Are fruitcakes running rampant on eBay lately? Selling, buying, listing, feedback, etc...

[Tonka858]

3 hours ago, spener90 said:

I have had the same thing happen on my Forestmen Hideouts.

on marvel series 2 minifig sets I have had over 20 disputes. Thinking of sending a letter to a few of the people, To ask where they are buying these from, Every order is either 0 or 1 feedback , So I know it's being dropped shipped just need to find out where they are selling them. 

 

[Pseudoty]

1 hour ago, Tonka858 said:

on marvel series 2 minifig sets I have had over 20 disputes. Thinking of sending a letter to a few of the people, To ask where they are buying these from, Every order is either 0 or 1 feedback , So I know it's being dropped shipped just need to find out where they are selling them. 

 

My theory is the are selling them on Amazon FBM for bottom barrel prices and then using stolen CC to make the purchases on eBay with these recently aged fake accounts. The velocity on some sets was too high to be eBay drop shipping. I sold around 30 FFL up to $69 and around 80 Boulder Blasters for $60 both well above the going rate. I think the target specific listings and sellers with 1 day shipping. They started targeting some of my other sets but I just kept raising the price until I got above their threshold which seems to be $70.

[brickvoyeur]

16 minutes ago, Pseudoty said:

My theory is the are selling them on Amazon FBM for bottom barrel prices and then using stolen CC to make the purchases on eBay with these recently aged fake accounts. The velocity on some sets was too high to be eBay drop shipping. I sold around 30 FFL up to $69 and around 80 Boulder Blasters for $60 both well above the going rate. I think the target specific listings and sellers with 1 day shipping. They started targeting some of my other sets but I just kept raising the price until I got above their threshold which seems to be $70.

This is the only logical answer. Amazon is the only place to get that kind of quantity. This is likely one of the FBM sellers tanking listings.

Amazon gets a cut, Toycentric's new business model the scammer gets a cut, and eBay gets screwed. The only one that can put a stop to this would be Amazon, by reinstating gating practices. But they're getting their cut. So they'll continue to let new sellers get ungated, sell as many things as possible before they have enough defects due to items not shipping, then create a new account. 

End result is higher fees on eBay to recover losses, higher revenue for Amazon, higher fees for Amazon (just because), and a scammer getting 100% profit. 

[TheBrickClique]

On 2/8/2024 at 11:25 AM, brickvoyeur said:

This is the only logical answer. Amazon is the only place to get that kind of quantity. This is likely one of the FBM sellers tanking listings.

Amazon gets a cut, Toycentric's new business model the scammer gets a cut, and eBay gets screwed. The only one that can put a stop to this would be Amazon, by reinstating gating practices. But they're getting their cut. So they'll continue to let new sellers get ungated, sell as many things as possible before they have enough defects due to items not shipping, then create a new account. 

End result is higher fees on eBay to recover losses, higher revenue for Amazon, higher fees for Amazon (just because), and a scammer getting 100% profit. 

Ebay could implement multi-day holds on orders with address changes from accounts with little past activity.

I received a series of order cancellation notices yesterday -- 8 in 8 minutes for the same set.  These were orders that hadn't been flagged previously and had already been shipped and delivered (some two weeks ago).  At least, it seems, ebay is catching on.

I just wonder what this is going to look like on next year's 1099-K.  At least for now, if I go to Payments/Reports and generate an order report, these cancelled transactions are still showing up in the report (with a payout amount listed).  So, hopefully, I don't have to go back and reconcile differences in the accounting.

[Tonka858]

I can't imagine how much money ebay must be losing to this, I just got one today for Bonzi they bought in OCT, 

[MinifigW]

On 2/10/2024 at 6:57 PM, Tonka858 said:

I can't imagine how much money ebay must be losing to this, I just got one today for Bonzi they bought in OCT, 

That could just be the buyer trying to get a free set out of their credit card though. 

[locidm]

Question, this is my first time selling with eBay GSP global shipping. I paid for shipping when creating the shipping label. Then a week later PayPal charged another shipping charge and referenced the same tracking number (a lower $$ number than the initial one). Is this typical? What is the second charge for?

