May have fallen victim to an Ebay scam 😕

[fnlights]

Following - curious how this is all going to play out.

Based on his spelling, I would also think it would be a scammer. But, guess you will find out soon enough! Good luck and I hope it all works out! I don't know about anyone else, but I would be doing everything in my power to get that $5k back lol. I could buy a couple Nightforces for that price.

 

[338 dude]

Here's our conversation. He hasn't answered my text as to why he said he lives in PA but his phone number is CA

I hope it's not a scam and you get your money or the scope you were promised, but I have a friend who's had a phone number for 20 years. It's a Virginia number, but he lives in Tennessee.

 

[338 dude]

I would also throw this in the mix I don't think the slight discount you get buying used from a private person is worth the risk.if I'm spending that kind of money I'm buying from a company with a good reputation!

 

[kfreeze]

So I buy a Steiner M7XI IFS 4-28x56 on Ebay..... price was right about what I would expect as I've seen places like Europtic clearing them out and marking them down...... Didn't think $5,200 was a far fetched price.

Anywho, I get the scope today THE M7XI (no IFS). I immediately contacted the seller, who blamed it on Steiner. Said he had Steiner fix a scope of his, he has been waiting and they must have sent HIS scope to me instead of the right one. Not sure if Steiner even direct-ships scopes..... maybe they do. Then gave me a story about how he had to quit shooting because of his lung cancer (could be legit; if so I'm a horrible human being)........

Long story short he said he called Steiner and they will be contacting me tomorrow to make it right. I highly doubt it. At this point I'm not even confident that what I was shipped was an actual Steiner..... maybe some Chinese knockoff. Guess we'll know soon enough but it certainly appears like I'll be out of $5,200

If you paid electronically, with something tied to a bank account, go to your bank and dispute the charges and try to ship it back to him. The bank will help you. That even works with pp f&f, but you better have documentaion proving you are right.

 

[Unionsparky46]

Good morning! My personal experiences with eBay and having the same issue you did I would file a claim immediately. That way it is documented. They have a 7 day satisfaction period. Anything happens in that timeframe they give the two parties time to work it out. But, if there's a dispute, it's like a 14 day period. That's why I'd suggest getting the ball rolling now. If you two work it out, you can simply go to the claim and close it. Good luck and sorry to hear that experience. Alot of people looking to make an easy buck off hard working people.

 

[Pokoki]

That's the thing....
Seller history was 100% positive!

However his address on the box was PA, and his phone number is California.

If it is a scam I'll never see my money. It is what it is. Hopefully I'm wrong.

Sorry to hear about your situation.

My cell number doesn't match my state either. I've been in Idaho since 2016, but I've kept my Iowa cell number. Go Hawks!

Doesn't always equal fraud.

 

[UniqueUserName]

I would not "work with him" on it. I would simply notify him that you want your payment refunded, that you want to return it and file a claim with ebay immediately. It's entirely possible that he is using delay tactics to run out your acceptance period. Don't allow him to do that. It's clear that his listing was deceptive and that should be all you need. Assuming you used a secure form of payment, you should file a claim there too. You should have buyer protection on your purchase but you must file your complaint timely.

The area code disparity is meaningless. I live in Colorado but have a Rhode Island area code. I block all numbers from Rhode Island, which eliminates about 99% of spam/scam calls.

 

[vmaxmike]

Your Ebay/PayPal buyer protection has a clock, If I were you I'd file a "not as described " return claim immediately.

That also freezes the purchase amount in the sellers PP account until it is resolved. The longer you wait the better chance he has to withdraw the Money, thus making harder for you.

M.

 

[wernerpd]

So I buy a Steiner M7XI IFS 4-28x56 on Ebay..... price was right about what I would expect as I've seen places like Europtic clearing them out and marking them down...... Didn't think $5,200 was a far fetched price.

Anywho, I get the scope today THE M7XI (no IFS). I immediately contacted the seller, who blamed it on Steiner. Said he had Steiner fix a scope of his, he has been waiting and they must have sent HIS scope to me instead of the right one. Not sure if Steiner even direct-ships scopes..... maybe they do. Then gave me a story about how he had to quit shooting because of his lung cancer (could be legit; if so I'm a horrible human being)........

Long story short he said he called Steiner and they will be contacting me tomorrow to make it right. I highly doubt it. At this point I'm not even confident that what I was shipped was an actual Steiner..... maybe some Chinese knockoff. Guess we'll know soon enough but it certainly appears like I'll be out of $5,200

Having been on Ebay since before 1998, I would initiate a Safe Harbor Purchase Protection inquiry. The basis for this is you want to return the scope since it is damaged. The entire process can take up to 2-3 weeks, but Ebay guarantees the purchase. I assume that the purchase was made on a credit card, so ultimately a chargeback can be made.

 

[SavageScott]

Following - curious how this is all going to play out.

Based on his spelling, I would also think it would be a scammer. But, guess you will find out soon enough! Good luck and I hope it all works out! I don't know about anyone else, but I would be doing everything in my power to get that $5k back lol. I could buy a couple Nightforces for that price.

We'll see! Fingers crossed

 

[SavageScott]

I would also throw this in the mix I don't think the slight discount you get buying used from a private person is worth the risk.if I'm spending that kind of money I'm buying from a company with a good reputation!

Can't agree with this enough. Stupid of me

 

[JAYgs8163]

I got scammed on a EBay, Leupold Mark5 purchase. Never got the item but paid with PayPal Credit Card. Filed report with EBay and PayPal. I got a full credit back to my account after 10 days of filing the dispute and sending all my documentation. Good luck.

 

[Handymike]

Here's our conversation. He hasn't answered my text as to why he said he lives in PA but his phone number is CA

I have alot of customers who have cell phones from different states. Many folks have vacated California and kept their California phones ( cell ) when they left.
Mike

 

[ATXHunter]

If you paid electronically, with something tied to a bank account, go to your bank and dispute the charges and try to ship it back to him. The bank will help you. That even works with pp f&f, but you better have documentaion proving you are right.

I don't recommend this. It will turn Ebay into an adversary instead of an ally. Ebay will likely refund you if you work with them through the dispute process. If that process fails, then go to your bank/credit card company.

If you dispute it though your bank, best case is you get your money, and lose your Ebay account. Worst case is that you dispute it, lose, your don't get your money, and you will lose your Ebay account.