Ebay Roulette

[bjorn2bwild]

While searching for a related electronic item, this popped up on my screen.
I know a good deal when I see one, but this one is too good to be true.
Thinking either a mistake or deliberate fraud, I contacted the seller to confirm the details and received a quick response indicating that yes the listing is accurate.
Then I noticed several other similar listings from Sri Lanka, so wanted to report the potential fraud to ebay…..
Not so easy, I had to do a search for a link.
The questions –
Who eats the loss?
Does ebay cover the loss under their money back guaranty?
Why do they make it so hard to report a fraudulent listing?


https://www.ebay.com/itm/2663883269...&brand=Unbranded&_trksid=p4429486.c101224.m-1


https://www.ebay.com/itm/2663894275...&brand=Unbranded&_trksid=p4429486.c101224.m-1


https://www.ebay.com/itm/2257367478...&brand=Unbranded&_trksid=p4429486.c101224.m-1

 

[OldShooter]

1) They will try to get the seller to pony up a refund.
2) If that doesn't work, they will end up eating it.
3) Probably because it's time consuming and expensive to vet reports from people who haven't actually bought the product. If it's fraudulent they will hear about it from actual buyers soon enough.

 

[COcheesehead]

There is a report this item link right on the main listing page.

 

[erkevin]

It's easy to report a listing. Upper right hand corner just above the item's "about this item" box is "report this item"

 

[bjorn2bwild]

There is a report this item link right on the main listing page.

Now I see it, thanks!

 

[bjorn2bwild]

It's easy to report a listing. Upper right hand corner just above the item's "about this item" box is "report this item"

Thanks, I just reported all of the listings, there were 5.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

And the most interesting question for the unsuspecting buyers -
What's in the box?

 

[COcheesehead]

I had a weird eBay experience, tried to do the right thing and only got frustrated.

I bought a pair of new shoes on eBay. They came in the wrong color. The seller said sorry, keep the shoes and they will send another pair. Red flag. The second pair came. I started looking closely at each shipment and the ship from was a major retailer, but not the same one for each shipment and the sold to purchasing information was two different names. Long story short, the eBay seller was getting clean cash from me. They were then using stolen credit cards to buy the item at major retailers and having it shipped to me. I got the shoes, the seller got $$ and the retailer gets stiffed. I reported it twice to eBay. Nothing ever happened.

 

[NW-Bound]

Wow, dirt cheap LFP batteries from Sri Lanka, and with free shipping too.

I looked at the sales history of this seller. He has sold mostly nail decals for a little more than $1. On July 1, he sold a sectional sofa for $71, again with free shipping. I bet the buyer is waiting and will wait a while more before reporting to eBay.

I have never sold anything on eBay. I wonder if eBay holds the buyer's payment in escrow and not releases it to the seller right away.

And the most interesting question for the unsuspecting buyers -
What's in the box?

Some rocks? Or most likely no box ever comes because it costs a lot of money to ship rocks from Sri Lanka.

 

[COcheesehead]

Wow, dirt cheap LFP batteries from Sri Lanka, and with free shipping too.

I looked at the sales history of this seller. He has sold mostly nail decals for a little more than $1. On July 1, he sold a sectional sofa for $71, again with free shipping. I bet the buyer is waiting and will wait a while more before reporting to eBay.

I have never sold anything on eBay. I wonder if eBay holds the buyer's payment in escrow and not releases it to the seller right away.

Some rocks? Or most likely no box ever comes because it costs a lot of money to ship rocks from Sri Lanka.

The payment isn’t held in escrow.

 

[NW-Bound]

OK. Easy scammy money.

 

[NW-Bound]

I have been fortunate with eBay transactions over the year.

One time, I bought a piece of electronic instrument that retailed new for close to $100. This seller started the bid for this used piece at $8 or something like that, with free shipping. I was the only bidder!

What was weird about this listing was that I did not bid on it right away because I was going to do some research to see the specifications. Then, later had a heck of a time to find the listing again. There was something about the listing that made it not showing up reliably to searches.

Anyway, with me as the first and only bidder, the seller sold to me and his shipping cost as shown on the package was more than the $8 he got from me. I felt sorry for the guy.

 

[NW-Bound]

Recently, I bought some bars of industrial metals. The listing was cheaper than regular prices because the guy did not know what they were, and his listing did not have the right key words. I found the listing merely by chance.

When the guy sent it to me, he did not package it carefully and 2 of 5 bars fell out of the bag. I took photos and informed the seller of the lost bars and said he could just ship me the missing bars.

He was apologetic, and shipped me another set of 5 bars!

 

[NW-Bound]

On the other hand, I also played fair when it was not the seller's fault.

I bought a replacement battery for my LG smartphone. When I received it, was impressed that it looked like a genuine LG battery, just the manufacturing date was a couple years old. Apparently the seller got a load of these at a surplus auction or something. The battery worked OK.

The delivery took longer than the seller promised. I contacted him, and he refunded me the money (<$10).

Then, my wife told me of a package that she put aside for me, and either not told me about it or she did but I forgot. Arghh! I felt bad for "cheating" out on the poor seller.

I contacted him and said I wanted to pay him. He gave me his Paypal account, and I repaid him directly. I felt good, and my karma stayed unblemished.