I haven’t sold very many things on Ebay. I run a DJ company and had a brand new Pioneer DJ CD player that sells for over $1000 that I wanted to sell on Ebay. I went through the process of selling it and the winning bidder (who had very low feedback) payed me very quickly via paypal. The address the person gave me was for her son in Nigeria. Yes, I know Nigeria I should have known, but I was naive and trusted this person. Plus, I had seen on the Paypal website that they have up to $1000 – $2000 of seller protection. So I figured if it was a scam, then I was covered.So I received the money and went ahead and deposited it into my checking account via Paypal direct deposit. Then all of sudden after I shipped it the buyer filed a claim against me saying that I didn’t ship it…
I was contacted by Paypal and provided documentation of me shipping it to the address that she gave to me. They told me that since it wasn’t a Paypal verified address that I was out of luck and out of my $1100 that I sold it for. I tried calling the USPS and stopping the shipment, but it was gone already. So I was out of luck.
After a month or two of fighting with Paypal and not wanting to pay them they sent my claim to a collection agency. So I kind of had to pay it at that time or my credit would have been tainted. I ended up paying the $1100 and change to the collection agency via my credit card. I figured that my next line of defense was my credit card company. So after I paid on my credit card I contacted my credit card company and explained to them what happened. They sent me some forms to fill out and I sent them all the proof that I had that I had gotten scammed. They sent me information back saying that they talked to the collection agency and they couldn’t help me with my claim.
So now I’m out the $1100 which I could really use and I don’t really know where else to turn. I know I made a bad judgment call by shipping to Nigeria, but at the same time I would have never done that if I knew I didn’t have any type of protection from Paypal or my credit card company.
If you have any ideas as to how I can get this money back could you please help?
- Evan
Sorry Evan, you’re screwed. Paypal seller protection only works when selling to a verified address. Whenever we sell, we only sell to US, Canada, and UK, require paypal, and make it known that we will only ship to a verified address. Only then will you qualify for seller protection, and for big ticket items like yours, you need to require signature confirmation as well. Consider it a hard lesson learrned, pay your bill, and move on. Next time, a good rule of thumb is, if it involves Nigeria, it’s probably a scam. Those advance fee scams filling your email where you deposit $40,000 in gold bullion and send the princess the difference ? That’s also called the “Nigerian 419 Scam.” Nigeria = Scamopolia. Stay away. — BEN POPKEN
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Instead of just looking at the score, check the feedback history and the items they’ve been purchasing. Many scammers boost their feedback by purchasing $0.01 e-books from different sellers.
@reykjavik: Nigeria won the gold medal in soccer at the Olympics a few years back
I was scammed by someone like this but they we’re located in Washington, not Nigeria. Basically I sold them two $500 gift cards and they filed a CC chargeback after they received them. I already deposited the money into my checking account and used the $1000 for something else. Since I never kept money in my Paypal account, I had a -$1000 balance with Paypal threatening me to deposit the money. Here’s waht I did, cancelled every credit card and ATM card I’ve ever used on Paypal. Cancelled my bank account and opened a new one. Why did I do this? Because, 1. They would’ve automatically debited a credit card or my bank account for the $1000, 2. when you owe the money (negative balance) they don’t allow you to remove CC’s or bank accounts. It reallly doesn’t matter anyway because when you think you’re deleting a CC number from the site, they DO keep it on file in their servers. Back to the scammer in Washington, thankfully I still had the receipts for the gift cards and I called up the (won’t mention) company and they cancelled them before they could be used and reissued me new ones. So, I got back the $1000 worth of gift cards, plus I kept the $1000 I got from the supposed fraudlent seller which thankfully Paypal ate. Paypal never bothered me again, and I never logged back on to that site of thieves.
@drawp:
Did they ask the Olympic committee to send them 2 gold medals and they would return one?
@jesse in japan – it wouldn’t surprise me at all if that were indeed the case, but we would likely have heard about it through other channels if it did.
Regarding cross border – Canada Post is evil. Customs is double-plus evil. The combination of the two means frustration for all. You’re far better doing research and finding out that certain things are already duty exempt (ie photographic equipment) or that if the value is less than $20, that’s usually exempt as well.
Failing that, if you’re anywhere near the US border, simply go down and get a PO Box down there. (or, failing that, have a friend or relative act as a recipient.) That way you’re not giving a seller any grief, and you can declare it as you wish. Your shipping costs will likely be way less, as well. (Most times a border guard won’t bother if you tell them you bought anything less than $100 worth of stuff.)
always, ALWAYS ship to a PayPal verified address. it states clearly in PayPal’s terms that if you don’t ship to a verified address, you aren’t covered by their protection plan. sadly, this guy is SOL.
@superbmtsub:
Haha, I thought I was the only one that called Nigeria “NOgeria.”
I have nothing else to add to this discussion, but I LOL’ed at that picture. Is that a cake on top of his head?
Paypal is infamoust for pulling shady shady shady things like most of you have mentioned, but unfortunately, google checkout or something similar isnt available through ebay.
I had the misfortune of selling a 20$ cd to a woman back in January. I shipped it out with Delivery Confirmation as I’d been molested by paypal before without DC. I never heard from the buyer again after that and they even left me positive feedback.
Fast forward to May 20th (about a week before it would have been 6 months and not disputable with paypal) I get a CHARGEBACK through paypal from the person’s credit card as they claimed it was an “unauthorized usage of their credit card”. HUH?
So obviously I fight with paypal and dispute it, but it is nearly 6 months later and i point out that the user left positive feedback, but that I only keep the DC notices for 2/3 months until after the item has been recieved. Since I no longer had proof I didn’t think I had a chance.
