Ponzi scheme type eBay sellers (just a PSA)

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I've been an ebay user (both buyer and seller) for over 15 years now, but I think my buying habits are about to change.

Over the past year or so I have noticed a rise in what appear to be sellers that claim to sell items, but only so they can take your payment and float it until eBay takes action.

For example:

- Seller is offering Item for $50.00 with free shipping, buy it now only. Delivery estimate on item is about 10 days out.
- Buyer purchases Item, sends immediate Paypal payment.
- Seller waits a day or two and then provides a tracking number.
- Tracking number exists in USPS, but never actually updates with status.
- Buyer must wait until the 10th day after making purchase to request eBay intervention.
- Once eBay intervenes, seller has 6 business days to respond. And if you cross a weekend or a holiday period, this could be 8+ days.
- If seller responds at this point, they can offer a refund or I suppose they could "ship it out again" if the buyer were naive. (and the cycle would start all over)

So the time from the date of transaction to when eBay forces a refund could be around 20+ days.

My guess is that these unscrupulous sellers are using this 20 day period to possibly fund prior transactions or to do something unethical with the money.


I've bought from sellers with negative feedback before with no issues, but you'll have to check their last 12 months of negative feedback to see if any of them state that the buyer was not responsive or never shipped the item.

Just an FYI.
 
I have the same feeling .................

I am in South Africa and stuff takes forever to reach here from just about anywhere in the world ............... been bitten by exactly this situation a few times already ............. my cycle time around 45 days + if I catch the [censored]
mad.gif
 
The other thing is the system is really not punitive. The seller just has to refund your money, so the time you lost waiting for the case to be resolved is worth $0.

Additionally, negative feedback isn't exactly a deterrent on eBay anymore. As we see with the Chinese sellers, they just make a new account.
 
I just had a very similar experience with Amazon. Not sure if it’s the same MO but seller cancelled order after tracking went blank after a few days and resent the product. No big money involved but what if?
 
I had one from Amazon that I bought a quart of Lubegard Platinum tranny additive from a third party. When it arrived, it was not in a plastic bag, and the safety seal was not under the plastic cap. It smelled very much bad, and being my initial purchase of Platinum, I did not have a reference sample to tell whether or not it was legit.

I filed a return and the seller responded the same day "I'm refunding your money, don't worry about returning the bottle." He refunded it, but it struck me as odd- if it was legit and he knew it, he would have at least wanted the bottle back at my expense. I dunno... but seemed odd to just write off a $32 purchase and refund the money?
 
I just had the same problem as well, bought a refurbished Sony A5100 from a decent (or so I thought by long term reviews) seller. Shipping was estimated at 7 days, turned out to be business days but ok. Made a label the night I bought it, and nohgint changed for 7 days. Got Amazon involved and they immediately refunded everyhting, and I opened a fraudulent seller case. I checked his more recent reviews and 11 out of 12 were the same scam, made a number with no updates. I guess they hope people forget? I just went with a new one and had it in 2 days, shouldve learned my lesson, even though it was 175$ "more"
 
Originally Posted By: rshaw125
The seller does not get their $ it's held onto for up to a week or more by ebay.


I don't believe that is correct. I have been a regular seller for some time now and once someone purchases a Buy-It-Now item, they pay immediately and the funds go directly to my paypal account. I've even withdrawn those funds to my bank on the same day without issue.
 
I also wish eBay could allow us sellers to do more in regards to protecting ourselves or leaving negative feedback.

There are two instances where I have received negative feedback selling items. Once when a buyer didn't pay after 6 days and I cancelled the order and re-listed it. The buyer then came back and left bad feedback. Its like, "Hey buddy, PAY for the item!".

Another instance, the buyer left me negative feedback because I didn't include a STICKER that would have came with the item new. I DIDN'T even say this used item came with it. I listed what was included only and had USED all over the auction.

eBay support is a joke for helping sellers.
 
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Ebay is no longer the place to buy items for the very reason(s) mentioned.

There are places to buy that are far less hassle-although the price may be (slightly) higher.
 
I sell a lot of gear on eBay. Through Pay Pal monies are taken out/deposited immediately. If there is a problem Pay Pay will hold up monies in an account until the problem is settled..assuming both parties still use Pay Pal. One problem I had was a bought some gear, the seller said they were on vacation for a few days so shipping would be delayed, then they said the item was returned because of delivery problems. Since this was over the holidays I didn't pay much attention..when I told the seller I still had not received the order,the seller said they would again mail the item the same day. Never received the item. Filed a claim with eBay but they refused to do anything because it was over 30 days...Sent me off to Pay Pal where it was resolved quickly
 
Originally Posted By: NormanBuntz
If you're an eBay buyer, first always review the seller's feedback, user history and physical location.


^^This.
 
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Originally Posted By: NormanBuntz
If you're an eBay buyer, first always review the seller's feedback, user history and physical location.


^^This.


Even the location is not even reliable any more. I've had a handful of purchases in the past year ship out from somewhere other than where the listing said the item resided. The sellers in China know that people in the US don't want to wait 3 weeks for their item to arrive, so they claim the item resides in the US. Once you make the purchase and see that the tracking number is international, what can you do? eBay won't intervene.
 
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