Weekly Scam Discussion - July 26th 2021

Hey folks, I could use some help on something pretty outrageous that happened to me from a buyer scamming me out of $4,000.

I originally bought the item for $2,000 (with receipt, brand new, unopened) and decided this year to finally sell it. So I listed it as new. I have been on ebay for 10 years and have very high, perfect rep.

On April 1st the buyer purchased the item through a final offer of just under $4,000--which is what I was hoping for on market price for this item. Buyer has rep, payment went through, I was all set. I messaged the buyer asking if UPS was good to go, and he replied confirming that's all good.

I pack it up, take pictures of the box and process of me shipping it out, and on April 7th it's marked as delivered and I receive the payout in my bank account.

On June 8th (2 months later after receiving the item) I receive a note that the buyer has filed a dispute "Item Not as Described." The only actions I have available is to submit one picture of proof of the item I sent, and my address. So I submit what I can while ebay reviews. I also at this time message the buyer, "hi, I see a dispute has been filed on this item. Let me know how I can help".

Radio silence. The only other details I could find from the dispute is that it mentioned "filed with payment institution" meaning the buyer clearly claimed it with their credit card company, the delivery address turned out to be a UPS location, and the scam was very apparent of what they were trying to do.

Yesterday, July 30th, I receive a new note, the dispute has closed and is in the buyers favor. No further outreach or clarification provided from me, ebay, or the buyer.

eBay has put a -$4000 amount on my account that will be deducted straight from my bank account within a few business days without my consent or power to fight it. I'm essentially at risk of losing $6000 in total in my purchase price + "refund" to the buyer. The item is not being required to send back to me, and I have messaged the buyer to ask for it (but of course they have no intention of doing that or responding to me)

I quickly try to find any actions available to me in the seller dashboard. Unfortunately I can't even access anything older than the 90 days since the item was sold by now. The dispute is closed and cannot be appealed. No tools or options available in my dashboards at all.

Here are the actions available to me and what I've done.

I have called ebay twice now to cover the situation. The first rep I called yesterday mentioned that this shouldn't be the outcome and that I should expect an email or call from someone today. That hasn't occurred yet, though he made it seem like this would get resolved due to the amount at risk. The second rep I called today mentioned that there is nothing they can do, but agreed to my plea go escalate with leadership to get this figured out. No appeal process possible apparently, from what this rep told me. I should expect a call tomorrow. I called my bank and they confirmed I would need to wait until the charge hits my account for me to dispute it with them. I could change my bank account on ebay to an old account without funds, but that would illicit creditors to come for collections.

The horrible facts are that eBay has sided with the buyer because they disputed it through their credit card company. Meaning that EVEN AFTER their 30 day window, the buyer has complete control of disputing these things to keep items and screw me the seller out of both item and final price.

Please, for the love of god, let me know if anyone has any advice for this.

/r/Ebay Thread