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Problem with Amazon gift card I received
 

I'm not sure if this is the right forum but I figured Amazon people would know better about this.

I purchased an amazon gift card on ebay, the seller send me the code through email but when I tried applying it to my account I received a message that it was already claimed on another account.

I contacted the seller and he asked for the name of my amazon account (!!!) - I refused to give this because I consider the request unreasonable and it is also on an email address that is banned from ebay. After going back and forth with him for a few weeks I opened a none-received dispute against him, he immediately escalated it and the case was decided against me.

So, I opened a SNAD dispute. I am fully prepared for the possibility ebay might screw me again - from your experience do you know if there is any way to know on what account the gift card was claimed on?

If I lose this case I will obviously appeal it but I need to bring in new information. Will Amazon divulge in this information or simply give a statement that the gift card was not claimed on the email that is registered to my ebay account?

It would just say "redeemed" on the order status page. At the moment, there is no way the seller would be able to know what name and email has redeemed the code if he were to check the status of the code on his amazon account.

As it is a digital delivered item and the listing violated eBay's gift card policy, they will most likely favour the seller as you won't be covered under the eBay Buyer Protection. If you lose the dispute, maybe better to just file a chargeback if possible?

/quote OP wrote

he immediately escalated it and the case was decided against me.

Well, in an interesting turn of events they decided the SNAD dispute in my favor. Although I would still like to clear my name... I contacted Amazon customer support to see what they'll give me. Even just the date of when the code was claimed would be good enough.

I am ALWAYS suspicious of gift cards being sold on eBay - or elsewhere for that matter. I saw an article where people were shoplifting merchandise and then returning it to the store for a credit, which is normally issued on a gift card. Of course, if the store detects the fraud, then the gift card is cancelled.

I just have to ask... WHY would someone sell a gift card with $50 on it for $40? And why would someone BUY a gift card at face value from anyplace other than the store it came from? I'm sure there might be SOME legitimate reasons, but it sounds too suspicious to me.

Of course, this is just in general - obviously, you cannot shoplift from Amazon...

That's good to know! The seller will most likely appeal eBay's decision but I am sure eBay will deny his appeal seeing he has violated their listing policy. In the end, it was the seller's fault as he/she should of known it was redeemed through their amazon account before listing it, unless it was given to him/her by someone else.

I have purchased Amazon gift cards off eBay before with no problems and they costed less than the face value. Most likely people sell them on eBay is because they must of been given to them as a gift and they don't intend to shop on Amazon. Just a thought.

A lot of people also buy amazon gift cards on ebay as a way to withdraw money from paypal in order to buy on Amazon - it is really the best way to shop on Amazon with PayPal without having to withdraw the money first, so most of them are also willing to pay more than face value.

Some people also get cashback and ebay bucks on their purchases so that explains why they are willing to pay more.

As for the sellers: some people get paid with Amazon gift cards or receive them as payout through some programs - if they don't want to use amazon this is the best option.