Think I'm getting scammed on ebay/paypal

mrudman

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 3, 2008
Messages
1,560
Last week one of my auctions ended for an item I was selling... was paid for the item 2 days later, and shipped it out that day. I got an e-mail from the buyer 3 days later that the item had arrived damaged (it's a plastic refugium for aquariums, and the buyer states there is a crack down the side). I packaged it very well imo.. using bubble wrap and newspapers.

That same morning, he opened a dispute through paypal (think it was even before he had e-mailed me saying it was cracked), so now paypal has withdrawn the money back out of my account and won't get that back until the dispute is closed.

I sent it by priority mail with insurance.. so once I told the buyer that we needed to file an insurance claim with the P.O., he e-mailed me the next day stating that he had taken pictures of the crack, taken the item to the P.O., they had kept it, to inspect the item and the packing contents to determine if it was packed right.. and the claim could take up to 180 days to resolve.

Is this sounding proper? in terms of time-frame? At this point, the buyer still does not have the insurance claim # or receipt #, so would the post office in fact keep the item without that info?

I had asked him in my original e-mail when I told him to file the insurance claim to cancel the dispute through paypal since it was a P.O. issue now, but he is refusing to do that until the post office refunds the money.

Just trying to determine if this person is scamming me or not.. I have e-mailed him back stating that I am surprised that they kept the item with no proof of mailing or inurance receipts, and have asked him to e-mail me pictures of the damaged item.

Is there anything else I should be doing right now? Does all the information that he is saying sound like something they would do?

Thanks for any help! Just trying to determine what my next step should be.
 
I would call the post office with your tracking info, insurance number, etc, to make sure he's actually taken it there. They should also be able to answer your questions about the claim.
 
I would assume that info on the label is all they would need in order to see that it was insured. As far as the 180 days goes, yes, they take forever to do anything in my mind. Not worth buying insurance anymore through them.

Hope this gets resolved. I can see why he wouldn't drop the paypal dispute but I know it is frustrating. Paypal always sides with the buyer it seems too so hopefully he'll be honest and pay you again when/if the PO refunds.
 
I hate to say it but I do not think he will be honest. What a scam this could be.

Buy item, seller sends item and insures it, buyer receives item and breaks it, buyer takes item to PO to file claim on the insurance and disputes with paypal, buyer ends up with money he spent to begin with with paypal and money from PO for Insurance......


Too bad people can not just be honest these days.
 

Paypal is worthless to sellers. I sell and I hate that paypal is all you can use these days. Between fees and no seller protection whatsoever, it's almost not worth it.
 
I dont even do ebay anymore. I hear so many people with good feedback, but one time is enough for me. I bought trading cards for my kids. They seller had more than one account and was bidding against everyone else, thereby jacking the price up. He had more than one auction at one time. In the end, he got lots of money from many of us and sent nothing. His paypal account had a whole $24 which I got (which was 1/2 of my paid price). I never saw a penny more. I'm sure others got zero. Scam me once. That is it. Now, I don't bother. I'd rather deal local.

OP: I almost wonder, if the buyer already had that same pump and was buying yours for their replacement. So, there might likely be a crack.. from the original one. Either way, I dont think you'll ever know. Unless you can see maybe that the pump is 'worn'? But, prove it. One idea for the future might be to take digital images (since they dont cost anything). Take pictures of the item out of the box then in the box and packaged to go, etc. Then, when you tell the person it is coming.. you send the picutres to.. sorta to say.. I'm prepared :) .
 
I'm really sorry this is happening to you and hope it's resolved quickly. Postal insurance is the seller's responsibility and benefits only the seller. As a seller it's frustrating, but you are required to deliver the item in condition described in your listing. The USPS claim should be filed by you and payment sent to you, your buyer shouldn't have to wait 3-6 months for payment.

I sell a good bit and have been hit by a couple dishonest bidders in the past, but usually those are the ones who claim the item never arrived or file a cc chargeback and "neglect" to return the item. If your bidder really doesn't have the item any longer and you can verify that, he deserves a prompt refund.

I wouldn't expect him to close the paypal claim until he receives a full refund as that would prevent him from re-opening it in the future if no money is forthcoming. It's sad but paypal will side with the buyer and refund the money upon review so I usually just give in and refund it before that becomes neccessary.

Ironically, if he'd posted here that the item arrived broken, I suspect many dis-ers would have been telling him that the seller sounded dishonest and to open a paypal claim right away to protect himself. I guess it's all a matter of perspective but I try to assume most folks are basically honest until the evidence points otherwise...
 
Thanks for all the replies! I understand where you're coming from that this is my responsibility, but not really sure what I'm expected to do at this point. I have pictures of the item before I packed it, but I know those pics aren't going to help at all at this point.

Guess I'm just a little confused why his post office took it in the first place. On their webpage, I looked up how to file an insurance claim, and it would be me initiating it, showing them the insurance receipt, and they would contact the buyer to bring the item to his P.O. on his side to show that it was indeed damaged.

I'm already out the money I received for it, since paypal took that money back.. so if I refund any money, I'd be out twice the amount now. And there's no saying it was even damaged.. he has not e-mailed me any pictures of the damaged item, or any confirmation he took it to the P.O.

