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iPad Pro Am I being scammed on eBay?

keysofanxiety said:
I don't mean to be blunt but you asked for advice, then myself and other posters suggest you get a photo of the damaged iPad with the serial number showing on the screen to prove it's your device. It's one of the most common scams on eBay to buy a damaged device and claim that's the one that shipped. So that would be a simple and reasonable request which would be difficult for them to overcome if they are scamming you.

You've promptly ignored all that advice and gone ahead with what you originally said you were thinking of doing anyway. A picture of the box proves nothing.
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I totally understand what you are saying. But I think my best chance is not to alert the buyer and present my case to eBay once the item is received. If the buyer is a scammer and I ask him for a photo of the serial, he can easily say the item is severely damaged and doesn't turn on anymore. Then he can sunk the ipad into water to stop it from ever turning on.

After research and calling eBay customer support, it looks like I have to accept the return regardless. I can show eBay that buyer is "trying" to return an item that is not the I sold. I still have to accept the return and wait until the item is back. That is when I can file my claim with eBay. Or they will side with buyer and refund without return.
 
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Please contact the eBay concierges – – they can advise you! This is too weird! I’ve been on eBay for 20 years and I’ve never seen something like this. The Concierge Folk are wonderful. This Person Does Not Have The Upper Hand.
 
eBay's policies are absurd now. Buyers have a blank check to get away with almost anything. I sold my original Apple Watch to someone, and they claimed there was something wrong with the display. I knew there wasn't anything wrong with it. The second I asked the buyer to provide evidence or troubleshoot, they got defensive and said eBay would force me to refund them no matter what. It's just not worth using eBay anymore. I ended up refunding, losing money on shipping. You might as well not bother putting no returns on your listing. eBay basically allows buyers to return anything that they deem isn't as described, no matter what.

I've had much better experiences using Swappa.
 
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PaladinGuy said:
You might as well not bother putting no returns on your listing. eBay basically allows buyers to return anything that they deem isn't as described, no matter what.
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I agree with this.
I sold a remote control for an nViadia Shield as for parts and not working. I clearly stated that the microphone of the remote does not pick up the voice. The guy still opened up a return case and ebay forced me to accept it and I had to pay return shipping too. An item that was sold for parts or not working. Just crazy.
 
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psun786 said:
Ok, I sold my iPad Pro 9.7 on eBay a few days ago. It was packed securely in its original retail box with multiple layers of quarter inch foam as impact absorbing material. I have used this packing material for years and never had a problem. It is much more resilient than bubble wrap.

Today, buyer said the iPad arrived with a fractured screen. At first I thought it must be damaged during transit and about to give him a full refund. But when I looked at the picture he sent me, something is not right. The damage looks like a long scratch instead of shattered glass from drop. I mean, the iPad I sold him has a tempered glass screen protector installed. If it is scratched, it shouldn't go through the protector. If it is damaged due to impact, the glass should look shattered.

I want to hear your guys' opinion before reply this buyer. Does the damage looks like something happened during shipping? Anything I shall ask him than a photo of the packaging box?
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100% Total scam that's not even an iPad Pro 9.7" The chamfered edges don't match.
 
Ebay user since 1998. Try to get help at ebay. They will look at and want to see communication between you and buyer first.
Lots of things ebay considers, histories and feedback, other bad marks on accounts. I had a decision against and called and they reversed it.
After ebay, PayPal or cc co may help you.
But it's true, ebay favors sellers. I laugh when I see sellers say no returns etc. Means nothing, ebay decides refunds that, not the seller.
If buyers feedback was low or bad, what I do on fanboy electronics, I do 'make offer' and price a little high. Then you can see a little bit about buyers before the purchase.
I've had very good luck on ebay buying and selling but I'm more cautious on selling electronics there. Good luck.
 
KGB7 said:
Close your ebay account and dont stress about it. Dont use ebay again.

If ebay wants to give money to buyer, its their own fault.
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Well it's still great for buyers. Just don't sell on eBay...ever never ever. And those fees OMG the fees. Also do not sell to people with low feedback.
 
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This is why I never use eBay. Gumtree is all I have ever used and even then it's tough to sell.
 
TheRealAlex said:
100% Total scam that's not even an iPad Pro 9.7" The chamfered edges don't match.
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Thank you for your input. Can you explain a little more on the edge difference? Which model is the one in picture? Maybe I should visit an Apple Store for comparison
 
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psun786 said:
Ok, I sold my iPad Pro 9.7 on eBay a few days ago. It was packed securely in its original retail box with multiple layers of quarter inch foam as impact absorbing material. I have used this packing material for years and never had a problem. It is much more resilient than bubble wrap.

