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Sold my PS4 on eBay to cover my Pro, buyer is claiming it's console banned, what do?

dallow_bg

nods at old men
I would send him a response that says something like:

"The console was not banned, I used it and it was working perfectly up until the time I shipped it, so either you're lying and trying to scam me, or something screwed up on Sony's end. So here is what I'll do, since I personally verified before shipping it that it was in perfect working condition. I have the serial number on the console logged and with photos. If you send me back a console that has a different serial number or has been tampered with, I will report you to eBay, Paypal, and the police for mail fraud. I have your information and mail fraud is a federal crime. Trust me, you don't want to go down that road for a mere xx dollars. If everything is indeed as you claim, then your refund will be processed once my original console is returned 100% in the condition I sent it in and with the issues you described. Otherwise, legal action will be taken. Thank you."

Yes, usually you can scare scammers like this.
I would highly advise trying this since you don't have much backup.

If all goes well he'll respond with something like "oh never mind, i got it working"
 

Xenoblade

Member
I got scammed badly when I sold a few thousand dollars worth of stuff a few years ago. Despite providing proof that I was in the right, I lost the dispute and Paypal compensated the scammer and then came chasing after me for the money. Some serious bullshit right there.

Fortunately I withdraw the money before the dispute was lodged and when they came after me for the money I refused to pay. My recommendation is to not ever use Paypal. They are stupid fuckheads that aren't interested in protecting the seller and usually side on the side of the buyer.
 

Head.spawn

Junior Member
What kind of shit do you have to do to get a console banned?

I see the usual account ban stuff on here from time to time, but i thought that console bans were mostly for modified consoles/ modded games or something.
 
I got scammed badly when I sold a few thousand dollars worth of stuff a few years ago. Despite providing proof that I was in the right, I lost the dispute and Paypal compensated the scammer and then came chasing after me for the money. Some serious bullshit right there.

Fortunately I withdraw the money before the dispute was lodged and when they came after me for the money I refused to pay. My recommendation is to not ever use Paypal. They are stupid fuckheads that aren't interested in protecting the seller and usually side on the side of the buyer.

But since PayPal must have had your bank info saved in it, how were they not able to just withdraw it? I'm pretty sure they can automatically re-add funds into the account from whatever source you saved.
 

Coldsun

Banned
But since PayPal must have had your bank info saved in it, how were they not able to just withdraw it? I'm pretty sure they can automatically re-add funds into the account from whatever source you saved.

You can direct your bank to decline any paypal charges to your account.
 

Rellik

Member
But since PayPal must have had your bank info saved in it, how were they not able to just withdraw it? I'm pretty sure they can automatically re-add funds into the account from whatever source you saved.

They didn't with me when I had a mixup with Valve. They just gave me a negative balance and chased after me for the money until I sorted everything out with Valve and got it corrected.
 
God's speed OP. This is why I only sell face to face and in a very public place. Like I accidentally bought two SSDs so I sold one on Craigslist. I met the guy at a gas station in the middle of the day. He seemed as nervous as me. Too many horror stories out there.
 

cress2000

Member
I would send him a response that says something like:

"The console was not banned, I used it and it was working perfectly up until the time I shipped it, so either you're lying and trying to scam me, or something screwed up on Sony's end. So here is what I'll do, since I personally verified before shipping it that it was in perfect working condition. I have the serial number on the console logged and with photos. If you send me back a console that has a different serial number or has been tampered with, I will report you to eBay, Paypal, and the police for mail fraud. I have your information and mail fraud is a federal crime. Trust me, you don't want to go down that road for a mere xx dollars. If everything is indeed as you claim, then your refund will be processed once my original console is returned 100% in the condition I sent it in and with the issues you described. Otherwise, legal action will be taken. Thank you."

Don't do this.

Just tell him once he has returned it, and you have confirmed it is the same machine you sent, and you confirm the ban, you will issue a refund. That should scare him enough if he's full of shit.
 

Dash Kappei

Not actually that important
Bingo.

Frankly you're fucked. But fight as hard as you can. This shit is so common it needs to be dealt with by the sites.

Had similar shit happen with like 20% of all the shit I've sold.


