The Official E-Bay Scalping Thread

Reality's Fringe;2392999]Keep the email and offer it to Paypal as proof. Under the Paypal TOS said:
Can paypal prosecute me if I deduct the amount from my account??? Good freaking idea.

EDIT: wouldn't this also look semi-fraudalent?
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[quote name='tayaf69']Can paypal prosecute me if I deduct the amount from my account??? Good freaking idea.[/QUOTE]

No, but I think your account will go inactive if you don't have the funds to cover. So you'd have to wait until it is resolved before selling again. Probably worth it in this case though ;). But it probably won't take that long (120 days). I had a chargeback once and it was resolved within a week once I submitted the DC number. Of course, that was for a much smaller amount.
 
[quote name='tayaf69']Can paypal prosecute me if I deduct the amount from my account??? Good freaking idea.[/QUOTE]

Not sure. I know the Paypal isn't supposed to dip into your checking account for money, but they've been known to do it. Usually, what they do for a chrageback is freeze your Paypal account while you try to dispute it. If they find in favor of the buyer, they'll add a negative balance to your account which, if not paid, will be sent to a collections agency. I withdrew mine to make sure that, if there is a chargeback, they wouldn't just steal it back since I did everything to Paypal's seller protection standard. I sent overnight with $2000 in insurance, sig confirmation, and return receipt, so his chargeback would HAVE to be fradulent in this case.

I'm sick of all these whiny buyers. It's their fault for not waiting. It's like buying a $50 game and then getting pissy because you missed the obvious price drop that was going to happen within a few days.
 
[quote name='tayaf69']
Paypal said that if the buyer charges back his card, they will deduct the amount from my account and will hold it during the process. It may take up to 120 days!!!!!!!!!!! WTF!!!! Paypal sucks.[/QUOTE]

Yep.. he'll go straight to his credit card company and you're going to get screwed.

If your account is empty Paypal will just freeze the account and ANY money that goes into the account will automatically be used to pay off your tab.

Plus, all the guy has to say is that the system is defective and he wants his money back... he can send you back the system and his CC company will side with him. Then you're stuck with an open PS3 (since he'll open it before he sends it back) and be screwed six ways to Sunday.

It looks fradualent but nobody cares. I've had buyers get a game, tell me it dosen't work, do a chargeback and send me the game back and it's not even the same copy I sent out... one guy sent me back his scratched up f'ed up version of the game.
 
Well, what if the buyer refuses delivery... the items will be sent back to you. (Or has he already signed for them). You might consider asking for some money for your troubles ($ for expenses, shipping, handling, insurance and a little extra) but I don't know if that would hurt your case if he plays hard ball.
 
I am waiting for an eCheck to clear. I don't think you can do a charge back on that, can you? So once it clears it's mine, right?
 
[quote name='javeryh']I am waiting for an eCheck to clear. I don't think you can do a charge back on that, can you? So once it clears it's mine, right?[/QUOTE]

eCheck goes through a bank account... he can try to charge back through Paypal and yea, I think they can do a chargeback from their bank too.
 
Reality's Fringe;2393080 said:
Not sure. I know the Paypal isn't supposed to dip into your checking account for money, but they've been known to do it. Usually, what they do for a chrageback is freeze your Paypal account while you try to dispute it. If they find in favor of the buyer, they'll add a negative balance to your account which, if not paid, will be sent to a collections agency. I withdrew mine to make sure that, if there is a chargeback, they wouldn't just steal it back since I did everything to Paypal's seller protection standard. I sent overnight with $2000 in insurance, sig confirmation, and return receipt, so his chargeback would HAVE to be fradulent in this case.

I'm sick of all these whiny buyers. It's their fault for not waiting. It's like buying a $50 game and then getting pissy because you missed the obvious price drop that was going to happen within a few days.
Click to expand...
I sent 3-day (should have done overnight) with ADULT-sig required and $4000.00 insurance and I filmed myself packaging the units. If that doesn't save me I don't know what will.

