Ebay transaction problem

[mrbentley]

Long story short.

I won an item on Ebay.
The seller sent me a different item in horrible condition (completely obvious).
I contacted him immediately, explained the situation and asked for a refund plus return shipping.
He denied that it was different and would do nothing.
I submitted several photos of item received along with his photos as undeniable proof.
Still in denial, said he couldn't tell them apart.
At this point I realized I was dealing with a crook.
Through a little detective work I found where he got the photos and description. He took them from a listing on another auction site that had ended.
I emailed him what I found and accused him of being either completely ignorant or a poor attempt to commit fraud.
He is still in denial and claimed he didn't steal the photo's or description and did nothing wrong. He offered no other explanation. But now he is offering a complete refund without return shipping costs. He wants it back before I get a refund and wants me to pay return shipping.
Under normal circumstances a seller needs the item back before the buyer receives a refund but in this case I would be a fool to trust this guy.
What is the best way to handle this, since I think I am dealing with someone who is either off their rocker or a criminal or both? Why should I be out any money?

 

[FoBoT]

you need to engage Ebay and PAYPAL
he is a crook

 

[PurdueRy]

Did you pay via paypal?

Can we see the pics just for kicks?

 

[bctbct]

gotta know how you paid to offer advice

 

[Ns1]

1. file SNAD dispute with paypal
2. Send paypal all documents they require
3. get money back

if you DIDN'T pay via paypal, take what you can get


link to auction would help.

 

[mrbentley]

Yes, I paid through paypal. I asked the seller for a refund plus return shipping than I would return the item. He said no way, send it back to me first.

 

[bctbct]

Forget the seller, file a SNAD claim with paypal. They will walk you through the procedure.

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: mrbentley
Yes, I paid through paypal. I asked the seller for a refund plus return shipping than I would return the item. He said no way, send it back to me first.

Show us the auction.

 

[Ns1]

Originally posted by: mrbentley
Yes, I paid through paypal. I asked the seller for a refund plus return shipping than I would return the item. He said no way, send it back to me first.

file a claim with paypal

 

[bctbct]

I think you only have 30 days to file with paypal, dont wait.

 

[mrbentley]

Here is the ebay auction

 

[mrbentley]

Thanks for the advice. I filed a SNAD claim with paypal about 20 minutes ago. While I am waiting for a response from the seller I noticed that he had sent me an email around 2 hours ago. He says he is not going to do squat for me because I am trying to scam him.
Should I go ahead and escalate the claim now even though he has not responded through the paypal resolution center?

 

[bctbct]

Sit back and let paypal do there thing. If you lose with paypal you can then file with your CC. Most likely the seller will lose, just be patient.

 

[mrbentley]

Update:
I got a response through the paypal resolution center. He said he will give me a refund (didn't mention shipping cost) only when he receives the item back and that he better get the same item. Still denying any wrong doing. I am almost positive if I ship it back he is going to say I sent a different item. I have undeniable proof that he was trying to rip me off. What should I do and what are my options?

 

[sutahz]

On ebay its aginst the rules to steal another users auction (the pic(s) they used and the description). Just one more way to get him in trouble. W/ the pics of the packing and the item recieved and the hijacked listing, you have enough evidence on your side.
I FUCKING HATE PAYPAL AND EBAY, FUCK THEM BOTH!
Tell him your going to take him to small claims court a-la judge joe brown and use fingerprint evidence to show that he sent it to you (a bit extreme but whatever)

 

[EagleKeeper]

If you have any witnesses to the wrong item being received, obtain a statement and get it notorized if you have concerns.

 

[alkemyst]

I had this happen with a military guy overseas using AFO mail.

What happens in this situation is they know the post office takes over 45 days to investigate. So they tell you no problem, they must have shipped the wrong item. Just ship it back and they will issue a full refund.

What then happens is base mail is usually signed for en mass. The post office never sees it as actually 'delivered'.

By the time you get it investigated, ebay and paypal are past and the post office insurance won't pay because they can eventually prove it was delievered.

With car parts on ebay you can see this happen alot. In general though many do sell junk...stretch out the time past 30 days and then feedback can't be left. Most buyer's will fold.

If you persist you may get back more....IMHO feedback should be allowed to be left indefinitely.

 

[AndrewR]

Originally posted by: alkemyst
I had this happen with a military guy overseas using AFO mail.

What happens in this situation is they know the post office takes over 45 days to investigate. So they tell you no problem, they must have shipped the wrong item. Just ship it back and they will issue a full refund.

