Ordered Item From eBay, Got an Empty Packaging with No Item in It

Rukiata on 16/08/2016 - 10:54
Last edited 22/08/2016 - 12:45

Do not buy from cueball-147 he is a scammer.

I have been scammed by a seller. AU post my express post bag came the other day, I opened it up and nothing was inside it. so I contracted the seller and right away he blamed me for scamming him and was very unhelpful he is not willing to refund me as well. Also noticed after opening there is a cut on top of the bag as if they knew where to cut and it was trapped almost perfect which is so hard to notice it was open before i got it.

So reported to AU Post, they also said it could have been dropped off in a post box and not in a store due to the tracking info as there is hardly any only when it was on board for delivery…..

cost me over $1000, Now how damn long do I have to wait for this? also I opened up a paypal claim to get my money back. im wondering how long that will take as well.

the seller had 100% feedback and sold before, also his phone number is fake on ebay and on the express bag he never gave his name, number or address only his PO BOX.

SOMETHING SEEMS FISHY!

If I could get some tips please because not fully sure what to do, this has never happened to me before

UPDATE: THANKS FOR THE HELP GUYS! Ebay cant do anything as I had already open a case with paypal, Paypal deliced it due to they dont cover gift cards, they didnt bother to look into it.

I am giving up as no one seems to want to help AKA Paypal/Ebay/AUPost
nothing can be done my lesson is learnt that dont buy gift cards on Ebay your not covered if they say you are their lying. You wont get your money back also my bank was hopeless they said for me to go to Paypal.

I reported the seller to EBay

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Comments

        • jackofspade on 18/08/2016 - 14:41

          @spacecowboy:
          Yes we already know that but @miwtown successfully argue his/her case.

      • beatwixkid on 18/08/2016 - 13:58
        +4

        You posted on this forum to get advice, but you are so pessimistic and you also don't read the posts properly.

        To make it clearer, if you click on any gift card listing, you will see the following:

        Item location:
        Posts to:
        Australia
        Delivery:
        Payments: PayPal

        Returns:
        No Returns Accepted
        Guarantee: ebay MONEYBACK GUARANTEE

        So, while you should have checked terms and conditions, you may be able to claim that they should not have MONEYBACK GUARANTEE in capitals in the listing as it is misleading and leads people to believe they have that guarantee, and therefore may help get you a refund.

        Good luck, I know your pain. I was scammed $5000 through carsales many moons ago when I was stupid and gullible.

        • SnoozeAndLose on 18/08/2016 - 14:42

          What have you got for $5000 and what you have end up with?

        • beatwixkid on 18/08/2016 - 15:46

          @LoveBargain15: Nothing. No car. That's the worst bit. Don't ask me how - a bad memory I'd rather not retell ;)

        • Rukiata on 18/08/2016 - 17:13

          Wow thank you so much!

        • andyken on 18/08/2016 - 17:15
          -1

          agree with you, OP ignore almost all the suggestion that given by members. open an dispute via eBay first, not paypal because eBay had "eBay MONEYBACK GUARANTEE"

        • Rukiata on 18/08/2016 - 17:18

          @andyken: its to late paypal is already open claimed. can i go to ebay and open one after it if it fails?

        • spacecowboy on 18/08/2016 - 17:55
          +1

          @shadowrukia:
          This suggests not but perhaps try anyway:

          "Exclusions

          If you have already opened a dispute with PayPal, you won't be able to open a request or case with eBay."

          http://pages2.ebay.com.au/eBay_Money_Back_Guarantee

        • jackary on 18/08/2016 - 18:45
          +2

          @andyken: Why? Even the ones offering advice are shaking their heads. And a lot of the other 'members' that you refer to look to be eBay sellers chiming in, albeit not to say what the OP wanted to hear. What is your experience by the way?

          This method is unsonscionable. And it is a loophole. If it works, where will OP's refund come from? At best, eBay take the hit. At worst, the seller does.

          For the 1000th time there's no proof OP has been scammed! And until there is, the working assumption should be that it was lost in transit as it's an equally if not more likely scenario.