Hey OP read this:
They won't do shit and just keep saying to refund the guy, ask you to provide proofs and statements (which they'll ignore) and in the end say that they'll take the money themselves to refund the buyer if you don't in a reasonable timeframe. They even told me to stop contacting the buyer because "he complained saying I accused him of fraud" and they would handle things from that moment on (I didn't accuse him of fraud, I simply asked for some verification to go through together); the whole thing was a clear as a day switcharoo scam and eBay didn't give a shit.
He's fucked. Even if he had the serial number or marked the console in a secret spot they will ask him to provide evidence that he actually shipped that exact same model
The only way is if his BANK helps him in denying Paypal' withdrawal via his card. Depends how well he knows the bank's director.

Source: myself :(


P.S.
Stopped selling to eBay only to have the same exact thing happen to me as an Amazon Seller later with my expensive Fire Emblem Fates LE (”there was no game inside!") so now I only sell on moderated message boards.

eBay/PayPal don't care about evidence anyway. They still rule in favour for the buyer the majority of the time. Just don't use them. They're a horrible, horrible company that allows these scammers to operate.

Yes.
Made me waste so much time collecting what in the end it was irrefutable evidence and it was painfully clear nobody actually reviewed said evidence at all, adding insult to injury basically
 
I would send him a response that says something like:

"The console was not banned, I used it and it was working perfectly up until the time I shipped it, so either you're lying and trying to scam me, or something screwed up on Sony's end. So here is what I'll do, since I personally verified before shipping it that it was in perfect working condition. I have the serial number on the console logged and with photos. If you send me back a console that has a different serial number or has been tampered with, I will report you to eBay, Paypal, and the police for mail fraud. I have your information and mail fraud is a federal crime. Trust me, you don't want to go down that road for a mere xx dollars. If everything is indeed as you claim, then your refund will be processed once my original console is returned 100% in the condition I sent it in and with the issues you described. Otherwise, legal action will be taken. Thank you."
"'Trust me', I'm a martial arts expert and I was in the military" Whoops.... Wait.... "I was in the military, KID!"
sorry dude, this is just silly

OP - this is the silliest most cringe-worthy thing you could do. DO NOT THREATEN ANYTHING.

If you want to call his bluff, simply say you called Sony and they say your serial number isn't banned and you are reporting him to eBay and cut off all contact. IMMEDIATELY report this issue first to eBay, as well, don't wait.

Then patiently wait 300 years for a response.
 

breadtruck

Member
Hey OP read this:
They won't do shit and just keep saying to refund the guy, ask you to provide proofs and statements (which they'll ignore) and in the end say that they'll take the money themselves to refund the buyer if you don't in a reasonable timeframe. They even told me to stop contacting the buyer because "he complained saying I accused him of fraud" and they would handle things from that moment on (I didn't accuse him of fraud, I simply asked for some verification to go through together); the whole thing was a clear as a day switcharoo scam and eBay didn't give a shit.
He's fucked. Even if he had the serial number or marked the console in a secret spot they will ask him to provide evidence that he actually shipped that exact same model
The only way is if his BANK helps him in denying Paypal' withdrawal via his card. Depends how well he knows the bank's director.

Source: myself :(

:(

Im so glad I gave up selling stuff on ebay a couple years back. It was barely worth the trouble to begin with, and this just is the icing on the cake.
 
J

Jpop

Unconfirmed Member
String the guy along like you will try to help getting it work for him.
Transfer the funds out of your PayPal.
Delete your Ebay Account/PayPal

Profit???

But since PayPal must have had your bank info saved in it, how were they not able to just withdraw it? I'm pretty sure they can automatically re-add funds into the account from whatever source you saved.

No, they can't. You can tell your bank not to release funds. Also just delete the PayPal.
 
See if you can contact Sony to get the serial number.

In the meantime, bluff. Tell the buyer that you'll process the refund when you have the PS4 back in hand and verify the serial number with what you have recorded. Tell him if the serial number on the console doesn't match that you will report him for fraud in a heartbeat.

This right here.
 

Scoobie

Member
The way i see it, unless you showed a pic of the serial in the ad, and advertised that as what you were selling, you could for the sake of argument have sent him anything in the post. At least by showing the serial that would have been verifiable by both the buyer and seller.
Best shot is to try to call their bluff but wouldn't hold out much hope :-(
 
You don't have to refund him until it's returned. If you get the console make sure it's not been opened and that the serial number matches. You can also test the console. If the console has been opened, the serial number has been changed, or anything is "off" I would not process the refund and speak with eBay. If he's opened it or swapped the console with a banned one, you should't be required to refund him.
 

Dash Kappei

Not actually that important
This right here.