What then happens is base mail is usually signed for en mass. The post office never sees it as actually 'delivered'.

By the time you get it investigated, ebay and paypal are past and the post office insurance won't pay because they can eventually prove it was delievered.

With car parts on ebay you can see this happen alot. In general though many do sell junk...stretch out the time past 30 days and then feedback can't be left. Most buyer's will fold.

If you persist you may get back more....IMHO feedback should be allowed to be left indefinitely.

For your information, if you ever have a problem with a military member, and you know the installation he or she is on (which you can from the PSC # for APO/FPO), you should endeavor to contact the base legal office and talk to an attorney there. A violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice will be taken seriously and investigated, especially if someone is defrauding a civilian and using the "shield" of the APO/FPO system. Even Stateside, that kind of thing will be looked into by the legal office.

The most effective thing to do is to get the person's unit and contact the unit leadership. Either the commander or the senior NCO will take care of things in that case.

 

[alkemyst]

Did that...PSC there tied to several buildings, a school being one of them.

The base commander said he'd look into it but I never got a result and was told they could not comment on it. I am sure action may have been taken (they stopped all ads shortly after this), but long story short it didn't help me.

PSC 559 box 6234
fpo, AP 96377
United States

was the address...

 

[Gigantopithecus]

You should win your SNAD claim, so no worries. Neither PayPal nor eBay require the seller to pay for return cost of shipping, regardless of anything else (which is unfair, I know, but them's the breaks). Neither PayPal nor eBay require the seller to refund your money until the item's been returned to the seller. Make sure you use a shipping method that can be tracked (USPS delivery confirmation, UPS, FedEx); since the item is under $250, you don't need to get signature confirmation.
IF the seller claims you sent back something different & continues to refuse to refund your money, file a fraud claim with the USPS Inspector (claim forms are available from your local postmaster), & continue to follow PayPal's instructions. You'll likely have to wait longer for your refund, but you will get it.
Be sure to leave negative feedback! You'll probably get one in return, but I see you don't do any selling (at least with that account), so it doesn't really matter. No seller will refuse to sell you something based on that one feedback, especially since it'll be your only negative & your neg will be that seller's third.
Sorry this happened. Scumbag sellers like that one do the rest of us a real disservice. Hopefully eBay's new CEO will start increasing measures against fraud instead of simply increasing fees!

 

[mrbentley]

So it looks like I will be out the return shipping cost, that sucks. Also for the best protection I should send it through USPS, right? Anything else I should do to protect myself from this fraudster? btw I paid $180 shipped.

 

[JasonCoder]

Hope you get your money back man. Only refund I ever had to request was (luckily) < $10 for a no show item. Paypal refunded my $$ and the seller cancelled his ebay account. Usually the buyer has more power than the seller when it comes to paypal.

 

[mrbentley]

Should I escalate, submit proof to paypal and let them handle it even though the seller is now showing a willingness to resolve the problem. Here's what bothers me the most, I know for a fact that he intended to rip me off and provided him the proof. But still he continues to deny any wrong doing and he is asking me to trust him! wow, incredible.

 

[EagleKeeper]

My recommendation would be to follow the Paypal procedures.

The track record of the perp is not stellar regarding this issue.

 

[AndrewR]

Originally posted by: alkemyst
Did that...PSC there tied to several buildings, a school being one of them.

The base commander said he'd look into it but I never got a result and was told they could not comment on it. I am sure action may have been taken (they stopped all ads shortly after this), but long story short it didn't help me.

PSC 559 box 6234
fpo, AP 96377
United States

was the address...

Checked on it, and that's Okinawa and the Marines (which you knew). Since most of the Marines are only there for a short while (6 months), it makes it difficult. With the Marine ops tempo, he probably rotated Stateside then shipped to Iraq or was put on a ship.

I'm sorry that it happened. I always hate hearing garbage like that because living overseas is bad enough in terms of conducting transactions Stateside, and pricks like that make it even more difficult. I gave up trying to do any selling here at AT while I was over there.

Newegg charges an insane premium to ship over there, and I found out why because a thief stole some memory I bought. Newegg was great about it and sent another one to me, probably eating the cost of the first one in the process. Subsequently, the military busted several people at the APO/FPO depot in San Francisco who were stealing things. Same kind of stuff is happening to packages sent to the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan because of the Customs requirements to list the contents of the package (iPod, Sony PSP, etc.). It doesn't happen much, but it happens enough to be noticed.