Possible Ebay Scam?

ElyJ83 · January 19, 2011 7:58AM

I am not sure if this is the scam but here is the scoop:

From Seller:

"I JUST RECEIVED WORD THAT I SENT YOU THE WRONG COIN & THAT I SENT YOUR COIN TO ANOTHER PERSON. I'M TRYING TO CORRECT THINGS & I NEED YOUR HELP. I'M WILLING TO REFUND YOUR TOTAL AMOUNT IN EXCHANGE FOR YOU FORWARDING THE COIN YOU RECEIVE WILL YOU HELP? THANKS"

I asked for details and he sent this:

"I JUST ISSUED A REFUND TO YOU THRU PAYPAL & THE OTHER PERSON HAS AGREED TO FORWARD YOUR COIN TO YOU. SO IF YOU WILL FORWARD HIS COIN TO HIM THINGS SHOULD BE CORRECTED IN A FEW DAYS."

The refund is in pending Mode for a few days. I am new to Paypal and ebay so am I possibly getting scammed? or does this thing happen normally? I have yet to get this guys coin....

The seller on ebay has over 500 transactions and with 100% positive rating.

Thoughts?

taxmad · January 19, 2011 8:02AM

Feedback is irrelevant as the account could have been hacked. Do not send out any coin until you have the new coin and the refund has cleared. Were the coins the same value? Why is he refunding your purchase if you will end up with the coin you bought(eventually)?

airplanenut · January 19, 2011 8:17AM

Can't comment on the exact scenario since the dollar amounts will determine whether the full refund makes sense, but I can say that if you don't have the funds in your account, PayPal has the refund as pending until they clear from your bank. As opposed to instant transfers which are backed up by a credit card, refunds only go when PayPal has the money. I hate this since I keep my account cleared, so it can take a few days to issue a refund, which isn't fair to the buyer. There are times when I'll wait to issue the refund, knowing that I'll have funds coming in before the funds would make it from my bank.

RRich2004 · January 19, 2011 8:19AM

<< <i>I am not sure if this is the scam but here is the scoop:

From Seller:

"I JUST RECEIVED WORD THAT I SENT YOU THE WRONG COIN & THAT I SENT YOUR COIN TO ANOTHER PERSON. I'M TRYING TO CORRECT THINGS & I NEED YOUR HELP. I'M WILLING TO REFUND YOUR TOTAL AMOUNT IN EXCHANGE FOR YOU FORWARDING THE COIN YOU RECEIVE WILL YOU HELP? THANKS"

I asked for details and he sent this:

"I JUST ISSUED A REFUND TO YOU THRU PAYPAL & THE OTHER PERSON HAS AGREED TO FORWARD YOUR COIN TO YOU. SO IF YOU WILL FORWARD HIS COIN TO HIM THINGS SHOULD BE CORRECTED IN A FEW DAYS."

The refund is in pending Mode for a few days. I am new to Paypal and ebay so am I possibly getting scammed? or does this thing happen normally? I have yet to get this guys coin....

The seller on ebay has over 500 transactions and with 100% positive rating.

Thoughts? >>

I agree with Taxmad. Do nothing until:

1.) You receive the coin being forwarded to you from the other buyer.

2.) The refund clears your PayPal account, which usually takes 3-5 business days to happen.

3.) Have the other coin authenticated by a reputable dealer you trust before sending the coin you received anywhere.

sinin1 · January 19, 2011 8:21AM

wait and see what shows up

do a search by seller and completed auctions to see if the other item recently sold

as a seller, I did that a few years ago - sent items to wrong buyers - the first buyer that got the coin was a jerk - left negative feedback

and something like -seller sent crappy Morgan instead of Bust half

funny thing was, both items were near $100 (crappy Morgan was a CC) - the second buyer was more than accommendating
and forwarded the item to noisy buyer (who would not release crappy Morgan until they got their half)

so probably shipping mistake rather than scam

mrcoin3 · January 19, 2011 8:23AM

Just be sure that you always control the situation with anything on eBay. Never let the situation control you.
In other words make sure you have both the coin and the money, (out of paypal and in your bank or hand), before you do anything.
This whole thing smells funny to me. Be careful.

