Have you ever been ripped off online? Stories here!

csmtampa

I just remembered the 1st and only time I have been ripped off online. Back in 1997 (when I was 12 or 13) I bought a 30 card lot of Barry Larkin off of Yahoo Auctions for $1.00 plus shipping.

I remember going to the corner store and buying a money order for the lot.

Sent it out and never had the cards show up in my mailbox.

Surprisingly this was the only time I have been ripped off online.

So I would love to hear your horror stories of online purchases.

MULLINS5

2004-05 collecting season was my rookie year collecting online. Western Union'd a guy in Pennsylvania by the most likely fake name "Robert Kelleher" $1,000.00 as a downpayment on a 1979 Gretzky rookie PSA 9. Got several messages on eBay (back when members could contact each other) when I arrived home from sending the money. Never really had anybody here in Virginia to talk collecting with, so I felt alone and out of the loop.

Turns out the eBay messages were from members here who directed me to this site. I Lost the 1,000 dollars but gained valuable experience and many friends here to talk with about this wonderful hobby. I'm not big into chat rooms online and probably would have never found this place otherwise, so in a weird sick way, I suppose it was worth the money.


Patrick

csmtampa

Ouch man! I remember completing deals in the old AOL chat rooms and never heard about this forum until earlier this year.

All it takes is 1 time being ripped off, and than you have the experience and can tell when someone is on the brink of trying, or decides not too.

zep33

Luckily, only 1 time so far. Back in 2000 or 2001 I was working on the 73 Baseball set and buying singles on Ebay. Bought the Carl Yastrzemski card and never got it. Sellers feedback started to go bad while I was waiting for the card. He ripped a lot of people off during that time. My loss was only 20 bucks or so. Must have mailed him a money order because I don't remember dealing with Paypal trying to put a claim in on it.

csmtampa

The old days of sending checks and money orders.....with no protection!

prscott933

I never received an ebay bought $20 PC joystick back in like 1997. It was the first and only time that I can recall that I paid with a money order.

jay0791

I have been ripped off many times. Dealers sending another card that was not pictured that was much lower quality that the one on auction. Cards arriving ruined due to poor shipping....

2x big time. Bought a griffey UD rc in psa 10 back when $1250 was a very good price. Auction showed a psa gem mt 10. A raw ex showed up and written on a paper "like a 10". No communication responded to. However he sent via post office and subsequent mail fraud did get my money back.
Lesson to all: If this happens thru usps...document everything. SAVE ENVELOPE CARD CAME IN to show it was sent via usps, and make copies of auction inc pics and save all correspondance just in case it gets 'lost' in digital space on paper. I have had the usps steal cards from me...but this time they came thru for me.

Another time I bought a tool box combo for almost $1000. Bottom line lesson. NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER is this enough NEVER'S? send a bank wire to ANYONE for payment. Unless you know them ans transaction is 100% sure deal.
Seller built up feedback and them made big hits on ebay. Took me and many others. Money lost.

I have won a few paypal cases.....Bought a 1993 sp jeter psa 9 for $300 and a raw topps card arrived. ......

Many lessons learned

Brick

Ripped off one time years ago. Bought a card advertised as having no creases, fairly sharp corners, etc. Got a wrinkled up mess that would not qualify as PSA 1. Sent it back asking for refund. Got nothing. I saved the seller name and address thinking I may make a suprise visit. Years later thought better of it and thought I deleted the information. Recently compacting files on my computer I came upon that information. Still nothing good would come from a visit so I will delete again in case I get the inclination.
Another time I paid a well known dealer of high end material for a card that never came. Many others were telling similar stories. My card was a common 1955 PSA 7 for under $30. On these boards someone mentioned he sent a check that was never cashed. I sent a M.O. I do not think I was ripped off, just that he had problems in handling his business. To me a rip off is deliberate cheating. This dealer now requires delivery signature confirmation. I have not dealt with him since and do not believe I will in the future.

natetrook

3 times.
1) Returned a Gretzky RC OPC, to Canada, because it was way off center, and described as mint. Seller claims it never showed up, and I didn't spring for the $35 for special delivery confirmation to Canada. Ouch...live and learn. Always hated delivery to Canada.

