A buyer has opened an eBay case against me. Need advice.

carolina88 on 04/05/2015 - 23:13
Last edited 29/05/2015 - 15:04 by 1 other user

Hi all,

I have had my ebay account now for many years and have 100% feedback score as well as being a top-rated seller.
Recently i sold a psp on ebay. I put up photos of the psp turned on and took photos of it externally also (front, back view).
The buyer received the item today and has now sent me a very rude message claiming that i am a scammer and that the psp does not even turn on.
He has opened up a case against me indicating that the item bought is significantly different to the listing thus placing the amount he paid on hold in my paypal account.
I am not sure what to do in this case as i know for sure the psp was working - i have the photo i took of it turned on which shows that it was taken when i made the listing.
I am wondering if i should close the listing and refund the money once psp has been returned or push forward my point of view on the case. I really don't want to have my feedback score affected by this. What are the chances of seller winning cases like these?

This was my description of my listing:
Sony PSP-2001 Console with power supply
Selling with 1 game: FIFA 06
Comes with 32 MB Memory Stick & Memory Stick Duo Adapter.
Seems to work fine and apart from the normal scratches from use it's in pretty good condition.

These are the conversations i have had so far with the seller:

Buyer:
What the fk are you playing at mate… the psp DOESNT EVEN WORK……
Even when i took the fake battery out and put a real on in its not charging or turning on!
You scamming dog!!!
Im opening a case with paypal mate

Me:
Hello
Firstly let me say that there is no need for you to talk to me in that way.
I am definitely not a scammer as my feedback proves.
The item was working 100% fine before and when it was sold to you.
This is evident in the photo that is shown in the listing, of the item clearly on.

Buyer:
I speak to you how ever i want. Yes you are a scammer because its not working at all no its not charging its not turning on… nothing!!!! This is absolutely bullshit!

Me:
Well i can say you are being very rude, especially since what i sent you was as described.
As i said the psp was working, once again as is evident in the photos. I really don't know how you can dispute that, it's clear proof and would actually work in my favor in this paypal case that you opened.
I even have a time stamp saved of the photo which shows that it would turn on and was in working condition at the time of my listing.
I'm sorry if it didn't work for you, i'm not sure why that has happened as every time i turned it on it worked fine.
Once you send back the item exactly as it was sent to you with all items i will check it and if i am satisfied with it's condition i will close the case returning your money.
I am not a scammer, i am an honest person who has always tried to list items as i have seen them and from my feedback that i have had for many years my buyers have been satisfied.
Once again sorry that you are not satisfied. Please send back the item, as it was sent to you (with tracking).

Buyer:
Firstly… why would i lie and say its not working? HOW THE F*** would that benefit me in any way? I want the f****** psp HENCE i brought it and you think i would f*** around with all this if it did actually work?

NO… i wouldnt! You are a clown trying to rip innocent people off and i have proof because you said its in perfect working order yet when i get it? It doesnt work WHAT SO EVER… Its not even bloody charging for christ sake so its VERY unlikely that this had happened during postage! I dont care if you have photos with times of it turned on… its called photo shop. Il send you a f****** video of me turning it on whiles its plugged in the the power plug and nothing happening not even the light comes on..

You think your going to get away with this hahaha you have no proof im the one with the broken psp you said was working!

You can refund me $10 for postage then i will send it back to. You can see it doesnt f****** work and refund me the rest which is $50!
And i will still be making aure i leave shit feedback on your account because are a f****** joke!

  • Latest update to those interested. Buyer is now stating postage will cost him $23.50 to send due to weight and that is without tracking. He is expecting me to refund this back to him.
    I have told him I won't be doing that as it should weigh the same amount as when I sent it to him which is only about $8. It weighs 500g.
    Waiting for the next abusive message now. I have reported him to ebay and am waiting for the response.

UPDATE:
The buyer has since escalated the claim. I spoke to paypal and told them my situation as well as my suspicions of him sending me back a different faulty item. They basically told me it was unlikely that I would win the claim as there was no way to prove the item was working when I actually sent it and that it wasn't damaged in transit. In terms of gdtting back a different item i could appeal the case within 10 days. For this reason I have decided to offer the refund of the product only once it has been returned as it was. I have reiterated that it must come with tracking as per paypal conditions. If it doesn't arrive by the 15th the case closes with no refund to buyer. Buyer is furious about this and keeps telling me to pay up first so will have to wait and see if he actually sends it. On the plus side I also spoke with ebay who have assured me if he leaves feedback it will most likely be removed due to their extortion policy.
I have definitely learnt my lesson in this case with taking photos of serial numbers however I don't particularly feel like selling electronics on ebay anymore.

Poll Options

  • 7
    Refund money
  • 233
    Push through with claim
General Discussion

Related Stores

eBay Australia
eBay Australia
Marketplace

Comments

        • MasterScythe on 11/05/2015 - 10:40

          @whodidthat:
          Sure it is.
          People like to be keyboard warriors, meet them face to face and they back down quickly.

