eBay scammer took $600 from me; eBay suggests cotton-candy flavor energy drinks
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Anecdotal, but once I sold a GPU to a buyer (which I knew was working), who reported it as defective. He initiated a return and I accepted, as is part of the normal selling process. I then randomly received a toe ring from Amazon addressed to someone that was not me but at my address (luckily it was the name of my parents' dog, so I held onto the package). The buyer then called ebay and said the return was complete and provided the tracking to show it was delivered to me.
I was made aware of this when I got an email saying that the return was complete and the buyer had been refunded. I called ebay to dispute it, since I hadn't received a package. I looked up the posted tracking number, and it represented a shipment from FL to me (PNW) whereas I sent the gpu to NY. It also said the package was 1 lbs, which would have been impossible because the gpu was listed as over 2 lbs by the manufacturer. I explained this to the nice customer service rep. We agreed the buyer could have relocated in the past week but the weight was unexplainable. She couldn't undo the transaction but escalated my issue. A couple days later I got an email saying my case was closed and ebay was siding with the buyer, so I was out the $400 they paid for the gpu since ebay wouldn't release the funds. I was in shock, but I called usps because I thought I must have been missing something. Usps takes pictures of all mail, and the nice man on the phone that called me back looked up the package and described it to me. I then realized it was the nose ring Amazon shipped to me that I thought was a weird Halloween joke from my parents related to their dog. I then emailed every first.last@ebay.com explaining my issue, stating that I, as a seller, could no longer take on the risk of selling on ebay because I had no protection in the case of an obvious scam. The next day I got a call from a secretary, and I explained everything to her, including that, had this been my work, my president would have called me and others into her office and played the recording of this phone call, concluding with, "Go fix this and make sure it can't happen again."
I got lucky and was given the payout. Ymmv.
"The batteries don't work. I want a refund."
"Batteries? Any of them? All of them?"
"All of them, none work. I want a refund."
Note that two of the batteries were less than 4 months old, still in warranty.
He then stated he wanted a refund of $800. For five brand-new batteries, that would only be $670.
No evidence was shown, despite multiple requests (like a video of a battery on a charger, or on the drone, failing to power up). I stated I'd like to get the original batteries back, as at least I'd be able to get them replaced under warranty or possibly repaired and recoup some of my money (I was skeptical there was -any- issue, but still, good faith). He "happily" agreed. I asked him to send me a message on eBay (so it was tracked and not avoiding their system) acknowledging that offering a partial refund was contingent on his sending me the batteries back and that he accepts me disputing the refund if not.
He sends a message indicating all of the above.
Refund is sent (for about $700, to include his return shipping costs).
Thirty-five minutes later, I get a message, "USPS says they don't ship damaged batteries, so I will not be returning them". (35 minutes? So what, you were just sitting around waiting for the refund, and then the very moment I sent the money, you jumped in your car, got to the post office, had this discussion, got home, and were able to send me this message? When your home address shows you about 15 minutes from the nearest post office?)
I then suggest we meet in person to exchange them (I live a few hours away, not convenient, but still, $700...). He umms and ahhs, "How will I be able to prove that I gave them to you in person?". I suggest we do it in a police station and point out that his local PD even welcomes people to use their lobby for CL, etc. on their website. More umms and ahhs. "I need to contact eBay support to see if they allow this." I point him to eBay's specific FAQ page describing exactly this and how they recommend doing in person sales, and refunds, documentation thereof, and how they support it. But he ignores that and says, "I never heard back from eBay support, so I'm not sure what to do". I point this page out again, and he goes silent.
I opened a dispute. No evidence was provided for damage or faulty goods, referenced the multiple requests for video, or of anything.) Multiple instances of the buyer trying to show something was problematic with the listing, not abiding by the agreement and refusing/avoiding any method of returning damaged items.
Overnight, no further inquiries.
"We have closed your dispute. Based on our review, the buyer is entitled to keep the partial refund for damage. He is also not required to return the damaged items".
So he ended up with a Mavic 2 Pro, with less than 20 hours flight time, 5 batteries, for in the order of $950, all told.