Argh, ebay rant.

Hi OP, where does the buyer live? Without wishing to sound too much like a complete pikey, could some fellow tpforumers not pay the scam artist a visit? I'd be more than willing if he lived near me to go round and "have a chat" for you. Good luck sorting it out. I have been on the receiving end of personal threats from buyers in the past. I was very stuborn and ignored all emails after having initially replied stating the sale was final etc. They even threatened to phone my place of work where I sent it from when courier picked it up from me. A lot of moaning and noise was made their end and nothing came of it at all in the end. I can understand it completely being stressful for you. I dislike when such strangers have my address given I have young children and do not want any trouble and would always buy myself out of it if it started to affect the safety of anyone in my house, but in this instance I remained silent and it all went away.

Like I say, would you be happy for people to pay him a visit?
 
Hi OP, where does the buyer live? Without wishing to sound too much like a complete pikey, could some fellow tpforumers not pay the scam artist a visit? I'd be more than willing if he lived near me to go round and "have a chat" for you. Good luck sorting it out. I have been on the receiving end of personal threats from buyers in the past. I was very stuborn and ignored all emails after having initially replied stating the sale was final etc. They even threatened to phone my place of work where I sent it from when courier picked it up from me. A lot of moaning and noise was made their end and nothing came of it at all in the end. I can understand it completely being stressful for you. I dislike when such strangers have my address given I have young children and do not want any trouble and would always buy myself out of it if it started to affect the safety of anyone in my house, but in this instance I remained silent and it all went away.

Like I say, would you be happy for people to pay him a visit?

So you want to go and do something to someone you would hate to have happen to yourself. Brilliant! Need more people like this around here </heavy sarcasm>

By the way that action would not be tolerated and any further talk of this sort of action will be removed and dealt with.
 
So you want to go and do something to someone you would hate to have happen to yourself. Brilliant! Need more people like this around here </heavy sarcasm>

By the way that action would not be tolerated and any further talk of this sort of action will be removed and dealt with.

I agree Jimmy, well said.:thumbs:
 
I think that's exactly the approach you should take. Play the game and watch your timeliness carefully.

Really winds me up reading about people trying to shaft genuine sellers. I had a similar thing a couple of years back - needless to say I no longer use eBay or PayPal and I'd rather not sell than risk getting fleeced again.

Here's a thought : if I had bought a lens off you that i thought was broken, I'd sure as hell not be suggesting you'd pay only half the repair. There's no way this is genuine, he's broken it and merely sees a way to minimize his repair bill.

Hope you don't end up getting shafted on this. Next time round don't accept PayPal (if you can still do that in eBay)

I totally agree. You would accept nothing less than a full refund or the full cost of repair paid. If I broke it, well, I'd kick myself in the nuts and bang my head against the wall for being such a dumb-whatnot.

I agree, play the buyer along. Also stipulate they must send you a copy of the repair estimate. At least then you will be able to provide images of the item in working condition, along with a document that says the damage has been done in user error etc... This along with the images should strengthen your case with eBay against the buyer.

Cheers for the input mate, documenting everything I possibly can to strengthen my case.

Are Ebid any better at dealing with dodgy buyers? There doesn't seem to be a safe way to buy and sell goods online that doesn't involve using ebay.

Ebay might still take moneybookers as I wouldn't want any payment method that exposed your bank account details to a potentially dodgy buyer.

Can you add a no refunds/no returns after 48 hours of delivery to listings to reduce the window of opportunity for scammers?

There is a no refund/returns policy on my ebay account, however the buyer is saying the item was not sold as described.

Hi OP, where does the buyer live? Without wishing to sound too much like a complete pikey, could some fellow tpforumers not pay the scam artist a visit? I'd be more than willing if he lived near me to go round and "have a chat" for you. Good luck sorting it out. I have been on the receiving end of personal threats from buyers in the past. I was very stuborn and ignored all emails after having initially replied stating the sale was final etc. They even threatened to phone my place of work where I sent it from when courier picked it up from me. A lot of moaning and noise was made their end and nothing came of it at all in the end. I can understand it completely being stressful for you. I dislike when such strangers have my address given I have young children and do not want any trouble and would always buy myself out of it if it started to affect the safety of anyone in my house, but in this instance I remained silent and it all went away.

