May have fallen victim to an Ebay scam 😕

[misterc01]

From my eBay experience their buyer protection progam will get you a reimbursement.

 

[best defense]

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

It could be a knock off scope from China.
My wife used to work for Leupold and they frequently received fake Leupold scopes for repair. They had to send the scopes back to the sender with a note telling them that it was not a real Leupold product.

 

[shadetreetrader]

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.

The phone # could be a cell number-- people keep their same number and cell service provider very often after relocating across the country. The number is no longer an accurate indicator of where someone currently lives.

Having had a lot of experience as both buyer & seller on eBay, though none approaching this price range, I believe you have a reasonable shot going after the funds through eBay on a fraudulent transaction and let them sort out whether any of the seller's story is relevant.

What IS relevant is that what you rec'd was (eBay speak) "Not as described". fleaBay purports to guarantee the transactions they facilitate, follow through there. They may be able to backcharge to the account they paid out to.

Take photos, be prepared to document what you rec'd.

 

[Dmagna]

File a claim with eBay

 

[hesse]

I got a fake Zeiss scope. It had dust spot on the inside of the lens sent it to Zeiss they sent it back with a note it was a fake the seller was a ghost. eBay wanted to know how I new it was a fake I sent them a screenshot of the letter . They had me send it back to seller using the tracking number my money was refunded. The funny part is 2weeks later the scope was returned because it could not be delivered

 

[SavageScott]

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.

Appreciate that!!!

 

[SavageScott]

Hey I wanted to say thank you to everyone for all of the replies. That's why I love LRH........ great guys and a TON of knowledge here!

This got squared away with the seller. I do feel bad that I questioned the transaction....... maybe I jumped the gun a bit. But man if this didn't smell of a scam!

I'm all set. Like I said I got taken care of and the seller apologized (he felt awful). It truly wasn't his fault.

Glad to have this website and you guys on here for help!

Scott

 

[fnlights]

Hey I wanted to say thank you to everyone for all of the replies. That's why I love LRH........ great guys and a TON of knowledge here!

This got squared away with the seller. I do feel bad that I questioned the transaction....... maybe I jumped the gun a bit. But man if this didn't smell of a scam!

I'm all set. Like I said I got taken care of and the seller apologized (he felt awful). It truly wasn't his fault.

Glad to have this website and you guys on here for help!

Scott

Awesome! Glad to hear that it all worked out!

 

[SavageScott]

Awesome! Glad to hear that it all worked out!

Yes sir me too!

 

[Laelkhunter]

Hey I wanted to say thank you to everyone for all of the replies. That's why I love LRH........ great guys and a TON of knowledge here!

This got squared away with the seller. I do feel bad that I questioned the transaction....... maybe I jumped the gun a bit. But man if this didn't smell of a scam!

I'm all set. Like I said I got taken care of and the seller apologized (he felt awful). It truly wasn't his fault.

Glad to have this website and you guys on here for help!

Scott

So, what was the final disposition? Get a refund?? Get a real scope?? Kept the one he sent you??

 

[FEENIX]

Hey I wanted to say thank you to everyone for all of the replies. That's why I love LRH........ great guys and a TON of knowledge here!

This got squared away with the seller. I do feel bad that I questioned the transaction....... maybe I jumped the gun a bit. But man if this didn't smell of a scam!

I'm all set. Like I said I got taken care of and the seller apologized (he felt awful). It truly wasn't his fault.

Glad to have this website and you guys on here for help!

Scott

I am glad it all worked out for you. $5,200 is a risk I am NOT willing to take when there are too many uncertainties at stake. Good luck moving forward.

 

[dwcars]

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 don't find that to be unusual. Everybody has a cell phone. In Florida where I live there are many people who have moved here over the past few years and still have an area code on their phone number from their old state~!

 

[skipglo]

Did he answer when you called him? His grammar and spelling leads me to believe it's either a scam or an old dude that doesn't know how to text.

Hey.......I resemble that Remark!

 

[G19Jeeper]

Just contact Ebay, you WILL get your money back. I sold on ebay and never once won a dispute as a seller. I even had a guy buy a set of S&W original grips and slipped his screw driver through the checkering when installing. He demanded a return for "not as shown/described" even though the pictures clearly showed it wasn't there in the listing Ebay refunded him, and pulled the money from my account. Bottom line is it's not the model that's in the add, just contact Ebay and explain. They have 100% buyer protection, and will give you a return mailing label and refund. Tell the seller to figure it out and when he has the correct scope in his hands let you know so you can consider purchasing it if you want to. Good luck!

Similar issue I had with them and the very reason they no longer get my business. I was selling an HK VP9 Slide and made multiple notes including good pictures showing what it was and some idiot bought it thinking it was a long slide Match version and then claimed I scammed him. Took $100 hit on that one and ebays Customer service reps were too stupid to understand any of what was going on