Why Do People Scam?

[GetYouOne]

I recently sold an item on eBay provided a tracking #, shipped out right away, and was in contact via email with the guy. Dude contacts me and says I havent received the item, so I looked up the tracking # and UPS had attempted to deliver it 2 times. I told the guy to call UPS and schedule a pick up. So the guy ends up picking the item up from the UPS Pickup Center.

He emails me saying "thanks for the item" "everything looks good" etc. Ok, done deal. Week goes by I was notified by Paypal that he filed an unauthorized chargeback. Guess what now the funds are taken out of my account. So, here we go. After 3 weeks and providing enough documentation to paypal and let me be honest i thought i was screwed since its paypal need I say more. I was cleared. He slipped up by signing for the packages and emailing me from his paypal email address.

If ur gonna scam be more on top of ur game I guess? I guess this guy thought he could get his item and get paid too.

[two_wheel_mayhem]

People scam for all types of reasons, usually for personal gain.

As far as your story goes, sometimes the internet can make a thief out of an honest man, because you can commonly get away with it with no repercussions.

[maguilar496]

A while back I was selling some of my kids shoes on ebay. Long story short one day i sold like 7 pairs 6 of them paid I messed up and shipped all seven. I didnt notice untill after i dropped it off at post office.

I figured whoever bought it would be nice and pay even after they received item. Nope. Lost some faith in humanity :(

Whats worse is you cant leave bad reviews as a seller anymore. I filed an unpaid case with paypal and all I got was my ebay fees refunded.

I know it was my idiot mistake, but if it would have been me on the other end of this, i would have paid and appreciated the fast shipping.

[BlaqWhole]

Paypal always takes the buyer's word unless the seller has proof to the opposite. But to be honest, they should be pursuing legal action against him. Who knows how many times he has done this and gotten away with it especially if he has several accounts.

BTW, I stopped selling to people via Ebay and Paypal. I will purchase but I won't sell thru them. A better way to sell an item is to list it on Craigslist and use UPS's COD service. UPS only accepts certified check or money order. It takes a few days to may a couple weeks for them to get the money to you but at least there is no worries that someone is gonna scam you.

[GetYouOne]

Like I said even though I provided enough concrete documentation on this transaction to paypal I was very suprised that I was cleared and my money was returned. I have heard a lot of horror stories.

Did this guy just think because its a chargeback its in the bag? I filed a legit chargeback on a guy who scammed me through my credit union and they asked for all kinds of documentation and took 30 days to get my money back. Maybe some credit card companies and banks just give out free money I guess.

[CamaroCracka]

Originally Posted by maguilar496

A while back I was selling some of my kids shoes on ebay. Long story short one day i sold like 7 pairs 6 of them paid I messed up and shipped all seven. I didnt notice untill after i dropped it off at post office.

I figured whoever bought it would be nice and pay even after they received item. Nope. Lost some faith in humanity :(

Whats worse is you cant leave bad reviews as a seller anymore. I filed an unpaid case with paypal and all I got was my ebay fees refunded.

I know it was my idiot mistake, but if it would have been me on the other end of this, i would have paid and appreciated the fast shipping.

A person has no legal obligation to pay for or return something you mistakenly ship to their house. You would have had to run into an uber honest person for them to pay when they did not have to.

Originally Posted by GetYouOne

Like I said even though I provided enough concrete documentation on this transaction to paypal I was very suprised that I was cleared and my money was returned. I have heard a lot of horror stories.

Did this guy just think because its a chargeback its in the bag? I filed a legit chargeback on a guy who scammed me through my credit union and they asked for all kinds of documentation and took 30 days to get my money back. Maybe some credit card companies and banks just give out free money I guess.

Amex and other cards I have credit your account immediately. If it turns out your full of it, they reverse that, but the seller has to have the documentation to prove they delivered what they said. I challenge half a dozen charges a year because too many companies make it too much of a hassle straighten out their mistakes. If I have to argue with a moron on the phone for more than five minutes, I just challenge the charge and put it in writing. At that point, it may not even be worth the companies time to respond. I'm sure this opens the door for people to try to scam the small sellers but it also provides protection for consumers. Too many people forget who you are once they have your money and this is the main reason I pay for everything with a credit card and never with a debit card.

[pincoin]

I recently had my first chargeback on Ebay, was a 2.10 item. Naturally I did not have tracking as I sent with a .49 stamp, I guess that guy will win as I have no proof I sent it. I have no proof the buyer got it either. Just take the good with the bad I guess.

[BLU DUCE]

I know when & what I ordered and from who always. If I get something in the mail & know I didn't order it. Even with out opening it I take it back to who ever delivered it or call the delivery who dropped it off and tell them to pick it up. If they don't pick it up with in a weeks time I keep the item.

