Scary eBay Transaction

cgfalcone

I purchased a single 1986 Fleer basketball card for $5 from a seller on eBay. It was a common card that was in pretty good shape (probably an 8) that I need to complete my set. The card I received was in significantly worse shape than the card pictured in the listing. Specifically, it had substantial chipping along the left and top edges. I immediately started the return process saying it was not the card pictured and I included photos of the card I received. Obviously it is not a lot of money and it could have been an honest mistake but I've had other people try to scam me by sending the wrong card and I didn't want to let him get away with scamming me if that was what was going on.

Tonight I get two angry emails from the seller ranting about how I'm a scammer and I must have used a different card for the photos I included in my return request . He said there is no way he is going to be scammed and asks me in both messages if I'm going to be home Friday night. Maybe I'm overreacting but this seems like some kind of thinly veiled threat to me. In theory I guess he could just be asking so he can pick up the card and not get charged for return shipping but based on his eBay shipping address, it would take him over 12 hours to drive here. Maybe he knows someone in my area that could come to my house and pick it up but according to him, I'm trying to pass off some other card as the card he sold to me. Presumably he wouldn't even want the card I'm claiming is his so is he thinking he is going to try to send someone to my house and demand I return the "real" card? I'm sure nothing will come of it but it is making me a little uncomfortable. eBay really stinks sometimes. Do I need to start filming myself opening $5 cards now?

tonylags

That's crazy, I would kindly tell the person the police have been informed and you have camera's should anyone try to poke around your place.

maddux69

I would be somewhere between IWAMFW and FAAFO

Historicalwood71

@tonylags said:
That's crazy, I would kindly tell the person the police have been informed and you have camera's should anyone try to poke around your place.

@cgfalcone said:
I purchased a single 1986 Fleer basketball card for $5 from a seller on eBay. It was a common card that was in pretty good shape (probably an 8) that I need to complete my set. The card I received was in significantly worse shape than the card pictured in the listing. Specifically, it had substantial chipping along the left and top edges. I immediately started the return process saying it was not the card pictured and I included photos of the card I received. Obviously it is not a lot of money and it could have been an honest mistake but I've had other people try to scam me by sending the wrong card and I didn't want to let him get away with scamming me if that was what was going on.

Tonight I get two angry emails from the seller ranting about how I'm a scammer and I must have used a different card for the photos I included in my return request . He said there is no way he is going to be scammed and asks me in both messages if I'm going to be home Friday night. Maybe I'm overreacting but this seems like some kind of thinly veiled threat to me. In theory I guess he could just be asking so he can pick up the card and not get charged for return shipping but based on his eBay shipping address, it would take him over 12 hours to drive here. Maybe he knows someone in my area that could come to my house and pick it up but according to him, I'm trying to pass off some other card as the card he sold to me. Presumably he wouldn't even want the card I'm claiming is his so is he thinking he is going to try to send someone to my house and demand I return the "real" card? I'm sure nothing will come of it but it is making me a little uncomfortable. eBay really stinks sometimes. Do I need to start filming myself opening $5 cards now?

You tell that "Seller" the PSA gang will be knocking soon. And he better have some answers to our questions or else!
But seriously, just get ebay involved. Be very nice and explain the whole situation. Everytime I had a problem... They looked out for the buyer. ....
On a weird note .... Wouldn't you like to put a complete beatdown on these lowlifes? I would

cgfalcone

You tell that "Seller" the PSA gang will be knocking soon. And he better have some answers to our questions or else!
But seriously, just get ebay involved. Be very nice and explain the whole situation. Everytime I had a problem... They looked out for the buyer. ....
On a weird note .... Wouldn't you like to put a complete beatdown on these lowlifes? I would

I know eBay will side with me on the return but they can't stop a crazy person from showing up at my house. Like I said, I know that's almost certainly not going to happen but its still a little unsettling

ndleo

I would just drop it and let it go. There are too many nut jobs out there. That’s why I pre-empt block when I receive crazy questions from potential buyers.

