies,

 

Some good news, I spoke to the retailer I purchased it from, and they said some codes were put in the game box, some were put in the booklet and some where put in the collectors part of the game.

 

I then again spoke to the user, and he apologised immesnly, he found the codes hidden away. He either missed them or didn't check everywhere.

 

 

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Sold Item - Buyer said items missing - am I being scammed?

Good stuff. Well done....

We don't hear too many happy endings....

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