          You posted the item, I assume you have his address; rock up.

          On principal I'd pay for a plane ticket and make him repeat his messages to your face. I'd take a camera so to have proof that any sort of assault you may have to defend against was provoked\ initiated by him.
          Possibly even print out the inflammatory messages should the police get involved.

          I try to only sell within Australia.

          Only once have I had to jump on the bike and make a few hours ride to someones house.

          He wasn't too sure how to respond to a few bikes rocking up to discuss in person his internet antics.

          He was calm, as was I, he admitted he was wrong, I sent the videoof his confession to paypal, case closed.

        • Jay43 on 19/05/2015 - 06:41

          @MasterScythe:

          Sure you did.

        • MasterScythe on 19/05/2015 - 10:23
          +1

          @Jay43:

          Yep, 100%.
          Why do you ask?

          Bought a new tank for the bike with 'all new fittings'. and it arrived without them. (washers, bolts, T valve)

          Seller argued (aggressively, which is an understatement) that they were there.
          Since we were all in one place working on the bikes anyway, we decided to go see what all the 'anger' was about, since he clearly wasn't going to talk calmly online; and since when has anyone said no to a freeway ride to the coast with mates?

          Strangely, the anger disappeared once people were face to face with him; he then bothered to triple check, and sure enough, the bag of fittings was on the floor.

          Why do you ask if I was sure?
          I'm pretty certain I'm young enough to still recall events in my life.
          Or do you just have some form of deep seeded trust issues?

  • StuffnStuff on 05/05/2015 - 11:54

    Try calling EBay / PayPal as the buyer is being abusive towards you. They may be doing this to other sellers.
    Let EBay/PayPal will probably rule in the buyers favour but will insist he returns the item. It has to be received in the same condition you sent it.
    Unless the transaction is cancelled the buyer can leave negative feedback. As a seller you can only leave positive feedback and you also get the right to reply to negative comments. Just chose your words carefully that might indicate a positive outcome so anyone reading your negative comments can see you did the right thing….even if you didn't !
    Negative feedback does not last for ever. I've had it and think it gets restored after about 6 months and to be honest did not effect my sales.
    I'm pretty sure EBay/PayPal will insist it is sent back as I was once scammed when I purchased a watch from China and only received a piece of red string. Paypal were insistent that I had to post it back to get my refund even though the address was nothing more than a random name, and city. It would never have got there and was just another delay tack tick by the seller. I ended up calling Paypal and demanded I speak with someone senior as my case was just being dealt with by low end call centre staff who had no intelligence ! I got it resolved straight away.
    If you get no joy from following procedure online with EBay/PayPal…..Call them, don't give up or give in if you truly feel you are right !.

    • whodidthat on 05/05/2015 - 11:59

      Even cancelled transactions leave you open to feedback.
      Only NPB disputes (once closed without receiving payment) block feedback being left.

      It takes 12 months for negative & neutral feedback to "fall off".

  • JimB on 05/05/2015 - 11:58
    +2

    The buyer seems like an asshole. Don't give in to him.

    Reasons like this is the sole reason that I never bother selling anything on eBay.

    • Aceboy884 on 05/05/2015 - 14:29

      yep, some people feel like it's an entitlement to be an asshole

  • zs8574832 on 05/05/2015 - 12:12
    +9

    forget about your 100% feedback, even you pay the return postage, the guy with full mouth of "shit fukk" will still leave you a neg feedback for sure.

    Let him open the ebay / paypal case against you, paypal will let him send back the psp, return postage is on his cost.

    Don't forget shoot a video when you open the returning box, take it as evidence if he send a damaged psp or a empty box, something is called "empty box scammer" google it if you dont know what is about.

    PS:
    Don't waste your time on phone with ebay / paypal, they are hopeless.

    • jackary on 05/05/2015 - 18:29

      Wow! I've learnt something new today, thank you!

  • pointless martyr on 05/05/2015 - 12:22
    +4

    Cant believe fools like this waste everyones time over something Like a $50 piece of old electronics. Ask him to send a photo of the serial number before he sends it back so you can match against your records, and because you need this as evidence on his behalf when you launch several high level investigations with Australia Post and your personal insurance company and possible even the AFP, Interpol etc. If hes about to send a different defective item he might just just go away…

  • FishesA on 05/05/2015 - 14:07

    Ive been on ebay for 12 years, seller and buyer, 900 transactions

    The guy is unreasonably aggressive - Id cut my losses, pay the return postage and forget about the whole thing.

