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Ebay Scammer (Buyer)
- Thread starter zman98
- Start date
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Sucks this happy to you and I was so scared when I sold my 4s on eBay 2 days before iPhone 5 came out. My buyer was good sent instant payment within 5 min of winning bid n I instantly had money in my Paypal account. After he received the phone I didn't hear anything so I sent a message just to check if phone was working great n he replied n left positive feedback later that day. Try to scare them saying u will report phone as stolen like the other have suggested, worst case scenario it's insured so u can recoup ya money that way!
I only had one issue a few years ago. Buyer claimed the item wasn't as described.
I told him I was serious about his issue and wanted to talk to him about it. He responded that he was going through eBay, and not a phone call. I responded that I travel for business, and will be near him next week, and would be stopping by the address to see him.
Story changed real quick.
I told him I was serious about his issue and wanted to talk to him about it. He responded that he was going through eBay, and not a phone call. I responded that I travel for business, and will be near him next week, and would be stopping by the address to see him.
Story changed real quick.
If it is an ATT phone then call ATT now and blacklist the phone as stolen. Let them deal with not being able to get the phone on the network or trying to use it on T Mobile.
This is actually what I did once. I sold a pair of high end Sennheiser headphones. Buyer claimed the headphones weren't in the box and demanded a refund. He also opened up a case against me. I then went and researched package weights for the headphones and cited sources for the weights. Compiled all the info into a PDF along with the official receipt from USPS showing the weight of the box, and basically proved that the headphones were definitely in the package. I also stated the buyer would've mentioned me packing rocks to take up weight in his initial complaint if I had indeed done that. After a week in review, eBay actually sided with me and closed the case. Haven't heard from the buyer since then.
OP, I wish you good luck! You should tell the buyer you'll file a claim via USPS, and you'll also tell your carrier to blacklist the phone as stolen, so it won't be usable. See what he responds with.
I've actually had a buyer purchase all my Apple items for sale (~5) using Buy It Now. After receiving them he threatened to give negative feedback and open a case as item not as described unless I offered a bulk discount.
It was a losing battle and I offered a return but stated, the IMEI numbers and serial numbers better match the shipped products. I provided photos of serial numbers with my response. Threat went away.
You can report a buyer for threatening you with negative feedback. If you have proof of the threat, you will be able to have the negative feedback removed and eBay will side with you, the seller.
Lol, send them a craigslist posting in their area requesting it
I guess I got lucky when I sold my old phone on eBay. I listed mine up for sale an in less than an minute got a Buy-It-Now, check out, payment and everything.
I was little freaked out by that, especially since the seller appeared (from their feedback) to be rapidly buying up iPhone 4 and 4Ss from eBay left and right. I was worried this was some fraudster running a scam like the one snaring the OP.
But, I took pictures of everything, packed it up, shipped it off, and the transaction went fine. Positive feedback on both ends.
I wonder if it might help to lock the iPhone with nothing but a ridiculously long passcode and Find My iPhone turned on. That way the phone can *really* be tracked as it's being shipped.
Then, when a buyer emails back to say they got the phone, do a remote wipe. Of course, a savvy thief would probably be able to wipe it themselves, but it might be worth tracking the phone now and then to prove that it was shipped and was in-transit.
I was little freaked out by that, especially since the seller appeared (from their feedback) to be rapidly buying up iPhone 4 and 4Ss from eBay left and right. I was worried this was some fraudster running a scam like the one snaring the OP.
But, I took pictures of everything, packed it up, shipped it off, and the transaction went fine. Positive feedback on both ends.
I wonder if it might help to lock the iPhone with nothing but a ridiculously long passcode and Find My iPhone turned on. That way the phone can *really* be tracked as it's being shipped.
Then, when a buyer emails back to say they got the phone, do a remote wipe. Of course, a savvy thief would probably be able to wipe it themselves, but it might be worth tracking the phone now and then to prove that it was shipped and was in-transit.
As I was reading this thread, I was thinking the exact same thing! Buy a cheap pay as you go SIM so there is a cellular connection, turn on Find My iPhone, put on a passcode, and then track it as it's enroute. When the buyer gets it, they have to email me for the passcode, or I can do a remote wipe via Find My iPhone. But that way, I can do a screen capture of the Find My Iphone app showing it's at their house.
Of course, if they are Savy enough, they will just do a DFU reset and restore, but they have to do that right away after delivery.
The only thing I don't know about is if it's legal to mail a phone that's turned on and can USPS detect that it is on when scanning, for fear that it's bomb or something?
Dear buyer,
It is very unfortunate that you received a package that did not contain the item. I shipped the item in the box and have proof of it. Clearly one of two things happened, either someone in your household has the phone, or it was stolen when it was in the mail.
I will be taking the following steps to fix the issue:
1. I will be reporting the phone IMEI as stolen which will result in it turning into a brick and never being able to be activated again.
2. I will be using Apple's iPhone tracking service (find my iPhone), as well as a seperate service I installed on the phone in case of theft to locate the current location of the phone.
3. I will be contacting the local police department and postal inspectors. The police and postal inspectors will be notified that the felony crime of grand theft (theft over $200) has taken place, and the federal felony of mail tampering has taken place. They take these crimes very seriously and they will find the person who has the phone and the theif will serve signficant jail time of at least two years.
