eBay Seller Horror Stories

[GXPBlast 597]

This is for the people who sell on eBay or and have gotten scammed or had a horrible experiences with shady buyers.

 

Here is mine.

 

I sold a Nvidia video card back in December 2013 from my old computer that was perfectly functional and tested. The buyer had 0 feedback and paid instantly. The account was also using a non registered PayPal account but verified address so I was covered under "seller protection" His account was also 2 months old but I was his first purchase.

He gets the card and I hear nothing for nearly 4 weeks. I log on to find no messages requesting a refund but to see negative feedback claiming the video card did not work. I tried contacting the buyer multiple times requesting him to send me the card back, and he never responds. I had been selling on eBay for about 4 years and only about 10-12 items a year. So my 100% positive feedback was brought down to 80% and the buyer never got back to me.

I contacted eBay and I was unable to receive a final value fee as the buyer did not respond at all to my cancel transaction request. Also, I was basically forced to refund him as I feared I could get suspended from eBay after that negative feedback so I was out a Final Value Fee, Video Card and 100% feedback. eBay also could not remove the negative feedback as well despite looking suspicious. I have always been suspicious of 0 feedback users as many are known to take advantage of the buyer protection program and try to scam sellers to get free stuff. I even tried blocking 0 feedback buyers from my auctions but am unable to per eBay rules. I am not saying all 0 feedback buyers are scammers but most of the horror stories that sellers have told have come from problems from 0 feedback buyers.
 

I offered a 30 return policy, and I waited over a 2 weeks for him to respond after I noticed he left negative feedback after 4 weeks of owning the card and of course he did not. Making the total amount of wait time since he purchased the card 6 weeks. In the four weeks of owning the card he never requested a return nor filed a not as described claim. He just said the card did not work through negative feedback. When I contacted the buyer numerous times asking why he did not get back to me or request a refund, he never got back to me. I also asked him if I can help him, maybe it was a simple mistake like he did not update the drivers or his power supply was not strong enough. But nothing was heard from him.

Lesson learned, but even so I am out over $80 and eBay would not remove my negative feedback.

I ended up deleting my old eBay account and started over again, but I will need to build up regular feedback by purchasing stuff so that future buyers are comfortable with my account. Even then I wont sell complex electronics like video cards or cell phones that are known to be targets for scammers for a long time. I am still nervous of selling on eBay to this day and dont plan on selling there in awhile. I will probably use it just to buy stuff. 

I deleted my old account because once buyers see negative feedback even that one negative or like many see less than closer to 100% I will lose possible customers.

 

Even if eBay sided with me on the case, He could have still filed a charge back with his credit card anytime. Some eBay users had a similar thing happen, eBay did not side with the buyer or they were unresponsive and passed the 45 day window.

Then some up to a year later have had charge backs from former buyers and eBay could not do anything about it since it was so long and it is handled by the credit card company.

 

Whats your horror stories from selling on eBay?

Edited May 22, 2014 by GXPBlast

[)O( Scarlet )O( 1,259]

Damn dude that's harsh, my cousins in America sell stuff on eBay a lot, and has had to deal with bad buyers a lot. it really sucks for them, but I think they've managed to dispute it most of the time.. I very rarely go on eBay unless I want/need something I cannot get in Australia.

[GXPBlast 597]

Damn dude that's harsh, my cousins in America sell stuff on eBay a lot, and has had to deal with bad buyers a lot. it really sucks for them, but I think they've managed to dispute it most of the time.. I very rarely go on eBay unless I want/need something I cannot get in Australia.

 

I personally think eBay needs to protect sellers more. There are buyers who like to take advantage of the system to get free stuff.

Edited May 22, 2014 by GXPBlast

[ReverseFaller 2,483]

I got scammed for this first time on ebay about a month, or two ago. Up till now, my ebay purchases have all gone swimmingly. Not this one though. I was looking to buy a Mikasa Ackerman figure, and I eventually found one. It was about thirty dollars, and there were about 6 left. I checked out the seller's profile, and he seemed legit. He'd been a member for years, and he had hundreds of positive reviews. If I remember correctly his review score was 99.8%, which seemed pretty good to me. 

 

I decided to wait to buy it. I checked later that day, and four of the six figures had been sold. So naturally I went ahead and bought it. It had a free shipping from Hong Kong, so it would take about a month or two to arrive. About 3 months later, I was curious as to where it was so I decided to check the seller's profile. To my shock, it was gone. All traces of it simply vanished. 

 

This shocks me since this user had sold tonsof things before, and had gotten great reviews. Why was it that his account was deleted? I'm not sure if I was scammed, or it the item was lost in the mail. It doesn't matter now. So because of this I'm about 30 bucks short.  :okiedokielokie:

[Commander Hurricane 170]

I feel sorry for you. *pats your back* *gives you imaginary money* 

[Northern Star 1,024]

I've sold a PC case about 6 times before someone actually paid for it. "I thought someone would out bid me", "(town 700 miles away) is local and you'll meet me there right?", and "that shipping cost is for next day right?" Were common excuses for canceling it. 

The seller doesn't get the fee refunded either. 

 

Buying there has been many nightmares, most due to it never shipping or getting lost.