Thread for Online Transaction Tips & Problems: eBay, Paypal, and etc

[herpsky]

I tried looking everywhere in the forum but couldn't find an appropriate thread. 

 

The small questions thread in supershopper is more related to where to acquire certain brands and etc. 

 

I know that many of you buy / sell online and figured that it would be nice to have a thread about asking about safe trading tips.

 

My question:

 

1) I had a laptop for sale on ebay. Some dude with 0 feedback wins it and pays for the item.

2) A day later I get an e-mail from eBay saying that the bidder cancelled his account and a warning not to communicate with the buyer or ship the item.

3) I had dropped off the item before then so I had to go back to the post office and reclaim the item. 

 

The buyer's name does not match the shipping address though the payer seems to be legit i.e. I'm seller protected

 

What am I supposed to do in this case? I just relisted the item but I have not made any refunds.

[rirawin]

I'd follow eBays advice and not proceed with the transaction with that buyer. The buyer is clearly using eBay/PayPal fraudulently. Even though PayPal is saying you're seller protected, if the original PayPal account holder is now aware of the fraud (presumingly it was a legitimate one that got hijacked), they would still be able to file a chargeback through their own bank and claim the funds back.

 

Therefore, I wouldn't go out and spend that money just yet. There is still a good chance PayPal will reverse that payment once they've done their "investigations". If say after a month (think the official line is 30 days) you still have the money in your PayPal account, then you have a win win situation.

Edited May 11, 2013 by rirawin

[herpsky]

I'd follow eBays advice and not proceed with the transaction with that buyer. The buyer is clearly using eBay/PayPal fraudulently. Even though PayPal is saying you're seller protected, if the original PayPal account holder is now aware of the fraud (presumingly it was a legitimate one that got hijacked), they would still be able to file a chargeback through their own bank and claim the funds back.

 

Therefore, I wouldn't go out and spend that money just yet. There is still a good chance PayPal will reverse that payment once they've done their "investigations". If say after a month (think the official line is 30 days) you still have the money in your PayPal account, then you have a win win situation.

 

Yeah, I still have the payment in my account. I'll just let it sit and see what happens. Because the buyer is no longer registered, I cannot get a negative feedback anyway. The worst thing that could happen is having to refund the payment.

[wahwho11]

express on your next listing that you won't accept bids from 0 feedback/negative feedback people.  and that their address on paypal is "confirmed."  that should weed out some scammers.  if they do bid/buyitnow, just cancel their bid or whatever.

Edited May 11, 2013 by wahwho11

[zfish]

Try offering a 2nd chance offer to the 2nd highest bidder

[herpsky]

The interesting thing is that when the high bidder cancels his account. The auction on which he was bidding gets completely erased from the system and the seller cannot re-list or offer a second chance offer. 

 

I had to create a new auction from scratch. 

 

Hello XXXX,

Unfortunately, we had to cancel bids and purchases for the following buyer because they're no longer registered oneBay:

phumaster

In these types of situations, we'll credit the final value fee for removed listings won by this buyer, and also the insertion fee if it was a single-quantity listing. 

We also recommend you take the following actions:
-- If you haven't received payment, don't complete the sale or send the item to the buyer. 
-- Don't communicate with the buyer directly.
-- Verify any payments you've been notified of by logging in to your PayPal account (or other online payment service).
-- If the buyer requests refunds or additional payments, don't send any money without contacting eBay first.
-- If you've already sent the item, try contacting the shipping carrier to find out if you can stop shipment.

These situations rarely happen, and we encourage you to relist your item. To learn how, go to:http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/relist.html

[MissingNo.]

express on your next listing that you won't accept bids from 0 feedback/negative feedback people.  and that their address on paypal is "confirmed."  that should weed out some scammers.  if they do bid/buyitnow, just cancel their bid or whatever.