          PayPal have already told OP no, and why. If the seller really has done the right thing here and it's simply missing/lost/stolen… think about how they'll feel waking up to a -$1000 PayPal balance? You've both broken your share of eBay guidelines, the largest of which being yours, not having them insured in the first place!

          I don't really want to play the 'karma' card, but until you can rule out every other possible scenario I couldn't do this to the seller. I 110% understand OP and I would desperately want my money back as well. But I just envisage some poor greasy 17 year old kid who got that gift card for his birthday and was selling it to buy his first car or something. And is now losing both… that ain't fair. Why can't we show the imaginary seller the same benefit of the doubt as OP? :(

        • andyken on 18/08/2016 - 21:06

          @jackary: when you open a dispute via ebay and before ebay decide which side is right, you will communicate with the seller, at this stage you wish the seller dont reply within certain date or reply with some sort of BS comment as the OP mention, from there, your chance to get the money back is higher.

          if you go to paypal directly, your chance are almost 0 to nothing. eBay and paypal now act independently. they own by same company but act independently (CMIIW)

        • jackary on 18/08/2016 - 22:16
          -1

          @andyken: Correct. Totally seperate. But 0 chance of success with Paypal? Rubbish, PayPal are universally hated by sellers for their eagerness to side with buyers almost by default.

          PayPal refused buyer protection as a) it wasn't eligible and even if it were, b) the seller provided proof of shipping and receipt of delivery. Easily done - PayPal finds in favour of seller.

          The loophole is that eBay, during their dispute process, will give the seller 7 days to provide proof of shipping, and proof of delivery. As in, a name, date and time with a signature on a piece of paper. OP registered the item but didn't add signature on delivery, so it was just left with the regular mail, ergo seller will not be able to provide. Just an article number that says "delivered". On that basis eBay will find in favour of OP.

          It seems like a bit of a moral maze as undoubtedly eBay will forward costs along to the seller… even if the cards were, for example, lost in the post or stolen by a nosy neighbour. Ouch…

        • andyken on 19/08/2016 - 08:04

          @jackary: i bought a cctv camera drom ebay with 1 year warranty on it after 3 months the 1 out of 4 camera dead, talk to the seller, seller happily ask me to buy a new one from somewhere else and will pay me, but the problem is as the camera comes with spoe which mean poe to microusb port, no one else sell the camera. As more than 3 months i cant open a dispute via ebay i open a dispute via paypal request the seller send me a new one (or at least open from a new box, send me one camera, and i will resend back the one faulty camera to him) or otherwise i will send whole lot and ask for full refund.

          Guess what, paypal side with the seller, and i left with one broken camera. So your statement above is wrong about paypal always side with buyer.

        • snook on 19/08/2016 - 11:03

          @LoveBargain15: Sounds like a paypal payment scam - ie., I'm not available, I'll send you extra money and you send some on to my shopping agent.

        • snook on 19/08/2016 - 11:06

          @andyken: agree. I bought a sideboard advertised as in perfect condition.

          When it was delivered it was clearly all broken and had even been fixed in a dodgy way. You could see the old glue stuck everywhere.

          Paypal sided with the seller … even though I had these pictures of old yellow glue.

        • jackary on 19/08/2016 - 11:20
          -1

          @andyken: No, I'm not wrong. You are.

          Re commenter above "snook" - more info required. You bought a used item and then complained when it arrived in used condition? PayPal didn't find in favour of seller for no reason. Seller must have proven he/she accurately described the condition of the item. Perhaps you had an unreasonable expectation of a used?

        • andyken on 19/08/2016 - 22:32
          +1

          @jackary: used item?? i bought BRAND NEW in box, what are you talking about, the fact is paypal is always side with buyer, im not sure your writing based on your thought, not experience, i was once a seller and buyer and i write based on my experience not some reading

        • [Deactivated] on 19/08/2016 - 22:42

          @andyken: Exactly correct, and they usually don't reply, so eBay dispute goes in you're favour, you get your money back & the seller gets a strike against their name or in severe cases can have their eBay account closed.

        • jackary on 20/08/2016 - 09:46

          @andyken: Can you read? My response was not to you. It was directed at "snook" who did buy a used item. Facepalm.

          Not to start a pissing contest, but I've sold thousands of items on eBay. Frankly whether you agree with PayPals buyer-friendly or not is of no consequence to me, suit yourself. I…I just don't care.

