eBay Scam?

[asiamiles]

The following reply from the seller even more strongly suggests he's up to no good; in fact, he's beginning to sound like a professional scammer.

"I appreciate your recommendation but I think it would be best for us to follow the procedure recommended by ebay. This requires that you first contact ebay and confirm your agreement to the very generous terms which they have proposed, then issue the $28.67 refund. Once PayPal notifies me that the refund has been credited to my account, I will retrieve the item from the Post Office.

Regarding your concern that the Post Office will not hold the item, the Postmaster told me that they would normally ship the package back to the sender one week from the date on which it was first available for pick it up at the Post Office. That was Monday 1/9, so the day on which it would normally be returned would be 1/16. However, the Postmaster understands the situation and is willing to hold onto the package awhile longer than normal. However, you should not delay if you want this matter to be resolved.

All that is necessary for this transaction to be completed is for you to follow procedure recommended by ebay. The fact that ebay has agreed to waive their usual fee so that it will cost you nothing to do so and the fact that I am willing to absorb the entire overage should be all the incentive you need.

Your cooperation would very much appreciated."

 

[asiamiles]

Unfortunately, there's no way for me to contact eBay other making an international phone call. What he's done so far doesn't fit into the categories of "Customs Fraud" or "Misuse of eBay Buyer Protection" (though it looks a possibility he will do the latter) as listed at this link, and trying to find other topics just sends you round in circles...no contact form, no e-mail address.

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/report_problem.html

Should I just do nothing and wait? Send him a polite message saying I'm unable to contact eBay regarding the matter? He couldn't have foreseen the item would have gotten stuck in Customs and then he would be charged duty so we should be aware that this isn't a scam that was thought out from the beginning.

 

[Vcruiser]

Unfortunately, there's no way for me to contact eBay other making an international phone call. What he's done so far doesn't fit into the categories of "Customs Fraud" or "Misuse of eBay Buyer Protection" (though it looks a possibility he will do the latter) as listed at this link, and trying to find other topics just sends you round in circles...no contact form, no e-mail address.

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/report_problem.html

Should I just do nothing and wait? Send him a polite message saying I'm unable to contact eBay regarding the matter? He couldn't have foreseen the item would have gotten stuck in Customs and then he would be charged duty so we should be aware that this isn't a scam that was thought out from the beginning.

How did the buyer contact eBay to cut the deal that he supposedly made with them? I'd tell him to have eBay contact you about the 'agreement'...if he wants you to consider that deal.
Van

 

[asiamiles]

How did the buyer contact eBay to cut the deal that he supposedly made with them? I'd tell him to have eBay contact you about the 'agreement'...if he wants you to consider that deal.

He called them. I could call them, but I'm not prepared to make an International phone call (even though it's not that expensive) because the issue that needs resolving is not mine but the seller's; he should simply pay the custom's fees. He's either a scammer or 'weird', and either are not good news when eBay is concerned.

Yes, I can tell him eBay must contact me, but we all know what his answer will be. There surely can be no way he could have, as you say, "cut a deal" with eBay as this is a simple case of a buyer unwilling to pay what he owes. I can't even believe eBay would even listen to his complaint, as he surely hasn't a leg to stand on.

 

[deeb7]

So, a creepy person with an interest in flight jackets, that's unusual. No matter how this plays out, at some point, Miles, you might like to post the eBay ID.

I am sure that other members who sell on eBay will be delighted to add him to their blocked bidders list.

 

[Jaguar46]

Why not agree to split the customs fee 50/50 since neither thought the fee would be charged. Make it simple.

 

[asiamiles]

Why not agree to split the customs fee 50/50 since neither thought the fee would be charged. Make it simple.

Customs fees are not my, or any seller's, responsibility. That said, in 99% of cases, as a seller I'm happy to put a low value on items if the buyer requests it and accepts that it voids the insurance.

 

[asiamiles]

So, a creepy person with an interest in flight jackets, that's unusual. No matter how this plays out, at some point, Miles, you might like to post the eBay ID.

I am sure that other members who sell on eBay will be delighted to add him to their blocked bidders list.

I already linked to his feedback on Page 1 of this thread. His ID is timquay. His buying record does not suggest an interest in flight jackets.

 

[ButteMT61]

Dunno. Been there since '03 and has 100% positive feedback. Might be a misunderstanding. Doesn't have a profile that matches scammer, although the posts sure scream scam. Contact ebay or paypal. I gave a number to call...

 

[asiamiles]

Dunno. Been there since '03 and has 100% positive feedback. Might be a misunderstanding. Doesn't have a profile that matches scammer, although the posts sure scream scam. Contact ebay or paypal. I gave a number to call...

I agree that his feedback doesn't suggest a scammer, which is why I posted it. That said, with sellers unable to post negative f/b about buyers, we simply cannot know what they are up to...every buyer has 100% positive feedback! I've already said, it's not my intention to make an international call to eBay and it has nothing to do with Paypal at this time. Just sent him another message (see below) but I guess the answer will be the same; one thing that has seemed pretty clear from the start is that he has very little interest in getting the actual jacket:

"Sorry, but I'm unable to make an international phone call to eBay and I have no e-mail address at which to write to them. As you have already been in touch with them perhaps you could get them to contact me...you mentioned they would do so in a previous message.

