Questionable eBay iPhone 6 scam:

[Eileen89]

Hi everyone,

Long story short, I wanted the Verizon Silver iPhone 6 at full retail which Verizon will not sell without an account. After making several attempts to pick one up at my local Apple Store with no luck I decided to get one on eBay like I did last year without a problem. However, this year is different. I found what looked like a good power seller with a feedback higher than 99. which I was ok with since his only negative seemed like the buyer was trying to pull something. This seller had already sold 9 according to the listing but his feedback is set to private so I can't see what their feedback is. This seller said that he purchased these iPhone 6's dirrectly from the Apple Store at full retail.

I did a buy it now using PayPal for a New factory sealed Silver Verizon iPhone 6 with 128GB on Mon. 10/6. Didn't hear anything or get a tracking number from the seller by the next day so I sent him a message asking for the tracking number. He sent me a message back that due to the high rate of fraudulent activity with the iPhone 6 that they would not ship it out till one day later. Now today 10/8 the seller sent me another message asking me if I wanted a broken sealed box but the phone was new. He said he would refund me $50 for doing this. I replied no, I wanted the sealed box that I paid for. I also asked him why this item hasn't shipped out yet and that if he didn't have it to refund my purchase. A few hours later and I still have not heard back from him. In checking the shipping details it appears that the seller changed the receive by date to 10/16 when the original date was listed as this Friday 10/10.

I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this seller now and not sure of how I should proceed from here. Is it too early to file a dispute with PayPal against the seller? Or should I wait a little longer and see what happens? I've purchased many phones from eBay before and never had a problem like this ever. Last year the other seller shipped out the Verizon 5S and I had it within 5 days.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer me here.

pS: I know this is partly my fault for not waiting till Apple finally got them in stock, but like I said, I never had a problem with eBay in the past.

 

[Hal~9000]

Now today 10/8 the seller sent me another message asking me if I wanted a broken sealed box but the phone was new. He said he would refund me $50 for doing this. I replied no, I wanted the sealed box that I paid for.

I personally would get a reply confirmation from the seller about this before I do anything. After getting confirmation that it is sealed I would tell him that you want your phone by 10/10, as promised, or you will file a dispute and cancel the transaction and see what he says.

 

[myscrnnm]

Hi everyone,

Long story short, I wanted the Verizon Silver iPhone 6 at full retail which Verizon will not sell without an account. After making several attempts to pick one up at my local Apple Store with no luck I decided to get one on eBay like I did last year without a problem. However, this year is different. I found what looked like a good power seller with a feedback higher than 99. which I was ok with since his only negative seemed like the buyer was trying to pull something. This seller had already sold 9 according to the listing but his feedback is set to private so I can't see what their feedback is. This seller said that he purchased these iPhone 6's dirrectly from the Apple Store at full retail.

I did a buy it now using PayPal for a New factory sealed Silver Verizon iPhone 6 with 128GB on Mon. 10/6. Didn't hear anything or get a tracking number from the seller by the next day so I sent him a message asking for the tracking number. He sent me a message back that due to the high rate of fraudulent activity with the iPhone 6 that they would not ship it out till one day later. Now today 10/8 the seller sent me another message asking me if I wanted a broken sealed box but the phone was new. He said he would refund me $50 for doing this. I replied no, I wanted the sealed box that I paid for. I also asked him why this item hasn't shipped out yet and that if he didn't have it to refund my purchase. A few hours later and I still have not heard back from him. In checking the shipping details it appears that the seller changed the receive by date to 10/16 when the original date was listed as this Friday 10/10.

I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this seller now and not sure of how I should proceed from here. Is it too early to file a dispute with PayPal against the seller? Or should I wait a little longer and see what happens? I've purchased many phones from eBay before and never had a problem like this ever. Last year the other seller shipped out the Verizon 5S and I had it within 5 days.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer me here.

pS: I know this is partly my fault for not waiting till Apple finally got them in stock, but like I said, I never had a problem with eBay in the past.

This definitely sounds like scam. The first clue is that he/she claims he/she couldn't ship the item due to "fraudulent activity"? I don't see how that has any correlation. How many seller feedback ratings does this seller have? And how far back does it go? For such large purchases, I don't go for anything less than 100%, at least 100 ratings, and preferably has been selling on eBay for at least two years.

