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Lesson learned here: Avoid eBay. Deal locally.

This isn't the lesson. Dealing locally is a tremendous waste of time with no-shows, lowballers, idiots, or it puts you in dangerous situations.

Just don't accept returns on **** that you sell.
 
Ok since so many people are asking, here's what I did:

I compiled a summary of my evidence into a single image and sent it to PayPal: http://cl.ly/ce1a5128e931a995e04d (I have blurred out the serial numbers in that version)

I also sent them the raw JPEG files used in that summary straight off my camera to prove they were undoctored. I included a scan of the photocopy of the warranty documentation that the buyer didn't send back. So basically, I was a thorough as I could be.

Paypal asked me to file a police report and I did, and today they notified me they are refunding my money!

Oh and iamthekiller, you can't just "not accept returns" on ebay. See my post above.
 
So many inconsistencies in that story. Bolded sections to emphasize my points of conflicts. Is the OP the buyer or seller? Wy not contact Paypal/eBay?

He must've refunded the buyer the buyer's money before receiving the wrong phone back.

This is why I explicitly state in all my auctions that all used items are sold as is with absolutely no returns accepted. Never had a problem selling a phone this way, most people understand the sellers are simply protecting themselves.

Edit: Also saw OP's post about him saying no returns accepted. That's interesting because I've never run into that issue before, but it has been awhile since I sold something on ebay, so maybe things have changed.

Out of curiosity, is there some sort of seller status that requires that you accept returns? It just boggles my mind that money would get refunded before even verifying that the item has been returned in like condition.
 
That's actually not true. I DID say "No Returns Accepted" but the person filed a PayPal dispute anyway. If you don't accept the return, they get to keep your money AND your item.

Also, I just checked the ebay website and noticed that they have discontinued PayPal buyer protection and cover all transactions through ebay buyer protection. Per the ebay website:

"Do I need to send the item back to the seller?
If you've opened an item not as described case for a purchase covered by eBay Buyer Protection, then you must typically send the item back to the seller before getting a refund. You must also provide eBay with the return shipping tracking number, and for items valued over $250, we also require signature confirmation. Once we've confirmed the item was returned to the seller, you'll receive a refund into your PayPal account. "
[source: http://pages.ebay.com/coverage/index.html]

Are you sure you didn't state "no returns" in your listing but accidentally allowed returns in some other setting?

I know the issue is resolved for you, but this is an interesting case for other sellers. It sounds like even PayPal's policy is not to refund the buyer's money until the item has been confirmed returned.
 
I too would like to see some details from the auction. I find it hard to believe that if an item comes back to the seller that there isn't a safeguard in place with PalPay to hold a refund until the seller verifies that he got the item back in like condition.

If this scam is as easy as sending the item back and showing a tracking number to get the moneys back there would be a high volume of this type of scam going on. And then PayPal would have changed their return policies to prevent this.

And I'm not questioning the OP...if this is what happened then it sickens me that you got ripped off like this. But on the other hand, if you are careful and follow all the eBay and PayPal requirements for selling and buying...there is fraud protection in place to cover this. But this just makes no sense to me that Paypal would release the funds back to the scammer without verifying the return with the original seller.

I just sold my iPhone 3GS two weeks ago on eBay and PayPal held my payment. According to their "new" rules, they can hold the payment up to 21 days to verify that the buyer received the item. https://www.paypal.com/paymentholds . I waited the three days after the item arrived to the seller (bought delivery confirmation) and PayPal still had not released the payment. I called PayPal and gave them the tracking number even though I had marked the phone as shipped and included the tracking number on eBay and PayPal. the customer service rep went onto usps.com to verify that the item arrived and then immediately released the hold. I wonder how long i would have really had to wait had I not called them? I get nervous every time I sell something on eBay especially an iPhone because there's so many crooks.

OP - Good luck on getting your money back! I successfully got my money back a few years ago when I sold an Alpine amplifier on eBay and the buyer paid by electronic check through PayPal and then stopped payment on it. PayPal froze his account and gave me my money back within a few days of reporting it. That was a few years ago so they may have a different stance now.
 
Ok since so many people are asking, here's what I did:

I compiled a summary of my evidence into a single image and sent it to PayPal: http://cl.ly/ce1a5128e931a995e04d (I have blurred out the serial numbers in that version)

I also sent them the raw JPEG files used in that summary straight off my camera to prove they were undoctored. I included a scan of the photocopy of the warranty documentation that the buyer didn't send back. So basically, I was a thorough as I could be.

That's actually an extremely good idea. It's concise and conclusive. No one would look at that image and side with the scammer. Seriously nice work.

Glad it worked for you! :D
 
Also, I just checked the ebay website and noticed that they have discontinued PayPal buyer protection and cover all transactions through ebay buyer protection. Per the ebay website:

"Do I need to send the item back to the seller?
If you've opened an item not as described case for a purchase covered by eBay Buyer Protection, then you must typically send the item back to the seller before getting a refund. You must also provide eBay with the return shipping tracking number, and for items valued over $250, we also require signature confirmation. Once we've confirmed the item was returned to the seller, you'll receive a refund into your PayPal account. "
[source: http://pages.ebay.com/coverage/index.html]

Are you sure you didn't state "no returns" in your listing but accidentally allowed returns in some other setting?

I know the issue is resolved for you, but this is an interesting case for other sellers. It sounds like even PayPal's policy is not to refund the buyer's money until the item has been confirmed returned.
No, that's exactly what happened. The buyer filed a NSAD dispute the moment he got it. The second he filed that dispute, the money in my Paypal was automatically locked (but it was already locked and held for 21 days at that point because of eBay's new rules, so it was double-locked :)). At that point my only option was to accept the refund, because Paypal automatically refunds the money to the buyer if there is no action to resolve the case for 30 days. So I accepted the refund. Basically, the NSAD dispute overrides whether or not you accept returns.