 

there is a a "buyer restriction" option when listing your auction.  Usually I set mine so that it doesn't allow:

 

people with 0 or negative feedback

anyone with an unpaid item warning in the past x months

 

etc.

 

ebay is cool but rather taxing (those fees)

[herpsky]

there is a a "buyer restriction" option when listing your auction.  Usually I set mine so that it doesn't allow:

 

people with 0 or negative feedback

anyone with an unpaid item warning in the past x months

 

etc.

 

ebay is cool but rather taxing (those fees)

You can't restrict 0 feedback buyers from bidding on your items. It's -1 or below.

 

I just sold over 1.5k dollars worth of stuff. The fee is 160. Pretty cray.

[herpsky]

Another sketchy situation

 

I put up a Julius scarf on ebay and it was BIN'd. After a week after auction ends (the buyer was supposedly waiting for a check to clear, whatever that means), the buyer paypals me the payment. 

 

As soon as I received it, I got an e-mail from paypal. 

 

 

Hello XXXXX,

YYYYYYY just sent you money with PayPal. To help protect you, we're reviewing this payment.

The Payment Review may take up to 24 hours. When we've completed the review, we'll either clear or cancel the payment. If the payment clears: You may proceed to process the order. To know if your item is covered, check the 'Seller Protection' section of the 'Transaction Details' page and ensure that it states 'Eligible'.

You shouldn't provide the item or service purchased until we let you know that the payment has cleared. We'll send you an email when we complete the review or you can check the Transaction History tab of your PayPal account.

 

ZZZZZ  is a Unverified Customer

 

YYYYY is the name of the person who sent me the payment.

 

ZZZZZ is the name of the buyer (the user who bid on the item).

 

The buyer who bought the item from me has purchased a fair number of goth ninja items on ebay.

 

I looked up YYYYY, the individual who sent me the payment, on facebook and he turns out to be someone who doesn't look anything like a person who enjoys fashion i.e. the demographic that shops at walmart.

 

I'm gonna wait it out but could this be another hi-jacked paypal account?

Edited May 18, 2013 by herpsky

[skeetinmynose]

ZZZZ probably hit their spending limit on Paypal. It's a pretty high ceiling, $10,000 I believe, but gothninja purchases could easily hit that.

 

Just hold off until Paypal investigation finishes. Were YYYY and ZZZZ both verified?

[jyoni]

It's a high scam item with a lot of human chaff/deadbeats as buyers.  When you do get a payment, be sure to send with an online viewable signature of delivery.

 

The ebay forums will help you out here.  I like the guy who's sig says "if you can't afford to lose it, don't list it."  His advice and asides are always good reading.

[herpsky]

The response:  

Hi - I'm having this shipped to a friends house as I am unfortunately forced to work out of town 1000 miles away from my home. I used to send all my packages to my house and my friend Josh would just pick everything up whenever he would go by my house to check up on everything. Only problem is that several packages sitting on my front porch for several days is just asking for someone to steal them and then break into my house as its an indicator that no one is home. Also several times people would put a signature release on things ( almost all Int'nl pkgs.) and I was forced to pay for things to be returned and then re-'shipped to my friend Josh. I now avoid all the potential problems by just shipping everything directly to my friend Josh...If you want to wait a week or so to feel safe to ship this thats fine as I won't be going back home until a few months from now...Just make sure to send me the tracking info...

 

 

The payment did clear. I am seller protected. Which shipping method should I use? I guess I could make it signature confirmation? UPS or USPS?

Edited May 19, 2013 by herpsky

[zfish]

Make sure you ship to the address listed on the paypal paid with or he will hit you with a case and scam you for your money. UPS vs USPS is just a personal pref. Get signature comf. I'm p sure it's required for seller protection. Seller protection has certain shipping requirements listed on paypal make sure you look them up  and follow them if you're concerned.

