How to get free stuff via eBay.

[allfixelectrical]

Do you want free stuff from eBay?

All you need to do is purchase something from a seller and then claim in an affidavit that you received an empty box.

Ebay will gladly refund you in full with no obligation to return the item that you received so long as you don't admit to them that you ever actually received it. No photo of the "empty box" you supposedly received will be required to back up your claim.

Even if the seller appeals the case ebay is unlikely to change their mind.

In fact even if you have any remorse whatsoever at all and decide to send the item back to the seller which then gives the seller the ability to prove that your original affidavit was false, that still won't change ebay's mind no matter how much evidence the seller is able to provide to ebay.

As far as ebay is concerned if you claim in a legal document that you received an empty box then that is the gospel they will believe above all else.

How do I know this to be true?

It happened to us despite having an anchor store on ebay and selling on ebay for over 14 years with 99.6% positive feedback.

If you really want to rub salt in your sellers wounds that you receive the free stuff from then you can also defame them in feedback stating that they didn't send you the item and nothing will be done to remove it, further backing up your claim.

[*tippy*toes*]

---

@lyndal1838 wrote:

Stawks, there was a court case some time ago.....buyer in Queensland, seller in Victoria.  The buyer had to travel to Victoria.

---

Yes, that is correct. The buyer can commence a case against a seller and an initial hearing can be heard closest to them. The seller is within their rights to have the case referred to their local court as that's where the transaction took place. If the seller commences the case it is heard at their local court. The buyer shouldn't be able to get it moved for their convenience as the transaction took place at the sellers location.

It has nothing to do with where eBay's HQ is. That would make it impossible for a buyer and seller in Perth to be able to do anything if it was warranted.

[lyndal1838]

Ebay uses NSW law....if the case involves ebay it is heard in a NSW court.

[phorum_junkie*]

It really doesn't involve ebay any more than a newspaper who printed an ad used to defraud somebody would be involved.

Ebay claim that they will assist law enforcement so if it is the police who ask for the stat dec they should hand it over.

I suspect just the threat of police action and a court claim should be enough to have the buyer backtracking and paying the seller what they owe.

Perhaps direct the buyer here so they can see that you are serious and are prepared to take it further. If they have lied in a Stat Dec and committed fraud they would be insane to try and wriggle out of this one.

[fixnwear]

It really doesn't involve ebay any more than a newspaper who printed an ad used to defraud somebody would be involved.

Phorum, the huge difference is that newspaper ads don't appoint themselves to be judge & jury, and do not do involuntary refunds  to buyers, from seller's accounts - without approval of the seller - and in the face of all the protestations and eveidence to the contrary.

These situations - where money is forcibly removed from someone to pay the other shouldn't be even possible with anyone who claims they are "only here to faciliate buying & selling"

Any guarantees that they offer should be funded  from their own coffers as they are the ones making such guarantees. Especially as they seem to award these payments at the drop of the hat, to all & sundry.

No newspaper does that.

[letscleanupmycupboards]

A few points I don't get.

A claim was made about an empty box arriving. An empty box would weigh nothing compared to a parcel as posted. Your postal receipt (which any savvy seller keeps for 2-3 years) will surely reflect this. As such if an empty box did indeed arrive then your delivery signature and postal insurance (another thing savvy sellers would surely all use these days) should provide sufficient claim for you to be compensated by the post office (after all the buyer signed a sworn statement they received an empty box, so clearly if the item was sent the post office has a thief in their midst).

I'd be claiming through Australia post even if there wasn't insurance. We got compensated $300 for an uninsured parcel of old hand me down clothes we sent to a rellie because they accidentally delivered to the wrong house (awkward street) and the receiver threw the parcel in the bin.

[*tippy*toes*]

Keep postal receipts for 2-3 years? Really? WHY? A buyer can't make a claim after 6 months, so what's the point in keeping them longer than that?

There is no actual weight on a postage receipt. It shows the weight range, e.g 0-500g, the post code and the tracking number. The exact weight is on the parcel label that once the seller has handed it over, doesn't see it again.

Not all "savvy sellers" take out insurance. The average price of my items is $15. Why would I waste money on insurance? If a buyer buys multiple items and it goes over $100 then I'll insure, but for a single item, what a waste of money. Paying the cost for every parcel over a 12 month period would pay for a lost $15 item 10 times over.

Claiming an empty box arrived is one of the oldest scam tricks in the book for buyers who want a refund and to keep the item. It backfired this time for that buyer. They'll move on to the next poor seller, then the next, then the next. All because eBay says the buyer is never wrong.

[allfixelectrical]

An update.

On the advice of both NSW police and a lawyer, although I have a strong case and the buyer has clearly and verifiably broken the law by providing a false affidavit, there is no absolute guarantee that I would win the case against the buyer and the details provided to Albury police would have been forwarded onto Hunters Hill police station in Sydney and any resulting court case initiated by the police in response to our evidence would have resulted in myself and my staff member having to travel to Sydney to appear in court, so I have decided not to pursue it any further. This could result in being many hundreds of dollars out of pocket regardless of the outcome.

I am not much out of pocket because the item was ultimately "returned to sender" so I got the item back and am only out of pocket for the original postage costs and the return postage costs and ebay fees.

The stupid part is that if the buyer had not returned the item at all, then I would never have had any concrete evidence available to prove they had lied in their statutory declaration.

The fact that ebay has flat out refused to look at any of the evidence I have been able to provide which does prove that the buyer lied, and have stuck to their original decision to side with the buyer either shows a level of ignorance or arrogance which would be frightening if the value of the item had been significantly higher. Ebay does not seem to grasp the seriousness of providing a false stat dec nor does it seem willing to accept it has made a mistake.

PayPal when informed of the case were kind enough to provide me with a cash payment to my paypal account as compensation because in their words "we are valued customers" despite the fact that it really did not concern them at all and we made no claim against them. This was not in any way officially linked to the transaction at all and was made clear that it was effectively a gift. Kudos to PayPal.

I have shamed eBay over this case in a large number of public forums and several of their Facebook pages as that seems to me to be the only avenue available to me.

I am guessing that it won't be the last time a similar situation arises.

In the meantime, thank you all for your comments and suggestions and hopefully this does not happen to any of you.

[*tippy*toes*]

I'd like you know what "assistance" they were able to offer you by sending them a PM.....where they wanted to help you with this. All lip service no doubt.

Even if you did pursue it through court and you won, and they were told to pay all your expenses, there is no way to force them to pay up, so you probably made the right choice. It would still have been nice to whack one up them though, to make them think twice before they do it next time (which they will).

[letscleanupmycupboards]

Tippy toes I keep everything in the event of a chargeback which, depending on your card company, could be up to 2 years after a transaction. So call it playing safe.

To address your other points, you can ask the post office (and some do it as a default) to put the postcode and weight on a sub 500g parcel. As for insurance, you're covered up to $50 automatically but signature the buyer pays. No exceptions. It's factored into the postage cost when I calculate.

[biamai-66]

Yes please i saw to neacklaces that i like but they cost money and my mum doesn`t have the money pleae help