    If he negs you, you can respond to the feedback, just calmly state the facts.
    EG
    Feedback: SELLER IS A SCAMMING DOG - SOLD ME BROKEN PSP - CHEAT AND LIAR
    RESPOND: Item showed working in ad, fine when sent, offered buyer immediate refund

    Its not worth staying involved or aggravating this idiot - Ebay is heavily on the side of buyers in disputes.

    PayPal reimburses buyers for postage costs when returning faulty items.

    Let us know the outcome? Sorry that youre having this experience :(

    • cypher67 on 05/05/2015 - 14:10
      +9

      TL:DR - Grab your ankles

  • Aceboy884 on 05/05/2015 - 14:26
    +3

    Speaking from experience, when it comes to dealing with customers.

    You need to try and detach yourself from being emotional and stick to the facts.

    If he claims it is faulty, and you know, it was not faulty when it was posted.

    Then assuming what he claim is true, the item was damaged during transit. This is aust post responsibility and you should file a claim with Australia post.

    OR

    When you get it back and you can see it is different from the unit you sent him, then you will have to contact paypal to file an appeal. most likely ebay/paypal will ask you to send it to a US address for the claim. This will cost you $20 or so and it is up to you if you want to proceed.

    As to both scenarios, you will need to take it back and access.

    It will also help, if you stop replying to him straight away, give the other person time to chill out.

    Most hot heads will chill out, with time. Replying him and accusing him of being a liar, will only fan his rage.

    Your worst case senario is already a given, a negative feedback, which unfortunately is unavoidable.

    depending on your advert on how it is advertised, if you specified returns are buyer responsibility, then just give him the address for return and leave it to the buyer to return. DO NOT in any circumstance, pay the buyer in advance for return. that is a big no no, especially if you think this person is a con artist.

    So try and mitigate your loss, by following up the steps above.

  • maxsdadda on 05/05/2015 - 15:01

    I agree with most comments.

    Just want to confirm how certain YOU are that what you sent him was in fact working? As someone else mentioned, the wording you used may lead others to think that it may not have been working?

    I had a guy buy a hard drive off me.
    Sent me photos of it being broken when he got it, which was odd as he'd also opened it incorrectly (cut it instead of using the pre cut slit). It was broken in such a way that he wouldn't have to open the transparent bag to see it. It also looked like he'd dropped it.
    I told him I'd warrant it and refund no problem but that I record serial numbers when I post them, so if it doesn't match he'll not only lose the refund, I'll be reporting him to the police for fraud.
    I didn't record the serial number but looking at the rest of the drives I had left I'd have the build month and similar serial numbers.
    Probably no need to be that melodramatic but he fired straight away without a question before he accused me of sending him a broken drive… Never did hear from him again though.
    Definitely video receiving it at Aus post and record the opening of it too IF he decides to return it.
    If he does it to you, check what he's selling, buy it then reciprocate the whole saga word for word ;)

    Is there a possibility of oz post claim for damages in transit??

    • whodidthat on 05/05/2015 - 15:25

      OP did say "I am not sure what to do in this case as i know for sure the psp was working - i have the photo i took of it turned on which shows that it was taken when i made the listing."

  • goosegog on 05/05/2015 - 16:06

    Oh dear Carolina88 - There is certainly a very strong lesson to be learnt from this whole unfortunate episode.
    1* Always cover your back when selling a product through ebay, gumtree etc. - to ensure these unscrupulous low-lifes cannot come back to you. Not everyone is honest unfortunately.
    2* As many people have mentioned - you should have recorded both the serial number of the psp & the battery, which he is claiming as fake. Without proof you are on a bit of a sticky wicket - as it's your word against his.
    Good luck on the outcome of this episode.

  • jnewau on 05/05/2015 - 16:07
    +2

    I hope you've already reported this clown for abusive language as pointed out by several posters, but also report him for Feedback Extortion as well

    http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/feedback-extortion.html

    There are clear threats in those emails that would qualify

  • stumo on 05/05/2015 - 16:33
    +2

    Keep that message where he threatened you with negitive feedback. If he does leave a neg you can use that message to get the feedback removed. He will also probably cop a ban because feedback extorsion is against the ebay rules.

  • Cave Fire on 05/05/2015 - 17:45

    Had a similar case with an Iphone, buyer had a user id of rocksxxxxxx, perfect feedback and was located in melbourne. Apparently, the power button was not able to be used to go into sleep mode. His messages had a similar pattern to them, except he was asking for money for supposed repairs and he was refusing to send the item back. I figured if I sent the money, I would be going against established process, he could then claim he didn't get the money or find further things that were "broken".

    A paypal dispute was opened, which I won. However, the difference with my case was that the money had cleared. I had found warnings that not displaying a serial or IMEI in the auction puts you at risk of being scammed. I also found many cases of Paypal siding with the buyer and posts that say this occurs most of the time.