In terms of what you should do, go through the conflict resolution process with the seller first if they don't respond by tomorrow. Some of these people have day jobs, so I wouldn't be worried that he/she didn't respond for a few hours. If you aren't able to get a refund that way, then file a report with eBay to get reimbursed. eBay tends to give buyers priority over sellers when it comes to conflicts.

PS: Making the feedback private also raises red flags. I've never seen a seller do that; and they should have no reason to hide that stuff.

 

[areyes163]

Not necessarily a scam but it seems like he does nothing have the devices and is buying them or trying to acquire them himself. I have seen this numerous times on eBAy. If your uncomfortable you can file a dispute with eBay at any time. I would recommend to file a dispute via PayPal. PayPal disputes Although eBAy owns PayPal the PayPal disputes go faster for some reason. I have done this a few times as I used to buy a lot of stuff from eBAy.

EBAy however is full of scams as of late which is why I stopped using them for both selling and buying. I prefer swappa myself. Best of luck

 

[CEmajr]

I also think it's a case where the seller is advertising what he doesn't actually have. Waiting for someone to buy one and then he uses the money to try to acquire one. That's probably why he's offering an open box one because he wasn't able to get a sealed one.

I would send him a message telling him that if he can't get a sealed phone like his listing promised, then just refund your payment and cancel the transaction. If he doesn't respond in 24 hours then send another message threatening to file a case and if no response in 48 hours then proceed with the case.

 

[lordofthereef]

Having used eBay as a power seller for a good bit, a few things:

First, the fact that he hasn't shipped yet doesn't necessarily mean he is scamming you. Something may have been damaged (as he said) or he may have sold you stock not in his possession yet. I am not saying that is right, but the guy very well may intend to sell. eBay actually gives the seller an option to cancel a sale if items were damaged, but they buyer has to agree with it. Sort of backwards logic IMO; I could care less if the buyer agrees with my request, if I have damaged goods, I cannot sell them! Generally what this means is the transaction is still cancelled but the seller is still responsible for the final value fees via eBay.

eBay seems to have three types of sellers; the actual store seller, the garage seller, and the guy that just try to get his hands on rare stuff a couple of times a year. A lot of times the latter two don't know the rules of eBay. Again, not saying this is right, or should necessarily make you feel a lot better, but it happens.

As far as the date change, this can only have been done for a current active listing. He couldn't have changed the description of something you already bought (it isn't possible). This is likely because, as the days go by, estimated ship times will obviously also be at a later date. It is also likely (and this goes back to an earlier point of mine) that this person is having some difficulty stocking the product he is selling.

I don't remember how long you have to wait to open a case, since the last time I sold with any consistency was over two years ago (and some things have changed), but I want to say it's at least five business days from when you completed the transaction (paid). You can try to file a claim, but if you do so too early, eBay will tell you it's too soon. Filing a claim might be a good idea if the seller is unresponsive completely and the minimum time has passed after filing. Note that the seller can still fulfill the order once a claim is filed and if everything is as described, you have successfully completed your transaction.

I think you were wise not to take a discount. If you want advice on how to proceed, I would let the seller know your intentions of filing a claim as soon as the option is available to you.

 

[macfoxpro]

Hi everyone,

Long story short, I wanted the Verizon Silver iPhone 6 at full retail which Verizon will not sell without an account. After making several attempts to pick one up at my local Apple Store with no luck I decided to get one on eBay like I did last year without a problem. However, this year is different. I found what looked like a good power seller with a feedback higher than 99. which I was ok with since his only negative seemed like the buyer was trying to pull something. This seller had already sold 9 according to the listing but his feedback is set to private so I can't see what their feedback is. This seller said that he purchased these iPhone 6's dirrectly from the Apple Store at full retail.

I did a buy it now using PayPal for a New factory sealed Silver Verizon iPhone 6 with 128GB on Mon. 10/6. Didn't hear anything or get a tracking number from the seller by the next day so I sent him a message asking for the tracking number. He sent me a message back that due to the high rate of fraudulent activity with the iPhone 6 that they would not ship it out till one day later. Now today 10/8 the seller sent me another message asking me if I wanted a broken sealed box but the phone was new. He said he would refund me $50 for doing this. I replied no, I wanted the sealed box that I paid for. I also asked him why this item hasn't shipped out yet and that if he didn't have it to refund my purchase. A few hours later and I still have not heard back from him. In checking the shipping details it appears that the seller changed the receive by date to 10/16 when the original date was listed as this Friday 10/10.

