Ebay infiltrated by scammers?

Discussion in Stores Reviews, Comments & Complaints started by Carlalexander • Aug 29, 2013.

  1. Carlalexander

    CarlalexanderMember

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    Have you noticed the slow rising number of scammers in eBay especially the sellers from China and Honk kong. When you complain that you haven't yet received you items, they will be all syrupy at first explaining to you that you give it a couple of extra days all this time waiting for the period that you can claim for a refund to elapse. What I would like to warn you guys is to stay away from such buyers and inform everyone else too :)
     
  2. vpresson

    vpressonWell-Known Member

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    I have notice this as well. I made a mistake one time buying from one of those china places and they messed me over I never got my stuff never got a refund or anything now I pay close attention and make sure where ever I order from has reviews and are in the united states
     
  3. ACSAPA

    ACSAPAWell-Known Member

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    I've ordered a few things from the Chinese eBay sellers but I check the feedback. I've seen some that have less than 90% feedback and I run the other way when I see that. Even with a couple of missteps, an eBay seller shouldn't have less than 90% feedback.
     
  4. UshaBecker

    UshaBeckerMember

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    What does that means? eBay is not safe anymore.
     
  5. Happyflowerlady

    HappyflowerladyWell-Known Member

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    I usually don't order from China either, but I have a friend whose daughter orders from China all the time and does ok with it. I have only ordered once or twice from China, and mine came through just fine, it just took around 3 weeks to arrive, but I expected it to be a slow delivery. I also looked at the rating, and it was high. I think maybe they are trying to do better, I have seen several of the sellers begging for you to contact them if there is an issue, rather than giving them a low rating, so hopefully they have seen their mistake and are working to correct it.
    Usually, I want what I am ordering to arrive at least reasonably soon, so I make sure I only look at US sales.
     
  6. JosieP

    JosiePWell-Known Member

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    I've ordered tons of stuff from China on Ebay. Of course, the quality is awful most times, but the stuff I get doesn't need to be amazing anyway. I've had one issue the whole time I've been on there and that was when I first started out I think. It does take tons of time to get to you, you have to expect it. And there will be a LOT of scammers.. even the ones that get the item to you, many are knock offs. I just don't buy from anyone below a certain feedback score and I believe the negative reviews. If the negative reviews are about picture discrepancies or long shipment wait, I ignore it. If it's mostly about dishonesty, I'll walk.
     
  7. Bolt

    BoltWell-Known Member

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    I have not noticed a rise in scammers on eBay and I use eBay very often. I suppose it depends on the type of products you are shopping for. Certain products will be associated with a higher proportion of scammers. I am always wary of accounts based in Hong Kong or China, though. I only deal with trusted companies and individuals.
     
  8. dissn_it

    dissn_itActive Member

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    It has been awhile since I have purchased anything off of eBay but have not had this happen to me. I always check the seller's rating, any negative comments, shipping costs and return policies before purchasing. I think that checking these things first has prevented a lot of problems for me. As the old saying goes "let the buyer beware".
     
  9. sidney

    sidneyWell-Known Member

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    I have ordered quite a few items from Chinese sellers, and they all arrived except for the ones that got stolen in our post office. There was a time that a parcel took 2 months to arrive to me, but I just messaged the seller, so in the end I got 2 items, because she resent it. Bottomline is just always check the seller's feedback and claim a dispute on the last available day before it expires just to be safe.
     
  10. Esperahol

    EsperaholActive Member

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    No, but then I'm not much for eBay. I can deal with say Amazon, but eBay is only a little better than Craigslist in some way to me. Of course, even if I were going to use the site I wouldn't generally trust accounts from India or China. I just stick with US, UK, and ... well no that's it.
     
  11. Tribie

    TribieMember

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    eBay should screen those selling there very well. The scammers will destroy their reputation. I hope they can figure out how to do this. I think if sellers that people complain about because their stuff don't arrive should be banned from selling.
     
  12. sidney

    sidneyWell-Known Member

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    I think that Ebay also takes action against deceptive sellers, but the problem is that these sellers can easily just make another account to scam more people. So to be safe, just buy from sellers that have satisfactory feedback. I'm not afraid to buy from Chinese sellers because I know I chose the honest ones, even if they sell fake merchandise, lol.
     
  13. Carlalexander

    CarlalexanderMember

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    It is safe, but you should be careful as there are some guys who are out to take advantage of people, they would tell you things like please be patient, please wait, free shipping takes time to arrive and before you know it, you can no longer make a claim after you open a case and your money goes like that. So I would say that when 30 days have gone by, just open up a case and have your cash refunded. That's all.
     
  14. Carlalexander

    CarlalexanderMember

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    That's true, and I didn't want it to come out as though all Chinese sellers are bad, matter of fact some are really proffessional and good at what they do, but there is some select few who are out to take advantage of unsuspecting customers.
     
  15. wulfman

    wulfmanActive Member

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    Doesn't Ebay and PayPal have an agreement in place to protect the buyer of the item? That is why PayPal makes it fairly easy for customers to claim their money back after making a purchase through a merchant, especially Ebay.
     
  16. wulfman

    wulfmanActive Member

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    Yep the feed back score is very important. I do not believe that can be driven up through any sort of loop hole or trickery. Not only with Ebay but on Amazon or even when I buy items on purse.io (virtual currency exchange) I always look at the merchant's feedback rating.
     
  17. Lushlala

    LushlalaWell-Known Member

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    You couldn't pay me enough money to buy anything from the Far East, especially China. I got scammed a few years ago by a clothing site, and learnt a very good lesson. I ordered a stack of gorgeous clothes from what seemed to be a high end website. On receipt of my order, to say I was LIVID would be an understatement. That pile of rubbish I received does not qualify as clothes. It was bits of material with cotton hanging off them, unfinished hems, very shoddy stitching etc; NOTHING whatsoever like what was advertised to me. I mean, it was beyond a joke. I was hysterical, going from laughing uncontrollably to sobbing. Once I collected myself, I looked up reviews (yea, I know; should've done that before stupid me!) of the online store, the internet was teeming with NEGATIVE reviews from very unhappy customers, mainly from America. The company point blank refused to address my complaint. I'm very cautious not to get scammed again, and have since found out that sometimes those lofty Ebay ratings may even be cooked up....you've been warned!!!
     
  18. MrsJones

    MrsJonesActive Member

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    You are correct with the Ebay policy the Buyer Protection Policy but you still have to file a complaint within a certain time period or you may lose out on your compensation/refund.
     
  19. Denis Hard

    Denis HardWell-Known Member

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    There are scammers everywhere not just on Ebay. Anytime you shop online, you must take the appropriate precautions because it's easy to get scammed. When I'm shopping on Ebay I never buy from Chinese sellers [there's something about the quality of Chinese products that makes me avoid them] but that doesn't mean in any way intimate that many of them are scammers. To be safe I always buy only from sellers recommended to me by friends who've done business with them in the past.
     
  20. Theo

    TheoWell-Known Member

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    That's why ebay ratings are so important. One bad rating can ruin their business and when they get them, they do try to get people to retract them. There are scammers everywhere which is why PayPal does help with some protection. I always ask lots of questions and check the profiles of the other reviewers and get suspicious of people doing multiple listings of the same item.