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Scammed
 

Been scammed for the first time.

It hurts.

First time I've ever been scammed, dealt with many Chinese people and this deal just felt abit too awkward though.

My usual thing is to get a picture with my name of the goods from different angles. Once I receive that, I'm usually sure.

Kind of was incompetent with this one and only allowed him to send four photos. Twice he sent two photos without my name. Then later sent a photo with my name, one photo seemed photoshopped; but ignored it at the time.

Paid £300 for the buys by DHL shipping. Been given a tracking number, which didn't work, but they usually don't for the first 2-3 days.

Came back later. Kept telling me doesn't have new DHL number.

Came back a few days later, same story; was told item has reached hong-kong.

Was then ignored for a few days whilst the seller was online - made new usernames and he responded to them. Tried to get information from him pretend I was going to send western union payment: received the name, number and address.

I got a seller that I'm 'friends' with and asked him to call the seller; he came back and told me the number is wrong.

Today, he responded to my original username and told me item has reached customs. I kept asking, how are you getting this information, he says he uses the tracking number.

I guess you live and learn. Just sucks to lose money.

What method did you pay via?

You never know, your item may well turn up. Unusual to not be able to track in via DHL though

Seller probably lied and sent it via EMS instead of DHL.
Have you tried looking at the site with your tracking number?

Yes I have had this but it did turn up in the end....via dhl. Could be a number of things like, they're waiting for more stock.

Keep contacting them and hold tight.

Paid via Western Union.

Yeah, I've contacted DHL numerous times also - they've confirmed that it's not correct.

I'll wait but I think I've written it off as a loss. Which is unfortunate.

^^^ Also happened to me. Thought I was scammed, but it turns out items finally arrived 2 weeks later than I expected (took a whole month altogether).

Follow advice of above post and be patient, it may actually get delivered to you.

I've phoned Parcelforce (EMS) and there's nothing on their system of anything being delivered to my address.

The seller has good feedback also, so it is a bit strange.

Yep, sounds like you got scammed.. :(

And sending via Western Union is a no-no.. at least in my book without receiving goods ahead of time. They have no incentive to keep their word once they collect funds.

Taobao is tricky..

Hopefully it works like this OP but the sad part is that WU and Moneygram (for that matter) gives you no protection unless you pay with credit card - from now on, try to always pay with a credit card source and know your supplier well - not just word of mouth...

I know I sound like a broken record here, but NEVER use Western Union or MoneyGram or anything else that is not reversible to pay for goods UNLESS you have an existing relationship with the seller. I use them to pay one seller, but I did business with him for almost a year before agreeing to use Western Union. He gives me a nice discount since there are no site fees to pay and I have never had a problem. But if we didn't have that history, there is no way I would have considered it.

Don't feel bad. I also got burned when I was younger. I was trying to buy something I should not have been trying to buy and agreed to do the Western Union. It was about $200, but that was a lot of money to me back then. Needless to say, I was scammed. That loss really hurt back then. So I know how it feels.

taobao have many scammed，Chinese mainland people only shopping in tmall.com or jd.com etc,i suggest ： let seller listing item for aliexpress.com,u make payments for aliexpress.com is safe.

Got burned for multiple times from Chinese sellers. back in the day. It is part of doing business. I agree you do your best to make smaller sample orders to build a relationship. Then you go from there. If you are going to go the China route that is going to be part of the risk you have to take. Most China sellers can't accept PayPal and if they do they are limited to the amounts they can receive. Often times they get limited.

You just have to do as much due diligence as you can. I use to web cam chat over MSN messenger with my suppliers etc.

I have to say doing business in with China suppliers or overseas in general is like mining for Gold. You are going to come up empty sometimes. When you get it right it is going to more than pay for your previous losses.

If you are a serious seller and been doing this for a while. Not a teenager or something like that. I know I got burned for $600 when I was 16 it was my life savings to me at the time but I learned from it and keep with it and it paid off greatly.

At some point you are going to have to take a $500-600 risk to find out what you can get. It might pay off greatly it might not. No risk no reward. I hate to say it but if you can't afford what is losing money to what equates to a high end traffic ticket you are in the wrong business or you shouldn't be trying to deal with overseas suppliers/manufacturers.

Just received a message from the seller saying:

Friend, your shoes has been detained by the customs, I also didn't expect so.

How should I respond? Either way, I'm sure I've been scammed.

If they are ⊗⊗⊗⊗, then eat the loss.

If they are real. Tell him to send another package or give you a refund.

He might try to ask you to send additional shipping costs to resend.

Don't pay and take it as a lesson learned

My issue is, if they were genuinely held by customs, I should be expecting a letter?

There should be a tracking number linked to the held package? That he has been able to gain information of. They are genuine, so I don't know why they'd be held by customs.

Ask for the tracking number so that you can see that for yourself. If the seller can track them, so can you.

What method did you pay via? If credit card, consider a charge-back as a last resort

I guess if you paid by PayPal you might be able to to try to dispute it. But if it was Money Gram or Western Union. It is gone.


Not sure about the UK but in the US they always send a letter saying you have so much time to dispute the items or else they will be fortified and destroyed. If it is some kind of branded goods in the US at least they always want documentation.

Which if you are selling legit products your Chinese supplier should be able to help you with.

Yeah, I usually receive a letter within 2-3 working days.

And this message from the seller was sent to me on the 8th...

Seller sounds like he got into a mess with your purchase.

Supplied phony numbers to keep you happy until the stuff finally becamse available for delivery. There is another thread around where someone had a similar experience with a seller.

Seller might also have major issues with other buyers & all his parcels are getting seized.
:peace:

Definitely consider see the support given by credit card company if payment was made this way...

Re: Scammed
 

i always use paypal :D

Re: Scammed
 

Fund with credit card right? Not bank transfer