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Selling codes on eBay, beware of a scam
- Thread starter Izuna
- Start date
Update:
...
Not only are basically all of the codes are being charged back, PayPal is debiting a chargeback fee totalling £30!
These are ones where I have sent in the tracking number. I called them, and "a tracking number isn't enough for seller protection".
This is legit fucked, honestly.
...
Not only are basically all of the codes are being charged back, PayPal is debiting a chargeback fee totalling £30!
These are ones where I have sent in the tracking number. I called them, and "a tracking number isn't enough for seller protection".
This is legit fucked, honestly.
Paypal decided to open a case "for review"... On a code that was sold and had no issue.
So basically, they tell me that I need to message the guy and hope he's like "yeah I totally got the code bruh, I don't want my money back for free or anything."
I just hung up on the lady. ~£150 scammed
fucking bullshit. they can royally fuck themselves
So basically, they tell me that I need to message the guy and hope he's like "yeah I totally got the code bruh, I don't want my money back for free or anything."
I just hung up on the lady. ~£150 scammed
fucking bullshit. they can royally fuck themselves
(A bit OT.) Is there a way to check if the code has been redeemed without using it? I sold a Rainbow 6 code on ebay before, and afterwards I realized if the buyer files a complaint saying the code has been redeemed, I have no way to prove it one way or another. Will a UBI custom service (or steam) tell you when the code is redeemed?
You can on Xbox. You can see if a code is still available by entering it in (but not hitting confirm).
Not that PayPal gives a shit.
I learned my lesson awhile back. Sent a code via PM and the buyer stated that he wished to retract and filed a complaint, but luckily I sent him the code ticket and included tracking and states he received the code and used it. Got my money back. Lesson is always ship code stub to buyer with tracking.
RedAssedApe
Banned
yeah...you're pretty much taking a risk by selling anything digital over ebay. iirc they aren't even supposed to allow the selling of digital goods but they don't really police it. i'll generally only sell throwaway cosmetic dlc stuff i get for preorders.
not to mention their fucked up policies that always screw over the seller in favor of the buyer
not to mention their fucked up policies that always screw over the seller in favor of the buyer
perfectsil
Member
And you can't leave bad/neutral feedback because a seller can't give a buyer bad/neutral feedback,
Once someone else have seen the code you just can't try to sell it again
Once someone else have seen the code you just can't try to sell it again
re_fan1996
Member
From what I can gather I bet a lot of these scam artists will initiate the the charge back/refund/fraud part of the deal before actually checking the code because they want to make sure they get that process started so they know they have their money coming back to them either way.
A bit underhanded, but I think a good safety net would be to purposely email the wrong code at first. If they go with the charge back right away, then you lose nothing and they get nothing, and the if they are legit you can just say you must of typed it wrong and resend the correct one.
A bit underhanded, but I think a good safety net would be to purposely email the wrong code at first. If they go with the charge back right away, then you lose nothing and they get nothing, and the if they are legit you can just say you must of typed it wrong and resend the correct one.
Code:
Tracking number from postage slips are not working
2016 - 12 - 07
06:16:24 UTC Melanie
Welcome to eBay Live Help, my name is Melanie. I would be happy to help you today. Please stay connected while I review your concern.
06:16:35 UTC izunin
Hi
06:16:49 UTC izunin
I have a bit of a long-story, if that's okay.
06:16:55 UTC Melanie
Hello Izuna.
06:17:20 UTC Melanie
Yes, that's fine, you may continue with your concern.
06:17:32 UTC izunin
On Paypal, there has been a chargeback with 3 of my items solds.
06:17:41 UTC izunin
These were the FIFA 17 Digital Codes
06:18:08 UTC izunin
I got scammed prior, so I wanted to make sure I was eligible for PayPal Seller Protection when I sold the rest of the codes I had.
06:18:24 UTC izunin
So I printed and paid for postage labels for the last 3
06:18:44 UTC izunin
PayPal said that these tracking numbers don't work, so essentially I've lost out on about £120
06:19:00 UTC izunin
Why have ALL three of my tracking numbers failed to work?
06:21:11 UTC Melanie
Thanks for additional information.
06:22:59 UTC izunin
Is there anything I can do here?
06:23:12 UTC izunin
you can see that I have sent the codes to the users
06:23:59 UTC Melanie
I'm currently checking your items.
06:25:27 UTC Melanie
I can confirm that all of the items you sold are digitally sent to the buyers. Note that the postage labels will only work if the items were sent to the courier service and have been scanned.
06:25:49 UTC izunin
I posted them at the local post office
06:25:56 UTC izunin
After printing the label
06:26:18 UTC Melanie
Thanks for the clarification.
06:26:34 UTC izunin
Is there anything I can do here?
06:27:00 UTC Melanie
When you brought the item to the post office, the postage labels were invalid?
