My eBay scam story

podge3

Seems like I have been scammed on eBay......

I bought a 4 Gb mp3 player from this guy: http://feedback.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=iekshopping2008&&ftab=FeedbackAsSeller&sspagename=VIP:feedback:2:uk&iid=320294644472

After I received it, I had difficulty in getting my computer to recognise it and even more difficulty in putting large files on it. I did a bit of Googling and it seems like I have been the victim of a well known eBay scam i.e. the hacking of mp3 players to appear like they have a larger capacity.

So I contacted the Seller - suggested that I return the item via UNINSURED post. Yeah, right, like I'm going to send something back to someone who is selling fake goods and have no record of posting. I'd say there is a good chance it may be "lost".

I tried eBay with my tale of woe - they completely understood my frustration with this matter but think its best if I speak direct with the Seller i.e. the Seller of fraudulent good that has sent me a hacked mp3 player. Strangely enough, they seemed completely unconcerned that someone was selling fake goods on their website :rolleyes:. Hmmmm, maybe I'll contact Paypal and see if they care.....

Paypal were indeed very concerned about this problem. So much so that they advised me to return the fake item via insured post at my expense so I could get a full refund. I replied that I was somewhat confused with the "full refund" bit i.e it will cost me 50% of the original value of the item to post it back so how could I be left with a "full refund". They responded that due to Paypals policy, I would have to foot the bill for returning the fake goods. Where would the world be without policies, T&Cs etc.

After I lodged the Paypal complaint, the Seller lodged an "unpaid item" complaint againt me on eBay. Its obvious that I paid via Paypal so why they are entertaining this complaint I have no idea

I'm wondering if I should contact my credit card company and see if they will be more helpful. Meanwhile the Seller continues to sell oodles of these players every day. I assume that all are hacked. A small number of his customers have left feedback indicating a similar issue to me, but the vast bulk seem completely unaware that they have probably been scammed.

jonathan11

a similar thing happenned to me recently, bought what I thought was an 8GB memory stick. It turned out to be a hacked 2Gb stick, so when you store above 2Gb it causes problems on the computer and hangs it. It was also usb 1 technology so it was extremly slow.. Seller offered a refund if I sent the item back. Not going to bother because it was cheap anyways. I should have taken more notice of this guys feedback, almost 10% of his feedback was negative and complaining that devices were hacked...

podge3

A small update...

I have just posted this on the ebay discussion forums - and it was removed by because it violated more "policies" :mad::mad::mad:.

death1234567

The best way around something like this it to report to ebay that you never got the item and if the seller doesn't give you a refund then you'll get a refund from a PayPal dispute.

Judgement Day

PayPal is owned by eBay so you will get little joy from either body. The moral of this story is 'buyer beware' - read their feedback carefully before bidding and as a rule of thumb do not buy from sellers with less than 98% positive feedback and plenty of transactions for similar items.

jor el

death1234567 wrote: »

The best way around something like this it to report to ebay that you never got the item and if the seller doesn't give you a refund then you'll get a refund from a PayPal dispute.

Since he's already been in contact with eBay, the seller, and Paypal, that's not going to work now. The buyer pays for return shipping is the norm for the majority of Internet shops, not just eBay sellers. It's a bit much though to expect you to pay return shipping on a scam though, Paypal and eBay should be stamping this out.

Judgement Day wrote: »

PayPal is owned by eBay so you will get little joy from either body. The moral of this story is 'buyer beware' - read their feedback carefully before bidding and as a rule of thumb do not buy from sellers with less than 98% positive feedback and plenty of transactions for similar items.

And use toolhaus.org to check the negative comments, as they're often hard to locate in a sea of positives. This guy's got lots of complaints about the memory size being wrong.

Basq

I did warn people of this!

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=57045803&postcount=24

podge3

jor el wrote: »

And use toolhaus.org to check the negative comments, as they're often hard to locate in a sea of positives. This guy's got lots of complaints about the memory size being wrong.

Thanks for that link.

basquille wrote: »

I did warn people of this!

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=57045803&postcount=24

Indeed . Unfortunately I didn't found out about the scam until I had been scammed .



I have just posted this again in the eBay forums, having removed the "policy violation". It'll probably be removed again.......

FredH3as

There's one born every day :rolleyes:

podge3

FredH3as wrote: »

There's one born every day :rolleyes:

?????????

jor el

FredH3as wrote: »

There's one born every day :rolleyes:

Thanks for the constructive post, very helpful.

podge3

An update on this.....

