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Sold iPhone 3G on eBay, now buyer is making egregious claims

SDAVE said:
Yes he can. You can dispute the claims with PayPal. It will take a while, but it will work.

Make sure to save all your delivery confirmation pages, ebay pages, the lot. Print all of them out too, not just digital copies.

When you hit the buy button on eBay or win the auction, you have to abide by the rules on each auction. I've been a member on eBay since 1999 so trust me with this one.
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Uh, no. Ebay/Paypal nearly always sides with the buyer. It sucks, they suck.
 
ijen0311 said:
Not to depress you, but...

I'm an eBay 100% feedback member since 2001. (Over 100 transactions.)
Buyer was a 0% feedback buyer who joined during my auction (I didn't notice until it was too late).

She told Paypal I shipped her an empty box when I sold her my 3G. Long story short, even with shipping receipts, etc., I lost. Paypal balance is -$320ish now.

Take all your money out and cancel any Paypal auto-charges like iTunes. Paypal will screw you.
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conshok26 said:
I had the same issue 2 years ago when I sold my 1st Gen when the 3G came out. I even went to the apple store and got a brand new one the day before because the sim tray would not go back into the phone. He claimed he received an empty box. Stupid me didn't have the thing insured so I was out $300.00. The guy would buy phones then make some excuse to dispute the transaction then would sell them on ebay UK with the same user ID.
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It's possible to protect yourself from fraudulent buyers by following all the proper procedures for Paypal seller protection, including getting a signature confirmation for transactions over $250. Sounds like neither of you did this. Moreover, you canreport fraudulent buyers to eBay/Paypal.

Jessica Lares said:
Ah, ok. Still, it doesn't actually protect you. Like I said, they'll start sending you letters in a few years trying to collect more money.
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Yeah, if it can be traced to you (how do you get paid anyway?), you're not protected.
 
Ryeno said:
You realize by default paypal will side with the buyer? It's an uphill battle and more importantly luck if you can actually get them to actually side with you.
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this. a million times this.

OP, it doesn't matter what your return policy is, paypal's return policies supersede yours. you agree to their policies by using their services. they will completely screw you over and side with the buyer 99.9999% of the time.

this is why i only sell on craigslist. ebay died a long time ago with these loophole policies and horrible fees.
 
ZazenZach said:
this. a million times this.

OP, it doesn't matter what your return policy is, paypal's return policies supersede yours. you agree to their policies by using their services. they will completely screw you over and side with the buyer 99.9999% of the time.

this is why i only sell on craigslist. ebay died a long time ago with these loophole policies and horrible fees.
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Yep. I use to sell $1000's worth of items on ebay. No more for years now. In the end I only accepted money orders for pricey stuff, but with understanding buyers are uneasy about sending out funds unsecured. Even to those with a good selling history. So on those items I ended up not getting as high of bid as if I had accepted paypal.

To think I use to sell iMacs, etc.. up there. craigslist or I don't sell it unless private sale.
 
TB07-NJ said:
Here is a better one. I bought an item from a seller for $750 that was no good. He told me to send it back. I sent it by "adult sig required" Fedex. he got it and immediately issued the refund. I had to wait 10 days until his refund cleared HIS bank. His refund failed because he had no money in his BANK so I didn't get paid. He sold the item a SECOND time. So he's been paid TWICE for it but my refund failed. I file a complaint with PayPal. The phone rep immediately gives me my money back and files a dispute because it was obviously fraudulent. 2 weeks later I get an email from PayPal that my claim was dismissed (seller won) with no reason given. So I call the seller and ask wtf is up. He says "his bank account is under bankruptcy." So now he's been paid twice for the same item and I am out $750. Been a PayPal customer for 12 years with ZERO problems .....
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JayLenochiniMac said:
You paid by check? A credit card transaction does not need to "clear." Next time pay using a credit card and you can aways file a dispute with the CC company for an item not received as promised.
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NO I didn't PAY by check but I accidentally used my bank account to pay rather than my Amex. It was the sellers REFUND that had to come out of the SELLERS bank account to refund me that bounced. He withdrew the funds so it had to come from his bank account. PayPal waits for the SELLERS payment to clear HIS BANK before releasing the funds back to me. It is HIS BANK ACCOUNT that was empty so I didn't get refunded. I then filed a PayPal dispute stating the not only did I not get my refund because the SELLERS bank wouldn't clear the $750 but the SELLER sold the item again after he got it back from me. The seller (and his bank account) is now under bankruptcy protection. My refund becomes part of the bankruptcy with PayPal as the owner of the claim. The PayPal dispute resolution simply states:

