I'm about to be scammed on ebay.

soolin

RoyaleMale wrote: »

I do have the IMEI number but even if the buyer did switch the phone, I can't help but feel ebay will still automatically side with him.

I do actually plan on still using ebay as I sell quite a few items. If I were to to say not refund the guy and open a new paypal account ignoring the one that has gone into deficit, I wonder if I could get away with that.

At the moment there seems to be two genuine options to me, accept the return and get a dodgy replacement or fight my corner to the bitter end to which ebay will probably refund him and he'll keep my phone anyway.

It's a lose/lose situation.

If you tried to open a new paypal account with any of the same details or linked to any existing ebay account then they will just use that one to recover their debt. Likewise, if you actually abandoned ebay entirely, even people close to you that share details may be at risk of being 'linked'.

You may well get PMs now about stealth accounts - ignore them, at best you'll limp along on ebay and paypal for a while always looking over your shoulder and wondering when they will catch you and link you.

Brooker_Dave

RoyaleMale wrote: »

I do actually plan on still using ebay as I sell quite a few items. If I were to to say not refund the guy and open a new paypal account ignoring the one that has gone into deficit, I wonder if I could get away with that.

Too hard to do now.

You can either lose the £100, and put it down to bad luck, or keep the £100 and accept the fact that you'll not be able to use ebay/paypal again.

TBH ebay is no longer a place for private sellers or part time sellers, gumtree is for that, it's a minefield and only really suitable for full time business sellers, type of sellers who have to comply with returns anyway.

mrcol1000

Brooker_Dave wrote: »

Too hard to do now.

You can either lose the £100, and put it down to bad luck, or keep the £100 and accept the fact that you'll not be able to use ebay/paypal again.

TBH ebay is no longer a place for private sellers or part time sellers, gumtree is for that, it's a minefield and only really suitable for full time business sellers, type of sellers who have to comply with returns anyway.

So maybe you can tell us where people can sell without being scammed? As there isn't any. Every item you buy or sell online or offline has the potential to end in you being ripped off.

Brooker_Dave

mrcol1000 wrote: »

So maybe you can tell us where people can sell without being scammed? As there isn't any. Every item you buy or sell online or offline has the potential to end in you being ripped off.

Well there are crooks and scammers on all selling platforms, but ebay/paypal have a nasty habit of forcing sellers to refund no matter what the circumstances are.

Phones seem to be a high nightmare when sold on ebay.

Best solution for private sellers is local ads, gumtree or FB selling pages.

Take cash on collection or bank transfer if posted.

Problem solved for high risk stuff like phones, and big collection only stuff.

I know you are going to tell me nothing gets traffic like ebay, but I'd rather sell something locally for less and get it gone, rather than getting bummed by someone via paypal or having some loon from the outer hebradies win the bid on a collection only grand piano in devon.

Dox

RoyaleMale wrote: »

I do have the IMEI number but even if the buyer did switch the phone, I can't help but feel ebay will still automatically side with him.

I do actually plan on still using ebay as I sell quite a few items. If I were to to say not refund the guy and open a new paypal account ignoring the one that has gone into deficit, I wonder if I could get away with that.

At the moment there seems to be two genuine options to me, accept the return and get a dodgy replacement or fight my corner to the bitter end to which ebay will probably refund him and he'll keep my phone anyway.

It's a lose/lose situation.

Not quite a lose/lose - or not yet. Great that you've got the IMEI number. Why not message the buyer to say that is the case and indicate that you will of course be immobilising the phone in case it is 'lost in transit' when he returns it. You may find that it is never returned.

Dox

Brooker_Dave wrote: »

Well there are crooks and scammers on all selling platforms, but ebay/paypal have a nasty habit of forcing sellers to refund no matter what the circumstances are.

Phones seem to be a high nightmare when sold on ebay.

Best solution for private sellers is local ads, gumtree or FB selling pages.

Take cash on collection or bank transfer if posted.

Problem solved for high risk stuff like phones, and big collection only stuff.

I know you are going to tell me nothing gets traffic like ebay, but I'd rather sell something locally for less and get it gone, rather than getting bummed by someone via paypal or having some loon from the outer hebradies win the bid on a collection only grand piano in devon.

Looking at your other posts, you are clearly no fan of ebay/paypal, but for many people - especially those who don't conveniently live in an urban setting - ebay continues to be an excellent trading platform. Why else would so many millions use it, entirely happily? Just because you have had a bad experience doesn't mean others will.

The posts on this forum are here because the buyer or seller has had a problem and either wants help, or just somewhere to air their perceived grievances.

I loathe gumtree and would never use it again, but I don't try to convert others to my way of thinking just because I don't like it - it may well be entirely suitable for them.

Brooker_Dave

Dox wrote: »

Why else would so many millions use it, entirely happily?

Clearly on this board we only hear about the unhappy ones.

But I do think that eBay now makes sellers jump through far too many hoops, and in so many circumstances simply agrees with buyers and refunds them automatically.

RoyaleMale

*Update

I gave the buyer a return label to return the item. I haven't received the item yet and ebay have gone and refunded him.

I thought I was supposed to examine the product first before issuing him with a refund.

Also my ebay account says I owe them the value of the phone even though the payment has been taken from my paypal account, all in all it is a right mess and ebay are a complete joke.

gardner1

RoyaleMale wrote: »

*Update

I gave the buyer a return label to return the item. I haven't received the item yet and ebay have gone and refunded him.

I thought I was supposed to examine the product first before issuing him with a refund.

Also my ebay account says I owe them the value of the phone even though the payment has been taken from my paypal account, all in all it is a right mess and ebay are a complete joke.

So did you show both photos to them and inform them that you had the IMEI number

RoyaleMale

gardner1 wrote: »

So did you show both photos to them and inform them that you had the IMEI number

Yes, I did all of that but buyer still insisted on returning it.

I really don't understand why ebay just went ahead and refunded him.

He is a new member with low feedback, I have been on ebay for over 10 years with not a single negative.

They've basically just sided with the conman.