2) Mailed out a card with delivery confirmation but no insurance because it was under $100 of value. It was a $90 1954 Topps Yogi Berra in PSA-7. Buyer claimed card not received, and files a paypal claim, and I had to refund his money. Turns out, the card was lost in the mail, and I checked del. confirmation 2 months later, and he did actually receive the card as well as his money back. Scumbag never contacted me.... When I contacted him, he said he would mail it back, but I never received the card. Total flake of a guy, but I have no recourse since case was closed. Maybe I will visit Centralia, WA to pay the guy a visit.

3) Bought cards for $450 10 years ago online. Check was cashed, and no cards. Turns out, like 40 people were victim to the Sal Argo scam. His accomplice paid back half the money, so I get a refund of $225 from the owner of the e-mail account after the police were involved.
Total out $225.

Nate

PoppaJ

Only once ..... God rest his soul

PoppaJ

mlbfan2

I've never been ripped off as a buyer (knock on wood), but as a seller I have received about 15 bad checks. Thankfully, only one of them didn't pay my bank fee.

leftofdial

I bought a ebay 76-77 topps hockey box from nedsk back in the day. This was back in the day where people could contact ebay bidders and some members of this forum emailed me to warn me about it. I hadn't even heard of this forum then, and if my $356 was a membership fee, so be it. I've learned a ton since then.

And I was in Gary Dagget's 80's football wax packs run that he scammed several CU forum users on. He ignored my attempts to get him to make it right, and paypal somehow sided with him. My main satisfaction out of that deal is knowing that I am not him. He must be a very sad and messed up guy

vladguerrero

<< <i>1) Returned a Gretzky RC OPC, to Canada, because it was way off center, and described as mint. Seller claims it never showed up, and I didn't spring for the $35 for special delivery confirmation to Canada. Ouch...live and learn. Always hated delivery to Canada. >>



another option would have been registered mail (tracked) which is around $10, I've also been burned on the return it and it never shows up scam.

lanemyer85

between ebay in the earlier days and the old Beckett boards I've probably had around 10 deals that went south, but the only deal over $100 was being swindled out of a 96 EX Kobe RC back in the late 90's when it was around $125 while trading on the Beckett boards. He had a perfect eBay feedback record so I figured it was low risk. I was supposed to receive a 99 Bowman Chrome Corey Patterson Refractor RC back in return so either way I would've lost.

jimq112

I've had some problems in the past with high performance cars and HP parts. Seems like every engine for sale is a "corvette engine" and every camaro is a "z28".

But I guess the good deals outweigh the bad deals. Without online (and most especially ebay) I wouldn't have 10% of the collection I have, and wouldn't even know that some of what I have exists!

jimrad

I bought some gem mint raw vintage from Mr Mint Al Rosen many years ago.

EOT upon grading........

bobbyw8469

I remember one time a guy wanted to return some PSA graded cards purchased from me off of Ebay. He claimed they were trimmed and PSA missed it, even though they were given grades of PSA 8 (OC). When I got the package back, they were cracked PSA slabs he sent me in the mail, but no cards. Thankfully, GameUsedHoops told me to open the package in front of a postal employee, and this person wasn't able to get away with the scam. If I had opened it when I got home though, it could have been a whole different outcome though....

calaban7

I've been ripped off , on the "bay" , but nothing of great worth. I've had people not sent or item lost with no recourse. All were money orders.

If someone could post the long gone coin seller--- rafaelcoins --- , you will see one of the worst ripoffs that I've ever see. I bought a very high grade Buffalo Nickel ( that I still own ) . It was beautiful and the service was great. It still is one of the finest coins that I have ever owned.

This seller lived near New Orleans and was somehow linked to Great Southern Coins. In August - 2005 , when Katrina hit , he saw an oportunity to capitalize on his reputation of selling awesome coins. He then posted 60-70 very rare and high proffesionally graded coins , for sale . People paid alot of money for most of the coins. I believe in was in the neighborhood of over $ 250,000 . By the time people started reaching out for help , he was gone.

goose3

Not yet....knock on wood.