        • jackary on 20/08/2016 - 09:59

          @3lions: Huh? So do you agree or disagree with andyken? You're saying opposite things…

          This is all very confusing.

        • [Deactivated] on 20/08/2016 - 10:32

          @jackary: I was agreeing with the comment about opening a claim, wait for the seller to reply by a certain date/time if they don't eBay will take over the claim and in most cases I've had they side with the buyer and they also look into the sellers account.My reply was 2 days ago but I did agree with what you had written. I'm sorry for any misunderstanding. This subject has completely done my head in. That has nothing to do with you. Just the original post.
          Aplolgies

        • jackary on 20/08/2016 - 16:25

          @3lions: Agreed! Have a good weekend mate :)

        • [Deactivated] on 20/08/2016 - 17:14

          @jackary: Glad I'm not the only one who thinks like that! Do you happen to know the record number of comments on 1 topic? Cause I'd reckon it would be up there :) gawd!
          Cheers buddy, you enjoy your weekend too :)

      • unitato on 18/08/2016 - 14:46

        When I lodged my complaint with the Financial Industry Ombudsman, it was still the case that PayPal did not cover gift cards. They have not made any changes to this policy since it was ruled in my favour. It is however worth trying as their buyer protection policy is misleading… especially since many people use PayPal assuming that their purchase is going to be covered only to find out after the fact that a particular product or item is excluded. If I were you I would give it a try… you really don't have any other options.

    • spacecowboy on 18/08/2016 - 18:04

      Did you file a claim first with Aust Post? Any result from that?

      I recently had a Registered Post parcel marked 'delivered' that wasn't & was told to wait 2 weeks for AP to investigate.

      How long did you wait to go to Ombudsman? Did you have an outcome from AP before you filed with the Ombusdmen?

      • terrypoon on 18/08/2016 - 22:03
        +1

        based on my experience. The post office will refund the postage and pretend it is never happened.

  • tikei on 18/08/2016 - 14:19

    Can you get a police report number? Would scare the seller if he was the scammer and would go in your favour in your PayPal case.

  • Christy Bambi on 18/08/2016 - 15:52
    +1

    You got scammed bad why would anyone sell a Gift card below market value. Hes clever though, probably sold the same gift card multiple times under different usernames and most likely is selling quiet a variety of gift cards to buyers like ureself. Wish i could help you but hes picked a category that ain't supported by paypal or ebay who are actually the same company so your only chance is harassing paypal till they do something

  • StonedWizard on 18/08/2016 - 18:21

    OP same thing happened to me a few years back with a different seller.

    They told PayPal that they had shipped the product and that I was lying. PayPal weren't much help and eventually I had to do a charge back with the bank.

    If you bought it on credit card my suggestion would be to do a charge back.

    I reckon these accounts are dormant and then hacked into so they look like a genuine seller. See how old the previous feedback was for.

  • Rukiata on 18/08/2016 - 23:40

    I dont care if I dont get my money back. I want the seller BANNED. I told ebay to look into the seller but of course they wont do nothing they just want money from fees

    • justinh93 on 19/08/2016 - 00:07
      +4

      Hey mate

      I feel sympathy for the situation you are in. I bought an iphone from a seller on ebay through one of the previous ozbargain deals… got it for around 700 was so proud. After 6 months the screen started coming off and I took it to apple, turns out the entire phone was fitted out with 3rd party parts and just put into a box and reshrink wrapped. Essentially it was a fake phone. I got apple to write me a letter confirming the details and paypal sided with me even though I was outside the 6 months period.

      I think it would help if you toned down your emotion a bit, rather than just screaming he is a scammer (I think he is to) write down a lot of the examples of why he is most likely a scammer. Not the he took my MONEY!!!! way but more the, look at this item that he previously sold which had a similar problem.

      Keep calling paypal, maybe even add in a sob story, but be constructive and be genuine. I think if you were to inform ebay you suspect he is a scammer because of these list of logical reasons, rather than screaming and making arguments that have nothing but emotion behind them, start using substance.