MadMonk · January 19, 2011 8:52AM

I don't know that I would want him giving my address to someone.

LindeDad · January 19, 2011 8:55AM

If what you get from the seller is the wrong coin he probably did mess up shipping. When you have coin and refund then contact other buyer threw seller to make the trade. If your worried the other guy should be too. But it does sound like the seller is trying to make both of you happy he is going to lose both sales.

Coinlearner · January 19, 2011 9:20AM

As a buyer,I would not send any coin to a third party I received from seller(Unless party is KNOWN to me). If coin is not what I bought,seller gets it back and refunds money.Seller can reship to proper buyer.Should I get my coin from whatever source,I'd message seller That I will repay(assuming Paypal credited already) . minus my cost for sending wrong coin back.I tend to follow the ebay/paypal rules,so I do not loose their buyer/seller protection. Others' may have some flexability. My work out fine whatever way.

fcloud · January 19, 2011 9:23AM

Hey. I did that once. I sent the wrong coin to two people. It was just a mixup on my part and made it right with both of them. It could be the case.

taxmad · January 19, 2011 9:32AM

Read any message in the refund. Make sure it doesn't say he is canceling the auction and you are returning the coin to him. Then you will be asked to show proof of the items return to the seller - which you won't have.

We could be reading more into this than there is, but just when you think nobody would do something like that - they do...

Alltheabove76 · January 19, 2011 9:40AM

Talk about overcomplicating and overanalyzing. Once you get the refund, you should ship the coin on. There is no reason to wait for the correct coin. You have your money back and there is no way he can retake it from you.

notwilight · January 19, 2011 10:06AM

1. There are no ebay scams except for their high fees and misleading business practices. You are asking if the seller is trying to scam you.

2. Assuming that both items are low priced, it is perfectly reasonable for the seller to refund your 100%. He is asking you to do him a favor and you have to pay to ship the item. Although buyers expect sellers to not charge for their time and trouble when shipping an item, sellers can't expect that from buyers.

3. This guy has 100% feedback and he didn't get that from taking mistakes for granted.

4. Given the facts that you have laid out, I would put the chances of a hijacked account at .01%. He'll have to give you the new shipping address etc.

5. I hope you'll tell the guy you understand that mistakes happen, you appreciate his generosity with the full refund, and you'll be glad to ship the coin to the rightful owner.

6. The only thing the seller should have done differently is asked each buyer if they minded sharing their address with another buyer. Some coin collectors are very private.

7. I really hate all the distrust and skepticism I see here. It doesn't speak well for the current state of things. But it is real, I know better than to try to convince you guys not to feel that way.

--Jerry

derryb · January 19, 2011 10:18AM

You're getting a full refund AND the correct coin you purchased?

Once you've got your money refunded you can't be scammed.

Make sure all communications are via ebay message system - ebay will be able to view them later if necessary.

The best way to maintain your protection and get the correct coin is to play by the ebay/paypal rules and file item not as described claim, have seller respond with explanation of mix up, return wrong coin (with del. confirmation), receive refund from buyer, case closed. When you start doing things differently than prescribed by those offering you protection you fall into the hads of a scammer. Not saying this is a scam, but the MO of a scammer is to get you to void your protection.

If you still want the correct coin have seller relist or if you trust him buy off ebay.

lordmarcovan · January 19, 2011 10:51AM

For what it's worth, I did that, once. Mixed up two coins and shipped them to the wrong people, that is.

It all worked out in the end.

I'm inclined to suggest you give this fella the benefit of the doubt, though of course take all suggested precautions you deem necessary.

Chances are, it's an honest screwup and not some elaborate scam.

Constantine · January 19, 2011 10:57AM

<< <i>For what it's worth, I did that, once. Mixed up two coins and shipped them to the wrong people, that is.

