Anyone been scammed on ebay?
I've bought and sold on ebay for a few years now and had many positive experiences. However, I've recently had a difficult experience and I'm starting to think I've been scammed.
I bought an item that's rare as hen's teeth for close to £80 from a seller with 100% positive feedback. They communicated with me while bidding/buying and assured me the item would be sent quickly with recorded delivery.
That said, they were far from the politest or most helpful seller I've dealt with. Nevertheless, I really wanted the item; and since they had good feedback and the payment was processed through paypal, I thought I was in safe hands.
However, nearly a week has passed and the item has not been sent. The seller hasn't responded to my polite requests to provide postage details either. In other words, the seller doesn't seem interested in communicating now he's taken my money, or indeed in honouring the contract by actually sending me the item.
I know I can open a claim through ebay/paypal buyer protection after a week, but having looked online I've read of numerous bad experiences with this service.
OK, a week isn't that long, but I paid a premium price for this item (its rarity is what's pushed the price up) and I'm starting to get a bad feeling. I've never waited a week for a seller to post an item before; and I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a certain level of service when you've pad through the roof.
Has anyone had a similar experience (and were they able to resolve the problem to their satisfaction). I'd be grateful of any advice on how to proceed.
Hi margetti,
Sorry to hear you had similar problems and glad things were eventually resolved (well, sort of)...
To be honest this experience has soured me on ebay. It's forced me to realise that the ebay feedback system is more than a little flawed. I'd like to leave negative feedback for this "seller." Of course in doing this I'm increasing the probability that this "seller" will leave negative feedback for myself, when all I've done is paid for the item instantly and politely requested that the item be delivered.
If I felt entirely confident that I'll either get the item or my money back, that'd be fine. Scouring the internet and reading a few horror stories has left me feeling nervous, however.
A seller can't leave negative feedback.
If they do leave a positive alongside a Negative comment, this can be removed.
Luckily I have never had anything like this happen to me so far on Ebay (touch wood), however from what I've read Paypal tend to always side with the buyer so you should be OK in getting your money back, though how long it takes I couldn't say.
Recently I sold my old Goldring 1042 cartridge and the winning bid was £185.00. I thought this was a bit suspect because similar examples had gone for around the £100/£120 mark, and a new one is only £235. The buyer had 100% feedback but after the sale I never heard a word from him or received payment despite several messages from me. I went through the Ebay claims procedure, still nothing happened so finally Ebay refunded all the final value sales fees back to me. I eventually did hear back from the buyer who claimed that someone had bid on his behalf without him knowing by accessing his account. Likely story.
The annoying thing for me was that despite being a complete timewaster, and causing loads of hassle I was not able to post any negative feedback against this individual as Ebay did not permit me to. Therefore he is still on Ebay with his 100% feedback and no one is any the wiser.
Another thing that really cheeses me of is when you sell something, do everything right, pack it perfectly, send it immediately, give great communications etc. the buyer doesn't bother giving you any feedback. I know the 100% feedback isn't always what it seems as my example above shows, but anyone reading my feedback going back 3 years or so can clearly see they are not dealing with a chancer or scammer.
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I wouldn't leave negative feedback yet, but just to let you know, sellers are not able to leave negative feedback for buyers anymore. Be patient, don't send any more emails, but if you don't receive either the item or some contact very soon, start a case against the seller through Ebay/Paypal.
Sometimes you feel that the seller is just ignoring your emails, but it could be many things stopping them replying; internet as gone down, they've gone away etc etc
As I said be patient, then open a case if no joy.
anyone reading my feedback going back 3 years or so can clearly see they are not dealing with a chancer or scammer.
You'd like to think so, but in this case there was nothing to indicate this seller was anything other than reliable.
Of course I don't mean to suggest you're an unreliable ebay seller in any way. I'm just pointing out that ebay's feedback system offers no guarantee that a seller will act responsibly.
As you say, it's the hassle that's almost as annoying as the loss.
Thanks for the post! It's reassuring to hear stories where ebay/paypal have compensated for losses (so much of what I've read elsewhere has been to the contrary)...
I wouldn't leave negative feedback yet, but just to let you know, sellers are not able to leave negative feedback for buyers anymore. Be patient, don't send any more emails, but if you don't receive either the item or some contact very soon, start a case against the seller through Ebay/Paypal.
Sometimes you feel that the seller is just ignoring your emails, but it could be many things stopping them replying; internet as gone down, they've gone away etc etc
As I said be patient, then open a case if no joy.