No, no, no! Definitely don't do that op.
Don't accept anything back! If you do, you're done.
Try to string the guy along and work with your bank in the meantime to deny any possible future withdrawals coming on your cc from Paypal; in the meantime ask the buyer to send you a photo of the serial number of the console he intends to send you back.
Then try to verify if that serial numbered console was ever attached to your account PSN ID with Sony' help.
If it's not yours then you know for sure you need to follow through with your bank unless you want to pay out of your own pockets.
 

Aces&Eights

Member
Close account tied to Paypal and open a new one. It's an inconvenience but the only way you will keep your money. If Ebay doesn't think you are responding fast enough, they will just hit your account and take out the money. I'd go to my bank, explain what happened and just close that account out and reopen a new one with new numbers.
 

Trojan

Member
After reading a lot of the comments in this thread, I'm going to think twice about using EBay again to sell. Didn't realize how common scams like this are. I've sold a video card and some expensive software on EBay before and I would be livid if this happened to me.

Sorry OP.
 
After reading a lot of the comments in this thread, I'm going to think twice about using EBay again to sell. Didn't realize how common scams like this are. I've sold a video card and some expensive software on EBay before and I would be livid if this happened to me.

Sorry OP.
The scamming is common but I think th bigger issue is the insane amount of buyer protection there is, it is basically anti seller.
 
Yikes, recently sold a $2k laptop on Ebay and I'm breathing a sigh of relief after hearing all these stories! Will never sell on Ebay again without pictures, video evidence, serial numbers, written witness statements, etc... (Not even kidding!)

Actually, just had an idea... Leave the item unboxed and drive to a UPS store (or whatever shipping store), and video the exact item from boxing it up all the way through handing it over to the shipping company, making sure to capture the tracking number as well. That's pretty much irrefutable.
 
Seriously never sell something over eBay. If you want to buy something it's okay, but if you sell something you are always in a very bad position and eBay will not help you at all.
 

fernoca

Member
Yikes, recently sold a $2k laptop on Ebay and I'm breathing a sigh of relief after hearing all these stories! Will never sell on Ebay again without pictures, video evidence, serial numbers, written witness statements, etc... (Not even kidding!)

Actually, just had an idea... Leave the item unboxed and drive to a UPS store (or whatever shipping store), and video the exact item from boxing it up all the way through handing it over to the shipping company, making sure to capture the tracking number as well. That's pretty much irrefutable.
Is not sadly. Was pointed out earlier.
Unless you go with a lawyer and sue eBay/Paypal/etc.

Directly to them, they can claim that it was swapped/damaged/broken during transit.
 
I haven't sold on ebay in a while but I think you can delete bids from people with bad/ no rep or new accounts. These days I just accept amazon's low ball offers and skip the drama.
 

Tigress

Member
The scamming is common but I think th bigger issue is the insane amount of buyer protection there is, it is basically anti seller.

This. So much this. It's to the point scammers scam you depending on eBay to back them up no matter what you do as a seller to protect yourself. I don't know why anyone still uses eBay when eBay practically enables scammers to rip people off.
 
I've sold a lot of shit on eBay and "only" got scammed once when I made the mistake of selling a game code. User bought it, used the code, then claimed that someone had stolen their credit card and purchased my card with it even though I had records that the PayPal e-mail address matched the e-mail address of the person who requested the code after payment. It didn't matter. A chargeback was already put in motion from their credit card company and PayPal passed the cost onto me + a fee for it. I went to try the code after the fact and, yup, it had already been used. I don't think I've sold shit on eBay since then.

You're probably fucked, OP, but maybe like others have said your seller will back down if you can prove to them the serial number of the console isn't banned. Probably not though.

If you happen to make it out of this okay, try to sell locally next time. eBay's been a turd of a company for sellers for a long time now. I guess it was only a matter of time that I experienced it first hand.
 

Justinh

Member
The scamming is common but I think th bigger issue is the insane amount of buyer protection there is, it is basically anti seller.

I heard this sort of thing from a taxi driver once like... 5 maybe 6 years ago? Even back then he told me that selling stuff on ebay was a pain in the ass because the buyer would just "send it back" but not really and send it to another address of like a friend or something so the seller never got it. Then apparently ebay would just take the buyer's word for it and the seller would get screwed out both ways by having to refund on top of it all or something.

Ebay always sounded like a giant pain in the ass to me for selling anything, but I have bought a lot of stuff from there in the past (nowadays, I just buy stuff from amazon marketplace, and from fulfilled by amazon sellers for bootleg-danger items like Criterion Discs because of how easy it is to return things).
 