It all worked out in the end.

I'm inclined to suggest you give this fella the benefit of the doubt, though of course take all suggested precautions you deem necessary.

Chances are, it's an honest screwup and not some elaborate scam. >>

I agree with you and once on selling on eBay I did the same thing. I crossed the two items I was mailing out and so each person received the wrong item. Fortunately soon after mailing I remembered my mistake and I contacted both parties and asked if they did not mind sending the item to each other. In return I did not refund them the purchase price, but did send them immediately a bonus item for their trouble. The two parties switching is most efficient rather than both of you send the item back to the seller, who then sends it back to you. 4 shipping is condensed to 2. Also, I felt so bad for what I did, I was feeling very generous in my "bonus" items and it worked out for best. Both buyers were understanding people too.

SO point being, this does happen. Whether or not a scam, hey I don't know, but it sounds like this could be a straight mistake and a good seller doing right.

rlarick · January 19, 2011 3:17PM

THIS

<< <i>1. There are no ebay scams except for their high fees and misleading business practices. You are asking if the seller is trying to scam you.

2. Assuming that both items are low priced, it is perfectly reasonable for the seller to refund your 100%. He is asking you to do him a favor and you have to pay to ship the item. Although buyers expect sellers to not charge for their time and trouble when shipping an item, sellers can't expect that from buyers.

3. This guy has 100% feedback and he didn't get that from taking mistakes for granted.

4. Given the facts that you have laid out, I would put the chances of a hijacked account at .01%. He'll have to give you the new shipping address etc.

5. I hope you'll tell the guy you understand that mistakes happen, you appreciate his generosity with the full refund, and you'll be glad to ship the coin to the rightful owner.

6. The only thing the seller should have done differently is asked each buyer if they minded sharing their address with another buyer. Some coin collectors are very private.

7. I really hate all the distrust and skepticism I see here. It doesn't speak well for the current state of things. But it is real, I know better than to try to convince you guys not to feel that way.

--Jerry >>

GrumpyEd · January 19, 2011 3:36PM

Was the item fairly low priced so it's not worth too much more than shipping fees?
Did you get the wrong coin?
Did the message come from the seller in your ebay messages?

If the answer is yes-yes-yes then it's probably just a mistake and he wants to get it straight and move on.

ElyJ83 · January 19, 2011 10:06PM

The other buyers coin did come, however, I am still waiting for the refund; still pending. I used the Bill Me Later option to pay for it originally... is this why it is taking a long time? Or is it just going to refund to my bank ? I am starting to think this is just a honest mistake as the seller is not going to charge for the coin.. I just hope I get the coin I originally wanted as I feel it was a beauty

jmdm1194 · January 19, 2011 11:32PM

I have had a similar scenario happen to me and I am always very skeptical regarding any situation or story that I hear on eBay. However I did in fact received a wrong coin and the seller contacted me asking me to do the same thing in forwarding it to the other buyer who lived in Florida and he would do the same on my coin. I normally would not do anything like this but agreed after talking to the other buyer. Long story short, the other buyer actually purchased a whole bunch of other coins from me directly after talking to him and the transaction went smoothly. However, this story smells funny so be very careful!!

notwilight · January 19, 2011 11:36PM

<< <i>The other buyers coin did come, however, I am still waiting for the refund; still pending. I used the Bill Me Later option to pay for it originally... is this why it is taking a long time? Or is it just going to refund to my bank ? I am starting to think this is just a honest mistake as the seller is not going to charge for the coin.. I just hope I get the coin I originally wanted as I feel it was a beauty

>>

Bill me later may add a whole new meaning to the world "delay". They basically have to undo a loan. --Jerry

sinin1 · January 20, 2011 12:40AM

isn't Bill Me Later a charge account that gets paid once a month?

did you already pay the monthly bill? or was it still in your charge account? can you see what your current account balance due is?

you have nothing to send until item shows up -

did you get tracking data?

Possible Ebay Scam?

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