LotusTalk - The Lotus Cars Community - View Single Post - In the process of being defrauded on ebay

Graydon · 10-16-2008, 05:21 PM

This is way off topic, but I've gotten some excellent advice on this board before, so here goes...

I was selling my old iPhone on ebay and the auction ended last Saturday. I looked to see who had won, and it was someone from Thailand. At first I was very hesitant because of the high shipping rates overseas as well as the "fraud flag" going up in my head. I checked UPS & FedEx for shipping, both over $100. Then I checked USPS, and their cheapest option of First Class International was only about $14. I read up on their site that insurance was free for the first $100, then a dollar more for each extra $100. Since it sold for a little over $300, I could ship & insure it for $16, and track it in case anything went wrong.

So I instructed the buyer to pay through Paypal, which in over 100 transactions I've had nothing but the best of luck with. He pays very quickly, and I receive an email stating "NOTICE OF PAYMENT RECEIVED - PLEASE SHIP ITEM" (apparently even their caps lock gets stuck from time to time). The email does say that they have put a hold on the funds, and that it's a new policy not to release the funds until the buyer receives the item. This makes me a little suspicious, so I call Paypal about it. The lady on the phone says yep, the funds are good, and as long as I upload the tracking number into Paypal, they will release the funds to me upon delivery regardless of what the buyer says.

At this point I'm a little worried, but I figure I have plenty of backup in case someone is trying to screw me:
1. Shipping insurance - even if the buyer claims it's lost I'll get $300
2. Paypal has verified the funds, never had any problems before
3. Tracking # - no matter what the buyer tries to claim Paypal will release the funds and/or I'll get the insurance.
4. All this time, the buyer has been extremely responsive to all my emails, giving me a little more confidence.

So, on Tuesday I went to the post office & shipped it out. Come to find out, on the cheapest international rate you can't get insurance. Crap. I ponder it for a few seconds, then pressured by an "ahem" or two from the people waiting in line behind me, I shipped it figuring as long as I uploaded the tracking number to Paypal they wouldn't let me get screwed. I should also mention I recently saw an article on digg.com that said Paypal was now refunding shoppers who were defrauded on ebay.

When I get home that night I see an email from Paypal saying - wait for it - there has been an inquiry into the transaction due to possible fraudulent funds. I respond to their email with all the pertinent information, and even call them up. They say its just an inquiry, they need to resolve the issue. I ask if I should try to stop the shipment, and they say yes. I tried calling USPS, and they say I have to go into the post office and fill out a 1509 form. First thing the next morning, I go into the post office, but they say there's almost no way to stop an international shipment that went first class (the cheapest rate). They work on it for an hour while I was there, and I told them I had to get back to work & left them my number. 2 hours later, they call me up saying no luck. To top it all off, the tracking number I have is only a customs number, and in 3 days the only thing that it has produced through USPS's tracking tool is that it was accepted at the post office where I shipped it. They conveniently didn't mention that when I shipped the phone. Now I hear that the initial acceptance may be the only thing that ever shows up in the tracking tool because it's going overseas. Uh-oh.

So I get back on the phone with Paypal & tell them I can't stop the shipment and ask if there's anything else I can do. They say no, it will take 7 days for their "fraud committee" to come to a decision, which isn't looking good.

So basically this guy is going to get an iPhone and I'm most likely going to get nothing in return.

Any suggestions?

The only thing I can come up with is an article I read about a while ago about another ebay fraud with a buyer in London. The seller in the US posted it somewhere on the internets, and someone from London caught wind of it & decided to help out. They tracked down the buyer's address & confronted the buyer/intercepted the shipment. Anyone have a friend in Bangkok, Thailand?

Any help is much appreciated.

-Graydon

10-16-2008, 05:21 PM	#1 (permalink)
Graydon Registered User Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 513 Images: 2	In the process of being defrauded on ebay - help needed!! This is way off topic, but I've gotten some excellent advice on this board before, so here goes... I was selling my old iPhone on ebay and the auction ended last Saturday. I looked to see who had won, and it was someone from Thailand. At first I was very hesitant because of the high shipping rates overseas as well as the "fraud flag" going up in my head. I checked UPS & FedEx for shipping, both over $100. Then I checked USPS, and their cheapest option of First Class International was only about $14. I read up on their site that insurance was free for the first $100, then a dollar more for each extra $100. Since it sold for a little over $300, I could ship & insure it for $16, and track it in case anything went wrong. So I instructed the buyer to pay through Paypal, which in over 100 transactions I've had nothing but the best of luck with. He pays very quickly, and I receive an email stating "NOTICE OF PAYMENT RECEIVED - PLEASE SHIP ITEM" (apparently even their caps lock gets stuck from time to time). The email does say that they have put a hold on the funds, and that it's a new policy not to release the funds until the buyer receives the item. This makes me a little suspicious, so I call Paypal about it. The lady on the phone says yep, the funds are good, and as long as I upload the tracking number into Paypal, they will release the funds to me upon delivery regardless of what the buyer says. At this point I'm a little worried, but I figure I have plenty of backup in case someone is trying to screw me: 1. Shipping insurance - even if the buyer claims it's lost I'll get $300 2. Paypal has verified the funds, never had any problems before 3. Tracking # - no matter what the buyer tries to claim Paypal will release the funds and/or I'll get the insurance. 4. All this time, the buyer has been extremely responsive to all my emails, giving me a little more confidence. So, on Tuesday I went to the post office & shipped it out. Come to find out, on the cheapest international rate you can't get insurance. Crap. I ponder it for a few seconds, then pressured by an "ahem" or two from the people waiting in line behind me, I shipped it figuring as long as I uploaded the tracking number to Paypal they wouldn't let me get screwed. I should also mention I recently saw an article on digg.com that said Paypal was now refunding shoppers who were defrauded on ebay. When I get home that night I see an email from Paypal saying - wait for it - there has been an inquiry into the transaction due to possible fraudulent funds. I respond to their email with all the pertinent information, and even call them up. They say its just an inquiry, they need to resolve the issue. I ask if I should try to stop the shipment, and they say yes. I tried calling USPS, and they say I have to go into the post office and fill out a 1509 form. First thing the next morning, I go into the post office, but they say there's almost no way to stop an international shipment that went first class (the cheapest rate). They work on it for an hour while I was there, and I told them I had to get back to work & left them my number. 2 hours later, they call me up saying no luck. To top it all off, the tracking number I have is only a customs number, and in 3 days the only thing that it has produced through USPS's tracking tool is that it was accepted at the post office where I shipped it. They conveniently didn't mention that when I shipped the phone. Now I hear that the initial acceptance may be the only thing that ever shows up in the tracking tool because it's going overseas. Uh-oh. So I get back on the phone with Paypal & tell them I can't stop the shipment and ask if there's anything else I can do. They say no, it will take 7 days for their "fraud committee" to come to a decision, which isn't looking good. So basically this guy is going to get an iPhone and I'm most likely going to get nothing in return. Any suggestions? The only thing I can come up with is an article I read about a while ago about another ebay fraud with a buyer in London. The seller in the US posted it somewhere on the internets, and someone from London caught wind of it & decided to help out. They tracked down the buyer's address & confronted the buyer/intercepted the shipment. Anyone have a friend in Bangkok, Thailand? Any help is much appreciated. -Graydon