I thought paypal dipped into the checking account if no funds are in it. They do this monthly when ebay sends invoices over to them for my payments. Maybe I need to disable the checking account from paypal?
 
[quote name='Roufuss']eCheck goes through a bank account... he can try to charge back through Paypal and yea, I think they can do a chargeback from their bank too.[/QUOTE]
these chargebacks shouldn't even be allowed. This seems like it borders on not only an unethical standard, but an illegal one as well. This pretty much opens up any buyer's option to screw over sellers at all times. So us sellers aren't protected even if we believe we are. I just want to get rid of my PS3s and only deal with half.com.
 
Roufuss brings up a good point - the whole "defective" angle. That's pretty much the only way he can screw you over though. He can't say he didn't get it, and he can't win a chargeback just by doing it (without at least sending it back). And the only way he can send it back is if it wasn't what he bought or defective.
 
[quote name='tayaf69']I sent 3-day (should have done overnight) with ADULT-sig required and $4000.00 insurance and I filmed myself packaging the units. If that doesn't save me I don't know what will.

I thought paypal dipped into the checking account if no funds are in it. They do this monthly when ebay sends invoices over to them for my payments. Maybe I need to disable the checking account from paypal?[/QUOTE]

All that is proving is the guy received the units... that dosen't help you if he claims there are defective. Insurance just covers you if the USPS beat the crap out of the box and it can be blamed on them, but if he's like "Oh I hooked the PS3 up to the TV and it's not working right I want a refund" none of that stuff is going to help you.

Paypal will most likely side with him if he pulls up the defective angle, which means he will open both boxes before sending them back, which means you are doubly screwed.

And as it was mentioned before, if he charges back through his CC Paypal will try to get it from you and after awhile it goes through collections... it's not worth a hit to your credit rating. Honestly, if you still have the money I'd just refund him and see if you can do a "Mutually agree not to sell" form so you AT LEAST get your final value fees back.

You're fighting a war which is going to be hard to win and if you lose... well... you don't want to lose.
 
[quote name='Roufuss']All that is proving is the guy received the units... that dosen't help you if he claims there are defective. Insurance just covers you if the USPS beat the crap out of the box and it can be blamed on them, but if he's like "Oh I hooked the PS3 up to the TV and it's not working right I want a refund" none of that stuff is going to help you.

Paypal will most likely side with him if he pulls up the defective angle, which means he will open both boxes before sending them back, which means you are doubly screwed.

And as it was mentioned before, if he charges back through his CC Paypal will try to get it from you and after awhile it goes through collections... it's not worth a hit to your credit rating. Honestly, if you still have the money I'd just refund him and see if you can do a "Mutually agree not to sell" form so you AT LEAST get your final value fees back.

You're fighting a war which is going to be hard to win and if you lose... well... you don't want to lose.[/QUOTE]

Ok, so the defective thing does worry me (it's been my main concern), BUT isn't this the same as someone buying one from Gamestop and trying to take it back? Gamestop won't take it back and will send you directly to Sony. I don't think you can do a chargeback on them can you? Couldn't I just send him to sony since he has a warrenty with them? I figured the warrenty would cover me.

EDIT: I was always under the assumption that this involved used products but not new

ONE MORE EDIT: lastly, he already emailed me twice stating that he had to "Pay off a loan and need money back asap" so wouldn't that be fishy if he claims the item didn't work? He already told me he would send them back to me, so opening the product to claim it is broke would have to seem suspicious. Too many technicalities! :cry:
 
[quote name='tayaf69']Ok, so the defective thing does worry me (it's been my main concern), BUT isn't this the same as someone buying one from Gamestop and trying to take it back? Gamestop won't take it back and will send you directly to Sony. I don't think you can do a chargeback on them can you? Couldn't I just send him to sony since he has a warrenty with them? I figured the warrenty would cover me.[/QUOTE]

Unfortunately it's the sellers responsibilty to make sure the item works, which is what Paypal / Ebay / whoever will say. You can't make sure it works without opening it but that's the risk you have to take.