[keymomachine]

1 hour ago, locidm said:

Question, this is my first time selling with eBay GSP global shipping. I paid for shipping when creating the shipping label. Then a week later PayPal charged another shipping charge and referenced the same tracking number (a lower $$ number than the initial one). Is this typical? What is the second charge for?

That's weird. Granted it's been a while since I shipped something to GSP, but it was always just buy the eBay shipping to get the package to Kentucky and then you're done. The fees collected are a little higher but usually just the extra foreign credit card fee. Did you buy the shipping through eBay or PayPal?

[locidm]

That's weird. Granted it's been a while since I shipped something to GSP, but it was always just buy the eBay shipping to get the package to Kentucky and then you're done. The fees collected are a little higher but usually just the extra foreign credit card fee. Did you buy the shipping through eBay or PayPal?

Through EBay but paid with PayPal. I got an email from eBay after my post saying there is an update to my shipping label. They changed the weight from 6+ lbs to 18 lbs. I know the weight wasn’t off by 13 lbs! Not sure what’s going on.

[Pseudoty]

So it seems like these overseas “sellers” have shifted their grift now they are just using stolen CCs and drop shipping directly from Target. 90 units sold in under a month. 

[brickvoyeur]

5 minutes ago, Pseudoty said:

So it seems like these overseas “sellers” have shifted their grift now they are just using stolen CCs and drop shipping directly from Target. 90 units sold in under a month. 

Yea, this is the same play they've been doing for years. Buyers get a discount, thief gets 100% profit, and the actual retail vendor gets screwed.

They used to use Walmart a lot more, but since Walmart started dropping off direct from stores, there isn't tracking numbers. Most buyers just accept the product, but there is increased risk of damage/theft with grocery bags left on doorsteps, and some buyers were savvy enough to file item not received claims and steal from the scammers. It was a strategy shared on some unethical sites to get free things without going through the process to scam a store yourselves. It gives the deniability of saying "see, I bought this on eBay".

[Pseudoty]

I snagged a great price on the Bugatti new sealed or so I thought:

“I just went to wrap and mail the car and did not know my husband had opened the box and he and my grandson were going to build it and then realized it was too complicated to do with our 6 year old grandson. None of the bags have been opened and it is complete and I retyped the box. I sincerely apologize and he did not know I had the car listed. If you would like a refund I can do that or if you still want it I will take off $20 for you. Please accept my apology and just let me know. Thank you.”

[I Pitty da Foo]

So I had 2 orders last month that went into investigation after the buyer filed a payment dispute with the bank. Both times they paid ~20% over market value for the sets, and this evidence combined with the user name and feedback of each buyer made it smell like a scam to me. Of course ebay protects buyers which is great so I get to keep the money each time. 

Now I have 2 more orders this month that look like they could be the beginnings of a similiar operation based on the buyer's history. 

Is there anything I should be doing to stop this? Do I treat it at as we both get to eat on ebay's dime so who cares, or could I be pegged as an accomplice if I don't report it?

Edited May 28 by I Pitty da Foo

[TheBrickClique]

There's no point in reporting it.  Ebay makes you out to be the bad guy if you don't ship every order promptly to the buyer without question.  And any reporting will fall on deaf ears and will certainly not see a response before you get dinged for late shipping.

I have had an insane number of fraudulent orders since the beginning of the year.  Probably around 10%. 

Ebay is losing all of their FVF's from me because of their negligence to do anything about it -- the pattern of the scam is so obvious.

Definitely don't lose any sleep over it.

 

[Keyser Soze]

It really is absurd how often this is happening. And for two of the three I have had this month, ebay held my funds and made me respond to the complaints, then told me oh don't worry you have seller protection. The tracking info is right there. I wonder if high volume sellers are missing some of these holds and getting hosed.

[TheBrickClique]

On 5/28/2024 at 1:16 PM, Keyser Soze said:

It really is absurd how often this is happening. And for two of the three I have had this month, ebay held my funds and made me respond to the complaints, then told me oh don't worry you have seller protection. The tracking info is right there. I wonder if high volume sellers are missing some of these holds and getting hosed.