Historicalwood71

Good man👍

cgfalcone

@ndleo said:
I would just drop it and let it go. There are too many nut jobs out there. That’s why I pre-empt block when I receive crazy questions from potential buyers.

That is probably the smart thing to do. I hate to let him get away with scamming me but it is only a $5 card and he does come off as pretty crazy. I'll sleep on it and decide what to do tomorrow.

ndleo

@cgfalcone said:

@ndleo said:
I would just drop it and let it go. There are too many nut jobs out there. That’s why I pre-empt block when I receive crazy questions from potential buyers.

That is probably the smart thing to do. I hate to let him get away with scamming me but it is only a $5 card and he does come off as pretty crazy. I'll sleep on it and decide what to do tomorrow.

I feel you but he sounds unstable and typically it is a lose lose lose when you tangle with clowns like that.

blurryface

@cgfalcone said:

You tell that "Seller" the PSA gang will be knocking soon. And he better have some answers to our questions or else!
But seriously, just get ebay involved. Be very nice and explain the whole situation. Everytime I had a problem... They looked out for the buyer. ....
On a weird note .... Wouldn't you like to put a complete beatdown on these lowlifes? I would

I know eBay will side with me on the return but they can't stop a crazy person from showing up at my house. Like I said, I know that's almost certainly not going to happen but its still a little unsettling

havent had a situation like this but this just adds to the long list of reasons i have a mailboxes etc shipping address. basically like a po box but not at the post office and lists & looks like as a physical address.

a collector buddy bought a couple high dollar cards a few years back. had them sent to his house and the very next day they were delivered, his house was broken into. only stuff that was stolen was his laptop, cards and a gold coin that were all sitting on his desk. police merely wrote it off as a quick smash and grab. 6 months down the road, the graded coin was sold and displayed on a forum. long story short, the paper tail of that coin sale led from a legit dealer who purchased it at a coin show, to another guy and then back to the guy who my friend bought the cards from. after search warrants were processed based on that info, the guy had the cards that he sold my friend back in his possession. he also had a small gun collection. debit card records would later prove the scumbag purchased a tank of gas and two gatorades in his town on the same day the break-in occurred. the scumbag sold $50k worth of cards, then jumped in his car, drove 5 hours, scoped out the house, waited for them to be delivered and broke in to steal the cards back. all because he googled the physical addy, scoped out the house digitally online and knew the layout from previous realtor “for sale” pics he saw online.

it really is scary to give out such pertinent info to complete strangers where your family lives and your collection resides. a $120 mailbox fee/year is well worth its weight in gold to alleve these worries, have all deliveries recorded on camera & to have someone there to physically sign for the packages 24/7.

blurryface

@ndleo said:

@cgfalcone said:

@ndleo said:
I would just drop it and let it go. There are too many nut jobs out there. That’s why I pre-empt block when I receive crazy questions from potential buyers.

That is probably the smart thing to do. I hate to let him get away with scamming me but it is only a $5 card and he does come off as pretty crazy. I'll sleep on it and decide what to do tomorrow.

I feel you but he sounds unstable and typically it is a lose lose lose when you tangle with clowns like that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68sRqrZZ6wQ

craig44

@blurryface said:

@cgfalcone said:

You tell that "Seller" the PSA gang will be knocking soon. And he better have some answers to our questions or else!
But seriously, just get ebay involved. Be very nice and explain the whole situation. Everytime I had a problem... They looked out for the buyer. ....
On a weird note .... Wouldn't you like to put a complete beatdown on these lowlifes? I would

I know eBay will side with me on the return but they can't stop a crazy person from showing up at my house. Like I said, I know that's almost certainly not going to happen but its still a little unsettling

havent had a situation like this but this just adds to the long list of reasons i have a mailboxes etc shipping address. basically like a po box but not at the post office and lists & looks like as a physical address.