I mean, someone can buy a sealed game from me, they opened it up and for some reason it dosen't work, if I just said "too bad, take it up with the publisher, it was brand new!" I'm going to probably lose the chargeback.

It's getting into alot of grey area stuff. And Gamestop would exchange the unit if it was broken if they had any other ones... not sure what they would do if they didn't, espically if it was within a certain time period.

Regardless, they are going to hold you responsible.

And yea, it involves new products, things can be defective out of the box... look how many Wii's didn't work right for people.

I'm just saying, if I was you, just refund the guy, try to get back your final value fees, because it's not worth fighting this over and potentially getting very screwed.
 
I offered him a $1200 refund for current market costs (which is generous I guess) so I'm hoping he takes it. I really don't want to deal with it.

I spent $100+ on shipping the item with insurance, my listing fee was $25.00, and my final paypal/ebay fees were $200.00. If he were to demand a refund, I would at least want most of that back since it was all because of him. I know about the mutual payment system, as well, but that wouldn't cut down on shipping costs.
 
None of this is making any sense. It seems to me like from what people are saying, the buyer has ALL of the power and the seller has none. What about including language stating "this item is sold "as is" and unopened from the manufacturer - any defects or problems should be taken up directly with Sony." There's no way Paypal could argue that a chargeback is the right thing to do in that situation.
 
[quote name='javeryh']None of this is making any sense. It seems to me like from what people are saying, the buyer has ALL of the power and the seller has none. What about including language stating "this item is sold "as is" and unopened from the manufacturer - any defects or problems should be taken up directly with Sony." There's no way Paypal could argue that a chargeback is the right thing to do in that situation.[/QUOTE]
I included that in my auction under the payments sections, actually exactly like you stated it "any defects should be sent to sony. Do not contact me." Still, after talking to Paypal for one hour on the phone and to an ebay chat rep for 30 minutes, I feel that the seller has no power in any situation on ebay/paypal. It's disgusting.

EDIT: Im sorry if it seems I am taking up this thread for my own vendeta, but I guess it's good to discuss the problems I am having. The insight on the situation is helpful and talking about it relieves the stress it puts on me. I guess I'm just worried if I give him a refund (which seems like I will have to do if he opens the boxes!!) then I won't be able to make a penny on the systems, since they are selling for virtually nothing now. Lessons learned.
 
This is the reason I am glad I did not try these quick cash schemes. With all the horror stories about Ebay and Paypal.. Money Order is the way to go :) if your gonna do it. Kinda late though.
 
[quote name='spamfree2']This is the reason I am glad I did not try these quick cash schemes. With all the horror stories about Ebay and Paypal.. Money Order is the way to go :) if your gonna do it. Kinda late though.[/QUOTE]
I've had horror stories with money orders that by far outweight paypal/ebay problems. Western Union anyone?
 
[quote name='javeryh']None of this is making any sense. It seems to me like from what people are saying, the buyer has ALL of the power and the seller has none. What about including language stating "this item is sold "as is" and unopened from the manufacturer - any defects or problems should be taken up directly with Sony." There's no way Paypal could argue that a chargeback is the right thing to do in that situation.[/QUOTE]

Dosen't matter. I've seen people write stuff like that before and still lose Paypal disputes.

And yes, the buyer does have most of the power after the product is already in his hands.

Paypal does an awesome job of covering you against people who lie and say they never got what you sent, but against defective merchandise? Not so much.

And now people found that you can just circumvent Paypal altogether by charging back through your credit card.
 