[rirawin]

That sounds really fishy... as mentioned above make sure you ship to the address that is listed within the PayPal transaction. I would go with UPS personally as they just seem to be more reliable than USPS and definitely get signature confirmation. Having tracking to say it was "delivered" isn't enough, as some couriers, will leave the item in a "safe place" by the back door and lo' and behold the buyer will probably claim the item was "stolen", so you definitely need a signature.

 

Why not have it sent to his address, the courier will leave a while you were out card, as USPS usually do, and his friend Josh can go and collect it from the local USPS depot/post office ?

 

On a side note, why doesn't he have items shipped to his work address...? Unless he works offshore on an oil rig or at Langley HQ, I don't see any reason not to have stuff delivered to his work place?

[noobedloser]

So, I sold some jeans on Ebay and the package was sent and delivered but I think someone jacked the package because the buyer never received it though it was delivered. Is there anything Ebay, Paypal, or USPS can do ? There was no insurance on the package. Im just thinking about giving the dude a full refund back and take the loss. Would like some advice if somehow someone can be compensated

Edit: Another idea is to split the money 50/50

Edited November 20, 2013 by noobedloser

[herpsky]

So, I sold some jeans on Ebay and the package was sent and delivered but I think someone jacked the package because the buyer never received it though it was delivered. Is there anything Ebay, Paypal, or USPS can do ? There was no insurance on the package. Im just thinking about giving the dude a full refund back and take the loss. Would like some advice if somehow someone can be compensated

Edit: Another idea is to split the money 50/50

i think you'll be okay. when the buyer files a paypal dispute, supply the tracking number / receipt and etc.

 

has anyone here gotten e-shoplifted even with tracking i.e. "the package was delivered but somehow got stolen from the mailbox" 

[_ironman]

if that happens it's not your problem, so long as you shipped to the address on the paypal payment page. if the tracking number shows that it was delivered, you're in the clear

 

i had a girl tell me she never received a wallet even though it said it was delivered. i said it's not my problem, you asked me to send to a dorm. turns out the front desk had it. then the bitch gave me 4 stars after (eBay sale)

Edited November 20, 2013 by _ironman

[Spaghettini]

So, I sold some jeans on Ebay and the package was sent and delivered but I think someone jacked the package because the buyer never received it though it was delivered. Is there anything Ebay, Paypal, or USPS can do ? There was no insurance on the package. Im just thinking about giving the dude a full refund back and take the loss. Would like some advice if somehow someone can be compensated

Edit: Another idea is to split the money 50/50

 

going through the same thing right now. shipped internationally, tracking says delivered, buyer claims he never received. i filed a claim with USPS which will take up to 23 days to complete. buyer just asked me if i could refund him in the meantime. i'm thinking the safe answer is "no".

[skeetinmynose]

I wouldn't refund the buyer, for all you know he did get the package and is trying to pull one on you. 

 

Get a hold of USPS and have them investigate, it takes 3-4 weeks to complete, which is still within the 45 days where he can still file a claim to get his money back. Is it domestic or international?

 

I've had instances where UPS tracking has read "delivered" and came the next day, but never had that happen with USPS. USPS did route an international package I had for the UK to fkn Japan on some freak accident, though.

[noobedloser]

For my case, its domestic, not international. I will try to investigate it further. He said he went contacted USPS, this is what he said:

"That is correct... I've just spent a hour on hold with USPS... Finally got thru and all they did was give my a number to my local USPS told me to five them a call and didn't even want the tracking after I insisted... I'm going to give them a call tomorrow and see maybe there's an error with the database who knows. Thanks again for the follow up"

[herpsky]

For my case, its domestic, not international. I will try to investigate it further. He said he went contacted USPS, this is what he said:

"That is correct... I've just spent a hour on hold with USPS... Finally got thru and all they did was give my a number to my local USPS told me to five them a call and didn't even want the tracking after I insisted... I'm going to give them a call tomorrow and see maybe there's an error with the database who knows. Thanks again for the follow up"

You should call the said USPS office as well. Make sure the buyer isn't BSing.