I contacted my credit card company and I was informed that there was nothing they could do. I pointed out that , IMHO, it was a fraudulent transaction. They said that in a case like this I has no more protection that if I had paid with cash.

I probably sound like a dog with a bone (the item only cost $21.50 and it does work albeit with a lesser capacity than I paid for) but this just seems wrong:

• eBay - really understood my concern and frustration but told me to bog off to Paypal
• Paypal - told me to pay insured postage to return the item to the scammer
• Credit card company - just told me to bog off

So the Seller/scammer has won. He continues to sell on eBay, aided and abetted by eBay, Paypal and the credit card companies.

I'm thinking of setting up my own company selling 2 Gb, ahem, I mean 4 Gb :rolleyes: mp3 players. Anyone like to make a purchase?

311

podge3 wrote: »

I'm thinking of setting up my own company selling 2 Gb, ahem, I mean 4 Gb :rolleyes: mp3 players. Anyone like to make a purchase?

Do you accept ebay ? ,sorry I mean paypal

Access

311 wrote: »

Do you accept ebay ? ,sorry I mean paypal

:D:D

Its true though! paypal and ebay are like lovers!

Now... wonder would i get away with selling the ebay headquarters in an ebay auction???

Access

jor el wrote: »

And use toolhaus.org to check the negative comments, as they're often hard to locate in a sea of positives.

Thanks for the handy link.

Del2005

jor el wrote: »

And use toolhaus.org to check the negative comments, as they're often hard to locate in a sea of positives. This guy's got lots of complaints about the memory size being wrong.

Or you can just click on the number to see the bad feedback.

jor el

Del2005 wrote: »

Or you can just click on the number to see the bad feedback.

If you have the time to wade through 1,000 positive comments to find a few dozen negatives, by all means.

Jet Black

podge3 wrote: »

An update on this.....

I contacted my credit card company and I was informed that there was nothing they could do. I pointed out that , IMHO, it was a fraudulent transaction. They said that in a case like this I has no more protection that if I had paid with cash.

I probably sound like a dog with a bone (the item only cost $21.50 and it does work albeit with a lesser capacity than I paid for) but this just seems wrong:

• eBay - really understood my concern and frustration but told me to bog off to Paypal
• Paypal - told me to pay insured postage to return the item to the scammer
• Credit card company - just told me to bog off

So the Seller/scammer has won. He continues to sell on eBay, aided and abetted by eBay, Paypal and the credit card companies.

I really would not bother with the Credit Card company. If the money was taken from your card without permission, fraud and the like, it would be up to them.
But if you pay for a product or service and it is not of good quality it has to be resoled with the seller or manufacturer.

I though ebay would have been more help seems as a seller is commiting fraud.

podge3 wrote: »

I'm thinking of setting up my own company selling 2 Gb, ahem, I mean 4 Gb :rolleyes: mp3 players. Anyone like to make a purchase?

Any Jobs:)

Del2005

jor el wrote: »

If you have the time to wade through 1,000 positive comments to find a few dozen negatives, by all means.

The person the OP is takling about has 16 negative feed back in the last month. If you click on the 16 it shows you only their negative feedback for the last month, if you click the 24 you get neutral etc.

OP, have you contacted the Gardai? You've been defrauded and while they may not be able to help you they could use interpol to get something done about the fraudster. Or am I living in a dream world.

Vikings

podge3 wrote: »

• eBay - really understood my concern and frustration but told me to bog off to Paypal
• Paypal - told me to pay insured postage to return the item to the scammer
• Credit card company - just told me to bog off

In fairness, what would you have rather happened? Seriously though, what other possible solution do you see apart from returning the item to the seller for a refund?

i71jskz5xu42pb

podge3 wrote: »

Credit card company - just told me to bog off

There are loads of companies offering credit cards out there. If you're not happy with the service, move providers.

Better still write them a letter telling them why you are going to cancel your card. My guess is that you will have your $21 back by month end.

i71jskz5xu42pb

Del2005 wrote: »

OP, have you contacted the Gardai? You've been defrauded and while they may not be able to help you they could use interpol to get something done about the fraudster. Or am I living in a dream world.

Interpol are actually working on a huge counterfeit Transformer toy scam. Once they are done with that they are moving on to the fake memory stick scam. Well, after that and all the drug smuggling, people smuggling, paedophilia, extortion and gun running. But right after that.

AARRRGH

death1234567 wrote: »

The best way around something like this it to report to ebay that you never got the item and if the seller doesn't give you a refund then you'll get a refund from a PayPal dispute.

