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eBay review: ebay scams sellers & buyers 23

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Author of the review
12:43 pm EDT
Featured review
This review was chosen algorithmically as the most valued customer feedback.

The Ebay Company scams sellers more than sellers scam buyers. I am fortunate that I caught this early on. Ebay was not listing items that I paid to have listed. Could not find certain items at all. Ebay would not resolve the issue and completely ignored me. My 7 day auctions were never shown to the public at all yet I had to pay for them.

Also, I had blocked bidders with zero feedback. More than once, a fictitious character just creates an account one day, bids on my item, never pays, and eBay gets the final value fee for that item. I do believe Ebay creates these characters themselves. I actually did a US search on one of the characters they created and this person did not exist at all. Even though I blocked these types of buyers, Ebay allowed these buyers to bid on my items, win and then disappear. The result, Ebay takes a percentage of that sale. Those few cents and dollars add up to millions that eBay itself is scamming out of sellers.

I am through with Ebay selling. Ebay is HIGHLY unethical. I don’t know when eBay decided to start in the scam business but it should be a public news matter, and will be if I can help it.

I really feel the our US Government needs to crack down on the Ebay company because they have had free will to practice any way they please and the scam needs to stop. Public awareness is a start. The press will be alerted and I do believe in the very near future, this scam produced and run by eBay will be a highlighted focus in the news media, as it should be.

The Government should take a good hard look at what Ebay is doing to sellers on that forum. It is disgusting! It has not been regulated and it should be. Our Government went after Microsoft simply for their $$ and Microsoft is a reputable company. Ebay is not and is scamming their sellers on a daily basis and getting away with it, making millions of dollars on what appears to be a lucrative, professional forum. This needs to STOP now!

Also, another point, Ebay and Paypal are sister companies. They are in this together and go hand in hand. I now wonder if some of the fictitious scam sellers are actually employed by Ebay/Paypal. If they are stealing from sellers, what is stopping them from stealing from buyers? Nobody. I honestly believe a good majority of Ebay scammers actually are employed by Ebay/Paypal. If you’ll notice, there is rarely resolution to those types of scams and Ebay and Paypal look like innocent bystanders. I’ve been scammed on purchases and Ebay or Paypal did absolutely nothing. They do absolutely nothing to protect sellers. I do believe they have stepped way over their boundaries and hopefully soon they will get caught in this net of deceit. I am quite sure they are being investigated and I’m quite sure they know it. I would personally be a decoy for our Government to catch Ebay in the act. Heck, I’d do it for free!

23 comments
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hugosantos
, BR
Apr 25, 2016 3:06 am EDT

On March 30th, I bought the item number [protected], transaction number [protected]. It was posted in Ohio and it was supposed to be delivered at Houston. For some reason, it couldn't be delivered and returned to sender in Ohio (USPS tracking number 9405509699938337412732). I asked the seller and eBay for refund, but they refused to do so several times. I ask now once again using the Complaints Board.

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Kansasgirl33
, US
Mar 12, 2016 1:37 pm EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I am also a new seller. I sold a brand new car stereo on eBay. They paid the buy it now price, $1250.00. I took photos while I was packing it, paid extra for $1000 worth of insurance, and shipped it. The guy that bought it, picked it up at the post office, and had to sign for it. Seven days later, with no email correspondence to me, he filed a claim with eBay saying that he received a box with rocks taped to the bubble wrap, and that there was no stereo in the box. Now eBay is forcing a refund to the buyer. So not only will he get his money back, but he gets to keep the new car stereo. He shipped me back a box with a zip lock baggy full of rocks. eBay doesn't care about the seller. It doesn't matter that the package that I got back was 3 pounds lighter than the one I sent. I fully agree with the fact that they need to be investigated.

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Gestoine Halbough
,
Jul 23, 2007 12:00 am EDT

There are so many obvious and repeated scams on Ebay. I have never been suckered, but they do waste a lot of bidders time, and do find an occasional sucker I suppose. Most of the scams are so
dumb that even a half-### program could detect and eliminated them. So, that brings up the question; why doesn't Ebay flush these scams before they are posted? I think the reason is, they don't care. The scammers are Ebay customers. Ebay, by not eliminating them, are actually in cahoots with them. Ebay shares in the stolen money these crooks take from the gullible. I wonder if there is any one at Ebay that feels the tiniest bit of shame... I doubt it.

Never buy anything from anyone that knows more about you than you do about them, and never take their word for it. Check and recheck and place no value in Ebay testimonies that can be faked and altered.

Onward ever...

Gest

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Reviewer74905
,
Sep 22, 2015 11:06 am EDT

Ebay is now becoming the biggest platform for selling fake MicroSD-cards (bigger than 32GB). I tried to call the customer-service at ebay to bann these sellers and try to avoid such offers, but nobody on ebay seems to be able to do so.