  • beesa888 on 05/05/2015 - 18:12

    I've had a similar situation where the buyer claimed i sold him a phone with water damage. I know for a fact the phone was perfectly fine when it left my hands and was sealed in satchel with padding, the only problem where I admit fault was the phone was locked to VF, i forgot to unlock it before shipping it. VF gave me the unlock code, which I was happy to give the user, however, like your case, the buyer was incredibly rude and threatening, I reported the case to ebay, however they astonishingly sided with the buyer. This infuriated me as the buyer was threatening to leave me negative feedback regardless of the outcome.

    After several phone calls to eBay pleading my case, the person on the phone agreed that I was not as fault as I accepted the return of the phone which worked perfectly, and gave a full refund. However my 100% perfect feedback was not permanently ruined and could not be revoked. eBay are (profanity) useless and greedy with their 10% seller fees including postage!! I avoid selling on their where possible.

    • ankor on 05/05/2015 - 18:15

      Did you ever try the FOS as indicated above by a few other people earlier in the thread?
      It certainly sounds like a good idea when you have obvious scammers like that.

      • beesa888 on 05/05/2015 - 18:37
        +2

        I actually did. They said their reasoning was because I listed the item as 'unlocked' where it was locked. It was an honest mistake which when I found out, I immediately contact VF to obtain the unlock code for the user. Even when i was willing to provide the steps and code to unlock the phone, eBay told me, that was significantly not as described. eBay reviewed the transcript of our conversation and stated the buyers are free to leave any feedback they wished.

        I annoys me is they left a message full of scam warning message and as a seller, you cannot leave feedback for them.

        eBay was already crap years ago, but when they took away sellers ability to leave feedback, that was pretty much the end for me. Occasionally getting rude scammer buyers with no support for eBay themselves claiming to offer seller protection… my arse…

        • ankor on 05/05/2015 - 22:40

          wow very enlightening. Thanks for sharing. Hopefully if it goes that far, they rule in the OP's favour.

  • dragon7 on 05/05/2015 - 19:07

    Mate, when he leaves you a neg feedback, appeal to ebay and they will remove it straight away. I think it's their policy to remove one neg feedback from a seller account. When i appealed last time, they removed the feedback without even investigating, saying that because i was making the effort to appeal, they removed it as a good gesture.

  • [Deactivated] on 05/05/2015 - 19:34
    +2

    Ebay/Paypal are useless, you can try, but they don't give a shit about sellers and you will cop that neg feedback. Get him to send a Video to demonstrate the supposed fault and a picture of the s/n (even if you forgot to take a photo of the s/n before you sent it, it might lead to evidence that he is bluffing if he did a switcharoo if he doesn't want to post that.

  • Kooratz on 05/05/2015 - 19:42
    +2

    That's why i don't sell goods on ebay anymore, small thing that i don't need I donate to salvation army or friends, more valuable items (like new HTC M8 phone etc) I'll do face to face transaction using gum tree and i bring friends just in case.

    • cloudy on 05/05/2015 - 22:08

      So true, I am the same, so many scamming buyers. Just not worth the risk and trouble.

      Definitely find someone on gumtree, who is willing to meet, test, try, validate the product, and happy to part with cash. Mst importantly leave no other way of finding each other.

      So much better that way.

      • ankor on 05/05/2015 - 22:42
        +1

        Definitely. Although I sold a video card once and let it happen at my place in case the guy wanted to test it. He'd been scammed by someone selling him a crappy washing machine before and we both tried to give each other a better deal.

        The nerd-bro love was strong that day.

        • cloudy on 06/05/2015 - 09:42

          Yea, true, I guess some items can't avoid a mutual place, but one can understand that.

  • gavin8761 on 05/05/2015 - 19:44

    Sorry if this has already been mentioned, how would you know if it was your original PSP or his broken one that didn't charge. Don't bow down to his ridiculous and rude demands.

  • tasty-falafel on 05/05/2015 - 19:54

    eBay pros, I have a question:

    I haven't sold many things on eBay but may do so in the future. How do you avoid a situation like this? I mean assuming that the product was in full working condition when you sent it and presumably the receiver is trying to scam you and claim it's broken. Is there anything you can do to tip the scales in your favour?

    I thought of taking a recording of putting the product into a box with the buyers name and address on it however I don't think that would hold up, people could just assume that you unpacked it straight after you stopped recording.

    I ask because I hear a hell of a lot of bad stories like this and eBay is a great avenue to sell electronics + everything else, however I am shit scared to do so in fear that a scammer will do this shit to me.

    • tomclancy on 05/05/2015 - 20:23
      +1

      You can't avoid eBay/PayPal scams. eBay/PayPal could try and plug holes but scammers will find other ways. Plus eBay/PayPal treat sellers like shit. Worse than shit.