a collector buddy bought a couple high dollar cards a few years back. had them sent to his house and the very next day they were delivered, his house was broken into. only stuff that was stolen was his laptop, cards and a gold coin that were all sitting on his desk. police merely wrote it off as a quick smash and grab. 6 months down the road, the graded coin was sold and displayed on a forum. long story short, the paper tail of that coin sale led from a legit dealer who purchased it at a coin show, to another guy and then back to the guy who my friend bought the cards from. after search warrants were processed based on that info, the guy had the cards that he sold my friend back in his possession. he also had a small gun collection. debit card records would later prove the scumbag purchased a tank of gas and two gatorades in his town on the same day the break-in occurred. the scumbag sold $50k worth of cards, then jumped in his car, drove 5 hours, scoped out the house, waited for them to be delivered and broke in to steal the cards back. all because he googled the physical addy, scoped out the house digitally online and knew the layout from previous realtor “for sale” pics he saw online.

it really is scary to give out such pertinent info to complete strangers where your family lives and your collection resides. a $120 mailbox fee/year is well worth its weight in gold to alleve these worries, have all deliveries recorded on camera & to have someone there to physically sign for the packages 24/7.

this is very very good advice. very scary that such things can happen

saucywombat

Conman 101 is intimidation when confronted with the truth.

He's full of crap.

Kyser

1 no trespassing sign, 1 beware of dog sign, 1 American Flag and 1 bullet. 3 out of 4 can be clearly seen from the road. And like other previous posters, I recommend a P.O. Box.

NeverSawMantle

@blurryface said:

@cgfalcone said:

You tell that "Seller" the PSA gang will be knocking soon. And he better have some answers to our questions or else!
But seriously, just get ebay involved. Be very nice and explain the whole situation. Everytime I had a problem... They looked out for the buyer. ....
On a weird note .... Wouldn't you like to put a complete beatdown on these lowlifes? I would

I know eBay will side with me on the return but they can't stop a crazy person from showing up at my house. Like I said, I know that's almost certainly not going to happen but its still a little unsettling

havent had a situation like this but this just adds to the long list of reasons i have a mailboxes etc shipping address. basically like a po box but not at the post office and lists & looks like as a physical address.

a collector buddy bought a couple high dollar cards a few years back. had them sent to his house and the very next day they were delivered, his house was broken into. only stuff that was stolen was his laptop, cards and a gold coin that were all sitting on his desk. police merely wrote it off as a quick smash and grab. 6 months down the road, the graded coin was sold and displayed on a forum. long story short, the paper tail of that coin sale led from a legit dealer who purchased it at a coin show, to another guy and then back to the guy who my friend bought the cards from. after search warrants were processed based on that info, the guy had the cards that he sold my friend back in his possession. he also had a small gun collection. debit card records would later prove the scumbag purchased a tank of gas and two gatorades in his town on the same day the break-in occurred. the scumbag sold $50k worth of cards, then jumped in his car, drove 5 hours, scoped out the house, waited for them to be delivered and broke in to steal the cards back. all because he googled the physical addy, scoped out the house digitally online and knew the layout from previous realtor “for sale” pics he saw online.

it really is scary to give out such pertinent info to complete strangers where your family lives and your collection resides. a $120 mailbox fee/year is well worth its weight in gold to alleve these worries, have all deliveries recorded on camera & to have someone there to physically sign for the packages 24/7.

