Hello to all!
I need some input from experienced Ebayers please!
I have a problem with a seller who comes up with all sorts of explanations as to why he has not sent my item yet.
History: 16 days ago I bought a laptop for about 100** dollars. Before buying I contacted the seller via “ask the seller a question” for some information on the item. It was not quite suitable and I received a return email with an offer of another laptop, which he allegedly had just listed. I had a look and could not find it in the “see other sellers items list” so he sent me the item number and I found it but it was not suitable either. I unfortunately cant remember under which name this listing was. Maybe he has more than 2 Ids.
I then decided to auction the first laptop I had enquired about. I won the bid, paid straight away online with funds transfer. **The same day** I received an email of the seller asking wether I had paid and which way I had paid. I gave him the information.
I then contacted him with an ebay email and asked him to pack the item safely and if he needed more money I would pay for extra packaging costs. He agreed and I sent an additional amount of 20 dollars via funds transfer, which he must have received on 14th of May.
In-between 11 May and 14th may I received an ebay-email, which said the item, was sent.
On 17th May I received an automated email that the laptop was relisted for sale again. This message probably only came to me because I still had the item stored in “my watch list”. I had a look and it was the identical laptop with the identical text but it had an additional “By Now” option of 200** dollars.
(Interessting: The day he relisted the laptop he also had created a second ID name. His listings and emails started to appear all under his new name.)
I contacted the seller why he is reselling my laptop and he said it is another laptop that looks similar. Not much later I received an automated ebay email that my sale was cancelled and that I should click to get a refund, which I didn’t do.
On inquiry the seller told me that this cancellation was a mistake and I would receive my laptop.
My laptop didn’t turn up and I contacted the seller on 25th May (which is a fortnight from purchase) with ebay email: Item not received.
He answered (with various types of email headers) that due to a sick child and thats why he is away from home until 29th of May and he can’t send it now but only on 29th of May. (How does he know that his sick child will be ok again on 29th?) He also offered me a refund. I declined the refund and said that 29th was too late I needed it earlier.
Then I had a look again on his rating page and found (out of 7 ratings) 1 bad rating where a buyer complained that he had won the item fairly but was not sent the item. The item sold for 1 dollar at auction, which was obviously not good enough for the seller, so he relisted the already sold item.
Maybe the price of 100 dollars for my laptop wasn’t high enough either and that’s why the seller relisted it unaware of the fact that I would receive a “relisted” mail.
On his rating page the last item sold on 21 May and was rated afterwards. This either means to me, that he was at home at least until 21 of May (why didn’t he sent the laptop then in the previous 10 days 11 May till 21 May?) or that he is listing items, buys them himself and gives himself ratings. The latter would make sense given that several items that had already sold (for example a water kettle / no rating appeared) and it was relisted again. The toe bar which the complaining buyer didn’t receive was relisted as well.
He also made a comment on the phone that he needs good ratings. He said that he had problems with a buyer who didnt sent his money and thats why ebay now has a look into (all?) his emails.
Could this seller already have a hidden bad history?
After declining the refund I received again an email saying that I would receive the laptop when he is back home after his relative is out of hospital. This time he didn’t tell me a date. I found this answer to vague and sent another email to tell me a correct date when I will receive the laptop.
I am currently waiting for the answer, but I think I might have got caught up with a scammer.
Another worry is, that more people might get scammed possibly under various ID’s.
When he listed my laptop first time he had zero ratings (I thought I give him a fair go)
6 days later 17th May he changed his name. I had a look at the ID page and there were 2 names listed now. From then on I had to deal with him under his new ID.
During a short phone call he told me he needs good ratings because he had trouble with a buyer who didn’t want to send him his money and therefore Ebay now has access to all his emails.
On the whole I have exchanged about 35 emails with him.
Ladies and gents, I need your opinion please!
Could this possibly be a scammer?
I am not an experienced buyer here on Ebay Australia and would like to know where the pitfalls are also in regards to missing time limits and using the correct request forms for further action.
Thanks for reading my long text and thanks for your input!