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Mariechantal
Miami Shores, US
Feb 20, 2015 10:04 am EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Ebay are disgusting with sellers will close my account after 10 years scary to sell today on ebay not worth the headache and aggravation.
Plus loosing $$$$ and item too eventually

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pooran
, IN
Apr 13, 2011 1:03 pm EDT

ho god, got bosen sama yang hiup itu.. maunya pacaran yang baru sama

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Valerie
, US
Oct 31, 2008 7:04 am EDT

Ebay overcharged me for services I never requested.

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scubahal
Lincoln, US
Oct 09, 2013 9:51 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

DSR" rating had fallen below their minimum standards. I was a top rated seller for over a year but in the last few months I had some real prizes for buuyers and in spite of the fact I had sold over 7000 items on e bay with just 5 negative reviews, e bay SAID I was being removed because of these secret "DSR" reports. I don't believe e bay; it seems like these secret reports that they refuse to discuss with you are just an excuse to dump sellers they don't like. Up until about six moths ago if there was a question for e bay you called and got someone in Salt Lake City. A few minutes of conversation and the problem was solved but now when you call, you get the Philippines. Every call is a major event with extended wait periods on hold. I had several heated conversations with these people because, unlike Salt Lake City where answers are always forthcoming without a lot of jive, they put you off, lie to you and in general were a very unprofessional approach to customer service. I am certain that the reason I was removed from e bay is because they can't stand to hear the truth when it is thrown in their face so they used their secret "DSR" reports as an excuse. Being removed from e bay really surprised me especially when they told me the reason. Do not, under any circumstances, trust this company to be above board, truthful or even logical. It's about time these guys were shut down.

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lonestar799
Joplin, US
May 25, 2013 6:58 pm EDT

I buy a lot of stuff on there, but have not sold anything in over a year. So, Ebay sends me a message through my ebay email on my account and it says if I start selling again and list one item that sells, they will give me 5 dollars and it will be put in my paypal account within 10 days of completed sale. So, I sell 2 things on there and 2 weeks go buy and no 5 dollars. So, i call Ebay and they cannot find any record of this promotion, and I get nothing. What a bunch of scammers. If they don't want people to take them up on their offers, why offer it in the first place, It just makes you not want to do business with them anymore.

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mbzht2012
Fullerton, US
Oct 18, 2012 12:01 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I purchased olympus camedia dig. camera through e-bayon October 9/12, after paid, sellermart73wl wrote to me that he cannt find a camera, that he maybe relisted it and sold it.It was difficult to obtain money back -cancel deal, he had excuses that he had to go to doctor, and with cat to veterinar for appoitment and couldnt respond to my requests- e-mail.Beware of this seller!MATYLDA5

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gatorlover
Jacksonville, US
Aug 22, 2012 10:07 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I was a buyer and seller on ebay...recently sold something and buyer refused to pay...she left negative feedback and never paid or recieved the item...I spoke to ebay by phone and recieved no help at all...I asked how can someone leave feedback when they never paid or recieved item...the response well the buyer has a right to do that...I asked what about the seller don't I have rights...I am done with ebay buying and selling...will look for another auction site

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RegulationNation
, US
May 16, 2012 2:12 am EDT

As a Citizen of the USA I am calling for Federal investigations on eBay and how they conduct there Business.

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micahbronkell
, US
Oct 25, 2011 4:18 pm EDT

this guy ne

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Ebay seller
, US
Mar 31, 2011 3:01 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I sold a Baseball Bat on Ebay. Buyer sends me an email a month later asking for his money back (claiming that the bat had cracks in it) Bat was sold as a Used item with no warranty. The buyer was not happy with my reply and openned a case against me. There is no way for me to know what has happened to this bat sence it left my place . How can Ebay think that I could be in the wrong . It is not fair that all the power is in the buyer`s hand. I feel this guy is trying to get one over on me . I plan on closing my Ebay account as well as my Paypal. I will sell my stuff on Craigslist.. At least I know what I`m getting into in the front end.

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Mary1K
Airway Heights, US
Dec 21, 2010 7:29 pm EST

I'm a new time seller and have never posted on eBay before. I'm out raged at what thet incourage on eBay I was allowed to list up to 100 items I thought that was so cool. I was stuck on a few things and contacted customer support on line was smart and saved all my Chats with them. I ran my video's for 7 days my starting bid was $2.00 I thought that was a good price I even had the incentive if you bought it at my " Buy it Now" price I would ship it for "Free" 7 days go by and nothing not even one bid that looked funny to me so i contacted eBay Customer Support Live on Line. The Lady I spoke with told me that my starting bid was to high that most of the ones that sold start low and when other buyers see it is selling I would actually get a higher price " LOL" I have a very Large Collection of Old Monster Movie's this peculair Movie on a Sci - Fi collectors Auction goes for any where between $12.00 to as much as $20.00 { I found the site after regestering on eBay. Know it sold Paypal say's the payment finally cleared but I refuse to send it cause I was very much misguided my video only sold for a total of $4.15 and i'm told I have to pay for an invelope the cheapest is $1.09, shipping because of the weight is $2.65, then I have to pay for insurance to be able to have a tracking number, in other words I'm paying this person for " MY VIDEO", I had a second on that only sold for 99 cents, I was told that all shipping cost could not exceed $3.00 that was Internation Shipping to so now i'm suppose to ship this Video to England and only get paid $3.99 that is suppose to cover for Custom forms. I asked them for help with all of this and recieved none. I'm going to call Paypal and return all payments back to the buyers and explain why i'm doing this hopefully they will understand it's not their fault. But, i refuse to ship my items and not even make a profit from it because a representitive chose to miss lead me.