They have never held funds.  Always says I'm covered.  For reference, I have ~200 sales in the past 90 days.

I had an order cancelled by ebay today because they deleted the user's account -- same pattern as the rest.  They took 8 hours to cancel and it was already shipped by then.  They suggest you try to recall your package (good luck with that from my experience...), but since it is already shipped, ebay can eat the costs on it as well -- I've checked and they do still pay you in these circumstances.  Incidentally, the same set was sold yesterday to a different "user" on the same scam and they haven't done anything yet with that account.  I'll just keep marking up the set and sell them to whomever buys them until they find a cheaper supplier.

[brickvoyeur]

13 hours ago, TheBrickClique said:

They have never held funds.  Always says I'm covered.  For reference, I have ~200 sales in the past 90 days.

I had an order cancelled by ebay today because they deleted the user's account -- same pattern as the rest.  They took 8 hours to cancel and it was already shipped by then.  They suggest you try to recall your package (good luck with that from my experience...), but since it is already shipped, ebay can eat the costs on it as well -- I've checked and they do still pay you in these circumstances.  Incidentally, the same set was sold yesterday to a different "user" on the same scam and they haven't done anything yet with that account.  I'll just keep marking up the set and sell them to whomever buys them until they find a cheaper supplier.

Go with the infinite glitch. Print the label and wait your allotted handling time. When eBay notifies you the account has been compromised, ship the label on an empty package (or something worse to ruin the dropshippers feedback wherever they are selling them). I suggest printing some of the shock pictures from the early internet. Perhaps paste a picture of the set in the middle of Goatse's ass?

You're already being unethical, but hiding behind a technicality. Might as well go all in and still get paid, keep your set, and screw the dropshipper as well. As right now only eBay is being screwed, and you're knowingly helping someone else cheat the system. 

[TheBrickClique]

17 hours ago, brickvoyeur said:

Go with the infinite glitch. Print the label and wait your allotted handling time. When eBay notifies you the account has been compromised, ship the label on an empty package (or something worse to ruin the dropshippers feedback wherever they are selling them). I suggest printing some of the shock pictures from the early internet. Perhaps paste a picture of the set in the middle of Goatse's ass?

You're already being unethical, but hiding behind a technicality. Might as well go all in and still get paid, keep your set, and screw the dropshipper as well. As right now only eBay is being screwed, and you're knowingly helping someone else cheat the system. 

You are right. I’ve been selling on eBay for 25 years. They have made hundreds of thousands of dollars from my sales. With tens of thousands of happy customers. 
Yet, as a seller, I’m the one that eBay needs to protect the buyer from and has continuously stacked the odds against us. They don’t want sellers to question the transactions. Doing so puts your metrics in jeopardy.

They make a good chunk of money off fees. Part of that money should be making the platform secure. They could hire a fraud team that you could submit issues to. If they spend it elsewhere, that’s on them. 
When PayPal was collecting payments, they did a decent job of identifying fraudulent transactions. When eBay divested them and started their own payment gateway, they seem to have lost that technology.

But you’re right. I don’t care anymore. I’m not going to go out of my way to take advantage of these scams by mailing an empty box, but I’m going to fulfill my mission that eBay has dictated I do if I don’t want to end up in the penalty box.  I’ve called and spent dozens of hours over my selling career with eBay customer support only to get the runaround.  If that’s how they want to treat their money makers, then why waste my time any further? I’ll fulfill my obligations, follow their rules precisely, and let them deal with the consequences of the environment they’ve created. 
And don’t get me started on bogus FedEx charges on ebay shipping after the shipment has gone through claiming that you didn’t figure out the shipping costs correctly, that you owe more, that they’ll automatically deduct it, and you can’t even challenge it.  Or when you get multiple items on an order and eBay just assumes you can fit two items in the same size box you gave them for calculating shipping on one item — making you eat the shipping costs for their horrible algorithm.  Ya, not gonna get much sympathy here

Rant over.  I’ve gotta go yell at some kids to get off my lawn. 