      When I was going through my dispute with the seller, I found it worked really well when I told them I am worried that he is a scammer and then linked paypal to a forum discussion on ozbargain detailing why that seller is dodgy!

      Good luck mate, I hope you get your money back. I still think you can if you approach it with less emotion and more reason.

      • Rukiata on 19/08/2016 - 00:27

        thats what we have been doing and it didnt work, we called paypal and they dont even care

    • justinh93 on 19/08/2016 - 00:08
      +2

      Also, their feedback is 95% on ebay which is pretty terrible for future reference. Stick to sellers above 99%.

      • ronnknee on 19/08/2016 - 10:21

        Clearly it was on 100% and it was OP's negative feedback that reduced it to 95%…

      • Scab on 19/08/2016 - 12:52

        Just because it's above 99% doesn't mean much, you also have to check it's not feedback from $1 items.

        It's also one of the oldest eBay tricks, sell a number of cheap things to get feedback, then sell high-priced items.

    • j5ive on 19/08/2016 - 07:26
      +1

      If they are indeed a scammer, they will just start another account.

    • smashed on 19/08/2016 - 08:53
      +6

      You have not really explained the issue.

      You are sounding petulant and even though people have provided lots of time and effort you haven't really put any effort / gratitude back into the thread.
      How do you know that the seller didn't post it and that somebody didn't steal it en route? Why should the seller be banned? There is no proof.

      Have you tried repeated contact with the seller? What did they actually say? (cut and paste it).

      That said, he does have previous poor feedback for sending gift cards with no value..which he did refund.
      Perhaps not sending a card was the next logical step.

      However, if I was going to rob somebody I would not use a 15 year old Ebay account nor would I leave lots of other open listings that an annoyed buyer may choose to hijack. An annoyed buyer could easily win auctions and pay via paypal. They could then collect and claim it was never received (perhaps somebody else turned up and pretended to be them). Paypal would side with the buyer.

      There are all kinds of dirty tricks that people play. Are you SURE that the seller didn't post the card? How can you be? If that went through the postal system it would be clear that it was just a card and somebody may think it is a gift card, or a credit card etc and take it out.

      Seriously, cut and paste the convos with the seller to show how unhelpful he is being.

      • jackary on 19/08/2016 - 11:41

        +1! Infinite thankyou smashed, totally summed up what I've been (poorly) trying to say for days. It doesn't make sense for seller to be rorting OP. The account has recent feedback, it's an old account, it doesn't appear hijacked etc…

        Would love love love to see the communication between seller and OP.

  • [Deactivated] on 19/08/2016 - 11:56
    +2

    Something smells fishy!
    Let's be honest here.
    Do you have any evidence that it was stolen?
    Did you mention anything to the delivery guy? Did you record a video when opening the package? You knew this package has come from this seller and should include such an expensive giftcard, what was your imagination when the empty package was handed to you? That it was a congratulations letter for the purchase?
    You have so much inconsistency in your claim. You say the package was cut open and then you accuse the seller of not sending it.
    Then you say you don't care about $1400 giftcard like it is in your pocket already and just want to see the seller is being humiliated.
    Then you talk about anybody and everybody from the manufacturer to the postie, the system, the police and everyone in between.
    Why do you sign for a package that is cut open and is empty?
    The seller has done his job. Delivered a package for a signature. What else they should do? Attach themselves to the package and guard it against liars and watch you spend it in jbhifi and see you living happily ever after?
    It looks like your fraudulent attempt failed by seller and now you are looking for a way to retaliate and get a free grand.

    • [Deactivated] on 19/08/2016 - 12:14

      13mins ago, I too would love to see the communication comments between the buyer & seller.
      Also agree, it doesn't take long to day thank-you for everyone's help.
      Think we're all waiting to see comments.

      • [Deactivated] on 19/08/2016 - 12:20

        You are 100% right. I have been following this since he started it, read all helpful comments from fellow ozbargainers and his comments in return then came in to comment.
        I must say I am really thankful to the amount of help I see this community provides.
        Kudos ozbargain.