Paypal settles with their credit card in their favor because it was a chargeback, so this user has the item, and their 20$ back. THEN paypal attempts to charge me 10$ for the chargeback. I called cand complained STAT and had that fee taken off, but unfortunately there aren’t many other options other than taking money orders or western union for payment through the ebay monopoly.
I don’t even t
I dont even take paypal, while I sell in a certain niche on ebay (though mostly through forums), I only take postal money orders. Nothing else is worth my time; of course, I don’t deal with $1000 electronics.
Just spent the whole morning reading 419eater.com, when I should have been working
… Damn funny.
Ruzmatx: “So, I got back the $1000 worth of gift cards, plus I kept the $1000 I got from the supposed fraudlent seller which thankfully Paypal ate.”
Doesn’t this mean at this point you are essentially stealing this money from Paypal?
As I see it, the Washington scammers did their chargeback, leaving you and paypal to fight over who gets stuck with the bill. (Arguably, can’t this be disputed with the CC company and potentially become a police matter?) Anyway, Paypal will of course try their damndest to leave you holding the bag, and you of course want to dump it on them – and actually managed to do so. More power to you for swinging that. (As an aside, though, if you think Paypal should automatically eat the loss, how does Paypal know that you’re not in on the scam?)
But anyway then in the meantime, you actually recovered your gift cards, so you’re not out any money and you’re still holding onto the $1000 from Paypal! Since the scammers got their chargeback, and you have your gift cards, isn’t that Paypal’s money you have there?
I dont like Paypal, but they weren’t the scammers here. You have your gift cards back. Wouldn’t the right thing to do be to give Paypal back their $1000? I’d argue it might also be the wisest, since there’s no guarantee they won’t sue you for it or hassle you with a colletion agency, etc.
@reykjavik: Unfortunately Nigeria, like many other 3rd-World nations, is still in its post-Colonial learning curve. Civil wars, military dictatorships, a largely ineffective federal government, pockets of Sharia law, the whole nine yards.
Let’s not judge them too harshly–they at least came by their problems honestly.
For all the “no shipping to Canada either” posts…
I’m a Canadian and I buy stuff from the US all the time. I never ask the shipper to fake the value. If I’m buying from the south, I know damned well that it will potentially cost me 7-30% more (after the exchange and shipping costs) because of taxes and duties. That’s an associated cost with shopping over the border.
For all the vendors – it’s easy: don’t break the law by putting “$0″ or “Gift” on the tag. That’s MORE likely to get flagged by Customs for inspection. If you’re selling something, you’re in business. Act like a responsible business and ship it at its value. (And insure it for such as well!)
When you send something via courier, be sure to tick the “Consignee Pays Duties & Taxes”, that way nobody can “stiff you”.
If you haven’t already considered it, look into Express and Expedited shipping over standard. I forget if both of them have it but they automatically assign a customs broker to your shipment and typically there will be no duties or taxes (depending on the value, natch). It may cost a bit more but it’s honestly worth it — plus the package arrives sooner!
by the way, does 419eater know that you posted a picture from their site without crediting it? even though it has a watermark on the photo, it’s kinda tiny.
their site is awesome (they once got a scammer to carve them a Commodore 64 keyboard out of freaking WOOD). you should credit it.
I don’t really understand the original story. The seller shipped the item to the address provided, and had proof he’d done so. eBay received a complaint from some guy in Nigeria that the item didn’t arrive, and they went back and demanded money from the seller? How does that work?
@drawp:
thanks for proving my point.
UPS charges a $35-40 minimum “brokerage fee” to all goods shipped via UPS from anywhere to Canada on top of what customs might have charged if anything at all.
[www.cbc.ca] – Street Cents
[www.cbc.ca] – B.C. man sets off class-action lawsuit against UPS over hidden brokerage fees. “It started after Robert Macfarlane purchased an amplified telephone device from Arizona over the Internet last year. He knew he would have to pay shipping and handling fees and government levies, but he was also ordered to pay a $38.40 brokerage fee charged by UPS.”
[en.wikipedia.org] – Wikipedia UPS info
Its not the customs fees that we object to, its the slam that UPS gives us when they charge far more than what Canada Post would if the parcel went that way.
Yes, please DO NOT ship to Canada using UPS … they charge some of the most ridiculous brokerage fees around, and have some of the most terrible service. If you insist on UPS, please inform your customers and let them take their business elsewhere … many of them are not aware of such fees (like my mother, for example).
I’m Canadian … I’ve had people overcharge me on shipping fees from several countries, including those off the North American continent; blaming Canadians or Americans particularly is neither right nor accurate.
I’ve had exceptionally reliable service from the post office, both Canada Post and USPS, and never had any sellers complain about having packages sent back to them for spelling mistakes or lack of French information (maybe it’s because I live in anglo Ontario?). Heck, I’ve had relatives in Hong Kong send packages to me with customs info filled out in Chinese and they were delivered with no problem.
Paypal and Ebay have few security holes that are not covered, never use them.
I have already been scammed this way:
Bought an item off ebay from a user in Kentucky, Buy Now and paid through paypal immediately. Hour later I get an email from Ebay stating that I purchased from a hacked account and and to not pay them. Too late. I contact Ebay, they say to contact Paypal (a sister company of ebay)I forward the warning email from Ebay to Paypal. Month later Paypal is reviewing the situation. I get a box from China with nothing in it but Chineese newspaper (probably to add weight to the box). Paypal ends up denying my claim since the hacker provided a tracking number. So apparently if you ship an empty box to your customer, even using a stolen ebay account, you can get away with this.