Guess I'll just wait and see if/when he e-mails me back as to what the next step will be.

Thanks again for all the help!
 
If he took pics of the damnage then he should be willing to show you. Also he should be willing to show Paypal/ebay the receipt from the post office stating that he took the item to them and left it. They give receipts for EVERYTHING there..even one stamp purchases. I would fight it and say if he is willing to show proof of this than oyu are willing to take a loss but otherwise it should be up to him to prove it was broken.
I was a buyer who was scammed.....I bought an autographed basketball for my son....winning bid was 65$. I got zilch....up to that point he had great ratings. Found out later that in that last month he has 28 buyers who got no items and he was no longer posted as a seller. And they said he had previously had accts in other store names...we got nowhere with it.
 
I've had that happen to me, that an item I bought break and yes, the PO does keep the item (I opted to keep it).

As someone said, they should have a reciept from the PO as well as e-mail you the pictures.

By the way, one of the worst offences one can do in the US is mail fraud (punishment is harsher than 3rd degree murder).
Just FYI.
 
Insurance when offered in the auction, may be requested by the buyer (and either offered FREE to them or paid by them) but the SELLER is the one that PAYS for it upfront (I use ONLINE USPS mailing labels) , thus SELLER is the purchaser and must file the claim. Not sure why this has not happened here?

Just want to wish you luck.....Paypal is NO support to sellers......I no longer sell much on ebay, very infrequent as they have truly gone crazy with policy changes and its simply not worth it to ma anymore...Better off FEE FREE on craigslist,.........
 
Do you have the receipt for the insurance you paid for? Go to YOUR Post Office. Tell them what happened and that the recipient says HE filed a claim but YOU paid for the insurance and want to be sure YOU are receiving the funds. They should investigate for you.
 
he should not be able to file an insurance claim without all the proper documentation. You have that. I really think you are being scammed. I sell on ebay a lot, and I always do tracking and insurance to cover my own butt just in case. Go to your post office today.
 
Insurance when offered in the auction, may be requested by the buyer (and either offered FREE to them or paid by them) but the SELLER is the one that PAYS for it upfront (I use ONLINE USPS mailing labels) , thus SELLER is the purchaser and must file the claim. Not sure why this has not happened here?

[\QUOTE]

In my experience with the USPS the RECIEVER has to file the claim without sending the product back.
 
Insurance when offered in the auction, may be requested by the buyer (and either offered FREE to them or paid by them) but the SELLER is the one that PAYS for it upfront (I use ONLINE USPS mailing labels) , thus SELLER is the purchaser and must file the claim.

Just wanted to point out that, as of last month, sellers could no longer offer optional insurance or charge extra for it. Shipping insurance MUST BE INCLUDED in the bid price of EVERY EBAY ITEM NOW per ebay's constantly changing "new & improved buyer-friendly marketplace" guidelines for sellers. :sad2:

I've included insurance for a couple years now on all my auctions - usually self-insuring unless it's fragile or over $50 - after discovering that according to paypal I was responsible anyway. The change requiring insurance didn't change the way I do business, but it's still insulting to no longer have a choice in the matter. :headache:
 
I've dealt with a similar issue - the person who PURCHASED the insurance is the one who gets refunded. The buyer will have to help out though by showing packaging, etc and signing a form as well.
 
That exact thing happened to me! I thought it was strange that he asked me to purchase shipping insurance on it, then it ended up getting "destroyed" in the shipping! It was a $200. item and I found out that it was the same types of items that he sells on his ebay page! So, he could have replaced some broken items he had, with my items in excellent condition and then still get the $200 back from the Post office. I think it was a scam, but luckily paypal ended up putting the money back into my account, since he filed an insurance claim with the post office. I would love to know if this is the same guy! Your story sounds exactly like mine! PM me and let me know his name, if you don't mind. If it is the same person, maybe something can be done about him!

Audra Cooper
 
That exact thing happened to me! I thought it was strange that he asked me to purchase shipping insurance on it, then it ended up getting "destroyed" in the shipping! It was a $200. item and I found out that it was the same types of items that he sells on his ebay page! So, he could have replaced some broken items he had, with my items in excellent condition and then still get the $200 back from the Post office. I think it was a scam, but luckily paypal ended up putting the money back into my account, since he filed an insurance claim with the post office. I would love to know if this is the same guy! Your story sounds exactly like mine! PM me and let me know his name, if you don't mind. If it is the same person, maybe something can be done about him!

Audra Cooper


Can you tell me what you did to have paypal return the money to you? How did they know a P.O. claim had been filed?
 


Disney Vacation Planning. Free. Done for You.
Our Authorized Disney Vacation Planners are here to provide personalized, expert advice, answer every question, and uncover the best discounts. Let Dreams Unlimited Travel take care of all the details, so you can sit back, relax, and enjoy a stress-free vacation.
Start Your Disney Vacation
Disney EarMarked Producer






DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest DIS Tiktok DIS Twitter

Add as a preferred source on Google

Back
Top Bottom