topic Re: Scammed by buyer.. Help in Member To Member Support

Scammed by buyer.. Help

stepow_5039 — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 15:03:49 GMT

My son sold a Pokemon card which was graded via online auction. Buyer purchased and paid then immediately raised a Item not as described claim saying the card was not perfect when the card was in a sealed package from professional grading company labelled as perfect. No EBay have taken th emoney back from my sons bank and the buyer has kept the card. Should we just report this to the bank as fraud?

Re: Scammed by buyer.. Help

jckl1957 — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 15:11:25 GMT

This is not a situation where the bank can intervene.

If the buyer opened a return case stating the item was 'not as described', then your son should have accepted the return, even if he didn't agree with it.

Ebay don't see the item and they do take the side of the buyer.

If your son did not accept the return and didn't provide a label promptly, then the buyer can ask Ebay to step in.

What inevitably happens then is that Ebay refund the buyer from the seller's funds and tells the buyer they don't need to return the item.

Your son should communicate with the buyer and ask them to return the item.

Your son would have to provide a label or postage for the buyer. As far as Ebay are concerned, the buyer does not have to return the item or reply to the seller.

Re: Scammed by buyer.. Help

stepow_5039 — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 15:20:36 GMT

Thanks for your reply.

The value is almost £1000 so obviously losing both the item and the money is ridiculous. I have spoke to Action Fraud who have said this is a case they can investigate. Seems like this is too easy for scammers.

Re: Scammed by buyer.. Help

papso22 — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 15:34:47 GMT

I can't see the fraud.

Your buyer exercised their right to use the money back guarantee.

You refused to accept the return.

Ebay did what they always do in this situation, refunded with your money and told the buyer to keep the item.

Had you accepted the return and received something back other than the card you sent, then there would be grounds for fraud and we would have suggested a report to Report Fraud, as AF is now called.

Re: Scammed by buyer.. Help

stepow_5039 — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 15:40:34 GMT

Papso I dont disagree with what your saying its more that disagreeing with the buyer as Item not described when a 3rd party has validated its exactly as described surely isnt just grounds for immediate refund by EBay. Unfortunately for casual sellers its not common knowledge to immediately accept the dispute as EBay wont really investigate

Re: Scammed by buyer.. Help

papso22 — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 15:50:05 GMT

It's a common misconception amongst sellers that they have a right to contest item not as described returns.

They don't, and it can be an expensive lesson, as here.

You are now faced with trying to get the card back from the buyer, but that has to be achieved outside ebay.

Re: Scammed by buyer.. Help

jckl1957 — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 15:51:24 GMT

Even if you plan to go to Action Fraud, I would absolutely still advise any seller to accept the return, provide a label and get the item back.

Your son could have sent the buyer a different card - his case is, I think, quite hard to prove. He has neither the card nor the payment. If he had accepted the return, he would at least, hopefully, have the card back to sell again.

Good luck with Action Fraud though.

All sellers should be fully aware of the Money Back Guarantee and its implications for sellers.

Ebay state:

I don't accept returns, why am I getting a request from the buyer?

Buyers can always submit a return request, even if your returns policy says you don't accept returns. Whether you need to accept the return depends on their reason for opening the return.

If the buyer is asking to return the item because it's damaged, faulty, or didn't match your listing description, then you need to accept the return. If they've opened the return for another reason, for instance if they ordered the wrong item or changed their mind, then you aren't required to accept the return – however, where possible we always suggest providing a great customer experience.

The onus is not on the buyer to prove the item is not as described.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/selling/managing-returns-refunds/handling-return-requests?id=4115

Re: Scammed by buyer.. Help

stepow_5039 — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 15:51:45 GMT

How can you do that outside of Ebay?

Re: Scammed by buyer.. Help

papso22 — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 15:52:36 GMT

You need to find the buyer's address and write to them.

Re: Scammed by buyer.. Help

stepow_5039 — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 15:58:11 GMT

Thanks for your replies. I was curious to understand if this is common as this buyer seemed to know exactly what to say. They raised the dispute immediately on receipt of goods from the tracking times and disputed that the image was misaligned (which is not what the professional grading company said) not that the item was incorrect. Obviously my son rejected on the grounds this wasnt possible.

Re: Scammed by buyer.. Help

jckl1957 — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 16:05:37 GMT

I am not quite sure what you are asking?

It is very common for buyers to open 'not as described' cases.

I would assume that anybody who is willing to spend such a huge amount on an item with no intrinsic value would be something of an expert, and would expect absolute perfection.

Not finding it, they asked to return the item. Even a professional grading company can get things wrong.

Ebay has a brief and specific list of reasons for opening a return.

Unless Pokemon cards have their own set of reasons, I would guess the buyer choose the fairly generic 'not as described in the listing' and added 'image misaligned' to any notes.

Re: Scammed by buyer.. Help

*vyolla* — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 16:16:13 GMT

@stepow_5039 wrote:

Thanks for your reply.

The value is almost £1000 so obviously losing both the item and the money is ridiculous. I have spoke to Action Fraud who have said this is a case they can investigate. Seems like this is too easy for scammers.

I can't see Report Fraud (new name for what used to be known as Action Fraud) investigating this, it's a reporting website and there's no proof of any criminal activity on the buyers part anyway. They opened an eBay return for an item that's not as described and got a full refund. Unfortunately, because you didn't accept the return they've also ended up with the card, and you need to focus on getting this back.

Re: Scammed by buyer.. Help

stepow_5039 — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 16:17:28 GMT

I was asking is there anything we can do to either dispute the refund or get the item back now that EBay have already taken the money back

Re: Scammed by buyer.. Help

jckl1957 — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 16:22:24 GMT

There is an appeals process when Ebay refund on your behalf.

How to appeal a case

You can appeal cases that were "closed without seller resolution" from the transaction defect report in your Seller Dashboard.

See your closed cases