Ripped off on Ebay!

Ok, I needed somewhere to rant.

Me and my best friend always go to lengths to find the perfect present for each other at xmas.

I knew she was having issues with her ipod shuffle, so I decided to get her a nano. I couldn't afford it at shop value, so I went on to trusty ebay, which I have been using for a couple of years.

The nano came, and I presented it to her proudly.

IT WAS A BLOODY FAKE!

An ipod shell with cheap software (my friend was able to tell me this because she bought a cheap rip off when she was on holiday, and it broke a week later). I know nothing about ipods, so didn't know what to look for when I got it.

I paid a lot more than a knock off is worth, and it was money I really can't afford to waste. I'm so angry!

Do you have a link to the auction itself?
Sometimes they get around things with VERY sneaky wording so you can't go back and accuse them.

I am sorry about that.
I am an eBay die hard and I have had some slow deliveries and some disappointments, but never an out right fake.

Make SURE to blash the seller with bad feedback!

I got some crap this year too. I ordered something for the grandkids and when it came it looked like party favors, I saw them at walmart for a 1.00 for 6. I tossed them in a draw and the kids can play with the junk when they are bore. Usually I do pretty good on ebay.

We buy allot of our stuff on e-bay and usually it has been really good to us. I think we can only count twice it wasn't. Once when we read the description wrong ( again the fine print my dear!) and once when we got a STOLEN cell phone. We had to just eat the first one, but the second one, we got pay-pal to give us our money.

 Edit: sorry you got burnt.

ugh I had some guy take the money and run when I tried to buy somputer speakers a few years ago.  Ebay wouldn't even do anything to help me.  I sent a money order and the post office didn't care either.  I filled out the FBI fraud form but never hear anything from them either.  From now on I pay with Pay Pal I've heard they are pretty good at reversing payment in fraud cases.  Has anyone seen my $300?

I'm sorry you got  burnt, too.

I've bought a lot of stuff off Ebay, but fortunately, that's never happened to me.  I have come across some great deals on normally very expensive stuff, but then read the ratings and reviews of the seller, and decided to not get it.

If they have a rating of less than 4 stars, or a rating based on anything less than 50 reviews, "caveat emptor."

Would reporting them to eBay be of any use whatsoever? And if you paid through Paypal, you could contest the transaction.

I also got a fake ipod. I was so upset, because at first paypal let me know the seller had received my payment, but they were a fraud. I was very afraid they were going to take the money and run, so  I filed a complaint and got the payment back..and then my "ipod" came in the mail, and it was a total fake. I could tell just by looking at it. I would go to ebay/paypal and see what they can do to help you out.

Apple has a warning out about fakes and how to spot them: 

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/06/04/19 /apple_warns_of_phony_ipods.html

Really sorry you got ripped off and at Christmas too.  But there are unscrupulous people everywhere and especially somewhere they can be anonymous.  I've been on ebay since 03 and the second purchase I made, I got shafted big time and ebay did nothing about it.  Of course, I wasn't using paypal at the time, filed a complaint and absolutely nothing happened to resolve it and I was the one to get the negative feedback.  Boy did that burn.  Now I have started selling on ebay and hopefully everyone is pleased.  Some people don't leave feedback so I have to contact them to see if everything is okay.  Of course, it's hard to fake a Dept. 56 house or accessory but I have learned the hard lesson of reading the fine print REALLY well based on experiences I've had while buying.   I would definitely take the suggestion to check with Ebay or Paypal, if you used it, because if nothing else, Ebay can kick the seller off for misrepresenting or selling something that is patented or copywrighted, I think.

ughhh... i actually sell jewelry on ebay and recently had the worst customer on earth.  She bought a ring from me (i have a 7 day no questions asked return policy) and never got back to me.  One month later she emails me to tell me she wants to return the ring because she lost her job and I politely explained that the return policy is only 7 days long.  well she never gets back to me until a month later where she threatens to leave bad feedback and dispute the charge.  i just let her return the ring but since i already paid for the $300 ring, i have to just keep it. 

i know this is off topic but i am still steaming about it and needed to complain

also use Ebay.  Once bought a purse, with a bad stain, left bad feedback as seller did not answer my emails.  Then he left feedback that he 'did response' to every email, which was a lie.  Then I left feedback, that I contacted Ebay about this and to 'beware'.

Now, I don't buy if the seller has a less than ? 99% good feedback.  I know you can get a crank now and then, so allow for that.

I sold a new heavy sweater to a gal in TX and she wrote she wished shed known more about it as it was too hot for her in TX and I replied, "what does 'heavy' sweater, sound like?  and refunded her money and told her to keep the sweater, rather than get bad feedback.  Then I blocked her from ever bidding on my stuff again.