Like I say, would you be happy for people to pay him a visit?

Appreciate the 'sentiment' but I really don't think this is a good way of dealing with this.
 
I'm pretty sure we have a winner:

"As I have told you before, the damage was caused when I was using it to photograph my friends, It failed under normal use, it wasn't dropped or abused during use. The repairer will only tell you what was broken and not how it was broken. The lens failed during use. So, whatever you're decision will be I will consider it. I am just being honest and true to what I have told you.Thanks for your communication."

As far as I'm concerned, that's him admitting he broke the lens. "Lens failed during use" therefore implying that the lens worked before. Not my problem now I believe!
Advise otherwise?
 
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Well, reading that, he doesn't sound like a chancer, just a normal punter who's really pee'd off that he's spent all that money on a lens and it's stopped working after a week!

TBH, I'd put something towards the repair, as long as you get proof that the work was actually done by a reputable firm - if it were any of us, we'd be awfully jacked off as well if it only lasted less than a week. We all work hard for what we have....
 
Well, reading that, he doesn't sound like a chancer, just a normal punter who's really pee'd off that he's spent all that money on a lens and it's stopped working after a week!

TBH, I'd put something towards the repair, as long as you get proof that the work was actually done by a reputable firm - if it were any of us, we'd be awfully jacked off as well if it only lasted less than a week. We all work hard for what we have....

I get that, but then there is every bloody chance that he broke it. If you were to read all of the messages, I think it's likely you'd agree, and I think lostsoulal2 and dentedshed can vouch for that.
 
If you think he broke it, and all messages that (probably almost) confirm this have been sent through eBay, just stick to your guns then and let him take it to a dispute....
 
So you want to go and do something to someone you would hate to have happen to yourself. Brilliant! Need more people like this around here </heavy sarcasm>

By the way that action would not be tolerated and any further talk of this sort of action will be removed and dealt with.

I did mean a stern chat as opposed to any form of direct violence. Sorry if this was misinterpreted. Frankly though, why should the OP bend over and take it? I have seen amazing results on other forums when people have come together and got people to go to addresses in person to talk to people. I've even seen thefts dealt with in this way.
 
I did mean a stern chat as opposed to any form of direct violence. Sorry if this was misinterpreted. Frankly though, why should the OP bend over and take it? I have seen amazing results on other forums when people have come together and got people to go to addresses in person to talk to people. I've even seen thefts dealt with in this way.

it's called intimidation.
 
Well maybe people shouldn't scam? Maybe we should stop taking **** from them and man up? Each to their own.
 
Well, reading that, he doesn't sound like a chancer, just a normal punter who's really pee'd off that he's spent all that money on a lens and it's stopped working after a week!

TBH, I'd put something towards the repair, as long as you get proof that the work was actually done by a reputable firm - if it were any of us, we'd be awfully jacked off as well if it only lasted less than a week. We all work hard for what we have....

Having read all the exchanges I'm still of the opinion that the buyer is trying it on. He broke it and is now trying to cover himself. If you received a broken lens would you request a full refund or part cost of repair?

I know what I'd want.
 
As far as I'm concerned, that's him admitting he broke the lens. "Lens failed during use" therefore implying that the lens worked before. Not my problem now I believe!
Advise otherwise?

That's as good as an admission in my eyes but possibly not in the eyes of ebay.

I assume that you received this through the dispute console? If so, reply in a few days stating that you believe this now to be an admission that the buyer did indeed break the lens.

Also, go to live chat, explain how this is stressing you out. The person at the other end will read the exchanges and IME are pretty good at sussing what is going on.
 
That's as good as an admission in my eyes

Earlier in the thread I've mentioned two occurrences of lenses that jammed shortly after delivery. One was new-old-stock, and repaired as a gesture of goodwill by the UK agent. If an internal part has broken in transit, it may or may not cause a jam, and it may take some time to find its way to a spot where it can cause a noticeable problem.
 