[brickvoyeur]

4 hours ago, TheBrickClique said:

Ya, not gonna get much sympathy here

A long rant when I was actually  giving a suggestion  . The ethical line has already been crossed, so you might as well go all in. What the buyer going to do? Claim you sent nothing after already being banned lol, so you might as well screw them too. The 100% profit goes to you, versus the scam buyer.

The person who had their credit card stolen for the purchase has protection from the credit card company, you have "eBay protection". Let eBay and the scam buyer get screwed. 

[Pseudoty]

1 hour ago, brickvoyeur said:

What the buyer going to do?

Stop purchasing from you, that is the real ethical dilemma.

These scammers are using multiple eBay accounts and targeting specific listings. For some people this may make up 20% or more of their sales. You can bump your shipping out to 3 days or longer to give eBay more time to intervene but then you loose Top Rated Seller Plus. Other things you can do to help deter the scammers is not have listings with multiple quantity of the same item and don't sell anything under $75 as this seems to be the threshold for their CC scam. All of these things hurt your sales because eBay can't or does not want to stop this grift. 

[Captain_Obvious]

7 hours ago, TheBrickClique said:

selling on eBay for 25 years -- as a seller, I’m the one that eBay needs to protect the buyer from

It's hard to believe that 25 years ago, eBay started as a platform for selling Beanie Babies. I've been a seller since those early days, when building trust with buyers before PayPal existed was essential. Today, I still feel underpaid and underappreciated, constantly fearing the disproportionate influence that new buyers wield on the platform. Despite never losing a case and always managing to remove negative feedback, that fear persists.

[jaybinx73]

7 minutes ago, Captain_Obvious said:

It's hard to believe that 25 years ago, eBay started as a platform for selling Beanie Babies. I've been a seller since those early days, when building trust with buyers before PayPal existed was essential. Today, I still feel underpaid and underappreciated, constantly fearing the disproportionate influence that new buyers wield on the platform. Despite never losing a case and always managing to remove negative feedback, that fear persists.

oh man, ebay early days... I remember getting western union money orders, mailing them to the buyer and hoping they shipped my stuff.  Never sold anything in the early days, but buying was a little scary lol.

Who remembers when yahoo had an auction platform ?

[TheBrickClique]

3 hours ago, brickvoyeur said:

A long rant when I was actually  giving a suggestion  . The ethical line has already been crossed, so you might as well go all in. What the buyer going to do? Claim you sent nothing after already being banned lol, so you might as well screw them too. The 100% profit goes to you, versus the scam buyer.

The person who had their credit card stolen for the purchase has protection from the credit card company, you have "eBay protection". Let eBay and the scam buyer get screwed. 

Sorry about that. Your post was mistakenly received with judgmental overtones.  After re-reading, I see what you meant.  Apologies for the rant.

[lodibricks]

5 hours ago, brickvoyeur said:

A long rant when I was actually  giving a suggestion  . The ethical line has already been crossed, so you might as well go all in. What the buyer going to do? Claim you sent nothing after already being banned lol, so you might as well screw them too. The 100% profit goes to you, versus the scam buyer.

The person who had their credit card stolen for the purchase has protection from the credit card company, you have "eBay protection". Let eBay and the scam buyer get screwed. 

Just for clarification, who's crossing the ethical line? If we ship out a set like we're supposed to and then get a message that the order was cancelled for fraud, there's no unethical move on the seller's part. 😓 If you mean the buyer's side, or eBay's lack of care in prevention, I get that, but like @TheBrickClique, I'd just fulfill my duty and move on rather than add to the shadiness.

[KvHulk]

You send me money. I send you merchandise. It's not my job to police eBay or anyone else. That is their job.

I've had great success with scammers. It's fun when all the eBay messages come in 30-60 days later saying something like:
"Oh snap! We goofed. We are fools. But don't worry, keep the cash and keep on chugging on" <--Not verbatim =D


Why yes eBay, I will keep chugging on. Thank you.
 

Edited May 31 by KvHulk