Wow, that is scary. Going to heed your advice about Mailboxes, etc

tulsaboy

That's why all of my ebay purchases are shipped to my office instead of my home. My office has lots of guys with badges and guns. So disgruntled sellers are welcome to visit.
kevin

galaxy27

early this morning i read this thread in its entirety. somehow i managed to overlook the amount of cheese involved, so i scrolled back up to the top when i was done. when i noticed that this dateline nbc story was centered around a $5 basketball card, i blacked out for about 15 minutes

the last time that had happened to me was yesterday while reading the Mike Trout thread

edit: OP you're fine bro. if that keyboard warrior keeps up, tell him that you called eBay and had a rep read the messages (and actually do it if it makes you more comfortable). the prospect of him losing his precious account will shut his ass up.

swish54

@galaxy27 said:
early this morning i read this thread in its entirety. somehow i managed to overlook the amount of cheese involved, so i scrolled back up to the top when i was done. when i noticed that this dateline nbc story was centered around a $5 basketball card, i blacked out for about 15 minutes

the last time that had happened to me was yesterday while reading the Mike Trout thread

edit: OP you're fine bro. if that keyboard warrior keeps up, tell him that you called eBay and had a rep read the messages (and actually do it if it makes you more comfortable). the prospect of him losing his precious account will shut his ass up.

OP should absolutely tell Ebay about it and that clown will be booted off. They take that kind of stuff very seriously.

cgfalcone

I have some new interesting developments in the story (warning: this is a bit long). I sent him a very calm, civil message saying that the card I took photos of for the return is what I received and asked him why he wants to know if I'll be home on Friday. His response was that he wanted to discuss it over the phone with me because he knows I'm lying. So, I guess he didn't plan to show up at my house, just yell at me over the phone. His first two messages seemed pretty unhinged and since its been about twenty years since I had to call anyone on their home phone, the idea that he wanted to know if I would be home so he could call me never occured to me.

I then went back and took another look at the card and measured the borders and realized that the centering appeared identical (as best as I could measure) to the card in his listing. I wrote him another message suggesting that it may be the same card and that it might have just been damaged in the mail. I asked him whether he thought it was more likely that I happened to have a card with identical centering and was running a scam and committing mail fraud to switch my card with another card that cost $5 or that his card just got dinged up in the mail. My recollection is that it was fairly well packaged so I don't know how two different edges would have gotten so damaged in the mail but he seemed to accept that as a possibility I think it is probably what happened. I also asked if he had insurance on the shipment.

Of course, just because he accepted that I wasn't lying doesn't mean he stopped acting like a jerk. He basically said I was stupid to even suggest he might have insurance on a $5 card (I can't remember what he used but don't you get a certain amount of insurance if you use an eBay standard envelope?). He also said I jumped to conclusions by opening an item not as described claim and that I was basically a bad person for doing this and I should close out the return (I should note that I never accused him of sending me the wrong card intentionally so its not as if I even ever said anything offensive). I responded that he is obligated to refund me whether it is an item not as described or an item that arrives damaged. However, I decided to do a bit of social experiment since it is just a $5 card. I proposed that he give me a partial refund of half the cost but that I would leave the final decision to him and that I would let him keep the full amount if that is what he really wanted. I asked him if he wanted to do the fair and reasonable thing or if he wanted to keep the money and stick it to me just because he could. I haven't heard back yet. Anyone want to bet on what he'll say. I'm betting he's going to take the money and run.

dontippet

Like others have said, I would talk to an ebay rep about this. You can easily get all of your money back through ebay returns, that is what I would do. I would also neg him and talk about his crudeness and rudeness. I certainly wouldn't want to purchase from this seller.

daltex

@cgfalcone said:
I have some new interesting developments in the story (warning: this is a bit long). I sent him a very calm, civil message saying that the card I took photos of for the return is what I received and asked him why he wants to know if I'll be home on Friday. His response was that he wanted to discuss it over the phone with me because he knows I'm lying. So, I guess he didn't plan to show up at my house, just yell at me over the phone. His first two messages seemed pretty unhinged and since its been about twenty years since I had to call anyone on their home phone, the idea that he wanted to know if I would be home so he could call me never occured to me.

