eBay

allinthemindtreasures · ‎08-19-2020

Please Help!

I sold 3 lots of action figure toys on Saturday to the same name and address but different usernames. I offer combined shipping so when I noticed that they were all going to the same place I gave them a partial refund for the shipping overage on Sunday morning. Later in the day I get an email from eBay telling me that these purchases are suspicious and they removed the listing entirely, cancelled the orders but did not refund the buyer. The money was still in my paypal account. I have been waiting since Sunday for the resolution of these.

Monday afternoon, I sell another lot of figures to the same address, but again, a different username. This time, it is not deemed suspicious by eBay. I waited to see if anything would happen and as of this morning, nothing. I have reported this buyer in hope that eBay would step in to let me know what to do, and nothing. I have called and I cannot get through.

So 4 lots purchased- 3 cancelled but not refunded - 1 still waiting to be shipped- all different usernames but all with the same name and address.

What should I do? The suspicious email advises me not to refund, ship or contact the buyer. I cannot call eBay and there is no other direction from them. Has this happened to anyone else?

Thank you for reading!

marnotom! · ‎08-19-2020

Are the items destined for a domestic or international address? Have you researched the address in question? Is it residential or commercial?

travis7s · ‎08-19-2020

Presumably this person is creating new accounts because the old ones are getting banned so I would definitely not be shipping. I would probably be cancelling due to problem with buyers address and keep blocking these accounts. You should still be able to call eBay or at least use live chat. You can also try contacting "eBay for Business" on Facebook, those guys are legit and usually way more helpful than normal customer support.

reallynicestamps · ‎08-19-2020

Is it the username that differs or the personal names?
Google the address, it is possible that the buyer(s) are overseas and are using a freight forwarding service.

In any case, since eBay has told you not to ship to the first addresses, you are well within your rights to Cancel all others to that address using Problem with Address.

EBay will take it from there, including processing any refunds.

DO NOT SHIP!

You should also go to your Seller Preferences/Buyer Requirements and opt to automatically Block buyers with Unpaid Item Strikes.

reallynicestamps · ‎08-19-2020

@travis7s

You are probably right, but we do run into newbies who end up opening a new guest account for every purchase, because they don't know how to not.

Perhaps if there were some constant way of differentiating between members and guests.

nostalgicaftertaste · ‎08-19-2020

This isn't the exact same situation as yours, but I wanted to share an experience I recently had in the hopes that it might help:

Earlier this month, I received an MC098 email about a buyer with a new account who paid full price for an item. I was informed in the email that eBay had to cancel bids because they aren't registered on eBay (their account was and is still showing as active, though). It wasn't an auction, nor was it a case of the buyer making an offer, so I was confused by the wording. Additionally, there weren't any immediate visual indications that there was an issue with the buyer. (Granted, looking at it again now, it's curious that the buyer received feedback for a purchase days before their account creation date.)

After doing a bit of research online to see how others navigated similar situations, I decided to call eBay and get someone to weigh in, as the order had not been cancelled and was technically fully paid for. I was advised not to ship for the reason that they will, in the representative's words, cause a headache down the line. I decided to cancel the order, thus issuing a full refund.

Speaking more specifically to your situation: Even though the most recent purchase wasn't flagged, I wouldn't take a risk. If you're concerned about possibly receiving negative feedback for cancelling, the surrounding situation of eBay identifying the buyer as suspicious would be sufficient grounds for removal.

When you say the email advises not to refund, are you referring to the following (assuming the email is the same one I received):

"If the buyer requests a refund or additional payments, don't send any money without contacting eBay first."

Definitely speak to someone, potentially via chat if you can't get through the phone lines. For the phone, might I suggest using the 'Have us call you' feature at the bottom of some Help sections?

reallynicestamps · ‎08-19-2020

If you're concerned about possibly receiving negative feedback for cancelling,

Worry less about feedback, and more about the reason for cancelling.

FB is voluntary and not used by eBay* to measure your account.

Be careful when cancelling that you use only "Problem with Address" or "Buyer Request" as reasons. Anything else gets a Defect and eBay does use those to assess your selling account.

*Some buyers do understand that a FB rating under 95% is terrible, fewer actually read FB for patterns.

peng039663 · ‎08-19-2020

Hi there, l have had two instances where a buyer messages me and says they want to buy an item for their niece and want my palpal details. The first time l said no and they have to bid via ebay. So they made a bid and won and then ebay cancelled the order. The second time, today, l just simply contacted ebay via their chat line and the ebay guy cut me off as l was typing a message explaining what was going on. Guess they dont care.

reallynicestamps · ‎08-20-2020

@peng039663

Well, never put down to conspiracy what can be explained by stupidity, or in this case a fat fingered clerk.

You don't have to Report a suspicious bidder on Auctions, you have the right to cancel any bid for any reason. That's a Bid of course, not a Sale.

When you run into a suspicious offer like the first, you don't have to communicate, and can just add the scammer to your Blocked Bidder List.

Same with the second guy, BBL after cancelling the bid.

With Fixed Price you are not able to see the customer's feedback, but you can add Immediate Payment Required and the listing stays open until someone actually pays you.

I get very suspicious when offers come with a story. As if the niece needs a Whirlpool dishwasher part badly enough to pay a premium, right?

teenytrinkets · ‎08-23-2020

I stopped accepting offers on my listings a few months ago, and changed everything to BIN with immediate payment. I found because of Covid, I was getting all sorts of sob stories with low ball offers! It was getting difficult to manage!

allinthemindtreasures · ‎08-25-2020

Thank you everyone! I requested for eBay to call me and they were super helpful. I got all the information I needed and they supported me all the way. I refunded the money and was protected from bad feedback from them. I super appreciate all of your help and cannot say thanks enough!