But I have always been into coins and I bought one from a reputable seller on ebay. Arrives and my local dealer tells me it's a fake. This was back in the 90s when I got back into coins.

I had some difficulty getting my 300+ back from this guy and was getting the runaround until I told him that I get 2 days off each week and that I wasn't going to tell him which 2 but that he'd better have some cash at his house for me.

Payment arrived within a few days.

NickM

A bunch of times, mainly from sellers who didn't take PayPal, but cashed money orders and never sent anything.

Luckily none of them were for very much.

My biggest loss was for only about $25, and that was due to a post office misdelivery.

The worst overgrading experience I ever had still didn't end up being a ripoff - the seller called Poor cards ExMt (some had writing on the back, there a punch hole in one card, two had missing corners, etc.), but he also didn't realize that the old card he couldn't identify in the batch was a T-210.

Nick

Nick

1989FleerBillRipkencollector

Bought fake FF WO's (Whiteouts)

Bought a 89 Fleer Johnson Marlboro "WO". Thought it could be a "new" version. Nope, fake.

Bought resealed rack cases.

Bought made wax trays.

Bought a fake 20+ auto Dodger bat.

Got my $ back on most. Had I researched more or asked the right questions, most of these could have been prevented. Live and learn.

ripkenintheminors

Yep. Bogus 1980 Charlotte WBTV. Led me to build my site. I was looking through files teh other day and found where I printed out the auction. Good times.

smtjoy

Have had a couple-

First- was a newbie to ebay and purchased a 1972 Topps Clemente PSA 9 for $250, tried to pay with paypal and it failed, seller said he was having trouble with his paypal account and to just cancel the sale and send a MO and we can handle it outside of eaby, ouch. I did and never recieved the card and could not even leave a neg because I had canceled it. Doh but lesson learned

Second- in the old days of MO or check only ebay sellers had one sell me 6 Exhibits that turned out to be reprints and then he refused to refund my money ($90). I negged him only to get neged back. Very happy those rules were changed.

Third- Purchased a mid grade raw set on ebay from a major auction house, turns out half the cards were trimmed. I had already sold a couple before I found out (sent the two major star in to be graded) and they would not refund. Learned the leason to question why a card is not graded when sellers inventory is mainly all graded.

4-7+ A number of trimmed cards that I was refused refund and lost ebay complaint. Learned to do a better job judging raw cards before I buy on the bay.

bigred1

When I first started on ebay, bought a 75 baseball set, being sold by friend for someone else, after a month of claiming to be military and everythng else filed claim, thankfully stuck to guns and used paypal, only out 25 deductible.

Bought a 54 Kaline cheap, sent check, never received, saw feedback tank, left nasty feedback, after 10 or so others, currently getting fbi victim notices that person is being charged with fraud, not sure how much good that will do, been going on for over a year now.

Not bad for 750+ transactions.

Proud to say have never had an issue with any transaction with any board member.

Tim

Stone193

No.

Hope everyone had a good Thanxgiving!

mike

storm888

No, not really.

Had a few items that were not as good as they looked in the listings,
but not bad enough to complain about.

Between 1997 and 2004, I sent hundreds of MOs and checks with
no problems.

....................

The only real problem I ever had online was with one of the famous
sellers that uses "private insurance." This was several years ago.

An incompetent substitute mail-carrier wrongly issued a Delivery Confirmation
ticket AND the "private insurance" company will not accept claims IF the DC
says an item was "delivered." (USPS isurance does not refuse such claims.)

The lost/stolen items were just a few dollars below the PayPal Signature
Confirmation limit.

I stopped using that seller and so did many of my close associates.

That is really the only online loss that I recall having.

Rogermnj

sent $750 for a griffey ud psa 10 from the old yahoo boards to someone in california, even spoke to them on the phone.
never got anything.

had some stuff stolen from me at shows back in the day, one time a dad came back with his son and said, hi im really sorry my son stole this from you i would like to pay for it. Eh, didnt really care, it was a $3 card and i actually felt bad for the kid.

Prob some other stuff that I can't even remember.