Gamerman1

Member
Over 1000 sales in ten years and zero problems on my end. Bigger items I document very well though. Close up high res pics from all sides.

Thought I was gonna get scammed years ago when I sold a phat PS3. Buyer said discs wouldn't insert properly and it looked off. I had packed the hell out of it too. He actually emailed me back a couple hours later saying he took it apart and fixed the rails in the drive. I guess UPS abused the shit out of it and messed it up.
 

NolbertoS

Member
I've sold an original PS3 on ebay, but made sure to always have serial numbers and alot of pics during auction. Only once did a scammer try to pull the wools over my eyes, by saying he nwvwr received the package (it was a game collectors edition). I sent it with tracking which I always do and had proof it arrived and he signed off. Managed to get my money and paypal ruled in my favour. As long as you have proof, tons of auction pics, paypal won't side blindly with the buyer if its a scam
 

N° 2048

Member
I've sold an original PS3 on ebay, but made sure to always have serial numbers and alot of pics during auction. Only once did a scammer try to pull the wools over my eyes, by saying he nwvwr received the package (it was a game collectors edition). I sent it with tracking which I always do and had proof it arrived and he signed off. Managed to get my money and paypal ruled in my favour. As long as you have proof, tons of auction pics, paypal won't side blindly with the buyer if its a scam

Which OP doesn't

Read the first page.
 

Persona7

Banned
Yikes, recently sold a $2k laptop on Ebay and I'm breathing a sigh of relief after hearing all these stories! Will never sell on Ebay again without pictures, video evidence, serial numbers, written witness statements, etc... (Not even kidding!)

Actually, just had an idea... Leave the item unboxed and drive to a UPS store (or whatever shipping store), and video the exact item from boxing it up all the way through handing it over to the shipping company, making sure to capture the tracking number as well. That's pretty much irrefutable.

You are not really out of the woods until the buyer can no longer make a claim. They recently extended that time frame. Even with all that proof ebay will usually force you to refund if they send the item back.
 
You are not really out of the woods until the buyer can no longer make a claim. They recently extended that time frame. Even with all that proof ebay will usually force you to refund if they send the item back.

At that point you can refuse to refund if you receive a different console/item though, since you have documented video proof. Not to mention you can easily file a police report with that much evidence.
 

Lokbob

Member
I only sell via bank transfer on eBay so scammers can't get their money back. Once the money is on the bank account neither eBay or the buyer can do anything. Don't really know if this is an option in the US.
 

SlickVic

Member
After reading a lot of the comments in this thread, I'm going to think twice about using EBay again to sell. Didn't realize how common scams like this are. I've sold a video card and some expensive software on EBay before and I would be livid if this happened to me.

Sorry OP.

Whenever I sell something on eBay I always go in it knowing there's a chance something goes wrong. Beyond the usual worries of the post office losing or damaging the package, there's just so much buyer protection on ebay that as a seller you almost feel powerless to really do anything if they file a claim. Anyone can really claim an item is broken/damaged/not as described and there's very little eBay/Paypal seem to do to actually verify that. Sure, sometimes it's legit. A few years ago I bought a 'new' copy of a game only to find it arrive with a disc in a generic plastic case. Fortunately the seller was friendly and we worked it out, but I imagine they probably realized they didn't want it to go through eBay's claim process if they could help it.

When I'm selling something there, I just bite the bullet and hope things go smoothly. I do believe the majority of buyers and sellers on ebay are trying to have an honest transaction go smoothly. But there are enough scammers on the site that it's hard to ever feel completely comfortable knowing how limited the seller protection is. But it is what it is. Craigslist has its own set of issues (love agreeing to sell something for a certain price only to have the buyer show up with less money and hope you agree anyways) and Gamestop/Amazon are options to sell consoles, but tend to take a much healthier cut of the used value price than either eBay or CL.

I'm sorry to hear this story from the OP and don't think I can offer any advice other than informing the buyer that you're going to cross check the serial number once it's returned to verify it is the same console. If its a scammer that's probably will be enough to scare a lot of them, but eBay's buyer protection is so strong it wouldn't surprise me if some of them just play along.

I do hope the OP finds a way to get the issue resolved without having to issue a full refund and paying 'double' shipping to get the system returned (and that's assuming that's an actual working PS4 coming back).
 
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