[quote name='io']Is this the guy who was hoping to resell them before Christmas for even more? I remember someone posting about selling one for $2000 to a buyer who said that. Not that it makes much difference, but I say tough luck to the buyer in this case (but especially if he hoped to resell for profit later ;)).. I think if you sent to a confirmed address you are OK. He has acknowledged receipt, right? I guess PayPal can do whatever they please, but it seems to me you are covered under their Seller protection plan. If they plan to weasel out of that then who knows. Maybe they are just being cautious with you on the phone - though it would be a whole lot more reassuring if they guaranteed your safety (assuming you followed all the rules for it - but that could be it, they don't want to say you are covered 100% in case there is something you didn't do right).[/QUOTE]

Nope, that guy hasn't tried to contact me or anything, so here's to hoping everything works out.
 
I just sold a 20 GB PS3 for 800.00 before shipping. Wow, I didn't think I would be this desperate. 2 days ago I was thinking I would make 2000 on it easy. :cry:
 
[quote name='tayaf69']I've had horror stories with money orders that by far outweight paypal/ebay problems. Western Union anyone?[/quote]
I doubt the problem with money order outweighs the paypal scams.. If you afraid of being scammed ... Make them send a Postal Money Order..
 
[quote name='spamfree2']I doubt the problem with money order outweighs the paypal scams.. If you afraid of being scammed ... Make them send a Postal Money Order..[/QUOTE]
ya money orders are usually good but I got scammed once with a western union that bounced after a week. I never thought they could do that and always thought it was guaranteed money.
 
[quote name='Psykoboy2']How do these systems get missed?

I so wanna win one for like a dollar.[/QUOTE]

They're not. People are freaking out because they realize they aren't going to get the $3000 they thought they would for them. They're taking them down and hoping somehow the market shoots back up to those levels. Good luck for them!
 
Death to all scalpers IMO. I think everyone who is scalping is doing a very bad things and should be ashamed to call themselves a gamer. I know tons of people who want a PS3, in the G.A.P., but couldn't get one because of stupid scalpers. If I bought a PS3, it would be to keeps.
 
I bought a orginal ebox on ebay once, said to be working, and it dident even have the internal power supply.... i was never able to get my money back.
 
[quote name='The Mana Knight']Death to all scalpers IMO. I think everyone who is scalping is doing a very bad things and should be ashamed to call themselves a gamer. I know tons of people who want a PS3, in the G.A.P., but couldn't get one because of stupid scalpers. If I bought a PS3, it would be to keeps.[/QUOTE]

Who deserves it more? The person who wants to pay $2000 for it, or the person who only wants to pay $600 for it?
 
Ok I'll add my paypal/ebay horror story to the mix.

I already posted about the guy in NYC who tried to scam me. Of course I relisted it. I got a legitimate buyer with a confirmed address this time ($1,200 for a 60GB, guess I can't complain). I have sent it with all the bells and whistles, she should get it Wednesday. I am covered under the seller protection program and I got a return receipt that I can provide for signature confirmation.

I tried to take the $1,200 out of my paypal account today. Paypal flagged me, even though I have over 100 feedback with 100% positive. First I had to add a credit card to my account. Then I had to verify my home phone number. I don't have a home phone number, and they won't let me use my cell phone as my home phone number, so I have to wait for them to send me a form in the mail that I will fill out to verify my home address. Then I had to fill out a form telling them what sort of business I run (I don't own a business). Next I have to provide them with proof of shipping. I also have FAX them a list of my SUPPLIERS! They want my fuckING SUPPLIERS? I don't have a fax machine, so I wrote them a nasty letter saying my suppliers are Toys R Us, Best Buy, Circuit City, and Gamestop (with local numbers). I then had to drive over to my sisters house so I could fax it.


It won't be cleared up til next week, after I get that form in the mail. So much for using that money to fix my car, which is in the shop. I love how Paypal treats the sellers like criminals, while my problem with the NYC scammer ended up losing me money in listing fees (over $30). fuck Ebay.
 
