Have you been scammed on Ebay???

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by Chris_G, Jul 13, 2015.

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  1. R. Totale

    R. Totale The Voice of Reason

    How much "buyer protection" does your local newspaper provide if you buy something out of the classifieds and have a problem?
     
  2. Raynie

    Raynie Hyperactive!

    Location:
    Snortland, Oregano
    In last year I've returned or gotten big discount on at least 75% from fleabay/discogs. I won't say scammed because I got money back but often had to pay return ship. I am done except rare cases, internet sucks and I feel bad for anyone who must use it for buying used vinyl.
     
    Last edited: Aug 2, 2015
  3. Black Moon

    Black Moon Member

    Buying something out of classifieds from a local newspaper is very different than buying on eBay. You don't blind buy from the classifieds and have it shipped to your house. You get to go to the person's house or whatever and buy it from them personally. Not only does the item not get "lost", you get to actually examine the item personally.
     
  4. rjp

    rjp Senior Member

    Location:
    Ohio
    scammed? no, but i did have a problem with a guy being the high bidder and then not paying for quite a long time. it took a whole hell of a lot of emails and threats to get my money, and no i did not mail the disc until i got it. he kept telling me the "check was in the mail".
     
  5. R. Totale

    R. Totale The Voice of Reason

    Sure, but I still don't see where it's the advertising medium's place to protect the buyer. I bought X-Ray Specs and a ventriloquism kit from an ad in the back of a comic book, and while neither worked out I never considered complaining to Marvel.
     
  6. eddiel

    eddiel Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    Ebay needs bidders and buyers so offering buyer protection makes sense, this is why ebay has decided it is it's place to protect buyers. It's not the same business model as Marvel comics.

    Even auction houses like Sotheby's offers some guarantee that the products they are auctioning are indeed as claimed.

    What would be interesting to see some statistics between how many sellers are ripped off vs buyers ripped off. I doubt we'll ever get data like that but it would be interesting.
     
  7. eddiel

    eddiel Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    As a sometime seller on ebay it does worry me that I might get ripped off so I can understand how honest sellers might feel. I've never been ripped off but I wouldn't use my experience as some guide as I buy a lot more than I sell by a wide margin.

    As a buyer I try and be reasonable when things don't go well. There have been times where lps were over graded and I accepted a partial refunded knowing I could sell the item locally to a used lp store and break even. If I paid $30 all in, and I can sell it for $15, I'll take $15 as a refund. I don't need the hassle of having to use my lunch to go to the post office. In severe cases or high priced items I'll usually send it back.

    I never ask for a partial refund though. I wait for the seller to offer in case they think I might be pulling a fast one to get a discount. I also take photos and videos (if required) of the issues and send them to the seller. I figure if I'm going to claim not as described I should make some attempts at proving it.

    I've bought lps that, almost two months later, had not arrived. The seller gave me a refund and I promised them I would pay them if the record ever showed up and when they did, some a month later, I contacted them and paid them. No reason to not pay in my opinion.

    But there some real nasty sellers out there who, no matter how nice you are, automatically react with anger and disbelief when you email them with a problem.

    Awhile back I bought a sealed lp and when it arrived it was a different pressing to the one listed (he had pictures). I contacted the seller and he told me he used a photo he got off the net. He refused to refund me and said if I wasn't happy with his decision I should file a claim with ebay. I was shocked at his reaction. I would happily have worked something out. I did what he asked knowing that ebay would side with me, which they did. I don't think he thought they would.

    Another seller charged me for shipping with tracking and insurance. After 6 weeks the item didn't arrive so I asked him for the tracking details. He at first said he was away and would get them to me when returned home in a week. A week later, he said he lost the tracking details. He offered a refund but I told him let's give it another week as I thought it was worth a shot. A week later nothing arrived and he sent me a refund. Except not a full refund. He said the lost item wasn't his problem and I should make a claim with Royal Mail. Well 1) I can't because I'm not the sender and 2) he lost the ****ing tracking number so I couldn't claim even if I could! He expected me to suffer because he lost the tracking number. Of course I made a claim through ebay and received the rest of my money. It turns out that he never sent it with tracking and insurance though. I was going through the messages we sent to each other and in one of them he mentions his other items and then wrote "This time I won't forget to send it with tracking and insurance". I missed it the first time I read the message.

    On the other hand, one seller, was very nasty when I told him the record he said was pressed on vinyl was actually pressed on styrene (I asked him to double check). He refused to believe me. I had to file a claim, sent it back and he sent me a note with $20 for the return shipping. He apologised and said I was indeed correct and he should've checked properly and learnt something from this situation. I still look at his listings as I'll still buy from him. He was honest. Just made a mistake and he owned up to it.
     
    Gumboo likes this.
  8. R. Totale

    R. Totale The Voice of Reason

    Actually, they don't.

     
  9. Black Moon

    Black Moon Member

    Then who's place is it to protect the buyer? There are some underhanded sellers out there that make their living on scamming people and in ways that even the smartest buyer may not realize until it's too late. If there's no buyer protection, then seller's would keep getting way with scamming buyers. If, for example, an item never arrives because a seller scammed a person, the seller should be held accountable. If ,for example, the item being sold is not as described and condition very different than what was shown, then the seller should be held accountable. If, for example, the item sold by a seller is a counterfeit and it is being passed off as original and the seller is refusing to give a refund when requested, then the seller should be held accountable. The seller shouldn't get away with scamming because it isn't "the advertising medium's place to protect the buyer". In the early days of eBay, there was no buyer protection and sellers could get away with almost anything and there was so much scamming going on that eBay was getting a reputation for it. The only people who favor this the sellers who like to scam people or like getting one over on a buyer or basically like being able to sell something dishonestly and getting away with it.
     
    Last edited: Aug 4, 2015
  10. eddiel

    eddiel Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    Can you link to a source? I found a pdf which explains their guarantee. I'll need to dig it out when I get home.
     
  11. R. Totale

    R. Totale The Voice of Reason

    I got it from putting "Sotheby terms sale" into Google and following the first PDF link which is too complicated a URL to post here. Try it yourself.
     
  12. Stump

    Stump Forum Resident

    Location:
    Adelaide Australia
    I was scammed by a seller from Poland buying X2 early model phones for $1000US.Scammer used a friends account and stretched the delivery date 3 months well past the Paypal refund dispute time limit.After a few threats of sending around the Polish police I rung my bank (ANZ) which has the visa card connected to paypal and they reversed the money leaving it up to the scammers friend to dispute the payment.He agreed with the return of the money and asked me not to send the Polish Police!
    Goes to show just don't rely on Paypal protection.
    Stump
     
  13. eddiel

    eddiel Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    I found yours as well as mine and both from the same site. Bizarrely the one I found early had the part you quoted missing so I never saw it. I see the "as is" part now. But they later in the same document go on to mention a guarantee, which covers a buyer up to 5 years after the sale. I even found a case from a few years ago where they were sued as the guarantee they offered turned to be false. It's all a bit confusing really.

    But for the sake of ease, let's agree that there is no guarantee. The point comes down to trust and whether buyers feel safe. There is trust that exists between buyers and the auction house. If they accepted anyone's claims without doing any due diligence (and they do perform some due diligence) then there would be no trust. So despite no guarantee, if that's really the way it works, they do offer something to buyers to make them feel safe.

    Ebay might not be legally responsible to provide buyers with protection but it certainly makes sense that they do provide it so buyers are more likely to use ebay.
     
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