At that point, all the buyer needs to show Paypal is a tracking number. They could send back a box of rocks, and slap a tracking number on it, and Paypal's system will automatically refund the money to the buyer without asking me what's in the box.

At that point it's the sellers responsibility to appeal that automatic decision and prove that the item received was not the item sent out.

Bottom line: There is no way to avoid a NSAD dispute.
 
No, that's exactly what happened. The buyer filed a NSAD dispute the moment he got it. The second he filed that dispute, the money in my Paypal was automatically locked (but it was already locked and held for 21 days at that point because of eBay's new rules, so it was double-locked :)). At that point my only option was to accept the refund, because Paypal automatically refunds the money to the buyer if there is no action to resolve the case for 30 days. So I accepted the refund. Basically, the NSAD dispute overrides whether or not you accept returns.

At that point, all the buyer needs to show Paypal is a tracking number. They could send back a box of rocks, and slap a tracking number on it, and Paypal's system will automatically refund the money to the buyer without asking me what's in the box.

At that point it's the sellers responsibility to appeal that automatic decision and prove that the item received was not the item sent out.

Bottom line: There is no way to avoid a NSAD dispute.

Wow, that's good to know. I've avoided ebay the last couple years because I felt I was losing too much money on seller fees, whereas I've found on Craigslist I post something up and it's gone by the end of the day, with cash in my hand. Now that I know about this, I'm definitely just using ebay for purchases and no more sales. Hope everything works out for you!
 
Ok since so many people are asking, here's what I did:

I compiled a summary of my evidence into a single image and sent it to PayPal: http://cl.ly/ce1a5128e931a995e04d (I have blurred out the serial numbers in that version)

I also sent them the raw JPEG files used in that summary straight off my camera to prove they were undoctored. I included a scan of the photocopy of the warranty documentation that the buyer didn't send back. So basically, I was a thorough as I could be.

Paypal asked me to file a police report and I did, and today they notified me they are refunding my money!

Oh and iamthekiller, you can't just "not accept returns" on ebay. See my post above.

Very good job! Way to follow through and document everything. I really like the summary you made. Easy to follow, and I like the way you point out the differences. I'm sorry you had to go through it, but I'm sure you've helped many others from your experience. Thank you for sharing!
 
I have posted on here before my selling problems with eBay/paypal. I have sold several phones through them and have to sell as "buy it now" to make the buyers pay for it right away because I kept getting deadbeat bidders.

Also every time I sold a phone it was for over 100 dollars, and paypal would never release the money until I called them and told them that I had proof they received the item.

This last phone I sold I was worried about. The buyer paid right away, and I shipped it insured etc. The buyer was not home when it was delivered so the USPS website said they had 15 days to pick it up or it would be shipped back to me.

I emailed the buyer several times about it but they never responded. After a week of checking USPS website, and it still saying the same thing, I called paypal.

At first paypal said that they see it was delivered, but the buyer had not picked it up yet. I told them I did my part and that I had tried to contact buyer several times with no response. I said so I'm out of a phone and my money? They decided to go on and release it.

I think they have up to 30 days to dispute it so I'm still a little worried she might try it.
 
I have posted on here before my selling problems with eBay/paypal. I have sold several phones through them and have to sell as "buy it now" to make the buyers pay for it right away because I kept getting deadbeat bidders.

Also every time I sold a phone it was for over 100 dollars, and paypal would never release the money until I called them and told them that I had proof they received the item.

This last phone I sold I was worried about. The buyer paid right away, and I shipped it insured etc. The buyer was not home when it was delivered so the USPS website said they had 15 days to pick it up or it would be shipped back to me.

I emailed the buyer several times about it but they never responded. After a week of checking USPS website, and it still saying the same thing, I called paypal.

At first paypal said that they see it was delivered, but the buyer had not picked it up yet. I told them I did my part and that I had tried to contact buyer several times with no response. I said so I'm out of a phone and my money? They decided to go on and release it.

I think they have up to 30 days to dispute it so I'm still a little worried she might try it.

If they dont go to pick it up from USPS wont the package come back to you?
 
but it was already locked and held for 21 days at that point because of eBay's new rules

Interesting. I just (3 weeks ago) sold a Laptop ~230 over eBay and my Paypal didn't hold my funds at all. So of course I withdrawal them immediately just incase the buyer tried anything sketchy.

This isn't the lesson. Dealing locally is a tremendous waste of time with no-shows, lowballers, idiots, or it puts you in dangerous situations.
Hell no. Don't go to bad areas / meet up in good area's and half that danger is gone.
 
Buyer of iphone 3gs

Recently i bought used iphone 3gs on ebay, and seller said it was locked to orange and can be unlocked, i was using orange sim, so i bought the iphone and recived it ,After 3 weeks of proper working , one day my iphone showed no signal bars and no service icon , i tried to investigate the problem, i found out it has been blocked by orange,i immediately contacted the seller by sending him several emails,also i tried his mobile number which was NOT IN USE by the seller, i filed dispute in ebay as well in paypal ,it is almost 40 days that i recived the item and havent heared any thing from seller. Ebay says they will get back to me in next 10 days and in the due time me and the seller should try to resolve the dispute but i am waiting for the seller to respond....
Hoping for the best ,because seller has positive feedack 50 + but he is not replying , but i am lucky enough to file a dispute before 45 days have passed .
 
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