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The "not as described" is not correct but was the only option they had to use. There was no option for my issue. PayPal won't provide any more information and told me I could file a criminal complaint if I wanted to. Driving 1600 miles isn't an option, besides it would probably fail due to the bankruptcy.
 
TB07-NJ said:
NO I didn't PAY by check but I accidentally used my bank account to pay rather than my Amex.
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this is why you should only pay with credit cards on purchases like these.

that's really got to suck, but look on the brightside...you might be out $750...but he's bankrupt...

just curious...why did you want the refund? was the item damaged?
 
Music_Producer said:
I'm a ebay seller with over 2500+ positive feedbacks and I'm getting quite tired of all these 'omg paypal sux!!!' claims.

First, always ship a package over $250 in value with signature confirmation - delivery confirmation is not enough to back up your claim. Second, and most important - insure the item.

All merchant account companies/credit card payment processors will initiate a 'freeze' on the charges - regardless of whether the buyer is making a fraudulent claim or not - whether it's paypal, authorize.net, 2checkout.com, wells fargo business solutions - you get the idea.

I have had this happen 3 times - because of signature confirmation I was saved on 2 items, but the third one only had delivery confirmation and I had to refund the money. However, the item was insured, and I was paid full insurance because of this claim. Now, in the event of dishonesty on the buyer's part - the insurance company can decide to investigate that person, but as far as the seller is concerned - he will get his insurance payment.

Always, always, always add signature confirmation and insurance to every shipment. If you want to go one step further you can add registered mail confirmation to it as well.
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+1

I've been using PayPal for 10 years, and I always find them to deal fairly with BOTH sides during a dispute.
 
MmmPancakes said:
Hi guys. I'm in an odd situation and want to turn to the wisdom of the masses for some advice.

I sold my old iPhone 3G on eBay after buying an iPhone 4. I posted pictures of the device (not very detailed). A buyer purchased, and emailed and said he wanted to jailbreak the phone and use it on Verizon. Obviously, he meant he wanted to unlock it.

The phone was delivered on Aug. 5, and I never heard from the buyer. But then on Aug. 13, the buyer contacts me and claims there are scratches and dead pixels on the device, and he wants a refund. The device had extremely minimal scratches. Virtually none. There were certainly no dead pixels, as the phone was refurbished just several weeks earlier by Apple.

The auction clearly stated the return policy was 3 days.

The buyer paid through Paypal. His feedback has a couple dings, but nothing major.

I'm assuming he tried to unlock it and is now fabricating issues in order to obtain a refund.

Have you ever had an experience like this? What do you think is the best approach?
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Did you describe the condition of the phone as new or used? If you stated it was a used phone then as long as all the functions work then I would think small imperfections shouldn't matter,
 
Jessica Lares said:
Yeah, the fact is that your debit/credit/bank info HAS to line up. Don't they require a ID number too? If I'm not mistaken...
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You don't necessarily need to provide Paypal your bank info (i.e. get verified by linking your bank account) as a seller, but the fact that they have your address is enough for a collection agency to trace you. I play it extra safe by always requesting a paper check when I get paid, even though Paypal has a policy of never taking money out of your bank account without your permission.

