- Oct 9, 2002
- 28,298
- 1,235
- 136
I was already going to create a thread when I noticed eBay still showed a "buy it now" option on my listing (item 132803947681, box + unused / untouched accessories for an iPhone) - even after it already had bids and there was no reserve price. Kinda strange.
I created the listing through the eBay mobile app, which didn't present any option for the me to enable buyer restrictions. After typing some title keywords, the app tried to force me to pick a specific model of iPhone, so I had to back up and describe something more general like "iphone accessories" to get past that. It listed some search results and I chose a similar listing for an iPhone box with accessories, from the category for mobile phone accessories.
I set bids to start at $0.01 (no reserve price) with a buy-it-now price of $60 (MSRP for the individual new accessories would be ~$80), I hoped it might sell instantly since I needed the money. Then there were a few bids and the buy-it-now option should have disappeared, but my eBay mobile app still showed me a buy-it-now price for some reason.
I thought it might just be a quirk where the app shows me (the seller) the initial auction parameters. Then, after a couple days, someone did buy-it-now for $60 in the early AM and paid me through PayPal.
The buyer's username is clearly the kind of name eBay suggests to a new user, based on partial first and last name. It is consistent with the name I see on the PayPal payment.
I sent a message to the buyer:
"Thanks for buying the iPhone box + accessories! I'll get it sent out ASAP!!"
I packed and shipped it with insurance. I can't even afford to eat a $60 loss at the moment. I was already getting a sense that the buyer was a scammer since the buyer has low feedback (just 7, all from the last couple months) and hadn't responded to my message. Some time after I dropped-off the package at USPS, it was scanned into the system and started moving.
Then I got an odd message from the buyer:
"Dear seller a banner on my phone says pay now didn’t you
receive my funds? Please send my item thank you."
I quickly responded:
"I received payment from "[name redacted]" and shipped the item earlier today. USPS tracking number: [tracking number redacted]
It's already on the way to you with tracking and insurance."
The buyer responded:
"Oh I am so very sorry and thank you for letting me purchase
this item"
All messages from this buyer have strange unnecessary line breaks, but maybe that's due to the device the person is using. I immediately became somewhat more-concerned that this buyer is a scammer because the message starts oddly with "dear seller," awkwardly says "funds" instead of "payment," and only uses vague terms like "my item" / "this item."
This morning, I got another message from the buyer:
"Dear seller a iPhone does come with this shipment doesn’t it?
Please tell me it does"
It was very clear in my listing title, photos, description, and my initial message that this was just the box + accessories. It was listed in the correct category for mobile phone accessories.
eBay pressures sellers to accept returns, but I set the option in the listing to not accept returns because I don't want to be jerked around by scammers and I couldn't afford to leave money stuck in limbo.
At the same time I saw the buyer's message this morning, there was already a message from eBay indicating that the buyer has requested a return.
Typical eBay trying really hard to make sellers accept returns, it says:
"[...] be sure to reply to the buyer by Oct 10, 2018. Starting on that day, the buyer could ask us to step in and help by opening a case - this can affect your seller level."
I double-checked and verified that my listing says "no returns." Only when I view the actual return request, eBay says:
"The buyer requested a return, but you're not obligated to accept a return for this item.
Please take action by Oct 10."
Info from the buyer
Reason
"Changed my mind"
Comments
"Dear seller and ebay I have changed my mind because I thought a phone came with the box it’s my fault"
There's "dear seller" again. I suppose I could grant the refund when I get a bit more cash, even though the buyer hasn't received the package yet. If it's a scammer, I would be playing right into what the scammer wants. I probably would not receive the item I originally shipped.
If someone thought they were buying an iPhone, they probably should have looked for pictures of it. Also the buyer should have seen my first message, which was sent immediately after the purchase and many hours before the package was shipped.
I created the listing through the eBay mobile app, which didn't present any option for the me to enable buyer restrictions. After typing some title keywords, the app tried to force me to pick a specific model of iPhone, so I had to back up and describe something more general like "iphone accessories" to get past that. It listed some search results and I chose a similar listing for an iPhone box with accessories, from the category for mobile phone accessories.
I set bids to start at $0.01 (no reserve price) with a buy-it-now price of $60 (MSRP for the individual new accessories would be ~$80), I hoped it might sell instantly since I needed the money. Then there were a few bids and the buy-it-now option should have disappeared, but my eBay mobile app still showed me a buy-it-now price for some reason.
I thought it might just be a quirk where the app shows me (the seller) the initial auction parameters. Then, after a couple days, someone did buy-it-now for $60 in the early AM and paid me through PayPal.
The buyer's username is clearly the kind of name eBay suggests to a new user, based on partial first and last name. It is consistent with the name I see on the PayPal payment.
I sent a message to the buyer:
"Thanks for buying the iPhone box + accessories! I'll get it sent out ASAP!!"
I packed and shipped it with insurance. I can't even afford to eat a $60 loss at the moment. I was already getting a sense that the buyer was a scammer since the buyer has low feedback (just 7, all from the last couple months) and hadn't responded to my message. Some time after I dropped-off the package at USPS, it was scanned into the system and started moving.
Then I got an odd message from the buyer:
"Dear seller a banner on my phone says pay now didn’t you
receive my funds? Please send my item thank you."
I quickly responded:
"I received payment from "[name redacted]" and shipped the item earlier today. USPS tracking number: [tracking number redacted]
It's already on the way to you with tracking and insurance."
The buyer responded:
"Oh I am so very sorry and thank you for letting me purchase
this item"
All messages from this buyer have strange unnecessary line breaks, but maybe that's due to the device the person is using. I immediately became somewhat more-concerned that this buyer is a scammer because the message starts oddly with "dear seller," awkwardly says "funds" instead of "payment," and only uses vague terms like "my item" / "this item."
This morning, I got another message from the buyer:
"Dear seller a iPhone does come with this shipment doesn’t it?
Please tell me it does"
It was very clear in my listing title, photos, description, and my initial message that this was just the box + accessories. It was listed in the correct category for mobile phone accessories.
eBay pressures sellers to accept returns, but I set the option in the listing to not accept returns because I don't want to be jerked around by scammers and I couldn't afford to leave money stuck in limbo.
At the same time I saw the buyer's message this morning, there was already a message from eBay indicating that the buyer has requested a return.
Typical eBay trying really hard to make sellers accept returns, it says:
"[...] be sure to reply to the buyer by Oct 10, 2018. Starting on that day, the buyer could ask us to step in and help by opening a case - this can affect your seller level."
I double-checked and verified that my listing says "no returns." Only when I view the actual return request, eBay says:
"The buyer requested a return, but you're not obligated to accept a return for this item.
Please take action by Oct 10."
Info from the buyer
Reason
"Changed my mind"
Comments
"Dear seller and ebay I have changed my mind because I thought a phone came with the box it’s my fault"
There's "dear seller" again. I suppose I could grant the refund when I get a bit more cash, even though the buyer hasn't received the package yet. If it's a scammer, I would be playing right into what the scammer wants. I probably would not receive the item I originally shipped.
If someone thought they were buying an iPhone, they probably should have looked for pictures of it. Also the buyer should have seen my first message, which was sent immediately after the purchase and many hours before the package was shipped.
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