        • Rukiata on 19/08/2016 - 13:05

          I am very thankful as well ozbargain have some very nice people.

          the seller has no proof of having the gift cards. he wont go to JB to block them all he messages me is the same thing ovver and over, his not being helpful. how do i get a free grand when I lost it ? I didnt get what I paid for, I lost the money @PAL

          how can i have evidence it was stolen? i was not there when he posted it or whatever, im going by what AU post has said, how this seller is acting and being unhelpful and mean, also how his past feedback is.

        • jackary on 20/08/2016 - 09:56

          @shadowrukia: So in conclusion… you won't copy and paste your communication with the seller?

  • Ughhh on 19/08/2016 - 13:01
    +4

    If op has been talking to the seller and PayPal the same way as she replies here, I'm not really surprised of the outcome.

    • [Deactivated] on 19/08/2016 - 17:14
      +2

      Totally agree Ughhh :)

  • bugman on 19/08/2016 - 14:28
    +1

    I used to work for a very large courier company. I learned quiclky that you never send a card through the post in a bag unless you wrap it in something that a person cant tell its a card just from feeling it.
    The number of credit cards/gift cards or anything shaped like one often get ripped open, "missing" ect if not wrapped correctly.

    Also happend to me once. Had security pass for my work sent to me just in a bag, surprise bag was delivered with a big tear in it and no card.

    • Make it so on 29/08/2016 - 15:29

      Yep. I have had a new bank card "disappear" (never arrived; was never used either though, according the bank).
      I have had a USB drive disappear, too. Client received an empty envelope. Don't send thumb drives in envelopes.

  • smashed on 19/08/2016 - 14:51

    Who is going to send an Ebay message to cueball and direct him to this thread? :)

    • [Deactivated] on 19/08/2016 - 17:12

      Maybe someone already has?lol
      Seems to be quite all of a sudden from shadowrukia4?

      • smashed on 19/08/2016 - 17:58
        -1

        There is no harm in the seller knowing if the OP is giving a balanced honest timeline :)

  • Wiggleh on 19/08/2016 - 16:54

    You and bottletop would probably get along.

  • [Deactivated] on 19/08/2016 - 19:53
    +4

    I have bought a lot on ebay and sold a bit. It would be much easier to be a professional scamming buyer than seller. My logic sides with Paypal not wanting anything to do with gift cards due to being impossible to investigate. I would neither buy nor sell them for the he said/she said reasons you are going through. It's like sending cash in the mail. As a seller, I take multiple photos of the item on PO scales and send photographic proof of sending with the receipt for every sale.

    A regular seller will probably have a rapport with post office staff. I could get a character reference from my local PO of being overly cautious :) even over $20 items to protect my rating. At very least the seller should provide information to raise an investigation. Unfortunately my advice is certain items on ebay are highly prone to scams, some to fakes and some hobby items very safe. I think you can tell a seller from their other items and history and responses to messages.

  • trustnoone on 20/08/2016 - 01:52
    -5

    I'm no lawyer but if you paid paypal then you should get your money refunded through them. AFAIK (please correct me if I'm wrong) ensuring you get the package and its correct is up to the seller. This includes if it gets stolen, broken or anything in post. What people don't realise is paying insurance (or registering) on mail is made to protect the seller not the buyer.

    Did you buy it from overseas? Over 1000 bucks means you should be paying tax, I'm wondering if customs took apart your box and either took the item, or sent it away without putting it back in. It seems sus that they bother sending you anything if they wanted to scam you.

    • jackary on 20/08/2016 - 09:48
      +2

      Did you actually read the OP… or any of the comments? No you most certainly aren't a lawyer lol… seriously OP did you buy your JB Hifi gift card overseas? Hahahaha

      PayPal and eBay buyer and seller protection ineligible neither buyer nor seller are obliged to do a thing.

      /thread

  • woteva on 21/08/2016 - 23:41

    Make a website like this

    http://www.rippedoffbyrob.com/

  • goodcopbadcop on 22/08/2016 - 11:56

    Report the fraud to the police. It will cost you half an hour in time - but let the seller know that you going to do it and then send him the Report ID number as evidence that you have done it. The police will want to know as much detail as possible that you can provide. It may be worth contacting eBay to state that you are doing this and request information about the seller that they will give to you as the police will need this to investigate further. I have had quite obscure things that I have reported out of absolute frustration in not being able to get them back and these fraudulent actions were investigated by the police and a good outcome for me.