[BrutalSS]

I had someone try that with me on a Power Commander Wide Band unit I sold on Ebay, had detailed pictures of it, what each of the connectors looked like. I sold it to someone, shipped it, provided tracking and than argued that what I sent was not what was in the picture. I only had one of them... Makes no sense for me to do that.

[CamaroCracka]

Originally Posted by spike III

I know when & what I ordered and from who always. If I get something in the mail & know I didn't order it. Even with out opening it I take it back to who ever delivered it or call the delivery who dropped it off and tell them to pick it up. If they don't pick it up with in a weeks time I keep the item.

Wow, I wish I could say that. I get so much crap coming to the door, it gets like Christmas not knowing what I'm getting, but I order a lot more than car parts.

[TooCool5]

Originally Posted by BlaqWhole

Paypal always takes the buyer's word unless the seller has proof to the opposite. But to be honest, they should be pursuing legal action against him. Who knows how many times he has done this and gotten away with it especially if he has several accounts.

BTW, I stopped selling to people via Ebay and Paypal. I will purchase but I won't sell thru them. A better way to sell an item is to list it on Craigslist and use UPS's COD service. UPS only accepts certified check or money order. It takes a few days to may a couple weeks for them to get the money to you but at least there is no worries that someone is gonna scam you.

I too stopped selling on Ebay for the reasons stated above, went to Craigs list and nothing seems to sell, and the hassle of meeting with people will drive you crazy.

[el ess A]

Originally Posted by TooCool5

I too stopped selling on Ebay for the reasons stated above, went to Craigs list and nothing seems to sell, and the hassle of meeting with people will drive you crazy. I don't know why Ebay is doing this to sellers, allowing the buyer to scam.

I think it's a balancing act with Ebay. Years ago, they basically put the onus on both buyer and seller to do it right. Bad buyers would be pointed out by sellers and it affected your "rating percentage". Bad sellers started scamming people too, however. Eventually buyers didn't come and ebay sellers (and more importantly, ebay themselves) suffered financially.

SO...they changed the rules to be more buyer friendly and seller be-damned. They figured the seller needed to sell more so than the buyer needed to buy, so they catered to the buyer. Ebay doesn't really care, just as long as they get a cut of a SALE. No matter who paid the price. Then, people who don't try to make a living off ebay started to shun selling since it was such a PITA. Ebay was automatically siding with the buyer, so for example, a person buys a new car part. Seller sends. Buyer gets. Suspected buyer swaps new part with their old part, then claims seller sent a used part. Ebay doesn't care and makes YOU refund the buyer and you may or may not get the used part back. Buyer wins bigtime. Sellers say 'enough of that bunk' and seller activity slows way down. Again, ebay suffers financially.

Still that way today, but now I see they've started the "seller protection" thing too (got to read the rules, there are specifics needing to be met). So it may be swinging somewhere toward the middle. Still can't get a deadbeat buyer to pay and leave them negative feedback, but at least the seller isn't 100% discriminated against anymore.

So far, I've been buying/selling since 1999, and I haven't had a serious situation yet that wasn't resolved amicably. Lucky I suppose. BUT...the minute I do get screwed by ebay, I'm done.

[TooCool5]

Originally Posted by el ess A

I think it's a balancing act with Ebay. Years ago, they basically put the onus on both buyer and seller to do it right. Bad buyers would be pointed out by sellers and it affected your "rating percentage". Bad sellers started scamming people too, however. Eventually buyers didn't come and ebay sellers (and more importantly, ebay themselves) suffered financially.

SO...they changed the rules to be more buyer friendly and seller be-damned. They figured the seller needed to sell more so than the buyer needed to buy, so they catered to the buyer. Ebay doesn't really care, just as long as they get a cut of a SALE. No matter who paid the price. Then, people who don't try to make a living off ebay started to shun selling since it was such a PITA. Ebay was automatically siding with the buyer, so for example, a person buys a new car part. Seller sends. Buyer gets. Suspected buyer swaps new part with their old part, then claims seller sent a used part. Ebay doesn't care and makes YOU refund the buyer and you may or may not get the used part back. Buyer wins bigtime. Sellers say 'enough of that bunk' and seller activity slows way down. Again, ebay suffers financially.

Still that way today, but now I see they've started the "seller protection" thing too (got to read the rules, there are specifics needing to be met). So it may be swinging somewhere toward the middle. Still can't get a deadbeat buyer to pay and leave them negative feedback, but at least the seller isn't 100% discriminated against anymore.

So far, I've been buying/selling since 1999, and I haven't had a serious situation yet that wasn't resolved amicably. Lucky I suppose. BUT...the minute I do get screwed by ebay, I'm done.

Got screwed last year (March) and stopped selling.
Sold a brand new car part to guy in CA. Guy complains it doesn't fit his car, even though his car is listed in the compatibility chart and Manufacturer says it fits.
They authorize the return against my will and slams me with the shipping & fee's.
Point is being an honest seller is difficult.

[MBS]

I absolutely despise scammers , They need to be dealt with severely