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eBay does not protect sellers - Scammed by a buyer
Summary: The discussion concerns the issue of how eBay does not adequately protect sellers, with ccclaudio1212 feeling cheated by a buyer. Other participants, such as marioelegio and cizeta1964, seem to be involved in the dialogue, but the specific details of their responses are not provided.
Hello everyone, I’m asking for support about what happened to me, and I’ll try to be as clear and brief as possible.
I put up for sale a vintage PC monitor, even posting a video of it working properly, which shows that it turns on normally. In the listing I specified that I do NOT provide the cable because I don’t have one, that I do not accept returns, and that I’m selling the product exactly as described.
A buyer, who registered on eBay the same day of the sale, as soon as he received the package, left me negative feedback right away without even discussing it first, and wrote to me that it is faulty.
He sends me photos where the monitor is on, and I point out that the cable he is using is an old “COM” cable from old analog MODEMs; I tell him that cable is not suitable. I try via chat to find a solution to meet him halfway, he opens a return request for an item received defective (which is not true from the photos he himself sent) and then out of nowhere disappears for days and no longer პასუხs to my messages. I called eBay support over and over, even to open a dispute, but I didn’t solve anything; they always told me I had to wait until day X to open a dispute and that these reports are handled by eBay US.
Out of nowhere the buyer opens the dispute against me, writes to me that he couldn’t respond because he was sick, and meanwhile his technician OPENED the monitor and found that the monitor’s “oscilloscope” is faulty.
I pointed out that the oscilloscope is a measuring instrument and not a component of the monitor, both to the buyer and to eBay....
This is plain and simple fraud, I have no doubt, and for sure I won’t get my item back, or if I do it won’t be intact; I assume anyone would think the same way as me. In all this, even if eBay receives the return, it does not guarantee me payment in any case, but at most I can make a “claim”
Getting to the point, from what I was told I MUST accept the return, pay the return shipping costs and the selling fee to eBay. But are we kidding?
Now I’d like to understand:
How does eBay protect the seller? I see no kind of protection for those who sell!
What course of action do you recommend I take so I don’t lose the item I sold?
I was always told that eBay reads the chats and evaluates them, but if they read my chat either they don’t understand anything or they’re just blind.
How can I proceed to block this kind of wrong claim?
Thanks everyone for your attention and help.
ccclaudio1212
OP1 year agoHello again,
Even though I disagree and maybe I could even be wrong, I’ll take the sales rules you provided as valid.
I’ll narrow it down: the buyer posted 2 photos of the working monitor in chat, and also wrote that they opened it.
How can they make a return writing "not working"?
I’ll add... you want to make a return? ok.... If a faulty product arrives to me, and I’m an HONEST person, I make the return and put it back in the same box exactly as it arrived, waiting for the seller to create the label, I do NOT grab the screwdriver and open it.
I’m just summarizing and replying to the points you rightly indicated, but I could point out and document above all what I’m writing.
cizeta1964
Mentore1 year agoI recommend following what Mario told you and eBay's rules, no matter how absurd the latter may seem.
Have the buyer return the item to you within the time frame set by eBay and at your expense; it's also possible that they may find it too "annoying" and change their mind, keeping it, and at that point goodbye to any refund from you.
Because if the buyer does not return it within the prescribed time, they lose every right, and of course you only have to refund after you have the item back.
ccclaudio1212
OP1 year agoHi, I’m not here to argue what is right to do or not.
I believe that ebay does NOT protect sellers in cases of obvious and provable FRAUD.
There is NO guarantee for the seller who accepts the return and then ends up with a damaged item because it was opened by the buyer, or even a “brick”.
ccclaudio1212
OP1 year agoI'll add to the previous one:
Regardless of the rules to follow for a return (logical or totally nonsensical), I'd be grateful if someone could tell me what advantages a seller has and where eBay protects them based on what's written.
I'm probably wrong, but I don't see any way out. no protection
ccclaudio1212
OP1 year agoThanks first of all,
I tried in vain to reach an agreement with the buyer to avoid the return, but I got no response at all (they disappeared). Unfortunately, finding a compromise is not possible..
Support told me (their words):
I receive the return, open the package, find (or don't find) the sold item damaged and/or opened, immediately file a complaint, and it is NOT certain that I will be refunded.
That, to me, is absurd.
ccclaudio1212
OP1 year agoHi and thanks for the reply. I don’t really agree about the video issue, but let’s move on..
- The buyer in chat sent 2 photos of the monitor turned on and working as described... I called support at least 10 times and made that clear.
I’m a private individual selling something used, I had read and anyway written in the description that I do not accept returns.
The buyer is obviously taking me for a ride and EBAY is doing nothing to stop it.
As a seller I do not feel protected at all. Someone with even a minimum of technical knowledge, if they had read the chat and seen the photos, would have sided with me, but that did not happen.
marioelegio
Mentore1 year agoI assure you that I have technical expertise, but I don't agree with you.
Phrases like sold as seen or no returns accepted are clauses that go against the law and, as such, are considered unfair and have no value in distance sales.
As a private seller, you can refuse a return only if the buyer changes their mind. You cannot refuse the return if the reason is that what the buyer received does not conform.
hi
mario
marioelegio
Mentore1 year agoYou say the claim is wrong, but you have no proof in your favor.
Don’t talk about videos, because they aren’t even taken into consideration (you can easily make a video of one item and then send a second faulty one).
From the chat it only emerges that the item was opened and maybe this can save you; try contacting eBay customer service and try insisting on this detail.
If, despite this, they side with the buyer, you’re out of luck. You’ll have to take back the item at your own expense and fully refund the buyer. These are the (legal) rules that govern distance transactions on all platforms.
hi
mario