I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this seller now and not sure of how I should proceed from here. Is it too early to file a dispute with PayPal against the seller? Or should I wait a little longer and see what happens? I've purchased many phones from eBay before and never had a problem like this ever. Last year the other seller shipped out the Verizon 5S and I had it within 5 days.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer me here.

pS: I know this is partly my fault for not waiting till Apple finally got them in stock, but like I said, I never had a problem with eBay in the past.

Maybe he actually didn't have a sealed phone at the time, and was trying to sell you a un-sealed, and after you said no, he is now trying to get a sealed iPhone to fulfill the order. I know some people sell items without actually having them in hand and scramble once orders are placed. That phone could have been sealed and was sent back and now he is just trying to unload it on to you. He may still come through. Sounds like he his trying to buy a little more time.

Besides, PayPal will air on your side almost always. They just changed their claim time from 90 day all the way up to 150 days. That's a nice window of time to file a claim if you do get the phone and don't like it.

 

[bhags8]

I would call paypal and get that cancelled asap. Not worth the stress. Go on swappa and buy one there.

 

[samiznaetekto]

"questionable scam"? like not a true scam?

 

[accountforit]

I would call paypal and get that cancelled asap. Not worth the stress. Go on swappa and buy one there.

You can't just "get it cancelled". You have to follow protocol.

Just send the seller a nice message asking for tracking. If he doesn't reply, file a dispute with eBay as soon as the option is available. You'll get your money back. Don't worry.

 

[Eileen89]

Thanks guys for all your helpful replies.

The seller emailed me late last night after I posted with the following reply:

"Hi, sorry for the delay. Our shipment was delayed in last two days and it has impact on our customers (sorry for that). Because it is in high demand, the estimated delivery date never gets right. However, we received one shipment later on Wednesday and your brand new and factory-sealed phones will be shipped".

He said I should receive it on Friday by USPS and gave me the tracking number via eBay. Tracking number doesn't show anything yet so I will check again later.


After this I will be a LOT more cautious when making big purchases such as this one.

 

[Eileen89]

You can't just "get it cancelled". You have to follow protocol.



Just send the seller a nice message asking for tracking. If he doesn't reply, file a dispute with eBay as soon as the option is available. You'll get your money back. Don't worry.

The tracking info just showed up for the number and there in fact a package coming here from Tucson, AZ. The seller is telling me that it was sent via 2 day express shipping and will be here on Saturday. I just spoke with the USPS customer service rep. he told me there is a package but that he had no info on it such as the size, weight, or value of it. He said that was odd. Also he told me that the seller removed the signature confirmation option which the seller told me I did have to sign for it. I guess I'm getting a package but won't know what's in it till I get it.... If something happens to the package without the signature confirmation, who is responsible for it, me or the seller? Any big purchase like this before was always insured with delivery confirmation.

 

[CEmajr]

The tracking info just showed up for the number and there in fact a package coming here from Tucson, AZ. The seller is telling me that it was sent via 2 day express shipping and will be here on Saturday. I just spoke with the USPS customer service rep. he told me there is a package but that he had no info on it such as the size, weight, or value of it. He said that was odd. Also he told me that the seller removed the signature confirmation option which the seller told me I did have to sign for it. I guess I'm getting a package but won't know what's in it till I get it.... If something happens to the package without the signature confirmation, who is responsible for it, me or the seller? Any big purchase like this before was always insured with delivery confirmation.

The seller is fully responsible for making sure the package arrives to the buyer. It sounds like everything should be good now but if it turns out not to be then it's on the seller.

 

[maliu]

Take pictures as you open the package. In case you get something you didn't expect. If it has tracking, the PO will have to scan its arrival. If the dates of the arrival scan and the photos match it's great evidence in your favor if the deal goes bad.

 

[Crichton333]

Big money purchases from eBay always take 10 years off my life, always checking that shipping updates.

 

[Hal~9000]

Take pictures as you open the package. In case you get something you didn't expect.

Good advice, but I'd take it a step further: OP (and everyone who shops via eBay) should take a continuous video of you opening the sealed mail package you receive as well as you opening the sealed iphone box and turning it on.

