Beware of Auction Scammers
Before I tell you specifics of my story, I must say that I've been on eBay since 1999 and with Paypal since 2001.
On March 5, I sold an iPod Touch with a buy it now auction to a buyer in Texas. They purchased with Paypal, which by the way, is owned by eBay. The purchase who purchased has a confirmed address and has 8 positive feedback points with 0 negatives. I received the cash, $257.01 after fees. I shipped the item UPS Ground through the Paypal integrated shipping system with a tracking label. On March 10, it was received. On March 18, I get an email from Paypal that they have flagged the auction as potentially fraudulent and that they have reversed the funds until they have fully investigated the case. On March 30, I receive an email saying that basically the auction was a fraud and I was out the money, and the item. I contacted the buyer and have not heard back. I called PayPal and they basically said "oh, the auction was for greater than $250, you needed to have checked the box for delivery confirmation so you're not covered for fraud". I told them that it was ridiculous that they sent me a fraud notice 13 days after the close of the auction. I mean, who waits 13 days to ship an item?? They said it's not unheard of to get a chargeback 60 days after an auction closes. They basically have built in protections so that they don't have any responsibility for bad transactions. They make it seem like they are protecting you but in reality they are protecting themselves. Be careful. I'm out $257.01 and a $200+ item.
On March 5, I sold an iPod Touch with a buy it now auction to a buyer in Texas. They purchased with Paypal, which by the way, is owned by eBay. The purchase who purchased has a confirmed address and has 8 positive feedback points with 0 negatives. I received the cash, $257.01 after fees. I shipped the item UPS Ground through the Paypal integrated shipping system with a tracking label. On March 10, it was received. On March 18, I get an email from Paypal that they have flagged the auction as potentially fraudulent and that they have reversed the funds until they have fully investigated the case. On March 30, I receive an email saying that basically the auction was a fraud and I was out the money, and the item. I contacted the buyer and have not heard back. I called PayPal and they basically said "oh, the auction was for greater than $250, you needed to have checked the box for delivery confirmation so you're not covered for fraud". I told them that it was ridiculous that they sent me a fraud notice 13 days after the close of the auction. I mean, who waits 13 days to ship an item?? They said it's not unheard of to get a chargeback 60 days after an auction closes. They basically have built in protections so that they don't have any responsibility for bad transactions. They make it seem like they are protecting you but in reality they are protecting themselves. Be careful. I'm out $257.01 and a $200+ item.
posted by Adam Freedman at
9:29 PM
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