Any Advice for Dealing with Ebay Scammer? Claim Filed that Package Arrived EMPTY.

[Bergheimhunter]

I have only recently returned to selling items on Ebay. I thought things were going great, but today I received a notice that a buyer filed a claim (he never contacted me, of course). He/she is saying that the "box" I sent arrived open so they took it to the post office and were told that is how they received it and that the seller packaged it so poorly it just came open. Really? First off, the item- a scientific calculator- was mailed in a bubble mail envelope. It was hand delivered to the post office to a real, live, postal worker. The reason I took it to the postal worker is because I wanted to make sure it had the correct postage and everything looked good. I even upgraded the postage from my promised First Class shipping to Priority 2 day shipping. I now notice that comes with $50.00 insurance.

I am just so annoyed. Crazy as it sounds, I was suspicious of this buyer from the get go. His/Her Ebay name is asangqueenta09 . I don't know why, but when I read the name I thought it seemed odd. However, the buyer had a 100% feedback rating with 17 feedbacks.

Have any of you dealt with this? I understand Ebay always sides with the buyer. If this is what I am going to have to worry about, I think I'll move to Amazon.

Also, does anyone know how the $50 priority mail insurance works?

I did respond to the claim with a request that the buyer send me a photo of the opened package. I'm not holding my breath that I'll get that.

Any advice you guys would be willing to share would be GREATLY appreciated! Thanks!

 

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[jerseyben]

How do you know its a scam? Maybe the package did arrive empty.

You will probably never know the actual truth. Use ebay's claims system to work this one out in accordance with ebay policy. Ebay might refund the buyer without penalizing you.

 

[Bergheimhunter]

Jerseyben- you are right. I shouldn't jump to conclusions. I have just read about this type of scam infiltrating Ebay. Also, there just aren't many ways to pack a scientific calculator so poorly that the item arrives empty. And it is odd to me that the buyer took the package to the post office after receiving at the buyer's home and was told "that is how we got it." So this US Priority, insured, package went through USPS sorting facilities open and empty and then was delivered with absolutely no notations on the tracking notes. I have asked for a photo. Hopefully, the insurance will cover it. If not, no big deal. It wasn't that much money, but it does make me leery about continuing to sell on Ebay.

 

[cyberdan]

ebay has nothing to do with how it arrived "empty" it was either the post office or the buyer. have you ever tried to open one of those bubble wrap envelopes? almost impossible without scissors. the glue and the envelope are very strong.

Tell buyer (thru ebay msg) you want photos and note from post office that that is how they got it. fight it, I don't believe the buyer.

 

[releventchair]

An item from manufacturer service years back was mailed back to me ,(almost). One post office marked it damaged and another marked it contents missing. One of those bubble lined envelopes. It required effort to open and remove an item. So the next couple times the post office sent a survey of how they were doing I wrote I wanted my item back. It would require confirmation for you from post office to determine if they mark damaged packages still. Seems it would be in their best interest.

 

[Rawhide]

Recently received a fed ex Easter box full of presents for my son. The box was opened, all the cash and games were gone, and a large butcher knife was left inside. Fed Ex says they open boxes and sometimes forget to put all the items in. Contact the postmaster general, he will help you with the claim. Have your tracking number handy. Last quit supporting such a failure as Ebay, get a new way of selling your items.

 

[jerseyben]

Wow, this thread really took a turn...

Sad that people have such negative attitudes and feel the need to spread it around like a disease.

 

[Beachkid23]

Recently received a fed ex Easter box full of presents for my son. The box was opened, all the cash and games were gone, and a large butcher knife was left inside. Fed Ex says they open boxes and sometimes forget to put all the items in. Contact the postmaster general, he will help you with the claim. Have your tracking number handy. Last quit supporting such a failure as Ebay, get a new way of selling your items.

Where do you sell your stuff?

 

[dumpsterdiver]

I think the scammers may target those with lower feedback. When I worked at a hotel from time to time we would get a package and it always had a very official looking note with it. That had one of several choices checked off. Wouldn't hurt to call eBay I assume somewhere they keep records of the frequency of such claims. They probably won't outright tell you but they may steer you in a direction.

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

I personally don't think its a scam, I purchased a set of books for my sons Xmas last year. The seller provided the tracking...I watched it sit for 3 days at a place that it shouldnt have even gone too...another 2 days later, my ex wife receives and EMPTY Box, with a note from the post office saying "Contents Missing"

So I contacted the seller, in which was hesistant on giving me a refund, as he was claiming " It shows it was delivered" I sent him the pics of the package and asked if he can contact the Post Office, he told me " its no my problem" which COMPLETELY Pissed me off...Luckily I learned NOT to use Paypal anymore and just use my Credit Card, because i told this whole story to my Credit Card company, and THE NEXT DAY, I had my money back.....then the jerk seller starts wanting to see what happen...I simply told him..."Its no my problem"

Its so risky these days Selling and even buying off Ebay, because it seems they will only listen to the person with the best story....and you sure cant trust the US Post Office anymore.....Sorry to hear that happen, i would personally blow up on the Post office until you got some sort of refund

 

[GibH]

If the buyer is scamming you, I don't know what good a pic would do. How hard is it to take a pic of an empty envelope?