 

[Eileen89]

Thanks for all the advice that everyone has given me. My Verizon iPhone 6 arrived this afternoon. It was on my doorstep when I got home from the gym. Not only was it factory sealed as promised, the seller had it packaged so good it took me 5 minutes just to open it. I'm glad that the seller turned out to be good after all. Everything seems perfect with it so far. I took the Verizon sim out and put in my AT&T before I activated it. This one seems better than the T-Mobile iPhone 6 that I had for 13 days. The screen is much brighter and the call quality is loud and clear. Maybe that one had some SW bugs that I wasn't aware of. Right now I'm still waiting for my pictures to finish restoring so I can test it out some more.
Thanks again everyone. MacRumors is Awesome!

 

[samiznaetekto]

looks like fake iphone

Thanks for all the advice that everyone has given me. My Verizon iPhone 6 arrived this afternoon. It was on my doorstep when I got home from the gym. Not only was it factory sealed as promised, the seller had it packaged so good it took me 5 minutes just to open it. I'm glad that the seller turned out to be good after all. Everything seems perfect with it so far. I took the Verizon sim out and put in my AT&T before I activated it. This one seems better than the T-Mobile iPhone 6 that I had for 13 days. The screen is much brighter and the call quality is loud and clear. Maybe that one had some SW bugs that I wasn't aware of. Right now I'm still waiting for my pictures to finish restoring so I can test it out some more.
Thanks again everyone. MacRumors is Awesome!

Image

Image

 

[danilko1]

I sold my iPhone on eBay, two years ago.

I took pictures of everything. The phone working, SN and other info from the about screen. I video recorded taking the phone, putting it in the box, wrapping it, labeling it. Took photos of all sides of the package. then at the post office, I took photos of the package again, with GPS info. I gave it to the post man and asked for a receipt with weight. I also shipped with tracking, insurance and signature required.

I promptly emailed the buyer with photos of the about screen, and box with shipping label, and tracking information.

No problems.

When you send photos to the buyer, through eBay's website, they will use the photos as evidence if there is a dispute.

I took no chances.

 

[Southern Dad]

I sold my iPhone on eBay, two years ago.

I took pictures of everything. The phone working, SN and other info from the about screen. I video recorded taking the phone, putting it in the box, wrapping it, labeling it. Took photos of all sides of the package. then at the post office, I took photos of the package again, with GPS info. I gave it to the post man and asked for a receipt with weight. I also shipped with tracking, insurance and signature required.

I promptly emailed the buyer with photos of the about screen, and box with shipping label, and tracking information.

No problems.

When you send photos to the buyer, through eBay's website, they will use the photos as evidence if there is a dispute.

I took no chances.

My friend bought an iPhone via eBay. He was pretty excited. He decided to video the unboxing. He puts these on his Youtube, why, I do not know... However this time it found him unwrapping a brick. Not a bricked iPhone but an actual brick. It's like a 1/2" thick and used for fireplaces, in an iPhone box.

His wife is laughing insanely in the background. I mean rolling on the floor laughing style. He never posted that video. He did get his money back but it took a while.

 

[danilko1]

My friend bought an iPhone via eBay. He was pretty excited. He decided to video the unboxing. He puts these on his Youtube, why, I do not know... However this time it found him unwrapping a brick. Not a bricked iPhone but an actual brick. It's like a 1/2" thick and used for fireplaces, in an iPhone box.

His wife is laughing insanely in the background. I mean rolling on the floor laughing style. He never posted that video. He did get his money back but it took a while.

He should have posted the video anyway. It would have been great. I really think he would have gotten a ton of views. I mean, not to be disrespectful, but the experience would have been a treasure. (knowing he got his money back)

 

[Southern Dad]

He should have posted the video anyway. It would have been great. I really think he would have gotten a ton of views. I mean, not to be disrespectful, but the experience would have been a treasure. (knowing he got his money back)

I think the part where he drops a few words that would make a sailor blush and says some not so polite things to his wife, whom he loves dearly but was laughing her brains out probably made him not post it. But when I saw it one day at their house, I couldn't stop laughing, either.

I just text him to ask if he still had the video, his reply has two words... LOL

 

[617aircav]

File a dispute with ebay and get a refund asap. Seems the terms of the sale have change since he has not shipped by advertised date. He doesn't have it in stock and is buying time to get its. How much did you pay?

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

The OP has the phone. A happy ending

 

[Night Spring]

I think the part where he drops a few words that would make a sailor blush and says some not so polite things to his wife, whom he loves dearly but was laughing her brains out probably made him not post it. But when I saw it one day at their house, I couldn't stop laughing, either.

I just text him to ask if he still had the video, his reply has two words... LOL

Ha! This is funny just hearing about it! I'm sure it would have gone viral if it had been posted.