      Assume you did record serial numbers and take videos etc of every item you sell all it does is hopefully protect you from losing money on the 1-in-100 scam, but think of how much time you have wasted. Like the eBay pros have stated above, just wear the loss (or "grab your ankles" as one OzBargainer so elequently puts it) and move on. If selling electronics you should probably factor in 2-3% costs on gross profits from scammers and time-wasting buyers where you have to refund for legitimate reasons and you lose out on the original cost of postage.

      My only recommendation would be (if possible) to setup a basic e-commerce website first and then get an eBay username "website_com_au". In eBay posts you are not allowed to specifically link to your external website but you can make clever references and show support email addresses etc which will allow the savvy buyer to check your website first. Obviously you have 5% cheaper products on your website and you are better off because you don't pay the 10% eBay fee and your customers win too. Electronics consumers would be more internet savvy than most so you might see more transactions happen on your ecommerce website than through eBay.

      Best of luck with the venture

    • whodidthat on 05/05/2015 - 21:54
      +2

      There isn't a way, ebay has made it far too easy for scammers, etc., far too much online theft that ebay is really a party to.

      The only thing you can do, if/when Paypal hand your money over is to complain to FOS. Paypal don't like that as it costs them money to defend themselves.

      Soon, ebay and Paypal will be two separate companies again. A lot of claims are made through the, badly thought out, ebay guarantee. However, that really doesn't make any difference as far as FOS goes - if payment was made via Paypal, you can still complain about it.

      I've "known" ebay for a very long time and they know me well. I went to PeSA last year, as soon as I mentioned my ID, you could see their faces change.
      I was one involved with a petition thread on ebay back in 2006, they know what I am prepared to do. I will take on anyone (not physically) who "gets to me" like ebay do. I took on Jooman Park at PeSA and showed him to be a liar, in front of an audience.

  • imahapyboy on 05/05/2015 - 20:03
    +4

    as a 30000+ feedback seller, sadly you have no chance to win this case, paypal they don't give a shit about what seller says, coz buyer can easily do charge back on their card

  • Stallion on 05/05/2015 - 20:42

    Do you have a serial number recorded for the PSP ? Also just let PayPal decide, they don't side with one or the other just the facts. If you have proof e.g. photos/videos of it turning on, photos of the serial number. Also you have the conversation with the buyer where you have tried to resolve it and they are being unreasonable, they will side with you especially a buyer using that kind of language.

    Don't resort to their level. As the saying goes, don't drop to the level of an idiot, they will beat you with experience.

  • jason101 on 05/05/2015 - 20:45

    Hopefully he will leave a foul or derogatory remark in the feedback - you can then appeal to ebay who will remove it from your record. This has saved me a few times

  • Vieira4 on 05/05/2015 - 21:18

    Sounds like he has a dodgy PSP, so bought one similar on eBay, and is now trying to return the dodgy one to the seller. Did you happen to keep the serial number of the one you sold?

  • timthetoolman on 05/05/2015 - 22:00
    +2

    Why not just bluff him and tell him the serial numbers better match up when he returns it and see if he just drops it?

    • cloudy on 05/05/2015 - 22:10

      And if he does dropp it, it's pretty clear he is a scam. So I'd report him just to save the next innocent seller.

  • tonka on 05/05/2015 - 22:18
    +4

    There should be an independent website somewhere where you can leave real feedback about psychos on Ebay as well as their user names so others can ban them from bidding.

    • whodidthat on 05/05/2015 - 22:35

      There's quite a few of us thought about that as we have long lists in a couple of places, but it's getting the word spread around as we can't make mention of it on the ebay forums.

  • Tigi on 05/05/2015 - 22:37
    +2

    eBay seller/buyer here (mostly seller) with 300 trans over 10 years.

    Never have I come across a buyer like that. Reading his messages it seems like he is the one who is trying to scam you.

    While abusive language is not disallowed in eBay it sometimes shows which side is more professional, so hopefully once this comes into the hands of the PayPal dispute officer hopefully it gets weighted against him. Being a 100% feedback seller of many years and trans helps too.

    Whatever you do he has already said he'll leave a new feedback anyways, so if you are sure it was working when you sent it off DO NOT ENTERTAIN HIM further. You have provided the option of returning the item (at his cost) which he declined. At this stage, even if he promised not to leave a neg feedback if you send money for the shipping and refund I would not believe him. Stick to the facts when you deal with the eBay guys. Good luck!

    Excerpt from eBay policy:

    What happens when I ask eBay to help?

    If you ask us to review an open request, we’ll review all of the information and get back to you within 48 hours.

    If we decide in your favour, we’ll refund you. This will usually happen immediately if you haven’t received an item.