It is very unfortunate that you received a package that did not contain the item. I shipped the item in the box and have proof of it. Clearly one of two things happened, either someone in your household has the phone, or it was stolen when it was in the mail.
I will be taking the following steps to fix the issue:
1. I will be reporting the phone IMEI as stolen which will result in it turning into a brick and never being able to be activated again.
2. I will be using Apple's iPhone tracking service (find my iPhone), as well as a seperate service I installed on the phone in case of theft to locate the current location of the phone.
3. I will be contacting the local police department and postal inspectors. The police and postal inspectors will be notified that the felony crime of grand theft (theft over $200) has taken place, and the federal felony of mail tampering has taken place. They take these crimes very seriously and they will find the person who has the phone and the theif will serve signficant jail time of at least two years.
take the money and run cause paypal/ebay will take it
due to this your paypal will go negative/limit you and you can't use paypal anymore unless it's under a diff ip/someone elses name and will be sent to debt collectors which suck
this is why i am staying far away from iphone 5 sales on ebay,just sell it on craigslist,i have a few iphone 5 for sale and listed them for 800 on craigslist,got so many calls for them
due to this your paypal will go negative/limit you and you can't use paypal anymore unless it's under a diff ip/someone elses name and will be sent to debt collectors which suck
this is why i am staying far away from iphone 5 sales on ebay,just sell it on craigslist,i have a few iphone 5 for sale and listed them for 800 on craigslist,got so many calls for them
They will NOT automatically side with the buyer! I know as I had a friend who had the same thing happen and eBay stood behind him.
Removing the money from PayPal and unlinking your bank account would not stop PayPal from getting the money out of your account. You would need to close the account and start another.
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ATT does not blacklist phones! Thousands of phones are stolen daily and they could care less.
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What happens when your PayPal is in the negative?
Sooner or later they WILL try to take it our of your bank account. According to the agreement with PayPal they can do this. If not they can go after you like an unpaid bill and report it to your credit company.
Definitely don't think you should keep your paypal in the negative because somewhere in the future, it might come back and bite you in the ass. I say you go the package weight route as well as threatening to report the iPhone as stolen so it will never be activated.
This is why I always film myself putting items into the shipping box and packaging it, if it's an expensive item. Just in case.
This is why I always film myself putting items into the shipping box and packaging it, if it's an expensive item. Just in case.
I would like to go the route of filing something with the PD but this buyer is located in NYC. I doubt they will pay any attention to some guy from Texas calling about a phone that was stolen. Plus, at this point, I haven't given the money back to the buyer. He hasn't filed an official dispute with eBay. Just e-mails from him claiming he never received the phone.
I did find a similar phone (black, 64gb, unlocked) on craigslist with a phone number close to his but didn't get an answer when I called. Possibly because it wasn't from a local area code. I'll try again later.
I did find a similar phone (black, 64gb, unlocked) on craigslist with a phone number close to his but didn't get an answer when I called. Possibly because it wasn't from a local area code. I'll try again later.
Definitely use a blocked number when calling the Craigslist seller - I have sold on Craigslist and NEVER answer out of state calls - usually it is someone trying to scam you out of what you are selling - asking you to ship it or something - find a way to block the number. Then keep calling.
that's what they did was report it to the credit company. Also it's known fact that they side with the buyer most of the time...just do a google search on the matter. They couldn't take anything out of my account since I unlinked all my info from them. I didn't care I wasn't about to be out of $600 and the item I sold. I made a new account and don't sell anything but instead just buy low price items now.
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You're wasting time dude....just close the account and get your money out now and remove your bank and credit card info from both ebay and paypal or you'll be screwed. The moment he files a claim you won't be able to do anything. I'm 100% positive they will side with him on this matter.
Just wanted to give my .02 here...
ALWAYS ship with USPS Priority Mail (ALWAYS Use Express Mail for International)
ALWAYS Require Signature AND Delivery Confirmation, regardless of value
ALWAYS Insure for items over $250 (use eBay ShipCover)
I recently sold my 4s on eBay to a guy overseas. When the buyer received the package, he 'claimed' that I didn't include the manuals/USB Cable/Wall Adapter... Either he was BS'ing or Customs stole it.
Either way... I opened a case with ShipCover in the amount of a brand new cable, charger, and wall adapter. Within two days I had the money in my account. I offered a partial refund in the amount of the claim... the buyer accepted and left me positive feedback.
ALWAYS ship with USPS Priority Mail (ALWAYS Use Express Mail for International)
ALWAYS Require Signature AND Delivery Confirmation, regardless of value
ALWAYS Insure for items over $250 (use eBay ShipCover)
I recently sold my 4s on eBay to a guy overseas. When the buyer received the package, he 'claimed' that I didn't include the manuals/USB Cable/Wall Adapter... Either he was BS'ing or Customs stole it.
Either way... I opened a case with ShipCover in the amount of a brand new cable, charger, and wall adapter. Within two days I had the money in my account. I offered a partial refund in the amount of the claim... the buyer accepted and left me positive feedback.