06:27:48 UTC izunin
No, I gave them to the post office lady but she just put them in the box or whatever it's called
06:27:59 UTC izunin
I paid for the postage online for each of them
06:28:27 UTC izunin
This is months later, when PayPal is refunding everything and saying that the tracking numbers aren't showing up on Royal Mail
06:28:46 UTC Melanie
I see. Can you please open a new web browser and check this link to confirm if you were pertaining to the items here: [REDACTED]
06:29:07 UTC izunin
Yes, all 3 of these
06:29:19 UTC Melanie
Thanks for confirming.
06:30:46 UTC Melanie
Though the labels have been printed on eBay, Royal Mail is the one feeding the information to eBay. Upon checking all the View Order Details, I can see that there's no progress in the status of the items.
06:31:27 UTC Melanie
It would be best to contact Royal Mail to confirm why there's no update on the tracking number generated by printing a postage label.
06:31:34 UTC izunin
PayPal told me to dispute with Royal Mail, but I haven't had any reply at all.
06:32:58 UTC izunin
I've done everything right here, I've sent the codes, they got used... and I printed the labels and posted to protect myself.
06:33:16 UTC izunin
Is there really nothing I can do?
06:33:24 UTC Melanie
I'm sorry to hear that. As much as I wanted to assist you, we don't have a direct access on the status of the tracking.
06:33:56 UTC izunin
Is there any way for eBay to provide some sort of proof of postage based on the fact that I have sent the codes?
06:34:31 UTC Melanie
Proof of postage can only be obtained from the courier service you used, Izuna.
06:35:32 UTC izunin
So... Basically I've gotten scammed multiple times and the only protection option I had, ended up not working ;(
06:39:00 UTC Melanie
I totally understand how you wanted to resolve this issue. As we also don't have access to your PayPal account, only PayPal have the tools and expertise to check any chargeback for the payments you received.
06:39:32 UTC izunin
PayPal has outright said that the only thing they care about is the tracking number, I gues.
06:39:38 UTC izunin
Royal Mail won't respond
06:39:41 UTC Melanie
Please also continue communicating with Royal Mail with regard to the status of the delivery of the items.
06:40:23 UTC izunin
Alright.
06:40:32 UTC izunin
Thanks, I suppose.
06:40:43 UTC izunin
This is all very unfortunate...
06:40:57 UTC Melanie
You can also contact Royal Mail through phone using this number: 03457 740 740
06:41:15 UTC Melanie
You can check this link for further assistance: https://personal.help.royalmail.com/app/contact#category-tree-after
06:41:20 UTC izunin
there's one other thing
06:41:31 UTC izunin
I can't "reprint" the postage labels
06:41:41 UTC izunin
Am I supposed to be able to?
06:41:53 UTC izunin
I don't know if Royal Mail will ask for that
06:42:39 UTC Melanie
You can only reprint labels up to 24 hours after you first created and printed the label.
06:42:56 UTC izunin
Understandable
06:43:12 UTC izunin
Alright, apologise if I sounded a bit annoyed. I'm more annoyed at PayPal tbh
06:43:26 UTC izunin
Thank you :) have a lovely day
06:43:42 UTC Melanie
No worries, Izuna. I really understand your point.
06:44:00 UTC Melanie
You are most welcome, it's a pleasure to assist you today.
06:44:15 UTC Melanie
Thank you for contacting eBay Live Help, have a great day.
06:44:22 UTC izunin
Goodbye! :)hoogafanter
Banned
I sell my codes that come with hardware all the time on ebay... never had an issue. I always keep track of every communication in case something comes up, but it never has...
could be wrong but I assume that keeping my ass covered by having all evidence ready will protect me in case this ever happens...
could be wrong but I assume that keeping my ass covered by having all evidence ready will protect me in case this ever happens...
So just to be blunt, ebay doesn't really give a fuck about either party. Ive been on both ends, buyer and seller, and ebay is unhelpful in all situations. And not just unhelpful, its like theyve trained their customer service people to actually complete idiots.
One scam as a buyer, seller never set status to shipped or uploaded a tracking number. So after 10 days or so, i opened an item not received case. 3 days after that the seller uploads a tracking number that shows "delivered". Obviously I didn't get the package, so i began looking into things on my own. Eventually convinced USPS to confirm that the tracking number was NOT labeled with my address. My actual mailman found the package (it was actually sent to an empty house down the road). The package was some $1 postcard from zazzle.com. Even after all this evidence, ebay just said "yeah but tracking shows delivered, go fuck yourself".
So basically, sell something at a high price, send a cheap package to a different address in the same zipcode as your buyer. As long as you get a tracking number that says delivered, youve done your job according to ebay. How much bullshit is that? They wouldn't even give me 5 minutes of investigation beyond the tracking number saying delivered.
