Xbox Live ebay scam?

hypeMarked

Senior member
Apr 15, 2002
708
0
71
So here's the problem. I bought an xbox live 12+1 month subscription from a seller on Ebay. The auction said that the code only works on NEW gamertag and live account. I got the code, create a new account and live account and it didn't work. I look around and found out that MS doesn't make codes that are activated ONLY for new account. I message the seller, he said to give him the gamertag and live account info and he'll do it for me, then I can change the password and all is good. Is this a scam in progress and should I stop it right now and file a dispute in PayPal?

Thanks,
 

shabby

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
5,782
45
91
No no its legit, give him your info and he'll fix it for you... kinda like give me your paypal info and i'll fix it for you on my end.
But then again it is a new account so i dont know what you would lose.
 

MrBond

Diamond Member
Feb 5, 2000
9,911
0
76
Originally posted by: hypeMarked
Is this a scam in progress and should I stop it right now and file a dispute in PayPal?

Thanks,

Yes and yes. If he emailed you the code, Paypal should side in your favor pretty easily.

Edit: It's a pretty common scam on eBay with Live codes I guess. Since all new live accounts get a free month, they count on you to create the account and find out after it's too late to file a negative feedback that the code doesn't give you a year of service.
 

hypeMarked

Senior member
Apr 15, 2002
708
0
71
Well, now I firmly believe it's a scam. And his reason for not giving the refund was because he has negative fund and that I would have to wait for 1 month. By that time, it would be too late for file any claim. Then he opened "eBay Unpaid Item Mutual Agreement for Item" dispute on ebay saying that I didn't paid for the item. If I agree, I have to pay for the fee listing. This is totally wrong. How should I respond to this dispute? I tried to open a dispute on PayPal, but it said the Buyer Protection Plan doesn't cover the type of purchase that I did. What should I do? Now, I'm prepared to lose the money that I got scammed, but what can I do?

Thanks,
 

Ns1

No Lifer
Jun 17, 2001
55,420
1,599
126
i wouldn't give him your personal info

i purchased one of those 12+1's off eBay as well. the first code he gave me didn't work. I emailed him and he gave me another one that worked fine. PM me if you want his eBay username - I would highly recommend.
 

Ns1

No Lifer
Jun 17, 2001
55,420
1,599
126
Originally posted by: hypeMarked
Well, now I firmly believe it's a scam. And his reason for not giving the refund was because he has negative fund and that I would have to wait for 1 month. By that time, it would be too late for file any claim. Then he opened "eBay Unpaid Item Mutual Agreement for Item" dispute on ebay saying that I didn't paid for the item. If I agree, I have to pay for the fee listing. This is totally wrong. How should I respond to this dispute? I tried to open a dispute on PayPal, but it said the Buyer Protection Plan doesn't cover the type of purchase that I did. What should I do? Now, I'm prepared to lose the money that I got scammed, but what can I do?

Thanks,

lol what the fuck. What are your options? isn't there a "paid for item" option?

I would contact paypal, get your money back, and move on
 

hypeMarked

Senior member
Apr 15, 2002
708
0
71
That's right, WTF? right? Well, today is Sunday, so I'll call PayPal tomorrow and find out. But I tried to file a dispute on PayPal and it said it can't cover the TYPE of purchase I did. Is there anything else I can do?
 

rocadelpunk

Diamond Member
Jul 23, 2001
5,589
1
81
I didn't read whole thread.

but yes it's a scam. the people are selling inactivated fast cards (the ones that say new account only). So the code will work, but if you go into your account details and check when your subscription renew date is it'll start/end same month.

After going back/forth with my seller I filed a claim with paypal and lost.

