Hey guys, I've been slowly selling off my precious Mega CD collection on eBay and earlier this month sold my Midnight Raiders, this game took me some years to find back in 2004 and has sat in my collection for a decade. I sold the item via eBay to the above buyer rogr_manu located in Portugal, what this buyer did was email me before hand asking for cheaper non-tracked postage which I wasn't too keen on since the game with postage came to £74, he explained to me that he couldn't retrieve the item from his post area with tracking and assured me that he'd dealt with loads of sellers from the UK at the non-tracked £3.80 rate and he was more than happy to accept the £20 maximum compensation rate. Stupid me, I agreed. Fast-forward to yesterday, and guess what happens? A PayPal dispute, claiming the game never showed up when clearly I sent it since I have my proof of postage and the emails saying he was willing to accept the risk. What's my rights as the seller here? My PayPal reply options are : Refund the buyer Provide evidence the buyer was refunded Provide compelling evidence the item was shipped (tracking etc) Gents, please be wary of these buyers, I've checked this guy's feedback and it's 11 positive but it's private so obviously something isn't right.
It's PayPal rules you send tracked, otherwise it's your word against theirs. So sure you sent 'something' but in PayPal's view, you didn't.
to-be-this-good-takes-ages I know, it's bloody stupid, I would normally send any item above £20 tracked but I didn't want to lose the sale and in a moment of blind stupidity, thought I could trust the guy. It seems silly to me that Royal Mail don't automatically keep track of packages anyway. For the price that we pay here to send shit abroad it should all be kept on computer to stop scams like this happening. As it stands, I offer free shipping in the UK and usually £5-7 abroad for an average game, this can usually mean I can cover my packaging plus Royal Mail's exorbitant shipping plus maybe a little of PayPal's fee if I'm lucky but sadly, overseas buyers are put off by big postage costs which in most cases, is actual pricing and tracking is a fiver on top, which most simply won't go for. PayPal / eBay really need to start at least entertaining the seller with these disputes, I can't even put any comments in or upload the receipt to at least say I haven't scammed him, I know full well he's automatically getting a refund but it saddens me that I've given a game from my collection to possibly a thief. Apart from the scam, the rest is 100% my fault. I shouldn't have fallen for it since I've been doing this for 10 or so years and something of that value I should have sent tracked regardless.
Many sellers do that, and that's how scammers work. Sometimes it's better off losing a sale than taking a dip like this. I'm very sorry this happen to you though, I've been through it myself and sadly we learn the hard way sometimes. Honestly, never, ever ship untracked to save a few. It ends up working out expensive anyway.
I like to send my stuff with signature upon receiving. It costs out of my pocket but at least I can feel safer about no sheenanigans.
Show proof of postage to PayPal, plus evidence the buyer asked for that level of tracking. I would personally call them and ask how to send evidence. Stress that the buyer was well aware of the maximum compensation via that method of shipping. As such, you can only claim this amount back, so that is all you are willing to refund. Then speak to the Post Office about it. You'll have to fill out a P58 (the online version is here) to make a claim and you can't make it until 20 working days have elapsed. And, of course, you'll only be able to claim back the maximum insurable value, plus postage cost probably. I would submit evidence (e.g. eBay invoice) that the item was worth more but explain to Royal Mail that the buyer accepted this risk and, as such, you know you can only claim the maximum insured amount. Ultimately, though, NEVER send an item uninsured/untracked. It's just not worth it. And if you are going to use Royal Mail's standard compensation, only do so if the item is below that value.
Well, your way worked! I rang PayPal and calmly explained how unfair this was that the buyer asked this almost as a favour from me and I usually wouldn't do an item that expensive untracked and he agreed and said that I had been with eBay for many years and was a valued customer so they refunded the buyer out of their own pocket! I almost can't believe how helpful they were. The assistant even said they were going to look into the buyer's profile to see if he's pulling a fast one, I'd assume he is considering he's been a member since Oct 27th 14, has 11 positive feedback but has like 15 feedback total which would suggest negative selling at some point although his account is private so it's not as if I could even see.
Blimey! That's a good result! Well done, there Yeah, does sound like a bit of a fishy buyer. I wonder why they said they'll refund him at all, then! Maybe they'll only do so if they can't prove he's dodgy. Shame about the game, though. Worth keeping an eye out for a copy either on his profile, or on eBay Portugal in general.
jesus fucking christ! just by reading the thread title I had a feeling it this was from portugal, even though the username is the least familiar to me. I must bet on euromilions this week! it's a shame, because there are alot of honest buyers and sellers. I've once been asked for a similar deal, but I decided to shell out myself the difference for tracking and minimum insurance. not coincidently, when the est- delivery was passed over, the buyer tried to file a claim for INR (it was a destination well known for its problematic delays with customs and distribution). I already did but it's too soon. He's probably a kid who thinks can pass impune by shit like these. probably he's one of the many who prides himself for stealing shit at .99c from china (claiming INR and threatening with neg feedback and the usual menaces...) @op, do you have the photos you mind sharing (you can send them through pm if you like)? is there any particular feature that'd tell off it was your game (a particular scuff, small crack on the box, anything?). I'm sure it'll pop up on craigslist equivalents from here (olx.pt and custojusto.pt or even coisas.com) and in one or two private forums
Look up the auction. He gave his eBay ID, and it's the only copy of the game on completed listings on eBay UK. Pictures are on the auction. It looks like there was a crack at the top of the box, but that could be replaced with another.
Even if you post something tracked they could say they got a box with a rock in it, if someone wants to scam you they can easily. I've heard of such things happening.
To be fair (even though I'm a ebay basher to heart) I'd say generally (like 60% of the time) ebay/paypal can help in sticky situations. The problem is it take FOREVER for them to get it done. Most people don't have 4 hours of there time to be on hold with ebay/paypal just for something that should be a common sense fix.