I then went back and took another look at the card and measured the borders and realized that the centering appeared identical (as best as I could measure) to the card in his listing. I wrote him another message suggesting that it may be the same card and that it might have just been damaged in the mail. I asked him whether he thought it was more likely that I happened to have a card with identical centering and was running a scam and committing mail fraud to switch my card with another card that cost $5 or that his card just got dinged up in the mail. My recollection is that it was fairly well packaged so I don't know how two different edges would have gotten so damaged in the mail but he seemed to accept that as a possibility I think it is probably what happened. I also asked if he had insurance on the shipment.

Of course, just because he accepted that I wasn't lying doesn't mean he stopped acting like a jerk. He basically said I was stupid to even suggest he might have insurance on a $5 card (I can't remember what he used but don't you get a certain amount of insurance if you use an eBay standard envelope?). He also said I jumped to conclusions by opening an item not as described claim and that I was basically a bad person for doing this and I should close out the return (I should note that I never accused him of sending me the wrong card intentionally so its not as if I even ever said anything offensive). I responded that he is obligated to refund me whether it is an item not as described or an item that arrives damaged. However, I decided to do a bit of social experiment since it is just a $5 card. I proposed that he give me a partial refund of half the cost but that I would leave the final decision to him and that I would let him keep the full amount if that is what he really wanted. I asked him if he wanted to do the fair and reasonable thing or if he wanted to keep the money and stick it to me just because he could. I haven't heard back yet. Anyone want to bet on what he'll say. I'm betting he's going to take the money and run.

Sorry. None of this rings true to me. It's much safer legally, and presumably with eBay's ToS, to make thinly veiled threats and then back off with a ridiculously implausible explanation than to tell you what he'd really do if you were going to be home Friday. (Like others here I don't think he would really have dropped by for a visit, just that he wanted to frighten/bully you into dropping the claim.) Negative feedback and a claim for a full refund are definitely warranted here. He's responsible for getting the card to you in the condition it was sold as. Period. You're being far too generous and letting this creep rip you and who knows how many others off.

craig44

I would stop all communication with seller and only communicate with Ebay from here on out. they should issue you a refund SNAD.

cgfalcone

I will probably still report him to eBay and leave negative feedback because I think I owe that to others who might deal with him in the future but I don't really care about the $5 and I am curious to see if I can get him to sort of do the right thing by being civil at all times and giving him a clear choice between acting fair and reasonably or being a dirt bag.

dontippet

@cgfalcone said:
I will probably still report him to eBay and leave negative feedback because I think I owe that to others who might deal with him in the future but I don't really care about the $5 and I am curious to see if I can get him to sort of do the right thing by being civil at all times and giving him a clear choice between acting fair and reasonably or being a dirt bag.

But he's repeatedly acted like a high end dirt bag. Personally, I wouldn't give him any more chances and like was recommended, I would only communicate with ebay from here forward.

mrmopar

I started having stuff delivered at work over a somewhat similar experience many years back. This was not a transaction, but a contest I won on a message board. The host of the contest had not sent anything in a long while after I won and I was inquiring if he was going to make good on it. If he didn't, I would have just walked away as it was a free contest. He got weird and then talks ceased, but a few weeks later out of the blue, he asked for my address. This was maybe 2-3 months after the contest had ended! Thinking maybe he was planning something odd, I just gave him my work address and started using it for everything after that. The prize showed up and nothing strange followed, but it was an eye opener for freely handing out your home address and being tied to collectibles that can hold extremely high value depending on what and how much you collect.

West22

This is one of the sillier threads I've ever read. Drop the whole thing and let this guy get away with being a lowlife. Don't mess with crazy over a $5 card. Your family's safety is more important than some $5 Ebay beef

mrmopar

@cgfalcone said:
I have some new interesting developments in the story (warning: this is a bit long). I sent him a very calm, civil message saying that the card I took photos of for the return is what I received and asked him why he wants to know if I'll be home on Friday. His response was that he wanted to discuss it over the phone with me because he knows I'm lying. So, I guess he didn't plan to show up at my house, just yell at me over the phone. His first two messages seemed pretty unhinged and since its been about twenty years since I had to call anyone on their home phone, the idea that he wanted to know if I would be home so he could call me never occured to me.

