I’m a buyer being scammed

[user_25]

Hi Firstly thanks for taking some time to read this.

i sold an item valued at £500, I accepted £425.

the buyer is saying I sent the wrong item.

(they took the original item & replaced it with something else)

i am 100% certain I enclosed the right item.

I am very upset by this, I pride myself on my eBay, I have a wonderful relationship with buyers & sellers. 

eBay have told me to send a return postage label.

I am 100% disputing this.

If I do what eBay have said, does that mean I don’t get paid & the buyer runs off with the original item for free?

[ed_58611]

No. You send a prepaid tracked return label and refund the item after receiving it.

You can also tell eBay that the returned item is not the one you sent should that be the case.

Probably best if you contact eBay CS and explain the situation beforehand and have your concerns noted.

The following link will have eBay call you back free... use it in the morning for best results when you are more likely to get the Dublin centre

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/eua?id=5275&mkevt=1&mkpid

[oldbargainbits]

You are a SELLER being scammed. . Not the first..

[4_bathrooms]

You MUST issue a return label. The returns process is automated; if you don't send a returns label the buyer can escalate the case on the third day. If that happens the buyer will be issued a full refund, told they don't need to return anything and eBay won't be interested.

Once you receive the wrong item back there is a process you need to follow; post here again if you receive a different item back.

What was the item; was a mobile device?

[user_25]

No it was a trading card. It is numbered, 01/10 Yamal Wonderkids, so it is unique….

im so cross with him….

i have phoned eBay and reported him. I have submitted the report via the app too.

ok, I will issue the return postage label.

ive never had this happen before 😔 

[user_25]

Sorry yes I am a seller - I’ve got myself all worked up over it again.

makes me so mad.

[dancewithadingo]

Good Afternoon User25

You have my sympathy. That's one hell of a lot of money to potentially lose. Have a look at your buyers feedback both received and given. It may indicate that they have done something untoward before.

Additionally put the person on your blocked list. The last thing you want is for them to buy anything else and create more problems.

It's always a risk selling high value items,particularly trading cards etc. If you have any more consider carefully before listing them on eBay and think about selling through a specialist auction house.

Good luck

[cradchri]

I sell trading cards too. I'm new to this platform but can the username be shared so we avoid this buyer? 

[user_25]

It’s ironic, I was using eBay to be safe. Have done for years with no problems.

very very upsetting.

i have employed a 3rd party company going forwards, we have had a long chat and any liability will be on them if something like this happens again….

The buyer had 1 negative feedback as a ‘seller’…. However this was 1 out of 50.

I know Karma will come around, but, it’s a very rubbish situation to be in 😔 

[4_bathrooms]

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@cradchri wrote:

I sell trading cards too. I'm new to this platform but can the username be shared so we avoid this buyer? 

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No, it can't. Naming and shaming - or otherwise sharing any personal information - is not allowed on the boards.

[cradchri]

Fair enough. Thought so. Sadly a lot of scum bags in the sports card and pokemon world

[4_bathrooms]

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@user_25 wrote:

i have employed a 3rd party company going forwards, we have had a long chat and any liability will be on them if something like this happens again….

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What exactly will they be doing? Are they underwriting all your sales for a fee or are they going to be listing your items under their own account with you essentially drop shipping for them?

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@user_25 wrote:

The buyer had 1 negative feedback as a ‘seller’…. However this was 1 out of 50.

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The best place to look is usually in the feedback they have left for others. 

[user_25]

We’ve discussed that I send the 3rd party my high value items, they sell on their account, they then keep a % and send me the proceeds.

does this go against eBay standards or something? If it does I will go back to the 3rd party.

I can’t afford to be ripped off, I can’t afford not to sell.

[roger_roger_over_and_nowt]

"I can’t afford to be ripped off, I can’t afford not to sell."

That's a catch .22 situation.

Ebays MBG makes selling a risk.Any buyer can use it to send something different back at sellers

expense for a full refund using "not as described" as the reason.

The returns system is full automated,run by bots.No humans look at it at all and buyer can ask Ebay to step in after 4 working days if seller fails to issue a prepaid label before that time has passed.If that happens Ebay often refund the buyer from sellers account with no requirement to return anything,seller also gets a defect against their account.

If a buyer returns something different the seller can appeal but how that pans out is anyone's guess.

Also,leaving a negative comment under a positive rating can earn a seller a defect each time if buyer reports it.Too many defects can mean withdrawel of selling privileges.

[dancewithadingo]

Good Evening User25

Personally I wouldn't get involved in getting someone else to sell my stuff. It is fraught with danger and problems.  Why don't you source a reputable Auction House that sells trading cards and use them. It's worth paying the commission to let them deal with the whole process including any problems.  This would then  enable you to sleep at night. 

I would think hard and long before you enter into the precarious arrangement of getting another seller to sell for you.

Sell the low value stuff yourself and use an auction house to sell the high value items. 

Good luck, (you might need it)

[smarts-gaming]

That is so silly, dont do that. 

Whats to stop a bad user like this doing the exact same thing to this 3rd party? This 3rd party will not have any kind of back door into eBay. They have no more power over eBay than you do. It sounds like a complete scam to me. 

There are lots of measures in place to prevent scams like this. Do you have a receipt of postage? Does it have a weight on it? Maybe could compare to what he sends back before opening?

You just need to get the "item" back first. Never know could be a misunderstanding and he sends the legitimate article back. If it isnt, then you raise that with eBay. That is exactly what this third party would do... you dont need to pay someone. 

[*vyolla*]

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@user_25 wrote:

We’ve discussed that I send the 3rd party my high value items, they sell on their account, they then keep a % and send me the proceeds.

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What happens if they keep your item and the payment?

[cradchri]

I assume by 3rd party the op is talking about consignment services. Pretty common in this field tbf

[4_bathrooms]

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@user_25 wrote:

We’ve discussed that I send the 3rd party my high value items, they sell on their account, they then keep a % and send me the proceeds.

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Do you only have their word they will send you the proceeds?

There are lots of potential sticky issues with such an arrangement including whether one or both of you would be operating as a business. eBay now has an obligation to report a seller's sales to HMRC once they sell 30 items and/or ~£1,700 in a calendar year; they are also obliged to request such a seller's tax identification number in the process. Is the party who is offering this service to you a business?

[moonlight-rhapsody]

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@user_25 wrote:

(they took the original item & replaced it with something else)

I would keep checking to see if they put your item back on ebay or another ecommerce platform for sale.  If you can positively identify it as yours (a mark, a crease, whatever), you could try contacting ebay again, or even the police as it would be fraud.