This is a very sophisticated, complex - and quite new on eBay - scam that everyone needs to be aware of. It's run by experienced sellers who know ebay's rules very, very well and have identified the loopholes. This is not some seller who signs up, does a few dozen legit sales, then a few dozen scams, then runs.
What makes this different is that these tend to be otherwise reliable, high-feedback score sellers (often in high volume, lower cost items) for whom scams are less than 10% of their items, but are likely the majority of their income. For this high volume, high feedback reason, eBay will never remove them as a seller, and put down any reported scams as misunderstandings, mostly because these guys know how to keep negative feedback very low.
The money is big: on the item I bought, there were 34 buyers of a 1/4 scale body that cost around $120-130. That's more than $4,000 scammed on a single listing. I sent a full report to eBay when he was around 30 buyers - eBay did nothing, and another four buyers were scammed.
The seller who scammed me still has a "one of ebay's most reliable sellers" status, even as he brazenly tries to prove to my credit card company that he delivered a $120 item (18" tall figure) to me by using tracking info for a cheap tiny envelope (****crucially, with tracking****) that contained a self-printed, worthless "VIP discount card" and sheet of gibberish pre-order rules.
Ironic, given most of these scams are for items that appear in-stock, but as soon as you pay they send you a very friendly message saying "sorry friend, item will be in stock in about 3 weeks, can you please wait?" That is the first major warning sign.
As I've stated before, these people are masters at this - they will stay in close contact with you the whole time, constantly reassuring you. The bogus package they send you (importantly, it's junk that is nevertheless sent via TRACKED SERVICE) isn't an actual "wrong item" or "low cost item" that would attract attention, rather just "information" or maybe a small "gift" that you likely won't use.
This is so you really don't think much of it, let alone file any claim or dispute. It just seems informational, you may even dispose of it (BIG mistake) The type of thing - a business card, sticker or whatever that a few 1/6 part-out companies sometimes send with orders. So you'll let precious weeks or even months slip by after that delivery as you continue to wait.
Meanwhile - he's logged the item as being shipped, and will AGGRESSIVELY use that for any paypal dispute or credit card chargeback. So DO NOT throw any of that small envelope or its contents away - photograph them. It's your only chance.
And why so few neg feedbacks? Because he communicates reliably, apologetically, stalls and stalls (and you're comforted by those piles of positive feedbacks, right up to today) until the 60 day feedback window has passed. Importantly, that's 60 days from ORDER date, NOT delivery date. Most people don't know that.
Then - he walks away. And waits for your paypal dispute, with his tracking info ready, a small envelope you probably threw away 6 weeks earlier, so have no evidence. Fortunately, I did save it - enveople and all, and have sent it to the credit card company who had attempted to close the chargeback because my friend in China dutifully sent them "proof of delivery" of the $120 item.
very good posts! This was my first experience ever falling into the scam trap on eBay so going forward, I don't feel comfortable buying from China/overseas on eBay. I've had a lot of success buying from 1/6 stuff fro, US sellers especially recently. But now, buying cheap stuff on eBay from China is a no-no for me.
