Ebay Scam

[George Bailey]

I haven't posted in a while, but I thought I'd share how I almost got took on ebay:

I purchased a D28 on "best offer" for a good price- nothing ridiculously low, but low enough that I was happy with the deal. The seller had 0 feedback (red flag, I know), but I've always felt pretty safe with ebay (as a buyer anyway).

He didn't ship immediately, but that was OK with me. I was fine with waiting. Then, a couple of days later, I asked for the tracking number. He said he would send it the next day. The next day came and went, and then the following day I received a tracking number- USPS Priority (almost always my preference). OK, I can breathe again...

The next day I receive a message from ebay stating that my item had shipped- I think to myself, "Duh, I know that already, but let me click on the tracking number anyway"...uh....wait...this is a different tracking number that reads "Delivered"...and it says it was left with somebody who signed...and they used my name??

I knew right then that I'd been had. I called the CC company and told them the story, so that part was covered. Then I opened a case with ebay. OK, I should be covered there, right? No, in the next few minutes I received an email stating that they sided with the the seller (because he provided proof of delivery) and that I would not be refunded??

Then I called ebay, and the person was not very enthusiastic about helping me. I could feel a real "you may be screwed" kind of tone to his voice. Fortunately, I had the ebay message about when the guy said he would ship and also the fake confirmation page. Those dates didn't line up. He said he would ship the next day on one of those ebay messages. The fake (although very real) USPS tracking page showed that he shipped immediately. Also when you go to USPS.com you can see who signed- and at what address. It wasn't my signature...or my address.

If I wasn't clear, the USPS tracking pages themselves were legit. It was the way the "seller' used them that was the scam.

I'm not a sucker when it comes to this kind of stuff. This is a very well thought out (and executed) scam. I know 0 feedback should've been a hint, but I've had plenty of deals with 0 feedback buyers and sellers and never had an issue until now.

Be careful out there.

[Bluside]

Some real A holes out there. Hopefully, you get all your money back and thanks for the heads up.

Note to self....."0" Feedback. Nope, no way.

[Gmountain]

who was the seller? Some more information might help others.

[JakeStone]

Sounds like you did everything perfectly.

Glad you didn't lose anything.

So I'm still curious how they can scam the USPS tracking on the website to show shipping, delivery and signature. To your location city etc.

[George Bailey]

Originally Posted by Gmountain

who was the seller? Some more information might help others.

Hey Gmountain. I'm sure the seller has moved on to a new name. He knew he was caught- and so did ebay- so he would have to move on to a new account. I can almost guarantee you that he is still out there using the same scam though. There's a reason somebody would go to all this trouble for this particular scam...it works. Maybe not this time, but this person is definitely a pro.

Also you may want to make sure your Paypal is backed up with a credit card and not your bank account.

[Gmountain]

Originally Posted by George Bailey

Hey Gmountain. I'm sure the seller has moved on to a new name. He knew he was caught- and so did ebay- so he would have to move on to a new account. I can almost guarantee you that he is still out there using the same scam though. There's a reason somebody would go to all this trouble for this particular scam...it works. Maybe not this time, but this person is definitely a pro.

Also you may want to make sure your Paypal is backed up with a credit card and not your bank account.

Still, why not give more information? There is nothing wrong with providing as much info as possible. The descriptive language, the price he accepted, that kind of stuff can be helpful.

0 feedback can easily be overcome, by selling a few cheap items to a shill and getting some feedback.

[George Bailey]

Originally Posted by JakeStone

Sounds like you did everything perfectly.

Glad you didn't lose anything.

So I'm still curious how they can scam the USPS tracking on the website to show shipping, delivery and signature. To your location city etc.

There are other stories similar to this one online. Apparently it goes to a location in the same zip, but not the same address- so the tracking looks legit. Maybe they actually live in this zip (and they mail something to themselves) and the selling location on ebay is completely made up?

[HHP]

How did he get a delivery receipt, even with a fake name, at your address?

[George Bailey]

Originally Posted by Gmountain

Still, why not give more information? There is nothing wrong with providing as much info as possible. The descriptive language, the price he accepted, that kind of stuff can be helpful.

0 feedback can easily be overcome, by selling a few cheap items to a shill and getting some feedback.

The seller is no longer a registered user.

[George Bailey]

Originally Posted by HHP

How did he get a delivery receipt, even with a fake name, at your address?

The tracking page just shows the zip- not an actual address. That's good enough for ebay if you can't prove it wrong.

[Toby Walker]

Very unfortunate. One thing puzzles me... you said that the USPS tracking page was legit, showing that something was delivered to another address and that someone at that address signed for it, and that it was the seller who used this page as a decoy. I'm wondering how the seller obtained access to this USPS page.

[Gmountain]

Originally Posted by George Bailey

The tracking page just shows the zip- not an actual address. That's good enough for ebay if you can't prove it wrong.

Which was?

[Ted @ LA Guitar Sales]

Originally Posted by George Bailey

The tracking page just shows the zip- not an actual address. That's good enough for ebay if you can't prove it wrong.

So who refunded you? Your CC, eBay, PayPal?

[dbintegrity]

Its amazing the amount of time people waste on thinking up schemes to rip others off... imagine if that amount of time was applied to some respectable business ideas? lol... people never cease to amaze me.... good for you that you were attentive and didn't get ripped off....

[CASD57]

It's a different world out there people....even from 10 years ago...

Be safe...and street smart