[quote name='io']Is this the guy who was hoping to resell them before Christmas for even more? I remember someone posting about selling one for $2000 to a buyer who said that. Not that it makes much difference, but I say tough luck to the buyer in this case (but especially if he hoped to resell for profit later ;)).. I think if you sent to a confirmed address you are OK. He has acknowledged receipt, right? I guess PayPal can do whatever they please, but it seems to me you are covered under their Seller protection plan. If they plan to weasel out of that then who knows. Maybe they are just being cautious with you on the phone - though it would be a whole lot more reassuring if they guaranteed your safety (assuming you followed all the rules for it - but that could be it, they don't want to say you are covered 100% in case there is something you didn't do right).[/QUOTE]

The recipient has already listed two PS3s on ebay, look under "items sold by this seller"
 
[quote name='Lou-Dawg']Ok I'll add my paypal/ebay horror story to the mix.

I already posted about the guy in NYC who tried to scam me. Of course I relisted it. I got a legitimate buyer with a confirmed address this time ($1,200 for a 60GB, guess I can't complain). I have sent it with all the bells and whistles, she should get it Wednesday. I am covered under the seller protection program and I got a return receipt that I can provide for signature confirmation.

I tried to take the $1,200 out of my paypal account today. Paypal flagged me, even though I have over 100 feedback with 100% positive. First I had to add a credit card to my account. Then I had to verify my home phone number. I don't have a home phone number, and they won't let me use my cell phone as my home phone number, so I have to wait for them to send me a form in the mail that I will fill out to verify my home address. Then I had to fill out a form telling them what sort of business I run (I don't own a business). Next I have to provide them with proof of shipping. I also have FAX them a list of my SUPPLIERS! They want my fuckING SUPPLIERS? I don't have a fax machine, so I wrote them a nasty letter saying my suppliers are Toys R Us, Best Buy, Circuit City, and Gamestop (with local numbers). I then had to drive over to my sisters house so I could fax it.


It won't be cleared up til next week, after I get that form in the mail. So much for using that money to fix my car, which is in the shop. I love how Paypal treats the sellers like criminals, while my problem with the NYC scammer ended up losing me money in listing fees (over $30). fuck Ebay.[/quote]
Wow. After reading that I just pray I have an honest buyer.
 
I got a question. When you list the item there is a section that you can check or uncheck that says "returns accepted". You shouldn't have to accept a return if you don't specify that you do take returns. Also on the defective issue- Did you give the buyers the receipt? That will prove that their system was bought when it was bought for warranty purposes so they should have to go through the manufacturer. Ebay should be more like a garage sale where if you bought it and you don't like it then tough shit and not like Wal-mart where you can open it, play it, and then bring it back with the receipt and say it sucks and get your money back.
 
so i have a question:

i sold my ps3 for $2550 to this woman who's apparently a nurse somewhere...and she's gotten like 100% feedback...and she kept saying she was going to pay me and TODAY she e-mails me and tells me someone bought her kids a ps3 for xmas and she won't be needing mine anymore?! so she told me to relist it and that she was sorry and thanks for my time and understanding.

i simply (and somewhat angrily) replied "Look woman, you bid on my item, you won it, you TOLD ME you would pay it, and it don't matter if someone bought your kids a ps3, you still bought MINE...so please pay me so i don't have to pay a mountain of ebay fees and relisting my ps3 wouldn't get me much profit...thanks for YOUR time and understanding!"

my mom is already telling me to threaten her with an attorney...tho i don't know ebay's policies about that at all...does anyone else?
 
[quote name='animemaniac14']so i have a question:

i sold my ps3 for $2550 to this woman who's apparently a nurse somewhere...and she's gotten like 100% feedback...and she kept saying she was going to pay me and TODAY she e-mails me and tells me someone bought her kids a ps3 for xmas and she won't be needing mine anymore?! so she told me to relist it and that she was sorry and thanks for my time and understanding.

i simply (and somewhat angrily) replied "Look woman, you bid on my item, you won it, you TOLD ME you would pay it, and it don't matter if someone bought your kids a ps3, you still bought MINE...so please pay me so i don't have to pay a mountain of ebay fees and relisting my ps3 wouldn't get me much profit...thanks for YOUR time and understanding!"

my mom is already telling me to threaten her with an attorney...tho i don't know ebay's policies about that at all...does anyone else?[/QUOTE]

sounds like she found it for a cheaper price. You can report it to ebay, but I think that's it. I've seen non-paying bidders all the time.
 
