Posted on 05/27/2011 12:40:32 PM PDT by Jim Noble
I recently sold a camera on eBay. The buyer was very insistent on 2nd day delivery.
Paid by PayPal yesterday, and I shipped FedEx 2nd business day yesterday.
I sent tracking info to buyer with expected delivery 5/31 yesterday, he responded with thanks and paid extra again thru PayPal for the expedited shipping.
This morning he filed a PayPal claim for nondelivery/not as described. My PayPal account is frozen and, because I already transferred the $$, is overdrawn.
Fortunately, I can still retrieve the camera from FedEx.
It's obvious to me that this is a scam, but how does it work?
What was the buyer’s rating?
I saw this, see answer #2 at bottom
if he had not gotten camera yet how can he file contact p pal security asap
If you use the generic used item script it may be misleading.
if he had not gotten camera yet how can he file contact p pal security asap
I don't think it's a scam, personally. I think the buyer expected to have the camera in-hand today, thought that's what he was buying, and when the camera didn't show up this morning he filed a claim as if you had advertised guaranteed delivery by 5/2 A.M..
Either that, or the buyer bought more than one camera hoping to get it by date x, and planned on shafting the seller of whichever camera arrived 2nd. Try doing an Advanced Search on everything he's bid on in the last couple of weeks. Look for another camera in the results. Years ago I had a bidder do this to me - he had bought three identical items over two weeks for varying amounts(one of them from me, for substantially higher than the others), and filed a claim that mine was of poorer quality than advertised/pictured. I was able to point to the other auctions and descriptions and show what he was trying to do.
I had that thought as well. What if the guy needed a camera for this weekend.
He paid yesterday, and maybe he thought 2nd day would be today, or maybe he didn’t realise FedEx wouldn’t ship saturday. 5/31 may have been too late if he needed the camera for Memorial day.
He might not have realised that before he spoke with you.
So it might not have been a scam.
You missed the whole point - camera hasn’t even been DELIVERED yet - delivery is schedule with FedEx for May 31.
So the description at this point is irrelevant - as the buyer hasn’t even had a chance to see the item.
I have a couple of thoughts on this issue:
1. They buyer legitimately wanted the item... but experienced buyers remorse after paying for the camera + extra shipping?
2. Buyer changed his mind - maybe he found a “better deal”, or decided to go a different “path” - and chose to be dishonest and take the quick way out.
3. The buyer is a scammer - and by requesting 2-day delivery, was hoping the item would be delivered before you could file a complaint or an appeal on the PayPal charge-back.
4. the buyer is a real idiot who didn’t pay any attention to the info you gave them regarding the estimated delivery date... they wanted the camera in 2 days - and next Tuesday is more than 2 days (some folks just don’t understand that FedEx doesn’t deliver on Sunday or many holidays.
Something to consider - did you ship to the PayPal VERIFIED address?
Your appeal should be pretty straightforward, as you have proof (documentation) of the whole exchange - including a “live” tracking page that shows clearly the package in-transit with a delivery estimate.
I don’t believe that a PayPal “charge back” gives the sender their money back immediately. I believe it is held in a kind of “limbo” while PayPal investigates. If you do not respond or appeal - then PayPal will assume the buyer’s claim is valid and will issue the refund.
I would contact eBay’s fraud dept. and give them the whole lo-down, and quickly respond to PayPal as well (do they even operate a phone number???).
And please keep us updated!
In correspondence, he said he needed it by June 2.
Here’s his latest:
“Do not worry paypal made a mistake this has to do with my previous transaction that was not delivered. I have already call paypal. Please do not stop any shipment. Sorry.”-
Scam.
He may have filed on the wrong transaction by clicking the link below the one he intended (bad mousing technique or disabled) and then not noticed it was the wrong transaction and just clicked his way through the process.
Just remember that you need signature confirmation on transactions over $250 and ship to the PayPal provided adress and you’ll be covered by seller protection.
If you didn’t get sigcon on the package and it’s over $250, retrieve it or add the service and make sure that FedEx is absolutely clear that you need sigcon.
Just make sure you’ve covered your bases and it won’t matter if the buyer is a scammer or just confused.
That is not exactly true. Paypal will side with the buyer about 90% of the time regardless of precautions. Most buyers are not scammers, but those who are know that they can pull all sorts of stunts and there is nothing a seller can do.
I’ve heard of scams where the “buyer” sends a check for well over the amount of the item, and tells the seller to not cash the check for some period of time and to “keep the rest for your troubles”. Of course the check is no good. Not sure how this applies to Paypal, since they went to all debit/credit card only.
Is the shipping cost greater than what you sold the camera for?
Hmmmmmm ... wish I had that number!
I had a guy try to scam me on Ebay and it could have been the same guy you’re dealing with.
I stood my ground and won the day, but it took me a year.
Rule Number one: Always have a seperate account for your paypal/ebay transactions. You can close the account when the going gets rough.
I’ve been a powerseller on ebay for 10 years and I have lost exactly ONE dispute so PayPal has been siding with me as the seller about 99% of the time.
Sellers only lose these disputes because they fail to follow the seller protection policy rules (or don’t even know they exist).
Bottom of the page “Contact Us” link. Duh!
866-837-1851
6:00am – 11:00pm CST Monday – Friday
8:00am – 10:00pm CST Saturday and Sunday
For technical questions
1-800-852-1973
My husband had a problem with PayPal and now refuses to purchase through them. If a seller uses PayPal exclusively, he moves on to another seller or doesn’t buy at all. Can’t recall the details, but it had some sort of sleaze factor, with ethical issues.
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