I Think I May Have Been Had By A Scammer :(

[Swarm 242]

When I won this in an recent ebay auction I thought what a bargain ,But I think I have been had by a scammer .

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT

I found this gem the other week while on ebay just doing a random search one other bidder I thought it was perhaps listed incorrect "wording" as I have had some good recent finds this way .

I ended up winning the item I paid instantly and got an email from the seller within hours of winning the auction saying he had sent it ,I enquired and asked for a tracking number .

He said sorry no tracking number but it was sent insured and via USPS it will take 7-8 days to get there ,I immediatly emailed him back and said if it was insured it will have a tracking number as all international items have a tracking number .

No email ,I sent another one via ebay ...nothing ,I emailed his private email addy.....nothing......I waited ...nothing.

You know when you get that feeling in your gut that all is not well ,I got that sinking feeling I decided to open a paypal dispute and ask the seller on paypal for a copy of the postage reciept ,postage proof .

I know the item could still be in transit on its way to me ,but I just know I was scammed I suspect someone hacked into this ebay account .

Needless to say I have had no reply from the seller on the paypal dispute,I am thinking of just escilating it and letting paypal decide .

I am also not sure if I will get a refund as ebay and paypal say they offer protection against fraud but at the end of the day do they ? does paypal cover the loss as ebay and paypal are owned by the same company and say they offer a safe enviroment to buy from ?.

If I do get a refund from paypal do they hit up the legit ebay user's bank account or do they just wear the loss and pay out ?.

What happens to the ebay account does it get deactivated ?.

I am not familiar with all the workings of what hackers do how does this work ?.

The emails I send to the seller via ebay where do they go ? do they go to the legitimate ebay user's account or do they go to the scammer's account ?.

How does a scammer setup a dodgy account using a legit ebay user's account ?.

Last year on ebay a major scam unfolded as many TC users were stung when they brought NIB's only to get nothing and I think many buyers got their money back from paypal the seller in that case had a thousand or so sales under his belt great feeback but his account was hacked the scammer in that instance sold many NIB's at the same time to make it worth his while .

The seller/scammer I brought from only sold one thing ,seems like a pointless exercise to scam someone for 1 item when they could have scammed many people at the same time but I guess its not pointless as his scheme worked .

Thanks for reading .

Stuart.

[VagabondStarJXF 350]

That sucks. I really hope you haven't been hit by a scammer.

How soon after you paid did you start the dispute? If I have to start one (which I thankfully haven't had many occasions to) I give a few more days on top of the estimated delivery time (as stated on the listing) before doing so, just in case it gets delayed by my postie, then I wait a few days before escallating but only if there's no response. I always give more time than is necessary to give the seller more than ample opportunity to make good.

[30cms 7]

paypal are really good with buyer protection.

you'll be ok if it goes balls up.

i wouldn't start worrying yet though - it's only been just over a week. you could allow about 8-10 working days (2 weeks) for something to come from the US to AUS (maybe longer - depending on postage method)

give it another week or so. hopefully by mid november you'll basking in the heady glow of a NIB wild willy!

some sellers I have dealt with in the past are very slack, and seem to not even read their emails. I check my emails constantly - they are delivered to my phone. but for some folk they only look at them when they have a reason to, so your mails could have just not been read yet!

i guess all you can do is wait. you can actually phone up ebay and speak to someone if you want to put your mind at rest.

[Swarm 242]

Thanks guys

Its just a gut feeling that and the no tracking ,no replies.Posted hours after I purchased but not vigilant with emails just does not ring true to me .

Hopefully it is just what you said he is slack .

No harm I figgure in starting a dispute and leaving it .

[Kevin_Mc 411]

they (Paypal/eBay) almost always side with the buyer so you should be ok if you keep hounding them and escilate it. I had a bit of trouble when selling my Girlfriennd's iPhone on eBay, some Polish guy asked for it to be sent to him and he wanted to pay through Western Union and they sorted it for me and deleted the guy's account.

good luck, hopefully you haven't been scammed and it turns up safe and sound.

EDIT - i tried to look and see if he was selling anything else so i could ask a question and see if he would reply but there was nothing.

[Will16 45]

If you want to contact him, just go on to his eBay My World and contact member.

Sorry to hear about this hopefully you havent been scammed. I thought I had when buying my Nitro car. It came one and a half months late aftter I had payed.