Unfortunately, this is how you need to handle it.

I received fake memory cards off ebay. Ebay/paypal were useless, so I escalated it to my credit card company, i.e. a chargeback.

They told me as I had received *something* they couldn't do the chargeback. I don't know if this was the retarded customer service person or what, but they did say if I had of received nothing it would be happy days.

Our man in Havana

These guys never send stuff by recorded delivery, so you are always best to claim non delivery and claim from paypal.

podge3

311 wrote: »

Do you accept ebay ? ,sorry I mean paypal

Yep, all payments to iscam@hotmail.com

heymcflyx wrote: »

I though ebay would have been more help seems as a seller is commiting fraud.


Any Jobs:)

Apparently eBay/Paypal have been aware of this type of scam for quite sometime but chose to completely ignore it. I think most of these large multinationals ignore the little guy and only do something when legal action is taken against them. They know that nobody will do this for 20 or 30 bucks so they leave the scammers alone and still get their 30 pieces of silver in fees.

And yes, I do have jobs going in my new venture . To show the sincerity of your intent, please forward $500 to iscam@hotmail.com. This money is fully refundable once your application has been finalised .

Del2005 wrote: »

OP, have you contacted the Gardai? You've been defrauded and while they may not be able to help you they could use interpol to get something done about the fraudster.

I would be laughed out of the station .

The Seller/scammer I purchased from has sold about $40,000 worth of these things though (going by his feedback). I suggested to Paypal that this may be worth investigating because of the large sum involved but have heard nothing back (surprise surprise)

Vikings wrote: »

In fairness, what would you have rather happened? Seriously though, what other possible solution do you see apart from returning the item to the seller for a refund?

I would rather have been paid fully in advance to return the item - not (i) "we will refund you when we receive the item back in our warehouse" or (ii) "it is our policy that the Buyer must pay to return the item via insured post as his/her own expense"

I am more than willing to return it but I don't see why I should have to pay for it. Its a bit like having to pay the police to get your stolen goods back when they have been recovered :eek:

Dorian Tall Freezer wrote: »

Better still write them a letter telling them why you are going to cancel your card. My guess is that you will have your $21 back by month end.

Good idea, but not really worth the trouble for $21. It would make me feel better, though.

Bond-007 wrote: »

These guys never send stuff by recorded delivery, so you are always best to claim non delivery and claim from paypal.

My item was sent via recorded post.

Vikings

podge3 wrote: »

I would rather have been paid fully in advance to return the item - not (i) "we will refund you when we receive the item back in our warehouse" or (ii) "it is our policy that the Buyer must pay to return the item via insured post as his/her own expense"

I am more than willing to return it but I don't see why I should have to pay for it. Its a bit like having to pay the police to get your stolen goods back when they have been recovered :eek:

But who is going to pay you in full before you return the item? Your seller? PayPal?

If you buy something in a bricks&mortar shop that turns out to be faulty, what do you do? You bring it back and get a replacement/refund. You don't ring them and demand a refund before you bring it back.

I'm not arguing with you or anything, in an ideal world that would happen! Its just not realistic though.

MOH

Are they branded players that have been hacked?

Won't help you, but might be worth contacting the manufacturer. They probably won't care, but maybe they'll take offence at someone giving their stuff a bad name by selling non-working hacked versions. They might be able to cause the seller more aggro than you can.

podge3

Vikings wrote: »

But who is going to pay you in full before you return the item? Your seller? PayPal?

If you buy something in a bricks&mortar shop that turns out to be faulty, what do you do? You bring it back and get a replacement/refund. You don't ring them and demand a refund before you bring it back.

I'm not arguing with you or anything, in an ideal world that would happen! Its just not realistic though.

I do accept your point for normal faults or if you changed your mind about the item. But in this case the Seller is selling fake/fraudulent items. I believe the Seller should pay for me to return the faked item to him. If he won't do it, then Paypal should deduct the money from his account. All in an ideal world of course........

MOH wrote: »

Are they branded players that have been hacked?

Won't help you, but might be worth contacting the manufacturer. They probably won't care, but maybe they'll take offence at someone giving their stuff a bad name by selling non-working hacked versions. They might be able to cause the seller more aggro than you can.

The player is not branded. Here is one from the same Seller: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SLIM-4GB-MP3-MP4-FM-VIDEO-RADIO-PLAYER-FREE-SHIP-GIFT_W0QQitemZ320301964888QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item320301964888&_trkparms=72%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1309&_trksid=p3911.c0.m14