How exactly paying for 13months of a service and receiving 15 days isn't "significantly different than advertised" is beyond me :


just use a new gmail account/google checkout and get it from buy.com

It's cheaper than on ebay.
 

hypeMarked

Senior member
Apr 15, 2002
708
0
71
Like I said, I am totally prepared for losing this. But in my case, I can't even redeem the code and all I asked for is a full refund. And what can I do to not let other people fall into traps from this person again?
 

rocadelpunk

Diamond Member
Jul 23, 2001
5,589
1
81
Originally posted by: hypeMarked
Like I said, I am totally prepared for losing this. But in my case, I can't even redeem the code and all I asked for is a full refund. And what can I do to not let other people fall into traps from this person again?

leaving a negative feedback is about all you can do...

I found out too late in my case.

I was very angry, especially b/c the seller knew what he was doing and apparantly paypal has been siding with these assholes so he just told me to fuck off basically. When I called him out on it, he blatently lied to me several times and tried to get me to end the claim.

Paypal really pissed me off though, it's a fricken scam, do something about it!
 

hypeMarked

Senior member
Apr 15, 2002
708
0
71
Hmm....What about contacting my credit card company and say that you're not responsible for that payment? I have the credit card bill sitting in front of me. I'm thinking of giving them a call and say that I never got what I wanted through the auction. Would that fly?
 

novasatori

Diamond Member
Feb 27, 2003
3,851
1
0
I think you will then get hit with a negative paypal balance and possibly lose your account.
 

Xylitol

Diamond Member
Aug 28, 2005
6,617
0
76
Did you do it DURING your account creation process?
You have to do it that way, you can't make a new account and then login and then punch in the code
I had this same problem at first buying a 12+1 month card on eBay for like 10 minutes
 

Eeezee

Diamond Member
Jul 23, 2005
9,922
0
76
Were you smart and used a credit card to make the purchase? If you have a good credit card company, you can dispute the charge and they'll kick ass for you.

If you used paypal funds or a bank account, you're screwed.
 

2canSAM

Diamond Member
Jul 16, 2000
3,390
4
81
Paypal will not cover non-tangible items. If it is emailed or downloaded paypal refuses to cover it. I went through this a while back dealing with an unlock code. I had video proof and everything, the seller even got quite a few "codes not working" negative feedbacks after mine but paypal just said sorry we don't cover that.
 

LJohns123

Junior Member
Dec 9, 2007
2
0
0
I think people are a little misunderstood about this issue. If there is anyone being scammed it is retail stores. What I have heard of people doing is since the cards in the store are treated as gift cards they do not have any value until they are scanned at the register and because of this some people are able to just take them from store shelves. If you try to use this card to renew an account you will get an error message but if you use it for a new account and enter the code during creation it will work for 13 months not 1 month as some people have stated. I used to buy these cards from people on ebay and resell for profit and I never had anyone complain about it not working or only working for a month. I have personally used a few of these myself for new accounts and the accounts are still good months later. I had to stop buying and reselling these on ebay because of people falsely accusing me of scamming and I got tired of it and just quit selling them. In some cases this is a scam but the buyer is not being scammed as it is the retail stores that are having the cards taken for them although some people have obtained these cards legitimately and did not know that they were unactivated cards.
 

LJohns123

Junior Member
Dec 9, 2007
2
0
0
Also if a buyer did have a problem with something which happened once in a while I would give them a full refund. That applies to everything I have sold on ebay not just xbox live codes. I did start selling cards that worked for both new and existing accounts using the instant delivery method where the buyer would receive the code literally instantly. The problem with that was is that I would have buyers that would hijack Paypal accounts and buy the code and since they would obtain it instantly they would use the code right away. Then the actual account holder would file an unauthorized transaction and they would get there money back while the person that hijacked the account would have a free code. I don't blame people for filing an unauthorized transaction as I would too but while they are getting there money back I also lost a code worth $50 which is a double whammy for me.
 

jagec

Lifer
Apr 30, 2004
24,442
6
81
Originally posted by: LJohns123
What I have heard of people doing is since the cards in the store are treated as gift cards they do not have any value until they are scanned at the register and because of this some people are able to just take them from store shelves. If you try to use this card to renew an account you will get an error message but if you use it for a new account and enter the code during creation it will work for 13 months not 1 month as some people have stated.

That's not a "scam", that's "theft".