I then went back and took another look at the card and measured the borders and realized that the centering appeared identical (as best as I could measure) to the card in his listing. I wrote him another message suggesting that it may be the same card and that it might have just been damaged in the mail. I asked him whether he thought it was more likely that I happened to have a card with identical centering and was running a scam and committing mail fraud to switch my card with another card that cost $5 or that his card just got dinged up in the mail. My recollection is that it was fairly well packaged so I don't know how two different edges would have gotten so damaged in the mail but he seemed to accept that as a possibility I think it is probably what happened. I also asked if he had insurance on the shipment.

Of course, just because he accepted that I wasn't lying doesn't mean he stopped acting like a jerk. He basically said I was stupid to even suggest he might have insurance on a $5 card (I can't remember what he used but don't you get a certain amount of insurance if you use an eBay standard envelope?). He also said I jumped to conclusions by opening an item not as described claim and that I was basically a bad person for doing this and I should close out the return (I should note that I never accused him of sending me the wrong card intentionally so its not as if I even ever said anything offensive). I responded that he is obligated to refund me whether it is an item not as described or an item that arrives damaged. However, I decided to do a bit of social experiment since it is just a $5 card. I proposed that he give me a partial refund of half the cost but that I would leave the final decision to him and that I would let him keep the full amount if that is what he really wanted. I asked him if he wanted to do the fair and reasonable thing or if he wanted to keep the money and stick it to me just because he could. I haven't heard back yet. Anyone want to bet on what he'll say. I'm betting he's going to take the money and run.

I have offered sellers the chance to make what I think is a bad situation right with a partial refund. This is a pretty small sample size though, maybe 5-10 times in 1000s of transactions. I figure giving them the choice to set the terms sits better with most. i usually offer this because I really do want to keep the item, but the condition was either not as described or damaged due to poor packaging. i am always ready to either take the hit (very rare) or send back the item (most of the time), depending on the situation. It seems most sellers seem to come through with some sort of compromise. The reality is, a seller has to pay for the item to be shipped back and on cheaper items, it's cheaper to "pay you off" with a discount if you are willing to accept that as a concession. Of course, this method also opens up a complete other side for bad buyers to pull scams on good sellers.

jimrad

It’s a $5 card ….really
The right thing is to accept it as the cost of doing business on such a low level transaction and move on.
I know my time and my life are much more important than getting in a confrontation over a $5 card.

ndleo

@jimrad said:
It’s a $5 card ….really
The right thing is to accept it as the cost of doing business on such a low level transaction and move on.
I know my time and my life are much more important than getting in a confrontation over a $5 card.

Exactly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfz0tDQZhqs

grote15

Ask him if he's going to be home next Friday night..

robert67

@grote15 said:
Ask him if he's going to be home next Friday night..

😂😂😂😂

GOBUCKS

Just to be clear all of this over a $5 card ? lol not sure $5 ever constitutes scary lol

galaxy27

after ruminating on this situation for a period of time that I'm unwilling to disclose, at this juncture I sincerely believe that the best course of action is to respond to this gentleman in a very civil manner and let him know that you will in fact be home this Friday night. and his momma will be there too.

CdnOsfan

I had a winner a few years ago that bought a raw 1972 OPC Willie Mays on eBay for $3.99. I'm surprised that it went that low but shipped it anyway. I would call it a 6, possibly a 7. He got threatening complaining about the rough cut edges that were clear in the pictures I put up. I got tired of it and told him to research old OPC cards. If they don't have rough cuts they probably have been trimmed. He was still being stupid so I gave him his $3.99 back as unlike him, I have a life and told him to shove Willie up his behind.

coinpalice

i would of just blew it off and left negative feedback