I had intentionally stopped selling Apple products on Ebay because I kept getting scammed either by the USPS redirect or charge backs that the headaches weren’t worth it anymore. However, I haven’t been heeding my own advice and got 2 fraudulent claims this past week and it’s pissing me the hell off, so I’ll vent to you guys:
I had sold a brand new Nintendo DS to a buyer. They opened an ‘item not defective’ claim saying the DS a) doesn’t charge and b) the memory card doesn’t work. I asked him if the item was brand new when he got it and he said YES. I asked him to take a picture of the problem, but he wouldn’t do it and muttered something about going to Gamestop and testing it there. Anyway I called up Ebay to get their advice. The rep on the phone agreed with me that the return is extremely fishy, but I had an obligation to take it back. So even though both Ebay and I know he’s trying to scam me, I still had to take it back. He asked me if I had taken down the serial number, and I told him no. He did say that when I get it back, if it’s not the one I sent, I can call back Ebay and cross that bridge when I get there. I could also argue about the return shipping cost as well. It’s just annoying that BOTH EBAY AND I know it’s a scam, but I have to take it back. The rep then told me, “You can report him so that if he continues doing this, we’ll ban him.” Yeah, like that’s going to help ME.
The 2nd one really got me pissed. I had sold 2 of the special edition PS4’s to someone. I stupidly asked them if they wanted more, and he said he wanted 3 more. Thus, he bought all 5 units for a total of around $4,000. It cost me about $60 to ship these to him. Sure enough, he then claims “Item is defective.” I asked him how could all 5 be defective. He goes, “Items not function properly. I would like to return please sire.” I then asked him, “There is no way all 5 didn’t work. Did you not like the serial numbers on them?” Quick aside – these PS4’s have a serial number from 1 to 50,000. You don’t know what the serial number is until you open them up, and of course if you get #1, then that’s worth A WHOLE LOT. I then respond, “You have to tell me what’s wrong with them.” He goes, “I have sir.” I then say “Specifically…” He goes, “Not properly functioning.”
I then call up Ebay and sure enough, the rep tells me, “Yes, this looks very fishy that all 5 are defective. But you have to take them back.” WTF MAN!?! So now I have to pay for him to ship these back to me and of course they are no longer new and sealed. Once again, the Ebay rep I could call back and argue to get the return shipping fees refunded if the items are not the same or whatnot. For this one, I should have known better. I should have a) checked his lousy feedback score of 96.9% and b) asked him why he needed 5 in the first place. I just got too excited for the sale.
Lessons Learned
First, always take a picture of the serial numbers of high priced items you send. Two, don’t let enthusiasm over a sale cloud your judgment. I should have cancelled the 2nd guy’s order after looking at his feedback or at least not tried to sell him EXTRA. I’m sure the first guy is going to send me back an old broken DS. Not sure what the 2nd guy is going to send me, but I do know I didn’t want to push him harder in case he really did damage the units. Ugh, maybe I should just stick to concert tickets… at least there are no remorse returns there.