 

[diggummup]

As far as the seller opening a case before communicating with you, that could have been an honest mistake. Ebay has a stupid set up now where if you click the wrong button, a case is automatically opened. I know because I have actually done it myself when trying to send a message to a seller about a problem with an item I purchased.

That being said...

Personally I think the seller is trying to get over on you, by the sound of his story. It just doesn't jive. Bubble mailer vs. Box, and the comments supposedly made by the PO worker. Let Ebay handle it. You followed procedure. You did your part correctly. It's insured via priority mail. That's why he's trying to say the PO said "that is how they received it and that the seller packaged it so poorly it just came open". That way they could get out of paying the claim. Meanwhile if it really was an empty bubble mailer (esp. a priority package), it would have been marked as such so they actually did have an "out" in regards to paying the claim. By him saying the postal worker said it was packaged poorly and came open, does not prove anything. The USPS would still be liable for up to $50 in insurance. Now, if the package was marked something like this-

then it would be a whole new story and you could actually believe him. Either way, just because he said the PO is blaming you (verbally to him) does not make it true.


I would have responded to the buyer like this...

I am sorry to hear that you received a package that was empty. I can assure you that I packaged your item properly and securely. Also, it was hand delivered to a postal worker at the post office with added priority shipping at no additional cost to you. Perhaps you have mistaken my item for another one of your purchases, as I notice you said "the box" arrived empty. It would be impossible for the item you purchased from me to have arrived in a box, empty or full. Your item was securely packaged and shipped in a bubble mailer not a box. Please check that you are corresponding with the correct seller. If by chance I am the correct seller then I will need a photo of the package showing the names and addresses on the front of it, in order to properly refund your money. Please respond as soon as possible so I know how to proceed with this matter. Thank you and looking forward to your response.


PS- As for the one who said Ebay is a failure... That's a pretty ignorant comment to say the least. Considering their stock prices have more than doubled in the past 4 years, I would venture to say that the stockholders would tend to disagree with you wholeheartedly.

 

[diggummup]

If the buyer is scamming you, I don't know what good a pic would do. How hard is it to take a pic of an empty envelope?

You need a pic of the label showing both addresser and addressee to file a claim.

 

[Bergheimhunter]

Thank you all for your comments. Diggummup- I used a lot of your suggested wording in a follow up message. I like the idea of giving the buyer an "out" if there is something fishy going on, since they would have had no way of knowing I was going to upgrade the shipping to Priority (where it would be tracked and notations of its whereabouts and presumably any glaringly poor condition at each substation). I have not yet heard back from the buyer. I'll provide an update when I do. Perhaps it is all very innocent and I just happened to have had my first instance of bad luck with sending a package. Thanks again!

 

[batcap]

Maybe the name contains a clue . . . asangqueenta09.
From Vocabulary.com:
Sanguine is from Latin sanguis "blood" and originally meant "bloody".

From TheFreeDictionary.com - exsanguine: (pathology) without blood; bloodless or anaemic

Now, one step further; compare "exsanguinate"- to be drained of blood - to "asangqueenta09" ....exsangqueen8...asangqueen(at)9.
Damn, sorry! That sounds like the stuff crazy people on the street talk about.

 

[Bergheimhunter]

No worries, batcap, I have done the same thing! However, i think the username is one of the buyer's names- last and then first. ( I've done a little bit of my own obsessive research using the address I was given and the name.) I have now sent two very professional and polite emails requesting a photo of the package and mentioning the priority mail packaging, etc. I still have not heard back. My last email used some of the verbiage in diggummup's suggestion above. I'll provide an update if I get one. Thanks!

 

[cyberdan]

I had a claim filed against me a few weeks ago (he did not contact me first) this guy claimed he never got my package (6 x 9 poly envelope - impossible to tear open by hand) When I send these envelopes my post office always adds their internal tracking sticker. But because it is internal (and not the one you pay extra for) I never add that number to my listing when I tell ebay I shipped. I guess because I did not add that number this guy did not realize I could still track the package. I looked up my post office receipt and put that number in USPS tracking and found out exactly when he got it and i told him so. The next day ebay dropped the case. I messaged him asking if he found the package. Never got an answer, I wonder why?

 

[diggummup]

I sold a Presidium gem tester once. Got a message from the buyer that it didn't perform correctly in a side by side comparison to his "friends" Presidium. He said he needed $100 partial refund so he could ship it back to the manufacturer and have it properly calibrated. I told him to please send it back to me and I would be happy to give him a full refund. Never heard another thing from him. Some people will try you just because it's their nature to be a lowlife.

On the other end of the spectrum, another guy I sold to still hasn't received his package. It was mailed on May, 2. I have a thread posted about it. http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/all-things-ebay/419611-package-caught-up-system-usps.html
He hasn't even tried to open a case or even message me for that matter.