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Possible ebay return item lawsuit
 

Hey everyone
Just came across this forum, tried the powersellersunite, but keep getting 404. So to make a long story short, i sold a large machine on ebay, been defrauded by ebay. Spoke with many lawyers, looking for sellers that have had the same happen to them. The lawyers informed me to post on forums to see how many sellers we can find with the same issue for a class action lawsuit.

Basically, I sold a machine , 2500lbs, 8ft tall, 2 ft wide last month, working, 100% feedback on ebay. Buyer came to warehouse picked up machine, was there 20 minutes. Signed the bill of sale, we loaded with forklift, buyer left happy, took machine 4 states away. 5 days later buyer sends me a email, machine works, but does not work to his specifications. Tells me he has taken the machine apart. At such point, i told him, no returns.

He opens a case, ebay says they are awaiting buyer. Days later i get email to provide a shipping label, as if no one read what was sold. I called ebay, finally got them to look at what was sold. said they are awaiting buyers response.

15 days later, still nothing, i call and call, one manger says awaiting proof from buyer machine is not working, then days go by. Then i call, and manager says we sent you a email to provide a shipping label. I have called and called, finally started telling them you are being recorded, after several calls managers at ebay lied right over the phone.
So, after 9 calls, they finally tell me still awaiting buyer, next day, they close the case, and refund the buyer, still has the machine.

So i called ebay, they would do nothing, so i called paypal, rep at paypal, says you need to get ebay on the phone, either get your item or money. I called again, and nothing, ebay says, there new policy is seller must pay to get item back, so i called paypal again.
Paypal tells me they would have closed it after it opened, buyer picked item up, and signed BL, then tells me he took apart. Paypal tells me to contact FBI, or FTC or take legal action.

So here we are, at a loss of around $7,000, plus ebay charged $123 fee after sale. No machine, no money, and charged fees. So i spoke with lawyers, they suggested this, to post on forums, see how many sellers can find, same happened to them, then file a class action. I have a dozen recorded calls, ebays managers have lied many times, been over a month and nothing.

Please if you have advice, or sounds like the same happened to you, please fill out our contact us form here. https://ebayreturnitemfraud.blogspot.com

Please try to describe the item you sold, when, offer a contact so we can get proof from you in some way. Once we get a certain number of people, we will be filing a suit. Lawyer says no matter value of item.

I believe there is many other sellers like me, that have had the same.

Thanks for reading
chris

Re: Possible ebay return item lawsuit
 

first,
did you accept payment via Paypal?
Why?when it is a local pickup?

Re: Possible ebay return item lawsuit
 

Pretty sure they force the use of Paypal even for local pickup. OP said he ran an auction. eBay won't let you run an auction and then have your buyer pay cash when they pick it up.

Re: Possible ebay return item lawsuit
 

where did you see 'auction'?
ok,I just read the details,he sald it as auction

Re: Possible ebay return item lawsuit
 

It's in the blogspot site OP linked to:

https://i.postimg.cc/rpKbjSZY/Untitled.png

Re: Possible ebay return item lawsuit
 

Have I heard this many times?
Ebay sellers sold heavy equipments on EBay,accept Paypal and then ran into problem.
Not just machines,but services like plumbing,catering,yoga lessons,room rental,massage,hair cut,photo studio,IT work .
-Ebay has a hi value customer service dept for any transaction $1k and above,I have not used it recently,dont know if it is still around,?
-it sounds like his case is a blend of human contact and ebay bot doing its job-send return label? if seller does not send label,then Ebay bot will do it for him,but in his case,there is no return label to send as it was never shipped using Ebay print label feature.
so bot closed the case as there is no return label sent,which implies seller refused return ,so refund !
but I dont understand that part with $1k shipping,he said the buyer came to the warehouse and pick up the item,Ebay bot can only refund whatever buyer paid via Paypal,which is the cost of the machine,?

Re: Possible ebay return item lawsuit
 

I don't see anything about a $1k shipping cost. He mentions an item cost of $7k and an eBay FV fee of $123.

@OP - Good luck, but I really don't see this going any where.

Re: Possible ebay return item lawsuit
 

File the lawsuit. Or accept that loss. Those are the choices. We have all seen eBays abuse to sellers. I myself don't have any actual evidence though.

Re: Possible ebay return item lawsuit
 

The buyer came with flatbed and drove away with the item,it could cost buyer $1k in shipping,but there is no way to get it from the seller or Ebay.

Re: Possible ebay return item lawsuit
 

He's trying to find others who've had a similar experience so he can get enough parties involved to start a class action lawsuit. I think the problem with that idea is most sellers who have something like this happen take it on the chin and write it off as the cost of doing e-commerce business.

I think it would be a better idea for you to try suing them yourself, but maybe your lawyer has told you some reason that's not a good idea.

If that's not an option, what about taking the buyer to civil court since they signed a bill of sale and then later basically stole the item from you?

Re: Possible ebay return item lawsuit
 

Speculating about the buyer's travel expenses has nothing to do with this scenario. OP didn't say anything about a shipping charge.