    Sometimes we won’t issue a full refund; this is normally because an item eventually arrived, or you decided to keep an item that wasn't as described instead of returning it

  • lousy on 05/05/2015 - 23:11

    I haven't read all the comments , just wanted to say sorry you seem to have picked up an a**hole for a buyer. Unfortunatly you can't help what feedback they give you. They seem incredibly unreasonable and likely to leave you negative feedback either way. You should report them to eBay and try to get them banned for how they communicate with you . With regards to PayPal either agree to a refund after they have sent the item back or push through with the claim but include all the photos showing that it worked and keep all correspondence between the two of you through eBay so a record is kept. Also if they swear or name call you through the feedback you can request the negative be revoked based on those grounds.

    • Joshman5k on 07/05/2015 - 15:50
      +3

      Use reverse psychology in your messages with regards to the feedback, Say something like:
      "Leave what you want but please don't swear in the feedback as I don't want to offend future buyers. "

  • dd721411 on 06/05/2015 - 01:56

    Attention, some potential (and possibly already) scamming buyers might have learned about the tricks as we've discussed here. And they might do some research on how to scam "more professionally".

  • turkz1 on 06/05/2015 - 02:30
    +1

    Not sure if this has been mentioned yet but if he refuses to pay for return postage tell him to claim it from paypal?

    Free Return Shipping Cost (up to $45) @ PayPal https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/188506

    • dd721411 on 06/05/2015 - 02:44

      Someone did hours ago but your help is warmly welcomed.

  • tassietigermaniac on 06/05/2015 - 06:30

    Sounds obvious, but if it's a PSP Vita the charging chord will plug into it even if it's the wrong way around. I've fixed a few friend's Vitas by pointing this out. If it's a Vita, make sure he's tried that (although sounds like at this point he'd lie about it if that was the cause)

    • carolina88 on 06/05/2015 - 07:03

      It's a psp-2001

      • tassietigermaniac on 06/05/2015 - 14:12

        Ahh, sorry about that, I have nothing to offer then. I'm a hoarder!

  • goms on 06/05/2015 - 08:40

    I've been in a similar situation before. In my case, it was an unopened original item. Buyer opened up a case against me and I politely told him that I will inspect the item upon arrival and if it's my original item and indeed working, I won't refund the money. He never sent the item back and the case was closed after few weeks.

    It was buyer's responsibility to send the item (not sure if the policy has changed now). And it has to be registered so ebay/paypal will know whether he did send the item. I guess buyer did not have to send it registered, but if the item never arrives or "never received" then he will lose his case.

    My advice is to tell him to send the item back, don't even offer him reimbursement. If he did send the item back in a bad shape, then pursue the case with paypal. There may be a chance that he will never send the item back if it was working. Worst case scenario he destroys the item or send a bad one to you, which may turn the case against you, but I don't see this being worse than what your situation is in right now.

    Good luck!

  • jellykingdom on 06/05/2015 - 09:13

    Just forward all of the correspondence as evidence in the claim.

    i had something similar happen recently, though not for a large amount of money

    I sent a modem router to someone, with a power supply. The power supply arrived damaged, due to the office negligence, not due to poor packaging.

    The guy wanted a full refund, to which I said "hell no!" because he had the modem which was working fine, and it was only a damaged power supply

    I eventually bought him a new power supply on ebay, and got it shipped there. He started losing his cool because it didn't arrive express post.

    It went to a paypal claim, and they sided with me, because I forwarded all of the abusive emails i was getting

  • jmak on 06/05/2015 - 10:00
    +3

    Just on that abusive nasty message, both Paypal and EBAY should do the right thing and ban that buyer's account! Every buyer has a right to complaint and a seller the right to respond but if you use abusive language without a fair reason, any rights should be thrown out of the window I'd say!

  • frinik on 06/05/2015 - 10:33

    You mentioned you took a photo of the unit powered on prior to sending.
    If your camera is setup properly, you should have timestamp on the photos to help defend his claim against you.

    • brilliantthings on 06/05/2015 - 10:50

      That was covered by OP early in the post

      • frinik on 06/05/2015 - 10:58
        -1

        ah didnt read everything

  • garetz on 06/05/2015 - 14:04
    +1

    In cases like this, never ever voluntarily send back money, always let paypal decide, they almost always find in favor of the buyer, but at least you have a small chance of winning it.

    The way ebay and paypal work, is a license to scam you, the seller.

  • Gnostikos on 06/05/2015 - 14:19
    +6

    You scamming dog!!!

    And i will still be making aure i leave shit feedback on your account because are a f****** joke!

    You got yourself a live one there. Sounds like a 100% trailer trash, Centrelink-sponsored, bogan degenerate.

    • rompastompa on 06/05/2015 - 15:53
      +4

      Perhaps the Government needs to have some sort of card they can give them to stop them purchasing from ebay ;)

  • [Deactivated] on 06/05/2015 - 16:33
    +1

    Is this person in the same state?
    If so, Id offer to meet them at their nearest police station to refund the cash/ psp in person.

    If they are a scammer, my guess is they might give up.
    If they do turn up, maybe they are genuine and it's simply been damaged in transit.

