eBay fraud...

[natornate]

I'm posting this here more for amusement and a bit of a warning.

I won a Mudman from a seller in Thailand (arpusara01) for a nice price (<USD$40). Initially his email about shipping told me it would be shipped to Croatia. I questioned that and he got back to me promptly stating it was a form message and he forgot to change it from the last item he sold.

Well here I am two weeks later and I get the item in the mail. No box, just an envelope with something in it that seems too flat to be a Mudman (I owned one before). I open it and it's this cheap Chinese toy watch fit maybe for a happy meal.

Interestingly it does say "shock resist" and "water resist" on it but I'm sure it's neither. I figure I'm not out a lot of money and I've already filed a claim with paypal to get it back due to fraud.

The question I'd like speculation on here is, why send anything? It's clear that he defrauded me when I get something that obviously doesn't even remotely match the auction. If he didn't send it at all he could claim it got lost in shipping or something and maybe only have to give me a partial refund and keep all the money that he gets in the mix. Might he be thinking that I'd not realize that I didn't order some plastic crap watch and never check being happy with what I got? The chances of me forgetting that I purchased a watch at all seem greater than that. On top if it he didn't get it from Thailand to the US for free and I'm sure the watch wasn't given to him for free, everything costs something right?

I think it'll just be fun to kick around some thoughts and insults about this entire situation. If y'all want to see it I can snap a picture of it too.

[Riley]

I believe it is Paypal's policy to not automatically refund your money if the seller provides a valid tracking number for the shipment. I think you have to file a different type of claim that might give the seller a bit more of an advantage in the Paypal dispute process. You will now have the burden to prove that what you received was substantially different than what you agreed to. A lot of buyers don't bother putting up a fight and the scammer gets to keep the money. Read up on Paypal's policy and other people's posts to find out the best way to handle it. That sucks that this happened to you BTW. Put up a good fight and lets try to get rid of these bad guys.

[natornate]

Originally Posted by Riley

I believe it is Paypal's policy to not automatically refund your money if the seller provides a valid tracking number for the shipment. I think you have to file a different type of claim that might give the seller a bit more of an advantage in the Paypal dispute process. You will now have the burden to prove that what you received was substantially different than what you agreed to. A lot of buyers don't bother putting up a fight and the scammer gets to keep the money. Read up on Paypal's policy and other people's posts to find out the best way to handle it. That sucks that this happened to you BTW. Put up a good fight and lets try to get rid of these bad guys.

It'll be a learning experience for me. I can prove what he sent me is not what he offered in the auction. I'll do whatever I need to. Your explanation does shed some light on why he'd even send anything though.

[lee172]

it seems too silly on his part, maybe it is just a mistake? pics would be good.

[Riley]

Here's a thread about an ebay scammer in Thailand was doing something similar:
eBay seller sopanee: suspicious or not?

[DougFNJ]

Definitely post photos please.

Basically what I would do, for principal not just the money, is dispute the transaction with Ebay to as far as you could go as well as the best you could do with Paypal. Unfortunately Paypal safegards themselves by not protecting us on International transactions except a couple countries. Good luck.

As far as the mindset, he might had just figured for Mail tracking purposes send you SOMETHING so if you dispute, he could counter with tracking information. Thats the only thing I could think of. That drives me nuts either way though, I was burned on a transaction as a seller years ago from a Taiwan buyer that paid with illegal funds from someone elses account. Paypal pulled my funds back, and I lost out on the transaction between fees, shipping funds, and the $500 I paid for the product itself. I ended up getting $150 for my troubles from the class action lawsuit that was filed against Paypal for non disclosures. I just hate when honest people get burnt.

Good luck amigo.

[natornate]

Got a message back from the guy claiming it was a mess up in his shipping department and that I'll receive the Mudman soon. No mention of me returning the other one so that makes me a bit suspicious. Claim still opened, will not close unless I get what I paid for.

