Locked
Discussion interactions are currently paused.
Fraud by buyer
Summary: The discussion concerns a situation in which the author, 56vd9_33, was scammed by a buyer. 56vd9_33 seems to be looking for advice or support on how to handle the situation. Another participant, marioelegio, replies, but the details of the reply are not provided.
Hello to all eBay Italy users,
I'm asking for help to understand how to deal with a blatant scam by a buyer.
I put a 5090 graphics card up for sale, setting on eBay the explicit request that it be sold within the European community.
Note that I am not a professional seller, I have only bought 3 items on eBay; my details are real (linked to my Apple account, real first and last name, contact details given are the ones on my ID card).
I made a video while packing the card for shipment, and you can even see my face in the video.
I told the buyer in chat that I am not a professional seller and I always replied promptly.
Shipped with an eBay label, spending money too because I insured the parcel due to its value and requested adult signature on delivery.
What the buyer did: he says I sent a bag of rice (with original box, original cables and original card support...); he posts photos that are clearly fake (for example, I put two cards with the eBay invoices and the original one for the card in my name; in his photos that supposedly "prove" the unboxing, the cards are not in the order I put them in and you can see that in my video). Clearly he did not make a video of the unboxing, only posted photos.
also, another strange thing: in my chat with him, he started changing the account name and now if I try to click on the name to see his info, it says he is no longer registered).
Another strange thing: I called eBay support and they told me the purchase took place on the eBay USA platform even though I had expressly asked that the purchase take place within the European community so I would be protected by EU laws.
Right now, as eBay advised, I am waiting the days to appeal and prove that every single word of the almost 100 messages we exchanged is true (I know you don't know me, but I am writing in complete sincerity). I am confident that everything will be resolved in my favor, but I would like to know if anyone has had a similar experience and can advise me best.
Thank you all
56vd9_33
OP1 year agosorry: adding
I can no longer contact him in chat (I write but he doesn't reply / I don't know if he blocked me).
however, I can still write in the chat of the "return case" and there I explicitly said that I take responsibility for my words and for the fact that I am telling the truth and I kindly asked him to do the same (e.g. you have a video, you are the person to whom I sent the cards, the account is not fake).
also, I am prepared to take legal action if necessary: I don't care about the money (fortunately it's not 2k that changes my life) but I want to protect my name (my real details are on eBay) and I don't want to let a scammer win.
Thanks everyone
marioelegio
Mentore1 year agoUnfortunately, these are the risks you run in all distance sales. Most buyers are honest, but if you run into a bad actor it’s hard to come out unscathed.
The EU restriction applies to the shipping address; many countries don’t have their own eBay, and some users sign up on ebay.com.
As for the dispute, I hope they rule in your favor, but know that the odds are very low. If there are no procedural errors, they will rule in the buyer’s favor. The person deciding has no way of knowing which of the two is lying, and the videos aren’t even taken into consideration (given how easy they are to manipulate).
The same thing applies to any distance sale, regardless of the platform chosen.
bye
mario
56vd9_33
OP1 year agothanks for the reply Mario.
Today the scammer withdrew the refund request. I bombarded him with questions and confirmations in chat (his account is now reported as blocked by eBay) and at some point he started talking about PayPal, asking for my personal contact details such as email and mobile number and more. Now he’s disappeared. The payment from eBay is reported as blocked until June 22 (as per the procedure, from what I understand). We’ll see what happens. I’ve already contacted lawyer friends to understand how to proceed and take it all the way. I’m waiting and hoping I won’t have any surprises on June 22.
56vd9_33
OP1 year agoJust to update the forum in the hope that it can be helpful to other users.
The scammer, as I wrote before, initially withdrew the return request from eBay and then disappeared from the site itself (user no longer registered).
He then opened a payment dispute with his financial institution (I assume Pay-pal).
I had to respond to the dispute; I was only able to upload 1.75MB of supporting material for my position (so no video). I managed to make collages of photos from the video, attached all the documents and other material.
Today the response arrived and the financial institution ruled in my favor (eBay had already applied the seller guarantee in any case).
After this horrible experience I advise everyone to use eBay shipping services, make videos, bombard the buyer with messages during the return request phase and save chats and "strange requests".
Also, I even reported him to the postal police and I am evaluating with my lawyer whether to declare myself an injured party.