Am I being scammed? Seller sent cheap item and is now desperate for me to close my eBay case.
Summary: nimblepanda opened a discussion expressing concern about a potential scam on eBay. They received a cheap item from a seller and have been urged by the seller to close an open eBay case. The subsequent responses from *casey*, countessalmirena, and others did not contain any additional information. nimblepanda continued the conversation but no new details or resolutions were provided in the responses from sandypebbles, springyzone, or others.
I'm hoping to get some community confirmation on what feels like a textbook scam.
I basically bought two Hue light bulbs at a great, almost too good, price. The seller's profile had a red flag in that they signed up back in 2012, only had about 74 total feedback with just 14 as a seller, and had suddenly listed 70-80 high-value items this month like PS5s, hue products, automotive products, and tools - all priced similarly below market value.
A few days after buying, the seller sent what appeared to be mass message about a "labelling mixup," saying if we got the wrong item, we should call their personal phone number and they'd fix it (we could even keep the wrong item). The package arrived, and it was obviously not bulky enough. I recorded the unboxing and, sure enough, it contained two cheap air fresheners. I later confirmed they used to sell these in a listing that had 10 available, but the listing appears to have been pulled after the first was sold.
Given all these red flags, and because the seller hadn't received any feedback for their new high-value listings yet, I opened an eBay case ("wrong item delivered") as a precaution. I told the seller I'd close it once I actually got the right bulbs. They messaged back right away, promising to repack the bulbs and send tracking.
Then, a couple of days later, they messaged again, claiming the replacement was "in transit" (no tracking number provided) and asked I close the open case immediately. I refused, saying I'd only close it when the item was in my hands. The next day, they sent me a new message stating they tried to process a refund, but they "could not do so because the dispute case was open," and asked me to close the case so the refund could go through.
Thoughts? I'm thinking the seller never sent the bulbs, is likely pulling the same trick with other buyers, and is either delaying until the dispute times out and/or wants the dispute to be closed so withdrawal limits are removed.
nimblepanda
OP10 months agoGiven some people expressed interest in hearing about where this is landing, basically the following has occurred:
I'll follow the instructions of eBay - but Jesus, it's so obvious at this stage and yet they're going to force the buyers to send back the these air fresheners.
I suspect the seller return address is fake, so there might be some random person who starts receiving tonnes of air freshers, lol.
I'm confused as to why the seller thought they would get away with this though - if you pull off such a widespread scam, obviously withdrawal is going to be frozen when people start submitting cases. The weird thing is they would have invested a fair chunk of money into the original shipping (express post via Australia Post) given the number of goods listed, so I can't see how they won't be out of pocket at the end of all this.
davewil1964
·10 months agoI contacted eBay in an attempt to escalate the case given it's now indisputable the seller is pulling off a wide-spread scam, but they still want myself to return the bloody air freshers before they take any further action despite outlining all the above.
That doesn't seem right.
if you open a not as described case, the seller is required to provide return postage or eBay will close the case in your favour and you get to keep the item.
sandypebbles
·10 months agoPlease follow the proper process
You do not pay to send them back
You do as dave said, the correct process is opening and following through with the item not as described dispute
That's it
If eBay cs told you anything else, then the work experience kid pulled up the wrong script to type from
nimblepanda
OP10 months agoThanks for the comments all.
Unfortunately I didn't submit the case as "item not as described" but rather "incorrect item sent" - I've spoken to eBay support via livechat and they advised to tell the seller to contact support to issue the refund.
The seller did provide the following screenshot which is interesting:
Based on this thread, it appears that sellers can do full refunds for these requests but will be rejected with the above when they attempt a partial refund?
The ball is in the sellers court though - I'm just going to provide negative feedback and move on. If I still don't see a refund in a few days and the seller ghosts the relayed message from eBay, I'll just escalate again with eBay support.
sandypebbles
·10 months agoI can guarantee you won’t get a refund
The seller will also use the excuse they can’t help you until you revise the neg
springyzone
·10 months agoYou need to keep on the case & contact support as often as you need to.
Don't let it time out.
Yes, the seller was deliberately setting out to scam you right from the start.
As countess says, this sounds like a hijacked account.
But in any case, just for the future, if you ever have problems with an order, never, never agree to a replacement. Never.
What that does is pad out the time line further as you wait around.
What you do is insist on a full refund and if they want the item back, they provide the postage label.
Keep on it, you've got the right idea-escalate if you have to and let us know how you get on.
If this seller has done this to too many people, if enough complain, he may be shut down. He may just be targeting fairly inexperienced buyers though in the hope they won't know what to do. Prove him wrong.
ozgo123
·10 months agoToday I checked, and I have been on eBay for 21 years! Yes, I have been scammed, but if you follow what eBay tell you to do, 99% of the time you will come out okay.
A few of the latest scams, or well, not quite scams but little white lies, are that the item isn't actually in Australia, as many have noticed that the same suburbs keep popping up.
We then have Drop Shipping, which is completely legal. This is where the seller advertises the item on eBay, but they don't actually have the item in their possession. Their Drop Shipper has it and sends it on to you.
This works very well as you don't have to store anything or do any handling. The returns are only good if you move lots! The problem is that if the item sells out, you have to make excuses.
The last one is a possibility, as I thought it up myself! All of us know Cash Converters, and sometimes there are crazy bargains there, but they don't sell! I keep thinking of taking a photo and putting it on eBay and see what happens. If I sell it, I will rush out and buy the item and process it at a nice profit. Again, the problem is, if it gets sold, what do you do? Simple, in the description, just say that it is advertised elsewhere and could be sold earlier. I like that one!
countessalmirena
·10 months agoThat is frankly a ridiculous post and irrelevant to the OP’s situation.
I quote:
❝All listings on eBay should be a legitimate offer of goods or services that are made sincerely and transparently. Any attempt to mislead or deceive buyers, other sellers, eBay, or any other interested party, or any attempt to circumvent any other eBay policy, is not allowed❞
If you’re being sarcastic or ironic, the joke fell flat (in my opinion).
countessalmirena
·10 months agoAs casey says - it’s definitely, equivocally a scam. The account has been hijacked in all probability, and the seller is indeed attempting to get you to obviate your own rights.
In case you’re not aware of it … never close a case while a refund is not yet issued. Once closed, the case can’t be reopened.
The old “can’t refund you while the case is open” is a big hairy-legged lie.
*casey*
·10 months agoThe scam seller's lying to you about everything.
DO NOT CLOSE THE CASE
If you've opened a claim for an 'item not as described' through eBay's Money Back Guarantee, you should now have the option to 'ask eBay to step in'.
Do that NOW
https://www.ebay.com.au/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy?id=4210
What is the item number ? - Don't give the seller's name