    • carolina88 on 06/05/2015 - 16:43

      He lives in Western Australia and I'm in another state.

      • Gnostikos on 06/05/2015 - 22:13
        +1

        Well that explains a bit…

        And I'm from WA.

        • jeeg on 07/05/2015 - 00:54

          Just wondering if Amar89 should/will pay a visit to this guy and tough him up a bit….no one treats our ozbargainer brother this way!

      • Soybeanus on 16/05/2015 - 00:29

        Hello, I'd be happy to pay him a visit for you, if it comes to that. Have a lovely day :)

    • FishesA on 06/05/2015 - 17:16

      I wouldnt want to meet Shitfukk in person

  • outlander on 06/05/2015 - 16:38
    +2

    Just move on. Its not worth wasting time on
    You have his address yeah? Send him a package every year with dog poo in it for christmas. Its the only mature thing to do

    • rompastompa on 06/05/2015 - 16:42
      +5

      Its the only manure thing to do

    • Ughhh on 06/05/2015 - 17:37
      +2

      Glitter might be more legal!

  • dlakers3peat on 06/05/2015 - 18:02
    +2

    This same thing happened to me but with a laptop. PayPal will definitely be on the side of the buyer no matter what. They are are absolute (profanity) when it comes to these things.

    there is a way around this but it's a long and arduous one. Basically PayPal are governed by the financial ombudsman. When they refund this guy make a complaint with them and if have evidence to support your claim you shall win.

  • [Deactivated] on 06/05/2015 - 19:41

    take him on the low life! just voted #159

    reminds me of a scumbag i dealt with on ebay last year..

  • Parentheses on 06/05/2015 - 20:15
    +10

    You know the best part? The dumbass gave you his home address.

    Go to a trade fair, whether it's home building, food&wine, or even (best one) a sexpo, and enter every competition, 'request more info', etc you can possibly find at every expo you ever visit from now on (be sure not to use his name, so he can't collect in case he actually wins something, and not yours so it isn't obvious who is doing it). Bonus points if you have his email address.

    That's the petty option, the hardcore option is obviously use a hoodie and sunglasses and start sending fake anthrax packages to government officials from the post box nearest his house with a return address marked.

  • fishnz on 06/05/2015 - 20:37

    See this article where it points out that Ebay cases are usually judged by a computer

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/news/article-3069278/How-eB…

  • maybeamacy on 06/05/2015 - 20:59

    How do you know he won't send you back a box of sand?

  • snajper on 06/05/2015 - 21:56
    +2

    I have dealt with idiots like that quite a few times. One claimed that the item was faulty and sent me back another faulty unit. Lucky I had serial number. Another case was when I sold my car through csales which we had since new and was faultless. He called back 3 days later claiming that engine has blown and demanded $2000 discount. I knew about this scam so I demanded for him to bring the car back for me to test. Never heard from that f……

  • jeeg on 07/05/2015 - 00:49

    Thanks for sharing your experience. This thread reminded me that if I were to sell an item on ebay, I should remember to quote its serial number directly on the listing page.

  • Ridiculous Panda on 07/05/2015 - 00:51

    Post his address here. And closest ozbargainer will go punch him in the face for a fee.

  • jeeg on 07/05/2015 - 01:01
    +2

    The guy claimed the time stamped photos have been photoshopped. This kind of "bluffalology" should be easily overturned by sending the photo to FotoForensics.

    http://fotoforensics.com/
    http://fotoforensics.com/tutorial.php

    Just a thought….

  • BertieBrown on 07/05/2015 - 01:51

    I don't use eBay to sell anything any more, unless it's either something non-electric or is reasonably hard to refute it's authenticity or condition.

    Now I only use Gumtree, which as many would be aware has a whole set of problems of its own.

    I appreciate that this doesn't help the OP, their situation really sucks, but maybe a lesson learned here is to possibly in future avoid ebay if that is a possible option.

    IMO, both PayPal and eBay need to alter their terms for dispute to ensure that no fraudulent activity is tolerated, and to prevent fraudulent buyers from having more protection than sellers.

  • centrelink on 07/05/2015 - 03:15

    Feedback is over-rated, don't let it get to you about a number. It's a pointless exercise that tries to make people proud of, when it hardly serves a purpose. I always hear that "I've been on eBay for 10+ years and blah blah blah" statement as it really means something since 99% of the popular have a 100% standing account.

    If buyer escalates to PayPal then he maybe abusing the system, then again he just may be pissed off that it actually doesn't work and the PSP may have arrived damage during transition and this case, BOTH of yous are correct but have a mis-understanding.

    Either way from my experience, you are screwed either way as I have NEVER won cases like this as a seller. The best you can do is, just be polite and sincere and believe the buyer and guess that something in the middle is missing that you are both missing.