Re: Possible ebay return item lawsuit
 

But this and other cases exposed an Ebay flaw -OP called and spoke to customer service supervisor many times and have recorded the conversation,Ebay should have a feature to stop the robot from interfering with the case when human customer service is working on the case.
This silly request from robot asking the seller to send return shipping label on a 2500 lb 8 ft tall machine is ridiculous! when there is never a shipping label printed on Ebay.
There is at least one category (vehicles,??) where sellers do not accept electronic payments including Paypal and would accept a non refundable Paypal deposit ,I dont know how they can enforce this non refundable deposit?when the buyer can file chargeback with his cc issuer.

Re: Possible ebay return item lawsuit
 

My advice don't waste your time with ebay.

Re: Possible ebay return item lawsuit
 

OP kept saying he is losing $1k in shipping,I dont see how,since he did not pay for shipping,unless he is implying accepting return,he has to pay for return shipping which would cost him $1k,since bot kept asking him to give buyer a return label?

Re: Possible ebay return item lawsuit
 

selling on Ebay is no longer simple,if seller knows his way around Ebay,he could have made up a USPS first class shipping label and send it to the buyer,that would shut the robot up and after x days,if tracking shows no delivery,money would be released back to him.
then the buyer would have to go to Paypal ,OP would show buyer has altered the item,so buyer would lose the dispute,if he goes to his cc issuer,same,he has altered the item,worst would be the buyer would be asked to return the item on his dime/

Re: Possible ebay return item lawsuit
 

Alright I see what you're talking about now. It's on the website but not his post here.

Very confusing case. According to the blog, eBay first refunds $1000. Then a couple paragraphs down, the seller is out of $7k and doesn't have the machine back.

I'd be doing anything I could to get the machine back.. even if it meant driving 4 states over with my own flatbed. This is a lot of money to lose and I seriously doubt eBay is going to budge. Taking them to court would probably be futile since I'm sure whatever went down was covered in their terms of service.

Re: Possible ebay return item lawsuit
 

Many sellers of heavy equipments reach out to buyers on EBay as local classified ads and brick and mortar stores do not bring in enough traffic and sales.
Many top rated plus dealers sell on EBay and count on that 20%(now 10%) rebate to subsidise their income .

Re: Possible ebay return item lawsuit
 

Agreed.. there's no alternative OP can use that would get anywhere near the traffic of eBay.

Maybe some of the liquidation.com marketplaces would work.

Re: Possible ebay return item lawsuit
 

Professional dealers/sellers had begged EBay to separate pros from weekend warriors who find something in dumpster/attic.garage by having 2 sites,but Ebay never listen.
In the early days,EBay did buy an auctioneer to manage a professional auction site called Great Collection or Great Collectibles and invite antique dealers from all over the world to list ,unfortunately back then rich folks do not buy online,they may not even own a pc so it was shut down.
But ebay auto?category where car salesman,indviduals sell their motor vehicles,they dont accept cc or paypal,but accept Paypal deposit

Re: Possible ebay return item lawsuit
 

Hello all again,
Thank you much for the replies, really appriciate it.
Paypal, made us accept paypal yes
agent006140 even when it was pickup.
The buyer paid through paypal, so it is controlled by ebay.
Yes phaz0rz , $1000 for return shipping, 4 states away back to our warehouse.
Yes phaz0rz, looking for other sellers with similar experiences.
We were informed by paypal to file with the FBI, or FTC, but have not decided that route yet.
Our lawyer says a class action is possible, if we can find more sellers with proof of similar experiences.
Our lawyer says the amount is not feasable under $25000 to sue ebay directly.
Yes phaz0rz ,buyer chose to pickup, instead of paying for shipping, so he sent someone with a flatbed truck.
Yes agent006140, a flaw, they want sellers to send a shipping label, on a item that is large, it was there robot system, until i spoke with real people, then they understood.
Yes james_112233, i agree, however, its sad, many other auction sites, do not get near the traffic ebay does, when it became a household name like google, its hard to beat it.
Wow,
agent006140, never thought of that, very smart
Sorry, phaz0rz, yes it is a confusing case
exactly phaz0rz, ebay gets the traffic sadly

So, so thank you all so much for the replies, still trying this gathering of sellers with the same experience, maybe i can find 10 others. If not may need to contact the buyer request the return or the refund, or ill report them to the FBI, FTC, i am not sure still.

THE SADDEST part, ebay has been doing this for years, i sold a TV 5 years ago, the glass was cracked, sold for $600, buyer bought it, took the board out and claimed a refund, and shipped just the frame and glass back. Even tho the weight did not add up, ebay still refunded the buyer. Since then was selling on ebay alot less, but did not completely stop.

Then this happens, now i have learned, anything over a certain amount, some in paypal, the rest in cash or wire, thats it.

Just did not know this could happen with a item that is picked up.

Now i have learned......

Re: Possible ebay return item lawsuit
 

Sue the guy who stole from you.

Re: Possible ebay return item lawsuit
 

I hope this response is a joke... yea, I'll treat it as so.