Purchased an item, now the seller left the site. Did I get scammed? What can I do?

[broccarte-9]

Just purchased an item thinking I was getting a good deal, soon after purchasing the seller left ebay entirely. I feel like I may have been scammed.

I can't say for certain though, everything still seems to be in order and my order seems fine. I feel like the circumstances aren't improbable, but definitely sketchy.

So I'm wondering what my course of action should be from here, do I wait until it does/doesn't arrive, try to refund my purchase, or is there anything else I should check out before taking action?

[momcqueen · Accepted solution]

If your seller has left ebay suddenly, chances are that he/she has ben given the boot. When one leaves ebay voluntarily, there is a minimum 30-day delay to ensure all orders are received and trouble-free before ebay will concede to close a selling account. Any quicker than that? A seller has been asked to leave. And I don't mean politely.

While it is possible that everything is well with your item-that-sounded-too-good-to-be-true, that is its own clue as to the reason your seller has vanished.

Here is what you need to do: check the delivery estimate and write that date on the calendar. If you have not received the item you ordered by that point in time, go immediately to the ebay Resolution Centre and open an Item Not Received case indicating the seller is not selling on ebay anymore and Not a Registered User (NARU.) This will expedite your refund.

If the seller reaches out to you in the meantime, DO NOT ACCEPT AN OFFER TO REPLACE. It is often merely a stall tactic designed to lure the buyer into blowing the case escalation deadlines and therefore losing their right to a refund. If something does come, it still may not be what you ordered. The only time that I, as a buyer, would consider a replacement offer would be if it came from a seller in good standing with ebay (check feedback) and one that is domestic, or one with which I had a previous business relationship.

Come back if you have additional questions. Good luck. 

[broccarte-9 · Accepted solution]

Thanks, this is quite helpful. I may have two other questions to ask, if it's no problem.

First, I payed with a prepaid mastercard, which is not reloadable but last I checked seems to have an non-usable balance held for my order payment, if I do receive the refund will it go back to the card balance or will it have to be transferred to a separate balance, gift money for example?

Second, is there any way I can track the order assuming it's legit, I haven't been provided with a tracking number, is there any way to initialize tracking without the seller activating it?

Thanks in advance, you've been very helpful so far!

[momcqueen · Accepted solution]

No problem. I will do my best to answer your questions with what I know.

1. The seller is the only party who can upload tracking on your order, if tracking exists.

2. It is likely that with your pre-paid mastercard, you will have to ask. From what I have read, if you pay outside paypal and have to initiate an ebay money back guarantee case, ebay will most often credit your paypal account. Without that, you may be issued an ebay gift card or be asked to create a paypal account to receive your refund. But that is definitely something you'd need to flush out with ebay Customer Service once your return is open. That number to call can be found under Help & Contact at the bottom or top of the page and then whittle through the options until you find one suited to your matter.

Good luck.

[broccarte-9 · Accepted solution]

Thanks again, lots of useful stuff here! I'll try my best to keep on top of things.

[momcqueen · Accepted solution]

Paypal too offers buyer protection up to 180 days after purchase so if you had used paypal directly, you'd be eligible to collect but the difference is with paypal, if you receive some junk you did not order, you as a buyer have to pay to return it with tracking and often that costs more than the item is worth.

With a pre-paid credit card, I'm really not sure what consumer protection you get. If it was a credit card proper, you could talk to the credit card company and they would be able to initiate a chargeback if something went wrong with your purchase. With pre-paid, I just don't know what the procedure is....? Your best bet -- and the simplest -- is to use ebay's Moneyback Guarantee program with this. For more information on that http://pages.ebay.ca/ebay-money-back-guarantee/