I'm sorry this happened to you especially at Christmas.

I picked out a pretty ring on ebay and a relative bought it for me from ebay.  It says on the silver (made in China) and it was a disappointment, but I didn't say anything and will like it cause of whom its from.

I went through a phase where I was constantly on e-bay.  Bought a lot of clothes and some football tickets to a Packer game. 

Then one day a transaction I hadn't made, came across on my credit card.  I hadn't used e-bay in months and months, so I knew it wasn't mine.  I ended up having to file a fraud charge with my credit card company and have my credit card number changed.  I paid the amount, otherwise it would have been considered a late payment.  Later I was credited the amount.  It was like around $150.  The process took months.  I used paypal and they say the site is secure but apparently not.

A couple months after that I recieved a letter from a collection company.  E-bay was saying I owed them money, but it was in amounts different then what was charged frauduently on my credit card.  It took me awhile to figure out what was going on..................after I changed my credit card number, who ever stold it must have bid on more items, pretending to be me, and won, but didn't have a way to pay for it.  So, e-bay sent it to collections.  Maybe they tried to collect, but I know the info that the theif used in trying to be me, wasn't all correct.

I went down and filed a police report.  I wrote a letter to the collection agency, attaching all  my info. I had obtained from the original fraud case and sent it signature confirmation to the credit card agency.  I heard nothing back for a month or two until they called one night demanding money.  I refused to pay it and wanted to know if they had recieved all my paper work.  I was told no.  I proceded get out my mailing reciept and tell them what day it was recieved and who signed for it.  I called the next day to speak with a supervisor and I can tell you this, he was so rude, I hung up the phone in tears.

The creditors would never give me a contact number to speak with e-bay directly.  I was told their was contact info on-line.  If you ever try that, it doesn't work.  They make you fill out some complaint form, and since my problem matched none of their catagories, I was screwed.  There was no other way for me to contact them. 

I haven't heard from the collection agency since, so hopefully my paperwork resoved the issue, but never ever again will I trust e-bay or any other site that wants payment thru pay pal. 

weirdkitty... *please* tell me you paid with paypal.  Even better would be a credit card with paypal.  It may cost you return shipping, but I can walk you through getting your money back.  Better yet, tell me that your seller didn't use ONLINE delivery confirmation on your package (the little paste on slips are not online confirmation and paypal doesn't accept them as confirmation).  If none of these are appropriate, then you can always nail them with postal fraud (if mailed through the USPS -- UPS nor FedEx will do anything).

I was a powerseller under a couple of IDs for many years if you couldn't tell   Happy to help you however I can.

littlebit627, it sounds like you filled out a spoof email.  To everyone, NEVER EVER EVER click on a link in any email, and never fill out information wanting your ebay password, paypal password, credit card pin number, etc.  Scammers have been running rampant with that for over 7 years.  My mom has a phone number laying around somewhere for them (ebay)... I'll see if I can track it down for you.

And no one in Nigeria actually won the lottery ;-)

 

I did use paypal (thank god).

I have opened a dispute with them, but the seller has not replied to any of the messages- I have tried again today, and I'm giving him two more days to reply before escalating the dispute to a claim. I'm just worried that for some crazy reason, paypal will side with the seller and I will totally lose out on my money.

I have recheck again and again the item’s description, and it definitely claims to be an apple ipod nano, third generation.

For Christmas I actually got a nano from my parents. This has allowed me to compare a real one with the fake. The differences are quite obvious (eg, the fake doesn't have the touch sensitive scroll).

I can't afford to get my friend anything else until I get my money back. It makes me feel bad because she got me something great, and I have nothing for her.

Thank you all for your help

I close my PayPal account after hearing some complaints that scared me and now use cashiers checks.

Every so often I call my credit card company (plan to do it again soon) and change my card number.  They are always happy to do it, and I just can't use that card, till the new one arrives and they said it doesn't affect my credit score nor does it affect my statement.

I have opened a dispute with them, but the seller has not replied to any of the messages- I have tried again today, and I'm giving him two more days to reply before escalating the dispute to a claim. I'm just worried that for some crazy reason, paypal will side with the seller and I will totally lose out on my money.

I doubt they will side with the seller. Especially if he is being non-responsive (unless he is out of town for the holidays).

I got my money back!

I sent one more message to the seller telling them that I will escalate the dispute to a claim if they do not reply, and then a couple of hours later I checked my paypal and it told me it has been refunded. (Though still no word from the seller- and I will not be sending the counterfeit back to him in case he tries to resell it).

Woo.

This has not put me off ebay one bit- In fact I have now bought a (hopefully) genuine Ipod from there.

As for paypal, if anything this has made me like it more. If I had paid by other means, the whole thing would have been more complicated.