eBay sellers Beware!

Buyers can scam you and eBay will support it.

An eBay seller with an eleven year history and a 100 percent positive rating was scammed out of 1400 dollars by a new eBay buyer. The buyer had recently opened an eBay account, made an expensive purchase and paid using Paypal. Naturally, the seller was pleased. He immediately shipped out his 1400 dollar camcorder via UPS.

Here's how the scam worked. After receiving the package, the buyer reported to UPS the package arrived damaged. The buyer didn't pay extra for insurance, so when he learned the standard UPS amount of 100 dollars was all he'd get, he changed his story. He filed a false claim with eBay saying the eight pound package arrived "empty". With no warning, 1400 dollars was immediately withdrawn from the seller's Paypal account. The seller was out the camcorder and the money, and the buyer had the camcorder. The buyer returned the package to the seller, now filled with old computer parts with a package weight of 35 pounds according to UPS. The buyer knew once he returned the package and had a UPS tracking number, eBay would issue him a refund. Yes, it's that easy to scam eBay and they'll help you get away with it.

The seller had documented proof from UPS his package arrived at the buyer's location. It was the buyer's word against the seller. Despite the fact the buyer had only signed up with eBay weeks before and had a zero feedback rating, eBay chose to take the side of the buyer. After the scam, the seller's feedback rating continued to climb higher as other buyers received their products from the seller as promised. Then, the purportedly "missing" camcorder showed up in an advertisement on the buyer's Facebook page. The seller promptly tried reporting this to eBay, but to no avail. Once the seller filed his initial response with eBay, they locked him out of sending further responses for the same case. The only option box for the seller on eBay's web site was the box for "Return Funds".

Apparently, more buyers get scammed on eBay then sellers, so eBay doesn't offer the seller many options. In fact, an eBay seller can no longer post negative feedback about a buyer. It's nearly impossible for a seller to get in touch with eBay or Paypal once their initial response has been made. This means as new evidence comes forth, a seller can not present it to win his case. However, a buyer can continually post unlimited notes about a seller, and can post negative feedback.

During a phone conversation between the seller and the buyer, the buyer had the nerve to tell the seller eBay always rules in favor of the buyer. I guess he knows this because he's scammed other sellers before.

Let's recap for a moment.

Seller - 11 year history - 100 percent rating - 283 positive transactions.
Buyer - 3 week history - 0 percent rating - 0 positive transactions.
Seller - sent a good working camcorder to buyer.
Buyer - originally filed a damage claim with UPS.
Buyer - refused to allow UPS to inspect the package.
Buyer - filed a claim with eBay for a missing item when UPS wouldn't pay.
Buyer - failed to file police report for a supposed 1400 dollar loss.
Buyer - posted a photo of seller's camcorder on his facebook page.

eBay offers great protection for it's buyers. But as as seller, you're at the mercy of a company that doesn't give a damn about you. If the buyer knows they can milk the eBay system to keep your product and get their money back, you're screwed. There's nothing you can do to recover your loss.