New seller scams, what's their purpose?

[july321-2]

I'm trying to buy a cellphone on eBay. There are several very good "buy it now"
(not for bidding) deal from sellers that have 0 feedbacks but they offer free return and eBay money back guarantee so I thought it is Ok to give a try so I purchased one. The seller didn't ship the item nor respond to my messages. Soon I found another 0 feedback seller using the same pictures selling the same item. So I realized it must be a scam, and there are many new similar ones posting everyday and gone very fast. It seems the sellers won't get the money unless the buyers confirm they have received the item, so I really wonder what's their purpose of doing this? To get my contact information? To do something with my bank? Or just to annoy eBay customers?

[marnotom!]

My guess is these "sellers" are hoping to attract new/naive buyers who aren't aware of how to get their money back in the event of a scam, but they're unaware that they're not going to see any sort of payment in a hurry.  But there may be something to your hypothesis about them harvesting your contact information, too.

[reallynicestamps · Accepted solution]

It seems the sellers won't get the money unless the buyers confirm they have received the item,

Not quite.

Payments to new, occasional or questionable sellers are Held for up to 21 days.

Using tracked shipping means the Held funds are released when tracking shows delivery.

But many perfectly honest sellers don't use expensive tracking, and wait out the 21 days.

If the buyer doesn't file a Dispute (not just complain to the seller or leave negative feedback) eBay assumes all is well and releases the funds.

Basically, the profit is in the buyers who don't Dispute.
Assume that any seller who has negative feedback about non-delivery as a pattern, has a lot of buyers who didn't know how to get a refund,  didn't file Disputes, didn't get their refund, and thought all they could do was "warn" future buyers (who don't read feedback in any case).

Have you filed your Dispute?

You only have 30 days from the last estimated date for delivery.

However, if that deadline has passed you have 180 days from purchase to dispute through Paypal.

And if that fails or you didn't use PP, you can try a chargeback to the credit card you did use. Card policies differ.

[esclyons]

be careful, i have heard of scam seller's who ship a dollar store item, with tracking either to you, or to a postal code close to you. then they use the bogus tracking info to fool the bots. Then you will be in for a fight to get your funds back,..

[brettjet38]

"There are several very good buy it now (not for bidding) deal from sellers that have 0 feedbacks"

And that is the hook & the warning, the fish is the one who nibbles to save $$$ on a high-value item...

If the price is too good to be true, it usually is...

...as for the scam, they attempt to make the buyer wait until the deadlines pass before they make a claim, then the $$ are there's...

[july321-2]

Thanks everyone for your inputs. I did filed a claim right away with eBay customers service as soon as I see the other post that has the same pictures and discription. I do see similar new posts for sale everyday and gone very fast. They are so annoying.

[july321-2]

A couple days ago I did receive a call from "Canadian custom collection department" but I hang off right away. I already got my return from eBay's help. There is no way the non-response seller has shipped the item. So it might be their trick as well.
2nd time...I have order from a seller with 20 positive feedback and the price was about average. He did create a e-tracking number but the shipping information never updated and I have waited 10 days didn't receive it and the seller never responded to my messages. So many scammers unreliable sellers, so annoying! Such a wasting of my time!!! I will just buy from official website instead. Bye bye eBay, if you don't solve this kind of problem nobody would buy from you anymore.

[reallynicestamps]

@july321-2   I do see similar new posts for sale everyday and gone very fast.

EBay spotted them and pulled them down.  Doing their job properly.

A couple days ago I did receive a call from "Canadian custom collection department" but I hang off right away.

Probably not related.

This is a common scam- us old folks with landlines get all sorts of them. My favourite is the Chinese lady calling from Vancouver. Oddly friends who actually speak Chinese have never received that call so no one knows what she is trying to pull.

He did create a e-tracking number but the shipping information never updated and I have waited 10 days didn't receive it and the seller never responded to my messages.

I usually  allow 15 to 20 days for delivery from anywhere in North America. Ten days is too short. Usually about 15 days .

Again, if the window for delivery eBay gave you has closed, open an Item Not Received dispute. Otherwise, be patient.

and the seller never responded to my messages.

Bad customer service, but some large and/or overseas sellers don't ever answer messages. When you leave Feedback, also leave a "1" for communication. (Leaving no mark for communication has no impact.)