Will

[92gsr 0]

I was scammed on ebay for a carbon fiber hood (bonnet) a few years ago. The seller took my money and closed the bank account. Paypal only covers up to $200 USD. I was screwed for the difference. They need to make that clear when they talk about buyer protection.

EDIT: You can also request their information since you purchased an item from them

ebay seller id request

[RA1028 3]

eBay and paypal improved alot over these few years. if it is a pure scam and not about lost package or item not as discribe kind of case, you should receive your money back in full without problem.

[SteelRat 46]

Two things about that ad would have concerned me.

One - the sellers name (consult urban dictionary if you wonder why)

Two - only 5 feedback points.

I really don't want this to sound like a waggling finger of "I told you so", so I apologise if it comes across like that, but I'd always look for things like that and perhaps my inherent paranoia and suspicion of everyone would have made me think twice.

I hope you got a positive resolution out of your escalation with PayPal though.

[Tamiya1/10 382]

I think you paid too quickly. I would have waited for the invoice and given instructions on the declaration. Usually those who holds the money calls the shots or something like that. The photos looks were taken from a private seller, unless they were ripped and the seller seems to be doing only buying, sold only once, so he may not know the workings of shipping. Your course of action is in the right direction just in case the seller is a fake and hope the problem is not a problem but due to his lack of experience and not willing to communicate. On the other hand, I sold some stuff on Ebay, and paypal informs me that the money will be on hold for 21 days just in case the buyer has some issues with me. But I keep photos of my packing and mailing documents to proof I did my part.

[Will16 45]

Have you heard anything yet?

[joecool1962 0]

just remember you have 45 days to file a claim after that your S.O.L

GOOD LUCK

[Swarm 242]

Nope the kit has still not arrived .

No communication from the seller .

Paypal dispute still opened no response from seller.

I am still living in hope though fingers crossed.

Stuart.

[30cms 7]

You got it now Stu?

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.a...15&id=24856 ?

Looks nice! Breathe a sigh of relief!

[Swarm 242]

Yeah I got it finally it went to Austria first this kit has been around the world.

The seller sent it to Austria with my ebay username as the person to deliever it to .

It had clearly marked on the box NOT AUSTRIA .TRY AUSTRALIA OR RETURN TO SENDER.

I have emailed the seller and asked him what possesed him to send it to Austria (No answer yet) it was only the postcode that saved me then when it did get here I had to take proof that I was the ebay username that was on the box ,So I went into my ebay account and copied my details out as well as the listing showing I had purchased it and showed the post office I had to open the box up in front of them and they looked at the ebay listing picture and matched it up with the kit .

I have no idea why the postcode did not kick in earlier or my state New South Wales.The writing on the box was hardly readable it was more like scribble in lead pencil.

So for a kit that was supposed to be sent to Australia originally but posted to Austria instead it has not taken that long I guess.

Was a nightmare but at least I got it .

[30cms 7]

wow!

i guess you were lucky there.

now it get it built

[Kevin_Mc 411]

that was a stroke of luck, glad you got it sorted

[WillyChang 1814]

At least yours boomerang'd quite quickly.

My last Tower Hobbies box with machine-printed addressing still found its way to Europe first

and being right smack in the middle of Easter's volcano holdup, took like 5 wks to find its way south.

[Jonny Retro 12]

... it went to Austria first ...

Sorry, had to laugh at that

[Kevin_Mc 411]

you Australians can't half moan!

[DCLXVI 3]

If I ever have a package getting here through Switzerland, I'll know it's the same guy...

[Backlash 481]

you Australians can't half moan!

Given that many of our decendents are from the UK, I suppose it could be said that we learned from the best....

Swarm, glad to hear that it finally found it's way home..

[Swarm 242]

I like to think we are just passionate about things

Thanks mate

[Kevin_Mc 411]

Given that many of our decendents are from the UK, I suppose it could be said that we learned from the best....

[bakaguyjean 7]

After reading that the seller didnt respond to e-mails,doesnt know how to write someones name,didnt give you a tracking number.You even had to open a dispute,still no e-mail, and then you gave him this feed back."Exc Ebayer,Very Honest Person,Highly Recommended,An Asset To Ebay,Thankyou" I am very happy not to use Ebay.

You could of gave him a Neutral.