Today, buyer said the iPad arrived with a fractured screen. At first I thought it must be damaged during transit and about to give him a full refund. But when I looked at the picture he sent me, something is not right. The damage looks like a long scratch instead of shattered glass from drop. I mean, the iPad I sold him has a tempered glass screen protector installed. If it is scratched, it shouldn't go through the protector. If it is damaged due to impact, the glass should look shattered.

I want to hear your guys' opinion before reply this buyer. Does the damage looks like something happened during shipping? Anything I shall ask him than a photo of the packaging box?
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Looks like the opener gouged it while very roughly opening the package, with a box cutter, possibly. The only odd thing is normally these types of gouges are vertical or horizontal along the center line of the shipping box. This one is at an angle.

It is pretty difficult to scratch the surface of an iPad that much.
I take scissors during demos and attempt to scratch the optical quality glass to show that it is very resilient to damage.
 
badmojo69 said:
Doesn't matter if you were scammed that's why you always do insurance.
I learned a long time ago on Ebay. The buyer always wins. Just take it back and go have a good cry.

Also I agree with have them turn it on and show the S/N photo and if it is yours nothing you can do.
Do like you said and video yourself opening the package (live stream it). But I really don't think Ebay will side with you.
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This. If I sell on eBay or swappa I always insure the item. Even if they buyer doesn’t pay for insurance. That way I am covered if they try to claim something. I usually try to link a YouTube video showing that the item functions fine besides pics. You can usually put a link in the description for them to see a quick minute video showing the item functions fine, with no issues.
[doublepost=1498241879][/doublepost]
spiderman0616 said:
This is why I switched to selling stuff on Swappa.com instead. Every sale is reviewed by a human.
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I like swappa for selling iPhones and iPads. They don’t try to gauge you with fees. And it is pretty simple and straight forward.
 
HiItsMe said:
Even if he did put a brick in the box and even if it's recorded on video, eBay won't care. They'll just refund the buyer from the seller's funds as soon as tracking says delivered. Sometimes if the seller complains enough, eBay will reimburse them with eBay's own money but usually they tell you tough luck. eBay is the devil, in my opinion.
[doublepost=1498168378][/doublepost]It seems clear to me that the buyer is going to switch out the iPad you sent him with a busted up one that he's had prior. I'd ask for that SN photo first.
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This happened to me. After about a year ebay banned my buyer and closed his account for some other offence, removed the negative feedback he left me, but DID NOT give me the money they took from my paypal account and gave the scammer. Approx £200 from memory.
 
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If the dude is trying to swap his previously damaged iPad for yours, a photo of the serial number on the about page won't prove anything. It could just be a screenshot of your iPad's about page displayed on his damaged one.

Also, the photo of the box he sent is useless. The lid could be swapped...that's where the damage would show if he studpidly used a box cutter and cut through to the screen.

To prove it's your iPad, you need to see a hi-res video that shows the damaged screen, and then shows the iPad flipped around to reveal a closeup of the serial number on the back...all in one take where the iPad does not leave the camera frame.

Also, what is the buyer's feedback like? When did he join eBay? What do any negative or neutral reviews he might have say?
 
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mcdj said:
If the dude is trying to swap his previously damaged iPad for yours, a photo of the serial number on the about page won't prove anything. It could just be a screenshot of your iPad's about page displayed on his damaged one.

Also, the photo of the box he sent is useless. The lid could be swapped...that's where the damage would show if he studpidly used a box cutter and cut through to the screen.

To prove it's your iPad, you need to see a hi-res video that shows the damaged screen, and then shows the iPad flipped around to reveal a closeup of the serial number on the back...all in one take where the iPad does not leave the camera frame.

Also, what is the buyer's feedback like? When did he join eBay? What do any negative or neutral reviews he might have say?
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Good thinking! As a seller, it really is almost impossible to protect oneself against eBay scammers.

EDIT: As with so many things (on the Internet), eBay was so great in the beginning. However, as usual, the general population's desire to monetize the F_ _ K out of everything under the sun has ruined it.
 
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psun786 said:
Thank you for your input. Can you explain a little more on the edge difference? Which model is the one in picture? Maybe I should visit an Apple Store for comparison
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Just compare the edge borders not of the display but the actual iPad
 
I just sold my iPad on eBay and I screenshot this photo in the listing just in case of the old
switcharoo.

IMG_0087.PNG
 
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kdoug said:
I just sold my iPad on eBay and I screenshot this photo in the listing just in case of the old
switcharoo.

View attachment 705518
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Meh, all the buyer would have to do is tell eBay that you never sent the iPad shown in the listing so they want to return it. Then they return their old busted one and you call eBay and say "but they didn't return MY iPad" and eBay will say 'how could they have, you never sent that one to THEM?' That's the problem with Significantly Not As Described return claims; once eBay agrees that it's not as described, you can't successfully claim that you got something different back because there is no longer proof of what you sent to begin with.
 
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