    At the moment, I'm getting abused at by a buyer who doesn't reply my messages. I can't customize his order until he tells me what he wants so I can send it. Yet he keeps abusing me to keep him waiting even though I sent him 3 messages.

  • sd4f on 07/05/2015 - 07:39
    -1

    Gamers can be the worst people to deal with. Generally speaking, when you have those idiots who mic spam and behave really abusively in multiplayer games, I think they're not much different in real life.

    I reckon you should just do a refund and be done with it. There's no chance of getting a good outcome with some people; the person you're dealing with has already revealed their character.

    My Brother had a games store, and sold stuff on ebay, the best policy when there was a problem is just tell them to return it and you'll refund the money. A few times, after so much complaining, they wouldn't return it.

    • KaTst3R on 07/05/2015 - 11:51

      "Gamers can be the worst people to deal with."

      You must be refering to those underaged, jobless, nerds who have no social life, no girlfriend, lives in the basement, gamer who thinks they are COD GOD or anyone who fits in one or more of the above category type of gamer. Not all gamers are bad people.

  • [Deactivated] on 07/05/2015 - 11:58
    +1

    I stopped using ebay. There's nothing wrong the the majority of honest ebay merchants. There is something wrong with ebay and they're not receiving a dime from me.

  • xuqi on 07/05/2015 - 11:59
    +1

    I'm no power seller, but in 15 years I have sold 56k USD on Ebay, in 78 transactions. A couple of times users tried to con me, but after pointing out the serial numbers to them, I never heard from them again. The two accounts seemed to be closed off a few months later.

    Always take a photo showing the serial number of the item you're selling, and include it in your OP on E-Bay.

    Also, I never accept anything back and mention this in my sale.

  • ankor on 07/05/2015 - 18:57
    +3

    Hi Carolina88,

    I just wanted to say that I hope you feel ok with it all.

    Just remember that despite this being an aggro POS who's trying to ruin your day/week/month, you shouldn't let him make you feel down.
    You have the support of the whole Ozbargainer community behind you. No matter what happens you are still ahead in the end. :)

    • carolina88 on 07/05/2015 - 22:16
      +2

      Thanks so much ankor!! :)

      I think if anything I was mostly shocked, never had anyone speak to me like that (even if it was hidden behind a keyboard), but I guess I shouldn't have been overly suprised.
      This whole experience has taught me a lot about what to do and what not to do when it comes to selling things and returns.
      Hopefully it's helped others in some way also.

      • ankor on 07/05/2015 - 22:46

        Well if you have decided against ebaying- make sure you read the other thread "an iphone seller's worst nightmare" and glean some tips on selling stuff from that thread lol.

  • godofpizza on 08/05/2015 - 02:18

    PM sent.

  • lysp on 08/05/2015 - 12:15
    +2

    He'll possibly try and return a different machine.

    1) Buyer has broken machine
    2) Buyer buys new machine from ebay
    3) Calls you scammer and abuses you in email (to set up an evidence chain)
    4) Sends you back faulty machine and keeps your working one for himself.

    You could possibly threaten to take him to the small claims court in your state (ie vcat).

    http://www.vcat.vic.gov.au/adv/disputes/civil-disputes

    Cost of that will be about $50 though, so may not be worth it. But might not hurt to threaten to go there.

  • Tripnfelt on 09/05/2015 - 02:10

    I got bad feedback once as a seller, they left an all caps abusive feedback comment that made them look like a crazy person buyer and I got the opportunity to comment back on it with some good customer service that put me in a good light for dealing politely with crazy people, even if I had to drop down to 98.9% or something for 12months. Don't sweat it.

  • t_c on 14/05/2015 - 16:37

    so whats the outcome, tomorrow is the 15th

    • carolina88 on 14/05/2015 - 18:14
      +4

      The buyer sent me a tracking number on Friday. However, it is now almost a week since and when I search the number it says no tracking events can be found (it's gotta be a fake). Seems like paypal haven't been able to confirm the number either and have since sent the buyer a message requesting further information. Buyer has contacted me abusing me again of being a scammer telling me they have given a tracking number and that I need to accept that I have received the item. I have not received anything. I do not plan on messaging him back and paypal is giving him until the 16th now to provide further information. Hoping for something positive out of this and will be reporting the buyer again as he is still being abusive.

      • whodidthat on 14/05/2015 - 18:22

        If he has a valid tracking number, ask him to track it himself (ie on AP's site) then take a screenshot of the results and send the screenshot to you.

  • Soybeanus on 16/05/2015 - 00:24
    +2

    Know I'm late to the party, but yeah, him asking for over double the actual shipping costs smacks of a liar and scammer himself, who has probably done this plenty of times, intimidating decent sellers. Btw, it cost me pretty much what he's asking for to ship my flute (made of metal, with a hard case) interstate with no tracking, so, yeah he's full of shite

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join