Is this an iPhone scam? If so, how does it work?

[MsRandall]

Glad it worked out....The seller sounds like he doesnt value his feedback and experience of his customers. I sold alot on ebay until recently and I would check my tracking numbers and give customers 24 hours and send a feedback email to make sure everything was as expected since I sold high end products such as authentic Louis Vuitton items, iphone and note smartphones.

As for the scratches that would bother me too- which is why although I will sell a device on ebay - I normally will not buy one unless it is new- I find some sellers will use mint and like new when the phone is not in that condition. When I sold items in the past on ebay, I always sit down and go over my items for all flaws no matter how small and notice them.

Anyway glad it worked out for you- shame on the seller for making the process longer and more frustrating than it had to be...if he had time to get the money he had time to make sure you were satisfied. Rant off

 

[AFDoc]

Issues: problems or difficulties, esp. with a service or facility: a small number of users are experiencing connectivity issues.
IT DOES NOT MATTER IF YOU ALWAYS "WIN"!
if the transaction is cancelled you LOSE because you failed to achieve your objective: to sell or to buy a particular product; otherwise you have to deal with someone who is attempting to disrupt and/or modify an otherwise legal and agreed upon transaction!
that alone presents problems and/or difficulties because it results in a transaction that will not be smooth or will end up cancelled.
good for you if you always "win" but it is still an ISSUE.
this has nothing to do about you outsmarting the scammer it has to do with buying or selling a product trouble-free.

It's only troublesome to me if I allow it to be so. I say it's no trouble for me so yeah... It's no trouble for me. I got my money and won the charge back. There was $485 on hold in my PP account but again, no trouble for me because it in no way affected my life.

IF it would make you feel better I'll agree and say it gave me an issue..... If you really want me to I will, just let me know.

NOW if you want to say the transaction didn't go as it should, sure, I agree to that.

 

[itjw]

There are times I really miss eBay. I really do.

Then stuff like this comes up, and I remember why I decided to never sell ever again on the "bay", no matter how much $$$ I'd lose by not.

The reality is, as has been proven over and over, is that there is NO way for a seller to protect himself. This seller had a case opened within HOURS of not responding to an email. Should he have done a lot of things differently? Sure. But to give someone with that feedback literally less than a day to make things right before putting them through the hell that is an eBay case (and it is, even if you are 100% in the right... because as a seller, you never know if it's the BUYER trying to scam YOU).

No thanks. Pass. I'll still buy on eBay because you can do so with absolutely NO fear. It's sad. But selling? Again, it's not a matter of IF, it's a matter of WHEN you'll get scammed. I'm sure there'll be someone chiming in about how well they protect themself, and I've heard it all before... you can't protect yourself from everything. I won a dozen cases before losing my first one. I swear on my mothers grave I did nothing wrong, "protected" myself, and still lost because of what even eBay classified as a "technicality".

I got my pound of flesh by having my sister in law buy something from the member (who luckily was also selling things) with her account, and returning the favor. No details , but they deserved every bit of it.

The business model of eBay is to protect the buyer at all costs. Which is fantastic if you're a buyer, don't get me wrong. If you're a seller and you happen to get lucky it's great too.

But it's just a matter of time...

 

[old-wiz]

...

The business model of eBay is to protect the buyer at all costs. Which is fantastic if you're a buyer, don't get me wrong. If you're a seller and you happen to get lucky it's great too.
.

It's unfortunate that eBay allows scammers to game the system and steal from sellers. Maybe there's no way out with buyer and seller located so far apart.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

The business model of eBay is to protect the buyer at all costs. Which is fantastic if you're a buyer, don't get me wrong. If you're a seller and you happen to get lucky it's great too.

But it's just a matter of time...

Sad but true. eBay makes more money protecting the buyers and forces the sellers to eat the loss. I've been fortunate to get ~$450 per unlocked iPhone over 5 iPhones so far but acknowledge it may happen to me someday. That's why I don't have a bank account linked to paypal, don't keep money there, and will not hesitate to allow it to go into negative. If I do get robbed out of the next $450, at least it's not like I desperately need the money.

 

[Phrasikleia]

This seller had a case opened within HOURS of not responding to an email. Should he have done a lot of things differently? Sure.

Hours of not responding to that one and days of not responding to the one before that. As soon as he got my money, he went radio silent.

By the time I actually received the inoperable phone, he had already dug himself a hole with three mistakes: 1. not providing a tracking number, 2. marking as shipped two days before it was, and 3. not responding to my polite inquiry about it all. That kind of behavior doesn't grant anyone the benefit of the doubt when things go horribly wrong afterwards on a high-priced item.