eBay buyer fraud - automated system scam

As many of us sell a few bits on eBay I thought I'd share what just happened to me, pretty shocking!

I sold a piece of camera equipment for £300 + £10 postage and the buyer paid. A couple of days later the buyer set up a return for no good reason even though I specified no returns. I rejected the return as the item was in perfect condition and description accurate. eBay then said they'd sided in favour of the buyer and the return would go through. I expected to receive the item back but it never arrived so I assumed the buyer had changed their mind.

A couple of days ago I received a message from eBay saying that the buyer had applied for a refund and that they'd removed £310 from my account to reimburse him. 

After eventually finding out how to speak to a customer services representative (a callback button at the bottom of the help page) I informed them of what had happened. The representative instantly recognised that the buyer knew how to manipulate the automated system and that I'd receive all of the money back and the buyer would most likely have their account suspended. 

The upshot is that if a buyer knows how to manipulate the automated system on eBay, you could end up sending them a valuable item and losing your money as the system is biased in favour of the buyer. 

Have you actually got your £ back?

Ebay is getting to be utter rubbish. I pointed out a while back that the classic car sales are flooded with scams that any decent automated system should be able to stop before they are listed (same photos used, stupid starting prices like £173.57, only decription is 'phone this number' etc)

Other platforms like FB Market Place are eating them alive.

Early-1800 said

Have you actually got your £ back?

Ebay is getting to be utter rubbish. I pointed out a while back that the classic car sales are flooded with scams that any decent automated system should be able to stop before they are listed (same photos used, stupid starting prices like £173.57, only decription is 'phone this number' etc)

Other platforms like FB Market Place are eating them alive.

 Yes thankfully money back in full. I know what you're saying re eBay but I do like the way it's setup as an intermediary between the two parties - when it works it's great.  I only ever sell when the £1 max fees come up so don't worry about the cost either. FB marketplace can be good but also a little scuzzy too and I prefer sending stuff rather than random people turning up at the house.  

My experience was about 90% of sales go thru fine, the other 10% you'll get some kind of messer or scammer. The only time I've been scammed is when I was selling Mk1 parts……

Doesn't apply to me as I have a standard account but I found out recently too that if you have a business account with them you won't receive the funds for a collection item unless you've scanned the QR code sent to the buyer from eBay. This means that if you forget to scan it the buyer can walk off with the goods and then deny collecting them. 

Chap I used to work with lost about £2k selling a TAG Smart watch (why you would sell that over ebay I have no idea).

Ebay customer service is very helpfull dispite all
slagging they get