Too easy to scam sellers as a buyer

[3415len]

So here it is. The absolute 100% proof that eBay don't give a flick about their sellers.

We have been on eBay for many years and have over 10,000+ positive feedback. We are Australian based and we sell engineering tools all over the world.

In September we were scammed by a guy in the UK.

He bought an item that consisted of two parts. Part 1 weigh's 300 grams, part 2 weigh's 400 grams, totaling 700 grams . We sent the item by Australia Post's Registered International service.

We supplied the customer a tracking number, and he emailed us asking where his product was. We told him to use his tracking number and he said they tried to deliver to his company at 1:10am and said he would sort it out.

8 business day's later, he messages us again saying he didn't get Part B of his item.

We found it a bit odd he took this long to tell us, and we quickly assured him we would get to the bottom of this. He told us the parcel had 0 signs of being tampered with.

Upon checking our statement from Australia post, we found that Australia Post weighed the parcel and declared it 700 grams. This means when the parcel left our hands and was received by Australia Post, the article included both Part A & Part B, otherwise the parcel would of weighed less than 700 grams.

The buyer wanted a full refund for his purchase, and when we told him NO and provided document proof of the parcel leaving our hands with both parts inside. He did not accept this and escalated to a claim.

Here's the frustrating thing. He bought the item from OUR AUSTRALIAN eBay shop, yet we had to log in to EBAY UK to sort this out. What kind of rubbish is that. And if we wanted to speak to someone from eBay, it had to be done through the UK. OK that's extremely illogical.

Even after providing the document proof we sent this parcel, he still won the claim.

Currently, we are waiting for the item to arrive in our hands, as he is sending PART A back to us.When the item gets back in our hands, he will be issued a FULL REFUND INCLUDING POST.

Not to mention, all our listings state that we are not responsible for lost / stolen / tampered articles, which is the ONLY possible thing that could of happened if this guy was really telling the truth.

We have contacted 5 different people through phone to eBay about this. You know whats funny? The extreme awkward silence when the eBay employee responds with "I don't know" or "...." when we ask the question "What did we do wrong and how can we stop this from happening ever again"

I think we are well within our rights to say the parcel he is sending back to us never got to us so he does not get his money back.

And eBay, you should be ashamed. Your company policies are actually borderline criminal, your letting people get away with fraud.

So yeah, basically if you want free stuff, just buy things internationally and say you only got half of it. eBay won't do a thing to stop you.

Thanks for reading

[carly2579]

this is why i only sell in australia

[phorum_junkie*]

you are putting your  disputation rights into the hands of a person in a call centre somewhere in a third world country,

I am sure the UK ebay customer support centre which is located in Ireland will be pleased to know that they are living in a 3rd world country, perhaps they can get some grants from Oxfam or some other charity which helps out the 3rd world!

I hope you enjoyed your holiday TB and want to reassure you that although I very often disagree with you I do not report your posts.

[tall_bearded]

Yes I enjoyed my holiday and know you didn’t contribute to it.  In fact I know who it was, and ... oops almost got reported again.

So while you’re her, here’s an extract  from  Kariyawasam, Kanchana; Guy, Scott --- "The Contractual Legalities of Buying and Selling on  eBay  : Online Auctions and the Protection of Consumers" [2008] JlLawInfoSci 4; (2008) 19  as reported in...

The above decisions produced a variety of results for consumers. However, the legal uncertainty pertaining to  eBay 

[digital*ghost]

Just as an aside, I recommend pasting copied text to Notepad (if you're using a Windows PC/Laptop), before pasting it to the forum, as it will strip it of all HTML, embedded or otherwise - just to help improve readability.

[lynmac40]

yes it is and when scammed ebay doesnt really help they are on the side of the buyer

[phorum_junkie*]

You will find just as many buyers who claim ebay and Paypal are always on the side of the sellers, it is a very subjective view either way.

TB you haven't yet apologized to the Irish for saying they were a 3rd world country:^O

[danemoderne]

The best way of sending a parcel internationally is to register it + pay additional insurance - I think it is $10.00 insurance per every $100.00 - item value. It is pricey, but well worth it. 

[angelasayswhat]

If Ebay have decided that you must provide a FULL REFUND - that is the equivalent of NOT SELLING the item in the first place - yes?!

Does Ebay - having created the situation as it stands (i.e. NO SALE) - refund your Listing and FVF fees?

[drz250k]

You know full well PJ that only a minimal percentage of UK customer service is sent to Ireland, the vast majority is handled in the Philippines, these facts I'm sure you know, you are just trying to inflame an argument with TB. 

You should be the one apologizing. 

[phorum_junkie*]

drz250k on what do you base that fact? I am in the UK and have called the ebay support many times over the years and I have always spoken to somebody with an Irish accent, we have often had conversations about everything from the weather to places I remember from a trip there many moons ago, I don't think they would bother training people in an overseas call centre to talk with an Irish accent and know about the geography of the region!