topic Re: Scam Seller in Buying

Scam Seller

djl3recr_51 — Sat, 22 Mar 2025 07:20:02 GMT

Hi everyone, after a few bad experiences with sellers and no support from Ebay I had a break and recently returned. My most recent experience is that I bid on an item and won only for the seller to cancel my bid and relist the item immediately!! Is this normal now?? Ebay needs to find some standards!! No support or help and this is clearly a scam!

Re: Scam Seller

k1ooo-slr-sales — Sat, 22 Mar 2025 07:40:56 GMT

how is this a scam?

It's wrong, I get that, but what qualifies it as a scam?

If you won an auction, paid, and then lost money . . . that would be a scam. But you lost no money.

Report the seller to eBay. They might so something, but sont hold your breath.

Re: Scam Seller

porcelain_dolls_by_me — Sat, 22 Mar 2025 08:03:39 GMT

Definition of a scam .... "The meaning of SCAM is a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation"

Action by the seller certainly fits the bill !!!

Re: Scam Seller

*casey* — Sat, 22 Mar 2025 08:11:12 GMT

It's not a scam in the true sense of the word, but nevertheless still very annoying.

There's not a lot you can do about it though.

"I bid on an item and won only for the seller to cancel my bid and relist the item immediately"

Do you mean the seller cancelled your bid first then ended the listing or do you mean it finished with

you as the winner but the seller cancelled the transaction ?

I sometimes feel sorry for new, inexperienced sellers who start an auction price too low and the item sells

for very little but if that same seller knows how to cancel the transaction using a reason that's not true and

benefits them, so they don't receive a defect, I'd have no hesitation in reporting the seller.

Re: Scam Seller

sandypebbles — Sat, 22 Mar 2025 08:24:46 GMT

What are your experiences where you were not covered by the MBG?

What support are you seeking from eBay in this situation?

Did you actually pay for the item and the seller kept the money?

Your feedback shows you used to regularly choose to buy from sellers with terrible feedback, and your comments in the neg you leave suggests you do your own thing when problems arise rather than using the MBG

These problems are easily avoided by caring who you are buying from, and by using the tools you are given when problems happen

Re: Scam Seller

davewil1964 — Sat, 22 Mar 2025 09:00:09 GMT

No material loss, therefore no fraud.

You have been around long enough to know how eBay works.

If you think you have been scammed, go to the ACCC.

Re: Scam Seller

k1ooo-slr-sales — Sat, 22 Mar 2025 11:06:03 GMT

@porcelain_dolls_by_me wrote:
Definition of a scam .... "The meaning of SCAM is a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation"

Action by the seller certainly fits the bill !!!

depends on where you look for a definition 🫤

In the internet age, I think some sort of loss is a typical component of a scam online (but everyone can have their own opinion)

Re: Scam Seller

gutterpunkz05 — Sat, 22 Mar 2025 17:56:39 GMT

Something wrong with buyers address, this has a very very wide scope, right up to I do not want to ship to the particular buyer or their address.

I have been advised by ebay CS on numerous occassions,to use this particular reason, even though technically there is nothing wrong with the address provided. Usually relating to buyers with multiple accounts suspected of trying to circumvent blocks etc,

Edit:

Just to add it is also simple to generate an error message from australia post, by changing the address format, intentional or not

Re: Scam Seller

sandypebbles — Sat, 22 Mar 2025 21:08:12 GMT

Interesting

According to the two negs you have, two buyers felt that way about your items

But your reply shows you believe it is the buyers who don't know what they are talking about

Yet *this* seller, according to you is certainly a scammer

Re: Scam Seller

gutterpunkz05 — Sat, 22 Mar 2025 22:04:22 GMT

@porcelain_dolls_by_me wrote:
Definition of a scam .... "The meaning of SCAM is a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation"

Action by the seller certainly fits the bill !!!

Just a small problem with your definition of scam.

The scenario put forward by the OP, does not meet the legal definitions for fraud or deception.

Re: Scam Seller

springyzone — Sat, 22 Mar 2025 23:15:33 GMT

I think that what you need to do, before you use ebay again, is go to the help pages and read through about what to do when things go wrong.

At the moment, when you have a problem-maybe an item not arriving on time-you are contacting the seller and they are fobbing you off, saying they will send a replacement or whatever.

I know ebay advises to contact seller first. Ignore that. It is a suggestion, not a rule or anything.

When something does not arrive on time, go straight to ebay and open a proper ebay claim for an item not received or not as described-whatever the problem is.

Follow it through properly. This means you will only settle for a full refund. Don't fall for offers of replacements as you only have a short window in which to settle this claim.

You can always buy another (preferably from someone else with a good record) once you get the refund.

In the recent case you mention, I took it that you won the auction and the seller cancelled. Presumably they refunded you?

So it is not a scam in the sense you were cheated of money, but it was certainly a false auction.

I wouldn't say it is normal for this to happen, but it is not rare either. It is always annoying to a buyer to have it happen because often they have waited a few days for an auction to end and they could have been looking elsewhere.

You can report the seller but it probably won't do much good.

It sounds to me as if the seller decided the auction didn't raise enough money, which is entirely their fault as they started it too low in that case, but some buyers don't read the help pages before they list either.

Check out the seller feedback before you bid in future, see if they are new to ebay & if the price is very low, just be aware this can happen. Ebay has these sorts of pitfalls for the unwary, you need to know what your options are when things go wrong.