Possible scam

[brandan_42]

Hey everyone I won a bid on a ps5 digital last sunday and bought it for $780 with $20 postage through paypal. The seller was in contact with me and responded very fast on the last day of the bidding but the day after I saw he did not mark it as posted yet to I tried to get in contact with him and have done that everyday since. Today is when its meant to come and still very worried and my anxiety is going through the roof. He used his account once last year and that was it. Anyone know when I should go for a dispute??

[papermoon.lady]

Normally eBay messages are sent to the normal email address too anyway (by default).

[digital*ghost]

It is unlikely to be a hijacked account - the eBay username borrows from the name on the receipt, suggesting the person who opened the account is the one who listed the console.

However...

Description reads "BRAND NEW ONLY PURCHASED THIS WEEK FROM EB GAMES

Meanwhile, the receipt they uploaded is dated September 2020. Also, no idea why they blanked out the price but left the GST visible making the price paid obvious anyway, not to mention if they bought it this week, EB Game's price is easy to look up  😂

Shill bidding is iffy. So many people want one right now and it is very likely someone would create an ebay account, or come back and use an old one, just to try and get one. 

Being extremely responsive until the item has been paid for - major red flag. If it were not for that and the dumb lie in the description, I'd be with stawks, but they obviously have a smartphone (hence the screenshot of the purchase details), and probably get notifications of messages, so IMO the ignoring is deliberate. It's unlikely they have access to the money, being the first sale on a noob account etc, may not have been a deliberate attempt to scam - they might have received a post auction end offer for a higher than end price and went with that, and are just too inconsiderate to even advise and refund etc 

Normally I'd advise to give it a little bit longer either way (you have 30 days after the ETA to open one)- some of them send packages to the wrong address (or an empty package to the right one) which gives them proof of post / delivery so you do not want to open an INR and then have them upload a tracking number that shows delivery. eBay should be requiring proof of signature on delivery from the seller due to the value of the sale, but because some postal services aren't collecting them, there's a small chance they could waive this requirement.

In any case, keep the option of opening a PayPal case up your sleeve in case something goes wrong with the eBay one. (You can open a PayPal case after an eBay case has closed, but you can't open an eBay case after PayPal). 

[brandan_42]

Im pretty sure he like preordered it or something for it to be given to him in 2021 maybe possibly 

[digital*ghost]

Maybe, I suppose they intended to flip it for a profit, but if full fees are being paid, there wouldn't be much profit on it at $780, so the possibility they accepted or wanted to hold out for a higher price is still open.

If the account belongs to the person named on the receipt, they are a very unwise scammer indeed, considering the other info that's on there. 

On your PayPal receipt, does it say "receipt for your payment to [first name / last name]", and does that name match the name on the receipt uploaded to the listing? 

It's also possible someone with less than honourable intentions spotted that listing and receipt too. 😳

[papermoon.lady]

If you live in a house with a garden or a front yard, have you looked around? Australia Post often safe drops parcels somewhere in gardens or front yards if they don't require a signature.

Just to be 100% sure...

[brandan_42]

yeah the paypal says the first and last name exactly how it is on the receipt 

[brandan_42]

I have a real small garden right on the fence next to out neighbors house, Really couldn't fit anything there. I will go check it just to make sure though 

[brandan_42]

Well ive done that item not received thing and he has till the 22nd to prove he sent it otherwise I can contact ebay to get a refund. And it didnt show up today either 

[papermoon.lady]

Good luck with it. You should get your money back 100%.

If he really is a scammer, he does not seem to be the brightest scammer in the world, putting his name and address in the photos and not sending the item when buyers are protected anyway.

Let us know how it goes.

[brandan_42]

Update:

Ive asked ebay to step in. He hasnt said nothing about the request and I havent received it yet. Seems like im never gonna get it lol