I won't go into specifics for view of keeping the details close to my chest because I anticipate this getting messy, but someone I sold something to recently is arguing the toss.

Basically, I sold something online, that was working absolutely fine when I sent it, with pictures to prove it.
The guy bought it 3/3/11, received it 4/3/11, and opened the dispute on the 13/3/11. He said he left it in the box and didn't touch it and now when he's gone to use it it's broken, saying item was not as described, yet he's also reassuring me he didn't drop it or force it.

I anticipate this happening: Ebay force me, somehow, to pay the money back to the seller for a refund. The seller sends me back the item that I know he broke. I give him £160 back. I now have a broken item, and I'm £160 out of pocket.

Brilliant.

Any Ebay horror stories or advice?


This is exactly why I won't sell my DVD/Sat NAV unit for the car. It works perfect but knowing my luck some muppet would blow the unit trying to wire it up and then claim it's not working.

It's a great unit and is sitting collecting dust but I'm going to fit it in my wife's car when she gets one (translated as it reaches wife's ears: when I get her one) because I don't want the hassle of an Ebay cockup.
 
Earlier in the thread I've mentioned two occurrences of lenses that jammed shortly after delivery. One was new-old-stock, and repaired as a gesture of goodwill by the UK agent. If an internal part has broken in transit, it may or may not cause a jam, and it may take some time to find its way to a spot where it can cause a noticeable problem.

Whilst I understand that I have to ask if you would've been happy with 50% of the cost of repair or a full refund or exchange?
 
This is exactly why I won't sell my DVD/Sat NAV unit for the car. It works perfect but knowing my luck some muppet would blow the unit trying to wire it up and then claim it's not working.

It's a great unit and is sitting collecting dust but I'm going to fit it in my wife's car when she gets one (translated as it reaches wife's ears: when I get her one) because I don't want the hassle of an Ebay cockup.

Your other option is to hook it up and insist that the buyer collects. That way they see it working and pay you cash so no possibility of a chargeback.

It does limit your market a little though.
 
Whilst I understand that I have to ask if you would've been happy with 50% of the cost of repair or a full refund or exchange?

Not got time right now to go through the details of this case, but it all depends. Several of my lenses and cameras are quite rare and took time to track down (doesn't mean they're worth a great deal). To return items overseas is expensive; I've done it with PayPal disputes to encourage the sellers concerned to clean up their act. One lens wouldn't AF through part of its zoom range. I included this detail in the feedback and the seller hasn't tried to sell it again on eBay. More recently, and with non-photography stuff, sellers have been great at sorting out problems.
 
If you think he broke it, and all messages that (probably almost) confirm this have been sent through eBay, just stick to your guns then and let him take it to a dispute....

That's the thing though. Everything he says makes the plot thicken, but he never specifically says that he broke it (until the final message), which is why I'm concerned that Ebay will side with him and I'll be the one who gets screwed over.

Well maybe people shouldn't scam? Maybe we should stop taking **** from them and man up? Each to their own.

Perhaps, but we'll save the Mad Max world for another lifetime, eh?

That's as good as an admission in my eyes but possibly not in the eyes of ebay.

I assume that you received this through the dispute console? If so, reply in a few days stating that you believe this now to be an admission that the buyer did indeed break the lens.

Also, go to live chat, explain how this is stressing you out. The person at the other end will read the exchanges and IME are pretty good at sussing what is going on.

Exactly what I'm going to do. Crunch time is Monday evening.
 
I'LL TELL YOU WHAT SHOULKD DO.......GIVE THE EBAY USERS NAME SO THAT WE CAN AVOID THIS ******** LIKE THE PLAGUE....PLEASE PLEASE GIVE HIS EBAY USER I.D.
 
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I'LL TELL YOU WHAT SHOULKD DO.......GIVE THE EBAY USERS NAME SO THAT WE CAN AVOID THIS AR#*HOLE LIKE THE PLAGUE....PLEASE PLEASE GIVE HIS EBAY USER I.D.

