Home › Forums › Buying and Selling › Selling on eBay › eBay asking me to sign and upload document re: return fraud
- This topic has 7 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 5 months, 2 weeks ago by Jay.
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11/26/2023 at 12:14 pm #101734
Low-effort scammer returned some random small item in an envelope instead of the hi-fi equipment I shipped them. Reported them and got a “case has been closed with a refund to the buyer.” I guess a 24″x16″ stereo fits in a 9″x6″ mailer now – just a tip for the shipping pros out there.
Obviously I appealed the claim, and a few hours later I was notified by eBay that I needed to print, sign, and upload a document. Here it is with personal information cut:
Please tick as appropriate:
O I declare that I have received an empty box in connection with the above eBay item.
O I declare that I received the eBay item back in a different condition than the one in which it was shipped to the buyer.
O I declare that the above eBay item was not returned to me. Instead, something of no value or low value was returned to me.
I declare, under penalty of perjury, that all statements submitted herewith are true to the best of my knowledge.
Date/name/sig. etc.
What’s up with this? The normal appeals process has always been digital, right? Why do I need to start signing and uploading documents all of a sudden? Anyone else been through this?
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11/26/2023 at 6:20 pm #101735
I have not seen this, but I haven’t had a case where a buyer didn’t return what they purchased.
Several years ago (pre-pandemic), I had a buyer submit a never received case right after the tracking information could no longer be looked up online (I think 3 months; I’m not sure whether it stays up longer now or not). I had to submit a case to the USPS, and they sent me a printout of the tracking information, which I scanned and submitted to eBay.
I think that the USPS now keeps track of weight. I think they started doing it because people were low balling their packages and sending them with not enough postage. You might want to call the USPS and see if you can get both shipped and returned weight for the package. If you have to open a case, they might take a couple weeks to get it to you, but that would be really excellent evidence to show eBay.
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11/26/2023 at 10:54 pm #101736
I have not had this happen to me, but I actually think this is a very good thing eBay is asking you to do. If they want to report the buyer to the post office for mail fraud, they are going to need official documentation from you the seller.
What your buyer did is a federal crime. Hopefully eBay is looking to secure a paper trail tacked to the buyer.
Send that in and help them build a case against the scammer!
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11/26/2023 at 11:57 pm #101737
Thanks all. Interesting – I wonder if this different path through the appeals process is due to the buyer’s history of doing this kind of thing more than once?
eBay gave me a deadline of the 30th to submit the document, but it did occur to me that the obvious difference in weight would make the best evidence. Unfortunately I think the package went out with UPS and came back via USPS, so there would need to be records pulled from both.
Something I forgot to mention: eBay included a paragraph in the message they sent me saying that if I’d utilized free returns then seller protection would’ve covered me and the entire situation could’ve been avoided. Problem is that 100% of my listings offer free returns, and that 100% covers the item in question. Whoopsie!!!!
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11/27/2023 at 8:07 am #101738
Can’t you just tell them that you are covered?
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11/27/2023 at 1:36 pm #101742
Has this ever happened to you before? I’ve heard about the scam but its never happened to us.
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11/27/2023 at 2:31 pm #101747
I get 1 or 2 returns a year that are blatant fraud and maybe a dozen or so false INADs (not the same ballgame, but still frustrating) that straddle the line of fraud IMO.
The process is usually: Claim damage, upload blurry photo, then ship back either something random or their broken unit they’re trying to replace. They never respond to messages. Not much convinces eBay to side with you until you go through appeals. I’ve lost my money only to get it back a few days later each time.
“Free returns = seller protection” really just boils down to being able to dish out partial refunds. Getting 100% of your money back requires way more effort and now apparently needs paperwork.
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11/27/2023 at 3:10 pm #101748
That’s more than I would expect, but I think you sell a lot of electronics? Maybe that’s a problematic category?
Its definitely a tricky situation when you have a bad actor taking advantage of the system.
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