As a seller, I once tried selling trading card game stuff online. Had several shitty kids buy sealed booster packs from me, then just say "item not as described" with reasons like "no ultra rare cards, things that theres no way of knowing until the packs are opened. And once the packs are opened the product is pretty much ruined as a booster pack. So lost some good money there as well, ebay wouldn't even listen to me.
Someone on the ebay forums suggested i file a claim with California State Attorney General along with a complaint with the Federal Attorney in whatever city you live in over the first scam i mentioned. I think you could claim ebay was facilitating a scam in that case as they wouldn't investigate. I don't know if that would get anywhere though.
tldr: ebay is a shit company, you are 100% on your own if anything bad happens.
One scam as a buyer, seller never set status to shipped or uploaded a tracking number. So after 10 days or so, i opened an item not received case. 3 days after that the seller uploads a tracking number that shows "delivered". Obviously I didn't get the package, so i began looking into things on my own. Eventually convinced USPS to confirm that the tracking number was NOT labeled with my address. My actual mailman found the package (it was actually sent to an empty house down the road). The package was some $1 postcard from zazzle.com. Even after all this evidence, ebay just said "yeah but tracking shows delivered, go fuck yourself".
So basically, sell something at a high price, send a cheap package to a different address in the same zipcode as your buyer. As long as you get a tracking number that says delivered, youve done your job according to ebay. How much bullshit is that? They wouldn't even give me 5 minutes of investigation beyond the tracking number saying delivered.
As a seller, I once tried selling trading card game stuff online. Had several shitty kids buy sealed booster packs from me, then just say "item not as described" with reasons like "no ultra rare cards, things that theres no way of knowing until the packs are opened. And once the packs are opened the product is pretty much ruined as a booster pack. So lost some good money there as well, ebay wouldn't even listen to me.
Someone on the ebay forums suggested i file a claim with California State Attorney General along with a complaint with the Federal Attorney in whatever city you live in over the first scam i mentioned. I think you could claim ebay was facilitating a scam in that case as they wouldn't investigate. I don't know if that would get anywhere though.
tldr: ebay is a shit company, you are 100% on your own if anything bad happens.
SeeNoWeevil
Member
If either the buyer or the seller want to scam the other, then somebody is getting scammed. PayPal/eBay have to side with one or the other.
Unless you're posting this stuff with a tracking number, you ain't protected.
I used to buy iTunes codes on the cheap back in the day and sell them online. These scams happened all the time. Luckily I kept all of the cards, and if I did get scammed I would simply ship the card to the address and be protected.
eBay does not give a fuck what your communication says. A buyer could send an email saying that they scammed you and ebay wouldn't care (not sure if true). All that matters is you follow their specific rules for protection, which includes a tracking number for the product.
eBay does not give a fuck what your communication says. A buyer could send an email saying that they scammed you and ebay wouldn't care (not sure if true). All that matters is you follow their specific rules for protection, which includes a tracking number for the product.
hoogafanter
Banned
well obviously, you always get a tracking number no matter what you are selling...
it's way too easy for someone to claim they didn't get the item you sent them otherwise. I even keep the receipts from my post office until everything is settled...
Steam will, but "Product already owned" has precedence over "Duplicate product code", meaning the only person who could tell you whether or not the key has been used is someone who doesn't own the game... and if the key isn't a dupe, then it'll register to their account.
If you're thinking, "That seems backwards and ought to be swapped", try to find solace in the fact that you're far from alone.
This happened to me too. It's best to ship them the code in physical form if you got them in a bundle. They could still claim it was already used, but at least you're a little less likely to run into people claiming someone has ordered it without their consent and do a chargeback.
Few weeks ago I saw listing where the seller wrote in the item description that he's gonna send it via mail with witnesses present - just lol. Like that's going to change anything.
Few weeks ago I saw listing where the seller wrote in the item description that he's gonna send it via mail with witnesses present - just lol. Like that's going to change anything.
Iorv3th
Member
Yeah always ship. That information is readily available if you google it.
Sold a code for a destiny shader/emblem that I got for a 20$ t-shirt on ebay. The listing was for a "picture of the code". Guy from Canada paid like 250$ for it and we shipped it verified mail. He didn't try to refund it but he couldn't have at that point because we sent it physically with it showing he signed for it.
Sold a code for a destiny shader/emblem that I got for a 20$ t-shirt on ebay. The listing was for a "picture of the code". Guy from Canada paid like 250$ for it and we shipped it verified mail. He didn't try to refund it but he couldn't have at that point because we sent it physically with it showing he signed for it.
FinaruDensetsu
Member
Only sell to me on eBay. I will never scam you.
ndawgdrake
Member
I had a rift dk-1 team fortress hat I sold on eBay. Did my research beforehand as I didn't wanna get screwed. Ended up listing it as a bookmark with a free oculus hat code. Mail delivery only.
Glad most of it worked out.
That's crazy though, I've sold over 50 digital codes without issues but I do so less often now and usually just sell here on GAF.