I think you're getting a bit overexcited about it - Sean's a big boy now, I'm sure he'll deal with it as he sees fit.... :shrug:
 
I'm not getting excited about it, all it is is that i use ebay quite a lot to buy and sell equipment and it would be an advantage to know who these scammers are. I can't believe the amount of posts this has generated from people who obviously are getting excited about it when the easy solution would be to disclose who this person is and we can all avoid him when using ebay, it certainly wouldn't be tolerated here if it were ever to happen but it's obviously Seans prerogative as to whether he wants to disclose who this person is but in not doing so it leaves us all open to potentially the same scenario. IMHO
 
I'm not getting excited about it, all it is is that i use ebay quite a lot to buy and sell equipment and it would be an advantage to know who these scammers are. I can't believe the amount of posts this has generated from people who obviously are getting excited about it when the easy solution would be to disclose who this person is and we can all avoid him when using ebay, it certainly wouldn't be tolerated here if it were ever to happen but it's obviously Seans prerogative as to whether he wants to disclose who this person is but in not doing so it leaves us all open to potentially the same scenario. IMHO

Where do I start??

You were getting excited about it judging by your previous reply. I had an image of you frothing at the mouth whilst you typed it in capital letters interspersed with swear words.

If foodpoisin was silly enough to disclose his buyer's ID them it would leave him in an awkward position seeing as the buyer has opened a dispute.

You have got to bear in mind that this forum gets picked up by google very quickly and a few keywords like "ebay sigma southampton" brings this thread up on the first page of results.
 
I can assure you that its not me getting excited, if capital letters and a swearword give you visions of someone frothing at the mouth i suggest you get out more ! On a more serious note and i am only joking by the way, i had a very similar case with similar circumstances and i named this user in the forums (ebay) and it even went as far as me recieving advice from other users whilst the dispute was going on. Luckily for me i won the dispute because of my tenacity and for the sheer fact that i new i was right, i don't sell dodgy gear and i make sure that what i do sell is described accurately. I feel sorry for Sean as i'm sure that he is an honest trader and he's been had by one of these unscrupulous individuals that bring ebay down but i digress, the point i set out to make is that ebay were quite happy for me to dicuss my case and name the user who i was in dispute with and if Sean hasn't already done so it wouldn't be a bad idea for him to go to the ebay forum for a chat...........i did and revealed the user ID i had a problem with and low and behold two other users had had a problem with him ! ! ! strange that eh.
 
Absolutely f-ing brilliant! :D

I held out, and checked Ebay today "Buyer has closed the case. The hold on your Paypal account and funds has been removed. You don't need to do anything else."

It looks like the guy was a big old fat fraudster, and sticking to my guns because I knew I was right worked.

Thanks for absolutely EVERYONE's help, in particular that of Roy and Michael, I really appreciate it.
 
Nice one, about time a seller got the right result!
 
Absolutely f-ing brilliant! :D

I held out, and checked Ebay today "Buyer has closed the case. The hold on your Paypal account and funds has been removed. You don't need to do anything else."

It looks like the guy was a big old fat fraudster, and sticking to my guns because I knew I was right worked.

Thanks for absolutely EVERYONE's help, in particular that of Roy and Michael, I really appreciate it.

Fantastic. I'm genuinely delighted that this has worked in your favour.

It also goes to show that ebay & paypal don't always side with buyers in all cases.

:woot::woot::woot::woot::woot::woot::woot::woot:
 
Well done, mate - nice to see a seller 'result' on eBay; makes quite a change these days.... :thumbs:
 
ebay and paypal, a complete pain in the ar+#, i have been locked out of my paypal and ebay account all because they have a £1900 limit for recieving funds in any 1 year, and because i have sold more than that value, they now are investigating my accounts for fraud or money laundering? even though i have 100% positive feedback, its a joke, they are also holding funds in my pp account, which they say can be for 180 days wtf is that all about. i am not happy to say the least.

Typical behaviour, if they can think of a way to hang on to your money they will and it is all to their benefit...money sits in their account not yours...been there got the t shirt!!
 
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