Actually, eBay cannot 'waive' the fee as I have already paid it, so they would need to refund me, and obviously I need to wait until I have received the refund before I can forward it to you. I have no idea how long it will take eBay to refund me, which is why I would recommend collecting the item...as you said, 1 week is the norm for the PO holding on to items, and even if they agree to keep a bit longer I imagine it will only be for a few extra days."

 

[deeb7]

... good response.

 

[ciddu]

At this point it's like he's kind of blackmailing you: "give me back some money or your jacket will be lost, I'll file a complaint through ebay/paypal, so I'll get the full refund, etc..."
I wouldn't give return him any money until got the refund from ebay (which I think will NEVER happen), but at least would try to have the evidence that the parcel was held in the post office for him to collect, and he actually didn't do it... could it help in a paypal/ebay dispute?
Even if he's not a professional scammer, the situation is now extremely annoying.

 

[asiamiles]

At this point it's like he's kind of blackmailing you: "give me back some money or your jacket will be lost, I'll file a complaint through ebay/paypal, so I'll get the full refund, etc..."
I wouldn't give return him any money until got the refund from ebay (which I think will NEVER happen), but at least would try to have the evidence that the parcel was held in the post office for him to collect, and he actually didn't do it... could it help in a paypal/ebay dispute?
Even if he's not a professional scammer, the situation is now extremely annoying.

For someone who's very much an occasional eBayer, he seems all too aware of the existence of eBay Protection if not its fine points. While I'm obviously concerned by the situation, as you're never sure how these things will end up, by not collecting the jacket he faces the prospect of it being returned to me and him not be compensated by eBay...if I was in his shoes it's not a risk I would be taking. I'm kind of expecting now that when/if he does collect the jacket he'll find something to complain about ("it doesn't fit!") and try to return it.

 

[RCSignals]

Looks like you can contact eBay

try this link

http://ocs.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Cu ... picid=1562

it is under the section for "Misuse of Ebay Buyer Protection"

if that doesn't work follow this link

http://ocs.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?CustomerSupport

http://ocs.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ContactCS

http://ocs.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ContactCS

or

click on Customer support then customer support sub menu then contact eBay. and follow "contact eBay"

you should get a page that looks like this eventually, and email option on the right

 

[asiamiles]

Looks like you can contact eBay
try this link
http://ocs.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Cu ... picid=1562
it is under the section for "Misuse of Ebay Buyer Protection"

I found that before but the buyer has thus far not used let alone misused Buyer Protection.

if that doesn't work follow this link
you should get a page that looks like this eventually, and email option on the right

No, I cannot get a page like that with the phone and e-mail options. I remember that page from a few years ago, I haven't seen it for some time.

 

[RCSignals]

Miles if you follow those links or even just follow customer service you should end up at that page.
I wouldn't worry too much if the buyer hasn't used buyer protection yet, just get the email to eBay. The buyer has already invoked eBay Customer Service in his correspondence to you and is intimating buyer protection in a sense.
Or choose one of the other options of the list, but making contact with eBay is important I think.

 

[Rutger]

The guy is off track.
Let him contact US Customs. He himself claims that Customs probably made a mistake, he's aware of the source and so knows where he should find the solution.

As for ebay policy on duties I found:

Who pays for customs?
Generally, buyers pay additional costs such as duties, taxes, and customs clearance fees. To avoid problems, make sure that your listing clearly states this. You can cut and paste this directly into your listing:

International Buyers – Please Note:

Import duties, taxes, and charges are not included in the item price or shipping cost. These charges are the buyer's responsibility.

Please check with your country's customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to bidding or buying.
If you add this information to your listing and receive negative or neutral Feedback from the buyer about having to pay import duties and taxes, we may remove the Feedback. Find about more Feedback which refers to customs delays or customs fees.

Note: It's illegal to falsify customs declarations or mark an item as a "gift" in order to avoid customs fees. If a buyer asks you to commit customs fraud, report it to us.

What did he tell Ebay to make them state some kind of refund?

Info on duties can be found here http://hts.usitc.gov/, I think Section XI, chapter 62 provides info on determining the percentage for jackets.
Of course, all to the thoughts of the customs officer on duty.

 

[asiamiles]

Miles if you follow those links or even just follow customer service you should end up at that page.

I'd be very interested to if others here can or cannot get the page shown above with the "send us an e-mail" option.

No update to report (so far) today in this compelling saga!

 

[RCSignals]

Miles if you follow those links or even just follow customer service you should end up at that page.

I'd be very interested to if others here can or cannot get the page shown above with the "send us an e-mail" option.

No update to report (so far) today in this compelling saga!

Well I got the page I don't know why others wouldn't get it. The screen shot was taken last night

Maybe you need to log in to the US eBay.com site rather than the eBay Japan site?

 

[deeb7]

Maybe you need to log in to the US eBay.com site rather than the eBay Japan site?

There is no eBay Japan ... I think there used to be, but Yahoo was too strong for them, and they gave up.

Yes, I get the Contact eBay link right on the Customer Support page.