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soveryupset
, US
Nov 16, 2010 4:25 am EST

I couldn't agree more with the "Ebay Scams Sellers & Buyers" post by Sincere Seller. Its odd because after 2 fake accounts bid on my auctions and did not pay, I thought to myself "where is the scam? why would a random person do that? there is no benefit?" But there is one person who could potentially benefit...EBAY. Because if I accidentally end my "Unpaid Item Case" before the 4 days (by the hour which they conveniently do not list) I will lose my final value fee. OR if the "buyer" decides to decline on "Ending a Transaction" (the other option), I will again lose my final value fee.

I'm convinced this scam of simply not paying a seller is being done by people employed by ebay. It is truly a sad world

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Candle junkie
Seattle, US
Oct 13, 2010 7:00 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Do not buy anything from seller id "bodymindandsoy". She packs her glass candles poorly and of course they break. She does not handle complaints about it very well either. Here is what she said to me when I apologized for leaving neutral feedback:

Blah Blah Blah...Sometimes sorry just doesn't cut it. The damage has been done and i'm sooooo done with you coward. DO NOT WRITE ME AGAIN!

Email SmithsonsCandles@aol.com

Website: http://bodymindandsoy.com/

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macca1307
Morecambe, GB
Oct 04, 2010 10:03 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

i have recently found that i have been overcharged by.01p on my listing fees, twice. I was standing at £10.00 in listing fees, after making a few listings at 40p, i noticed the extra penny. with over 84million members, this is an average of £840, 000.00 in extra revenue at .01p. does ebay have their charging structure set at .401? having chatted on ebays live chat, they say they cant see the overcharge on my account. I know its only 1p to me, but they do mount up, as if they dont make enough profit already

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D1234
Seven Hills, AU
Sep 09, 2009 1:08 am EDT

Do not buy any items from this person. They sell fake aboriginal painings. I bought a painting. When I opened the package the painting had a tear in the canvas. I contaced the seller who told me to return the painting at my expense. It was returned within the 7 day guarantee period. This person tried every thing she could to not refund my money. Threatened me and then lodged a claim with Ebay against me. I subsequently lodged a complaint with Ebay. Ebay investigated and found in my favour. The seller admitted she had had several claims against her. She seems to blame the courier service for the damage then refuses to refund your money stating she is not responsible for damage by couriers. My experience tells me if you package the parcelc correctly damage will not happen. On final note I am still awaiting my refund from ebay but am hopeful that one day I will receive my money back.

Seller's Name: Val Jelobinski
Seller's Email: valera@iprimus.com.au

In this case Ebay and Paypal protected the buyer.

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SS-ME
Plymouth, US
Aug 14, 2009 7:30 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

That is why you have to review your account standing everyday once you place a item forsale. Ebay has done this to me several times. Check out www.rareiron.com for some good advice. I wish I would have read this sooner. Good Luck

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1847christopher
hampton park, AU
Mar 15, 2009 4:18 pm EDT

I have a seller who gave me a bank direct bsb and account no: name of person and bank name: victorian teachers credit union, but he also sends me another bank and bsb and account no: now the moneywas deposited into the first bank .goes under the sellers name geebuyz.could you please check this guy out Name ; A Harrington email :glennroy80@yahoo.com.au

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Tell The Truth
Dittmer, US
Nov 09, 2008 4:16 pm EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I can not believe what is going on with eBay, I do believe the Feds will come in and take a close look at what they are doing to the consumer. All there executives should be thrown in prison for white collar crimes, its a matter of time.

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casey
,
Aug 27, 2008 7:45 am EDT

I am not a buyer but work for a company that sells items on ebay.
I am outraged by how easy it is for the buyer to simply change their mind after the auction has closed. Example, we put an item on ebay and basically was selling for parts, as is. We explained in detail what was wrong with the item. The auction closed and the next day the buyer said he would not pay us one penny because he let his little brother do the final bid on the item. Now we are held responsible for the auction because he let someone else use his account. I understand that ebay wants to protect its buyers, but at what cost. When ever we open a complaint with them they brush us off and say the buyer has all the rights. My experience with ebay has been from both sides and the scale is truly out of balance when it comes to fairness. Ebay needs to take a good long look at the structure of it's fondation. If to many sellers become agrivated they will look for other ways to sell. No sellers equals no buyers.