[quote name='animemaniac14']so i have a question:

i sold my ps3 for $2550 to this woman who's apparently a nurse somewhere...and she's gotten like 100% feedback...and she kept saying she was going to pay me and TODAY she e-mails me and tells me someone bought her kids a ps3 for xmas and she won't be needing mine anymore?! so she told me to relist it and that she was sorry and thanks for my time and understanding.

i simply (and somewhat angrily) replied "Look woman, you bid on my item, you won it, you TOLD ME you would pay it, and it don't matter if someone bought your kids a ps3, you still bought MINE...so please pay me so i don't have to pay a mountain of ebay fees and relisting my ps3 wouldn't get me much profit...thanks for YOUR time and understanding!"

my mom is already telling me to threaten her with an attorney...tho i don't know ebay's policies about that at all...does anyone else?[/quote]

This is why I elected to use "immediate payment required".
Sorry man, but you're out of luck. All you can do is give her some bad feedback....
 
[quote name='dallow']This is why I elected to use "immediate payment required".[/quote]
That's only available for BIN auctions, right?
 
[quote name='eau']That's only available for BIN auctions, right?[/quote]

Yes, I didn't want to do a traditional auction for fear of fake bidders.
And by the looks of how it all went down, I'm so glad for doing so.
 
[quote name='dallow']Yes, I didn't want to do a traditional auction for fear of fake bidders.
And by the looks of how it all went down, I'm so glad for doing so.[/quote]

Yes me too. I did a BIN w/ immediate payment required. Thank goodness.

To the guy whose bidder is backing out. She's not going to pay you...there is not a lot you can do. In seven days you can file a non-paying bidder form and you get back your Final Value Fee. If you spent any money promoting it (like those packages that make your item bold, purple, etc.), Ebay keeps that money for themselves. You can relist and you get an insertion fee credit if your new auction sells.

Also, forget suing her. The only thing she may be guilty of is breach of contract, and only if courts decide that an ebay bid is a legally binding contract.
 
So what's the consensus on people that still have PS3's? Are there going to more shipments? I know Sony said they want to sell 1,000,000 by X-Mas but it doesn't look like it's going to happen.
 
No they are saying 400,000 total by the end of the year. As in another 200,000 (because Sony cut launch numbers down to around 200,000). That means supply should get lower over the next few weeks while I'm pretty sure demand should only go down slightly (I'm sure theres at least a couple million people who want it...).
 
It all depends if demand goes down faster than supply. If only 200,000 more units are shipped and a million more people decide they want one (all the parents and kids mostly at this point I would guess), the prices will shoot up. If people decide they don't need one because they can't afford it, then yeah prices would go down.
 
[quote name='DrFoo']No they are saying 400,000 total by the end of the year. As in another 200,000 (because Sony cut launch numbers down to around 200,000). That means supply should get lower over the next few weeks while I'm pretty sure demand should only go down slightly (I'm sure theres at least a couple million people who want it...).[/quote]
Yeah... getting another 800,000 units out seems difficult considering the first batch of systems were pretty much fresh out of the factory.. so what do you guys think is the best time to sell it? First week of December? Second?
 
[quote name='PhrostByte']Yeah... getting another 800,000 units out seems difficult considering the first batch of systems were pretty much fresh out of the factory.. so what do you guys think is the best time to sell it? First week of December? Second?[/QUOTE]


Yeah somewhere around there should be the best time. I have a 20gb I'm waiting to sell. I'm just going to wait for the prices to reach a point I'm happy with and sell it as a 1 day auction... just have to hope they actually do go up.
 
ya since my frikin buyer dropped out on me at $2550...im going to be screwed with ebay fees (btw is there any way to get out of those? especially if the buyer didn't pay?) and i NEED to get about that much...anyone think that demand will go that high?
 
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