I got scammed on ebay please advise

78hawk78 · #1 03-11-2011

Hi everyone,

I am after some advice with an ebay.com sale that I ended up getting scammed on. I was selling an item, which finished selling for £1200. After receiving payment I posted the item to the buyer. When the buyer received the package they instantly contacted me and claimed that the box was empty and I had not sent the item. After many emails the buyer raised a case with ebay which long story short ended up requesting the buyer return the item to me for a full refund. The buyer then sent me an empty box to me recorded delivery. I then appealed saying he had sent me an empty parcel and ebay replied saying they decide in the buyers favour and then ebay refunded the buyer the cost of the item. I didn’t have the money in my paypal account so ebay paid the refund on my behalf. Ebay are now demanding that I pay the £1200 to them. So I have ended up losing out the item and £1200!!!!

Can anyone advise what will happen next, what happens if I don’t pay ebay or anything I could/should do?

Many thanks.

Apologies if this is in the wrong area of the forum.

menaice · #2 03-11-2011

wow that sucks, do you have a picture of the item that is time stamped? i would definilty stay on top of ebay about this and open a case against the buyer. I have never been in that situation but it seems as thou the buyer was out to scam you from the start. I would gather any and all information you have on the item to prove you had owership of it

giles890 · #3 03-11-2011

Hi,

This happened to me years back with a mobile BUT the other way round. I bought a mobile off a buyer. Package received in pristine condition, with nothing in it.

I went to the royal mail and made an official complaint, ended up getting more than i paid.

So to cut it short, im guessing it can be a royal mail issue. Write to them and make an official complaint. Did you insure your item for the value of £1200? Signed for?

78hawk78 · #4 03-11-2011

Thanks for the replies. I can't open a case against the buyer now as the case has already been decided in their favour plus my appeal failed. I gave as much proof as possible to prove that i sent the item including the weight of the parcel to prove it had the item in but ebay still favoured the buyer. I got well and truly scammed.

Does anyone know what happens if I dont pay ebay? Anyone had experience with this?

slapped · #5 03-11-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by 78hawk78

,,,,,,,,,,,Does anyone know what happens if I dont pay ebay? Anyone had experience with this?,,,,,,,,,,

That is a Separate issue, ebay will want to get paid, and Legally they would be entitled,

On the Auction,,,1200, is a Pretty High amount to get Scammed out of,, You Have other Options,,,THE LAW

Remember, Just because Ebay ruled against you, it does NOT Mean that a Court of law will too.

I Do Not Know the Specifics of your Case, but Just from your Post I would Compare the EXACT Weight of the the Package you Shipped (It should be On your Shipping Receipt, the Post office can also get it with the Packages Tracking information) to Weight of the Exact Same box only Empty,

If there was ANYTHING in the shipped box there WILL Be a Difference in Weight DIRECTLY Contradicting the "Empty Box" Claim by the Buyer,,,,See that is the "Beginnings" of your Case, Im SURE That there is Much more,,I would go see a Local District Attorney (or whatever the UK Equivalent is)

Good Luck

rsot · #6 03-11-2011

Any package mailed has a weight stamp usually printed on the shipping cost tag - UNLESS the person was "witty" enough to use only stamps to pay for all the costs. IF he sent it with tracking then YES it must have the weight printed on. As Slapped indicated, that's one way to try and deal with it.

But yes, eb ay will keep hounding you for the money - for this kind of transaction, I would look into some real address-real life tactics including LAW....

giles890 · #7 03-11-2011

Agree with rsot. Every item has to be weighed.

If you sent the item signed for the weight would be input into the 'royal mail machines' this will also show on your receipt. This can be hard evidence!

Show this as proof, if you have binned the receipts you might struggle!

cortex · #8 03-11-2011

"...I have ended up losing out the item and £1200!!!!"

How did you conclude that you ended up "losing" £1200?

1. Before the sale your balance is "£x"
2. Buyer pays you 1200 - you are now "£x + £1200"
3. eBay refunds buyer £1200 - you are now back to "£x"

Sure the £1200 was refunded back to the buyer so you have not "lost" £1200, You have just lost the item.

You have the buyers address so why not go to his house and pay him a *friendly* visit. I did this to a scammer and I got my item back :-)

siccspitz · #9 03-11-2011

You did not get scammed by ebay -

They buyer scammed you.

Heres a tip to avoid this:
Provide a tracking number !!

That way they dont give you the switch - a - roo. !

I provide the tracking number for all my items to show item has been delivered!
If you dont provide a tracking number then they have the option to scamm you back.

In these ways:
Seller never sent item
Item Not as described ( provide a tracking number with empty box )

Those are the ways i know buyers scam since they have the 7 day buyers protection plan.

Buyers cannot open a case until i believe 7 days has passed from original sale.
I usually send my item around the 4-5 day. Time takes about 3-4 days to get there

I state in my auction handling business time is 5 days.

So forcefully i make those buyers protection plan null/void to prevent scammers.
Then i provide a tracking number.

Even then you can still be scammed by the seller but this is one way to reduce the chances of being scammed.

Hope this helps

isitworththestress · #10 03-11-2011

Did you send it tracked?

Do you have the weight on receipt or tracking details?

did they send it back tracked?

Get all info from Royal Mail first Your parcel weight and their parcel weight.

Then why not take it to the small claims court? Just google it for info to see if it is worth it.

I have not tired it but I am sure it would get ebay off your back, as they may not have the right to harass you when legal proceedings have started.

I hope you have your other accounts open, as ebay do not take being embarrassed lightly.