    One was a curtain maker who took a 50% deposit to make the items and then the workmanship and fitting was so bad - everything was too narrow and short and screws pulled out of the wall on the first pull on a blind that I refused to pay for them until they came and fixed it up. The owner refused and I refused to pay. So she helped herself to my CC using the same number from the time of the deposit and I was none the wiser until I got my CC bill. No wonder she wouldn't come and fix anything - she'd been paid. I reported the fraud to the Police and sent her an email telling her and then miraculously she refunded the amount back to my CC. She refused to come and look at the problem and in the end I decided to fix what I could myself.

    The other time was from a disgruntled ex-employee who had kept the Bunnings' invoice book assigned to him, and had already started to buy up and have goods charged back to the company when we realised that he hadn't handed it back in. Police were on his door step the next day and returned the invoice book and the goods to the company as well.

    You will need to have details so that they can investigate though.

    • Rukiata on 23/08/2016 - 21:17

      Yes we have done this

  • dins on 29/08/2016 - 17:02

    Very sorry to hear about your predicament.

    Do not buy gift cards on eBay/Gumtree etc unless you want to lose your money. A lot of dodgy people around either trying to sell bogus eGift cards or physical gift cards with no money on them. Do not even pick up gift cards unless you can confirm that there's money in there before paying for it and only you know the pin etc. Not worth it!

  • dins on 29/08/2016 - 17:21

    Did you pay using a credit card? If so you should be able to do a chargeback?

  • maxsdadda on 07/12/2016 - 17:12
    +2

    Pretty interesting that there's some Caltex gift cards now for sale by this seller too.
    IF in fact it is the same seller, it looks dodgy A.F!

    Looking at the 4000 and 4500 caltex gift cards, the front of the card apparently has the value on it, in slightly different positions on each advertisement mind you, and the ad states "No Insurance covered for delivery added in this auction. "

    And someone has already bid 1k on the 4k gift card too.

    Perhaps OP is Cueball and Cueball is OP? All of us being directed to these ads?

    … but that Ken Duncan Print looks tempting :)

    • Rukiata on 07/12/2016 - 18:26
      +1

      report him to ebay, paypal removed my feedback on him auto. it was stupid ebay donst care.

    • dins on 09/12/2016 - 11:30

      Reported pretty sure those are dodgy pics as you say. A lot of the blame lies with eBay for allowing these low life scum to operate freely and rip off unsuspecting buyers. These scammers know that all they need is a tracking number. That's it.

  • dins on 09/12/2016 - 11:24
    +1

    Sorry to hear that. NEVER buy gift cards on eBay, Gumtree etc especially high priced ones. Scammers know that they can get away with it scot-free. It's ridiculous how sites like eBay and Gumtree allow this still. A lot of buyers do not know that gift cards, vouchers, codes etc have no buyer protection.

  • Teamhickey on 15/01/2017 - 19:07

    I have just had the exact same thing happen to me.

    I made a purchase prior to Xmas, and received an empty envelope with obviously no contents.

    I have tried eBay and PayPal dispute resolution without any luck.

    I will be reporting this transaction to the AFP via www.afp.gov.au and I will not be giving up. What is stupid is that as eBay closed the dispute in his favour, they deleted my negative feedback, which leaves him open for further scamming.

  • Teamhickey on 15/01/2017 - 19:10

    Oh and the seller is now known as foulandmiss4

    • DARK KHAOS on 15/01/2017 - 19:14

      Hope it wasn't jbhifi cards.

      • Teamhickey on 15/01/2017 - 19:27

        No. 1 x $4000 Caltex fuel card.

        • DARK KHAOS on 15/01/2017 - 19:33

          smells like a compromised account to me.

        • Teamhickey on 15/01/2017 - 19:35

          @shane_au: Not sure. I stupidly paid with my PayPal balance instead of my Credit Card, so no chance of a Charge back either. I'll just have to see what the AFP can do for me.

    • Teamhickey on 15/01/2017 - 19:35

      Not sure. I stupidly paid with my PayPal balance instead of my Credit Card, so no chance of a Charge back either. I'll just have to see what the AFP can do for me.

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