[fonklover]

pics!

something funny happened to me too. some month ago i ordered a classic casio f-91w, i think from a singapor seller.

he sent very fast as watch were i could see that the screws have been manipulated and the light was almost not working. so i told him the watch has been manipulated is not working very well.

he sent another watch, this time i could see from the colour and the different module that this was obviously a f-91w fake. but very good fake. in the end i think the first watch was also a fake.

so what does he think when he sends a damaged watch first and then a fake to exchange it??? i just smiled and forgot about it.

[Lexxorcist]

Originally Posted by natornate

Got a message back from the guy claiming it was a mess up in his shipping department and that I'll receive the Mudman soon. No mention of me returning the other one so that makes me a bit suspicious. Claim still opened, will not close unless I get what I paid for.

I remember hearing this same story quite recently, and I think it was on this forum. Someone was sent a really cheap, rubbish watch, and the seller used the same excuse. I can't remember what the outcome was though.

[natornate]

Just so you all can see how reasonable it is to mistake what I got for a g9000 Mudman. It's pretty funny actually. Wonder if he'll actually send me my Mudman.

[1540]

Originally Posted by natornate

Just so you all can see how reasonable it is to mistake what I got for a g9000 Mudman. It's pretty funny actually. Wonder if he'll actually send me my Mudman.

Sorry to hear about your misfortune...I HATE frauds!

But I saw that pic and I just had to laugh....sorry.
What a sore example of a watch!

[lee172]

destruction test!!

[FrogmanLoveMN]

Man, that stinks.

Youtube a vid of "Fake Casio Gets BURNED TO A CRISP" and see how many hits you can get hehe.

As far as I know, the dork has to have matching funds in his paypal account to refund the complete claim I believe, but I hear that once he gets more money in his acct, the amount in his paypal can accrue till you get your money back due from the claim.

I would try my hardest to go the distance on this guy: Ebay fraud, Mail fraud, Fake seller, Paypal Fraud, Fraud Fraud, the works if you can muster all that clicking with the mouse.

In these situations, its hard to post a neg on this jerk, cause you KNOW he's gonna retaliate with a neg too on you.

Man, with all this recession BS (I know jerky was in sigapore or whatever but still) , people are scrambling to get a easy buck these days.

After so many easy transactions and good sellers, its hard to Email EVERY SINGLE ONE with questions about what you are buying, and "send me pics" kinda stuff.

He did it on purpose. Guaranteed. Jerk.

[Sili]

Sorry to hear of your troubles, hope you get your goods or your money back. But that green monster "mudman" kind of looks cool if if were for a 5 year old's first watch!

[natornate]

If I do get the Mudman I doubt I'll ever flip it as it will remind me if something bad gone right. I'll let y'all know what happens.

[Riley]

Originally Posted by natornate

Just so you all can see how reasonable it is to mistake what I got for a g9000 Mudman. It's pretty funny actually. Wonder if he'll actually send me my Mudman.

Ouch! That's such an insult to receive that instead of the real thing. I guess it's green, but that doesn't help much. Did it even have its own box? This sounds a lot like the scam that Sopanee guy did in the link I posted above. I hope you get something out of this for your trouble, or at least prevent someone else from getting screwed. Good luck man.

[natornate]

No box, just in an envelope.

[Vintage]

After reading what happened to you, and after remembering the Sopanee Thread linked by Riley, I also think there's something of a pattern here. If that's the case, the profit would come from those buyers who eat it up without claim.

I also think this a matter of principle. So in my opinion you should go all the way in the claim process via eBay and Paypal.

This thing about "mistakes in my shipping department" really makes one angry. The watch he sent you is unacceptable.

[azziman]

Take a sledgehammer to that 'watch' put the pieces in a jiffy bag and mail it back to him with a piece of paper detailing some harsh obscenities written in his/her own language, that should do the trick.

[Vintage]

May be this guy's Shipping Department looks like Fonejacker's Money Transfer office:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxcS3...eature=related