I purchased an iPhone, supposedly sealed / new, from a seller who's feedback indicates that they have only sold mobile phone accessories & DVDs before. If this is a scam, I am wondering what the endgame is for them & how they plan to successfully make off into the sunset with all the buyers money.
Background
- BIN iPhone 8 Plus for a good but not unbelievably cheap price.
- seller also had lots of other iPhone models for sale + an iPad 7th gen & a couple of Samsungs - similar deal, new / sealed, all BIN.
- in each case, the description said by way of explanation: *Seller* HAS PARTNER WITH A LARGE MOBILE PHONE REFURBISHED COMPANY
- purchased & paid on 24th June
I have sent numerous messages since then, often with contradictory or confusing replies. E.g. the listings said the shipping method was normal 2nd Class, I queried this and the reply I got was "Ttackable ups or dpd sorry for late reply" even though they replied within minutes and, today, the item was marked as shipped with a RM tracking ref.
Prior to receiving notification of shipment today, I had been continually stonewalled when asking when it was going to be shipped. If this isn't a scam, then they obviously never had the goods when they put the listings up. Indeed, from keeping an regular eye on their feedback, a seasoned buyer with over 1k+ f/b, left a negative for them this morning with words to that effect... that was then removed for some reason (was unable to see what they had left f/b for, as the f/b was for a Private Listing.
Anyway, after seeing that a tracking number had been uploaded and it was marked as shipped this morning, I asked for the IMEI number since their own listing stated that "IMEI NUMBER WILL BE STORED FOR A TOTAL OF 12 MONTHS AFTER YOU RECEIVED YOUR.ORDER" and this was the reply I received:
Our own couriers will be taking control if the deliveries
As soon the arrive they you will be able to to check the imei before signing the paperwork.
And you can check the phone out also you must provided valid id in the name of the sale
They will call you on.the number you have provided
Regards
***
So now I'm even more confused. They say their own couriers will be delivering yet have supplied a RM tracking ref?
What's the play here if they are scammers? If they have got the money from all the sales sitting in their PayPal, why continue to engage with my queries or do they need to prove delivery before they can move the money?
- Will I be sent an iPhone-sized brick in the post?
- Should I refuse delivery or video the postman walking up the driveway, leaving the package on the doorstep then, without pausing, record opening the package in case what has been sent isn't what it is supposed to be?
- Is this even a thing? I mean, I heard and read about the reverse happening with fraudulent scam buyers returning bricks instead of what was purchased.
- Will I be able to claim back my payment if so & the seller can prove delivery?
- Are fake Royal Mail tracking numbers a thing?
Thanks in advance for any replies.