TB07-NJ said:
NO I didn't PAY by check but I accidentally used my bank account to pay rather than my Amex. It was the sellers REFUND that had to come out of the SELLERS bank account to refund me that bounced. He withdrew the funds so it had to come from his bank account. PayPal waits for the SELLERS payment to clear HIS BANK before releasing the funds back to me. It is HIS BANK ACCOUNT that was empty so I didn't get refunded. I then filed a PayPal dispute stating the not only did I not get my refund because the SELLERS bank wouldn't clear the $750 but the SELLER sold the item again after he got it back from me. The seller (and his bank account) is now under bankruptcy protection. My refund becomes part of the bankruptcy with PayPal as the owner of the claim.
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Yeah, really no different from paying any other business with a check or in cash only to have it declare bankruptcy and you're screwed. Always pay with a CC.

Legends20036 said:
Did you describe the condition of the phone as new or used? If you stated it was a used phone then as long as all the functions work then I would think small imperfections shouldn't matter,
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The phone had just been refurbished. "New" or "used" is irrelevant, but it's important to describe the condition of the phone accurately and mention any and all defects it may have. At this point, it sounds like it's a fraudulent buyer who will return a different, scratched-up iPhone back to the OP.
 
This is why I chose to use gazelle

I know I could have probably gotten more through ebay, but why have this headache. I have sent both my old iPhone to gazelle (the 3Gs has a slight crack in the screen). So far been happy with them.

Anyway, I know I left money on the table, I saved on piece of mind. Your milage may vary.
 
ZazenZach said:
this is why you should only pay with credit cards on purchases like these.

that's really got to suck, but look on the brightside...you might be out $750...but he's bankrupt...

just curious...why did you want the refund? was the item damaged?
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Long story .... Short version was I needed it for a specific date (no later than 1 week after purchase). He was two UPS GROUND delivery days from me. He told me it was shipped the next day, provided a tracking number and I would have it in 2 days. He lied. The tracking number was never used. He never shipped it for 10+ days then when he finally shipped it it went USPS Parcel post which took almost 2 weeks to get to me (total time from order to delivery over 3 weeks). When I got it he said "just ship it back." I did and he refunded me same day he got it and sold it again the next day. The rest was history.
 
TB07-NJ said:
Long story .... Short version was I needed it for a specific date (no later than 1 week after purchase). He was two UPS GROUND delivery days from me. He told me it was shipped the next day, provided a tracking number and I would have it in 2 days. He lied. The tracking number was never used. He never shipped it for 10+ days then when he finally shipped it it went USPS Parcel post which took almost 2 weeks to get to me (total time from order to delivery over 3 weeks). When I got it he said "just ship it back." I did and he refunded me same day he got it and sold it again the next day. The rest was history.
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If something like this happens to you next time, the moment it's past the expected delivery date, contact Paypal immediately.


P.S. - Also file a complaint with the BBB.
 
This probably goes against most people here but if the phone is not damaged why not just refund the money and attempt to resell it? Guess you have no way of telling if the phone is damaged or not before you do the refund. Who knows hope all communication was through ebay mail so everything can be tracked.
 
can PayPal recover money from your bank account linked to PayPal without your consent?? Or only funds in your PayPal account
 
rans0m00 said:
This probably goes against most people here but if the phone is not damaged why not just refund the money and attempt to resell it? Guess you have no way of telling if the phone is damaged or not before you do the refund. Who knows hope all communication was through ebay mail so everything can be tracked.
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Yes, but it's always a potential red flag when you've put down "no return accepted" and the buyer wants to return it, for this is a common way for them to screw you by sending you a different iPhone. In case of a Significant Not As Described dispute, you'll have no choice but to accept the return and PayPal will refund their money once they get the delivery confirmation.

iMrNiceGuy0023 said:
can PayPal recover money from your bank account linked to PayPal without your consent?? Or only funds in your PayPal account
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Only funds in your PayPal account. They have a policy of not recovering money from your bank account without your consent.
 
I quit using the bay, for this very reason. When the economy is in it's current state people get difficult. Too big of a time waster, too much of a headache.

Now I use Gazelle. Fast, easy and l make nearly as much money.
 
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