Cheers BBB.
I agree. I'm leaving as is for now. And I wouldn't leave negative feedback before resolution of the problem (whatever that resolution may be). There's no sense in aggravating the situation.
Timing is important, don't leave it too long to open a case. Give it 2 or 3 more postage days, if no item, open a case, 10 days is enough for anyone, even our lovely postal service.
IIRC you can open a case 3 working days after the "estimated delivery date" set by the seller, or 7 days after payment if an estimated delivery date wasn't specified. Best of luck, I'm sure all will be fine, it will just take some time unfortunately.
Timing is important, don't leave it too long to open a case. Give it 2 or 3 more postage days, if no item, open a case, 10 days is enough for anyone, even our lovely postal service.
You should read the terms of service by the Royal Mail because 1st Class Recorded Delivery is not Guaranteed for next working day or indeed within one week. It is however guaranteed within 15 working days believe it or not, i only found out from the recent Watchdog program shown.
If you buy from a decent seller who claims Recorded Delivery ask for the number if they havnt sent it to you, I always send an email letting the buyer know the recorded delivery number, leave them feedback & that the item is posted, it is then down to the post office to sort it or then for you to make a claim after 3 weeks.
10 days is enough for anyone, even our lovely postal service.
Thing is, despite the aggravation, I still really want the item. It's something I've been after for a while now; and it's unlikely to be up for sale again in the near future. I'd rather get it late than be issued a refund, though of course no item and no refund would be completely demoralising.
As you say, best not to push too hard, but it's more than a little galling to pay over the odds yet feel you have to beg to receive the item you've bought. 
As a seller I always post the day after payment is received and keep the buyer updated at all times.
If you buy from a decent seller who claims Recorded Delivery ask for the number if they havnt sent it to you, I always send an email letting the buyer know the recorded delivery number, leave them feedback & that the item is posted, it is then down to the post office to sort it or then for you to make a claim after 3 weeks.
All that assumes the seller has sent the item; and there's nothing to suggest they've done this. They haven't updated the listing to indicate the item has been sent; and they haven't supplied a tracking number, or indeed responded to my email request for information. In short, I've been stonewalled since making payment.
Well i am in the same situation as you at the minute, I’ve bought a 1:43 model from a seller on May 6th & I’ve had no contact with him/her at all. The seller lives in Surrey so not far from Buckinghamshire & on the delivery it says 8 - 10 days so my lead time is coming up for either reporting the item or buyer or both. My item is not marked as dispatched either & my seller has over 3000 positive 100% feedback too. I’ve waited for nearly a month in the past for stuff, so I’m not too bothered yet, i shall attempt an email during the week to see if i get a response.
Well, perhaps I'm too cynical.
The seller posted the item first class recorded delivery at the weekend (and refunded the postage costs by way of apology).
Arrived this morning, leaving me a happy boy!
Cheers for the advice folks, it was much appreciated. My faith in ebay has been restored.
f1only, hope your patience is also rewarded...
I always send an email letting the buyer know the recorded delivery number, leave them feedback & that the item is posted, it is then down to the post office to sort it or then for you to make a claim after 3 weeks.
Sorry I don't agree with that, it's the sellers responsibility to get the item to the buyer safe and sound. If the item goes walk about or gets damaged on route it is the seller who should refund the buyer then claim the money back from courier.
Glad it turned out well for the OP though, unfortunately you can get a bit anxious waiting for something to arrive.
I had my first negative experience on eBay a few weeks ago - item was sent (so the seller assured me) but it never arrived. But that wasn't the main issue - it was the lack of communication and complete apathy of the seller that irked me (he also had 100% feedback so a bit of a surprise). Of the 5 or 6 emails I sent asking for updates, or what was happening, only one was responded to (telling me that "well I definitely sent it").
Ended up opening a case with eBay, which is easy enough but frustrating as all it does is send an email to the seller saying a case has been opened, and you then have to wait 10 days in the hope it will spur the seller to take action. In my case, the seller continued to ignore matters until the day before I could escalate the case for action by eBay. Got an email from eBay saying "if your case isn't resolved you can now escalate it", which the seller would have got also. Lo and behold, a couple of hours later he processed the refund.
All very disappointing as some polite communication would have gone a long way, but I certainly won't be bothering with that seller ever again.
From what I've read you should have no problem getting your money back via Paypal, but note that although they can take money out of your account in an instant without a problem, refunds take over a week to process!
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