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That Bosch dryer power module that we sold got returned, but buyer returned a different one. He opened a case saying it was defective. I posted photos to ebay showing that it’s not the same one that we listed. Do you think we can win this or will it boil down to his word against mine?
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If it were me, I would send a message to the buyer stating that you received the incorrect item along with a picture. Give them an opportunity to “fess up” and claim they did it by accident. People like this typically play the odds that the seller won’t notice or will let it go.
If they push the issue and stick to their guns, you can give them another opportunity to make it right or else you will be filing a claim with USPS for mail fraud.
https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/contactUs/filecomplaint.aspxYou may lose the battle in the end with ebay, but at least they’ll be on the radar if they do this a lot.
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As already noted when you sell electronic items or high value items take a photo of the serial number if the item has one. This includes game consoles, although I haven’t had a customer try a switcheroo on me yet.
If the item has a high value you can report the person to USPS for mail fraud. The USPS will investigate these claims.
If the item has a low value I would let it go because my time is worth more than the potential loss. I still would block them and report to ebay at the minimum.
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He paid $230 for the item so… pretty high priced. If he doesn’t fess up I guess I could threaten with usps mail fraud claim. I never knew they would get involved in this sort of thing. Thanks!
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The USPS takes mail fraud very seriously because they want the general public to have faith and trust in the mail system. If scammers are allowed to get away with stuff like this it diminishes the USPS’ goodwill. Obviously, they take claims on higher valued stuff more seriously, but if that item had insurance it may speed up the process a little bit.
Actually if it was insured see if you can submit a claim. (I doubt it but you never know)
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I actually filed a mail fraud case with the USPS a few years ago after eBay sided with a fraudulent buyer. I am in Canada but had a buyer in Minnesota try the switcheroo on an iPod that didn’t have the same serial number and didn’t work when I got it “back”.
It turned out that the same buyer was doing the same thing all over the place – and ended up getting sent to jail for a short period of time (10 days – not really justice in my opinion depending on the number of frauds committed).
I received a refund check from USPS but eBay was horrible – even with a conviction they didn’t do anything.
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Just got off the phone with ebay. They said I have to wait 6 days to see how this plays out but then I will have 30 days to appeal. I did send another message to the buyer and mentioned mail fraud, and that he could close the case….. I still want the $9.22 that we paid to have it shipped. Grrrrr
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I don’t know if that was a mistype, but please do not settle for $9.22. The full price the buyer paid is the amount you want. Your invoice is proof of the transaction value. This is also the amount you want to claim with USPS.
The benefit of filing with the USPS is if the buyer has a history of doing these frauds the at the same address it will be easier to build a case against them.
Most idiots are too dumb to change addresses when doing mail fraud.
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Please keep us informed. I’ve heard sellers complain about buyers returning different broken items. Love to know how eBay handles it.
I agree that the aggressive approach is best in this case if you want to put in the time. Either USPS fraud division. Or even the local police. If its a small town, they may actually know the guy.
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@Gopmpers – $9.22 was just what we paid for his “return” shipping. Oh no, we will not be happy unless we win this, and every cent is kept or restored. Last night he replied to my two messages with two denials so I’m going to look into opening that mail fraud case today. I’ll post any updates here.
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Filed a mail fraud case today and sent this to the buyer via ebay messaging:
According to Wikipedia mail fraud is “In the United States, mail and wire fraud is any fraudulent scheme to intentionally deprive another of property or honest services via mail or wire communication. It has been a federal crime in the United States since 1872.”
Therefore I have filed a Mail Fraud case against you with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and I imagine that they will be in contact with you.
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Here’s an update. Ebay sided with the buyer, of course. I called paypal and they don’t offer any kind of seller protection that I can see. Filed a mail fraud case with US Postal Inspection and they sent me a claim number. Filed a “loss” claim with shipsaver but I don’t think they will come through with anything since they are only insuring the item during shipment/delivery. We are calling the local police in Little Compton, RI and seeing if we can at least file a report on this guy.
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Please keep us up to date on this issue. If you have the time and desire I can give you a couple other avenues to check out.
Look up the buyers address in google streets to see if it’s a house or a business. If it’s a business see if the buyer is connected to the business. You can look up business owners at the secretary of the states office website in most states. You can also try searching for “registered agent” for that business.
If indeed it is a business contact the BBB better business bureau and file a complaint. When filing a complaint try to only stick to the facts and not opinion. You can also post a poor review on Yelp.com and you can try contacting the chamber of commerce in the buyers area assuming they are a member. If the business is some type of trade in which a person would need a license such as a plumber, contact the licensing authority for that trade in their state and/or union.
If all else fails and you still have gas left in the tank you can try small claims court. You may be able to file the case where you live, but you would have to review the law and rules to verify.
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Just a note: though I’m sure this user did you wrong, we dont share buyer ID’s here. It’s a slippery slope when it becomes a angry mob. Then sellers want to share entire black lists without any way knowing if some sellers are just holding grudges.
Reporting the buyer to eBay, calling his local PO, etc is a great way to bring attention to his actions.
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I would like to offer the thought of not putting any identifying details about the buyer in public domain but instead using the official channels identified for reporting this buyer. Putting anything in public domain may be identified as slander especially if they experience a loss in some way.
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@Jay, ok sorry. We called his local police but they said since the theft occurred here (technically) then we had to report it here. Tried that but our police said to just file a complaint on http://www.ic3.gov (internet crimes).
@Gompers – looked at his place on google earth and it’s just a house. Googling his name provides his profession, but no business name. Thanks for the ideas.-
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If his profession requires some type of license, file a complaint with that licensing agency and/or union.
Most people who have a professional license have to agree to some sort of “ethics agreement” in order to get and maintain that license.
That area of Rhode Island is mostly full of rich people, but I’m sure some middle class people are mixed in too, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there are some blue collar trades people working/living there.
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Never saw that movie, but it sounds like I should. Maybe there should be a forum for Philosophy on here 😀 The Philosophy of Scavenging. My philosophy regarding ebay is that you have to be prepared to fight for what is right. Not that you’ll always get it, but you cannot shrink from the skirmish.
Just got off the phone with ebay *again* and I think we might have a resolution in my favor. I asked the guy why the case was closed in the buyer’s favor and he said it was because they classed me as a business based on how many items I’ve sold (502, not many). That seems odd, but then he said he’d reverse the decision when he saw that we’d filed a complaint at http://www.ic3.gov
It probably helped that he’s seen all of the messages I’ve sent to the buyer listing all of the (many) places we’ve reported him and filed complaints on him. It must have been obvious that I meant business. So we’ll see if the money actually appears in paypal.
Thanks to everyone for the moral support!
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>he said he’d reverse the decision
wow – that’s great! So glad that all your hard work is paying off.
I agree with Jay that revenge is not a good idea, and I also am very grateful to all the people who take the time and effort to “fight for what is right” – whether it’s a small thing or a large thing. That’s how improvements/changes in society happen that benefit all of us.
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Another thought for those selling high value replacement parts. There’s some type of permanent magic marker you can use to mark the parts. Junk yards in my area use them, but I don’t know the name of these markers.
Don’t know if something like goo gone could remove them either.
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