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Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Marketplace => Topic started by: neofree on December 17, 2008, 03:17:30 AM
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Apologies for Off Topic, because my item is not an Amiga item, but I've been reading these forums for years and I know you guys really know eBay really well. And I've gotten backed into a corner and I don't know what to do. Appreciate any help anyone can offer me.
I listed my laptop on eBay and it finished today. The winning bidder has a score of 0. I made sure to select that it is shipping to US only. He now has contacted me asking if I can ship it to Nigeria/Africa. It doesnt take a genious to smell credit card fraud here.
I contacted eBay twice via chat and they said I could file an Unpaid Item Dispute. But when I tried to do that it said I had to wait 7 days. They also said I could just contact him and say I won't ship to US and see if he will do a Mutual Unpaid Item Dispute. Well for one I can't find the option. They linked me to the same place "Open a Case"/"Unpaid Item Dispute" and I see no mutual option. Secondly, if I contact him and say I wont ship to Nigeria, can't he leave me negative feedback right away in spite? I have 100% and I can't believe I am not protected from a very obvious scammer. I am pretty sure this is my last time to sell on eBay if this is not resolved properly.
Any ideas??
Thanks,
Neofree
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I hate selling PC hardware (I won't do it any more) because of this. Just want and file an Unpaid Item Dispute. That's what I had to do (Three times).
Best advice I've got when selling PC hardware like laptops is to make the auction so limiting these nuts can get in on it. I don't allow anyone with low feed back to bid. I require immediate payment via PayPal, stuff like that. You will not get top price this way, but on the flip side, you will not have to take three or four tries to get it sold.
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I've dealt with this before, but it's possible that eBay has changed their policies. (I don't know.) Tell him that you will ship to a USA confirmed paypal address only. If he pays you by paypal with anything other than that, you can refund his money from inside of paypal under that transaction. You can eventually (after 7 days) enter him as a non-paying bidder. Non-paying bidders cannot leave negative feedback on the items for which they have not legitimately paid. Again, the rules possibly could have changed with all the eBay changes as of late, which are mostly bad IMO. Nothing real comes from Nigeria, unfortunately. Best, -Dave
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So dont reply at all? Man this is the third time I listed it.. (didn't sell other times) Yeah if I do this again I'll put minimum feedback requirement.
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But if I reply and say I will ship to US only can he report negative feedback before the 7 days are up? Will the Unpaid Item Dispute remove the negative feedback if he does?
Thanks,
Neofree
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That's a damn good question, to which I do not know the answer (sorry). Could you call eBay support with that very question? I think that's your best bet.
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Do they have a phone number? I tried live chat twice and I didnt think to ask that but still were not very helpful.
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Paypal definitely has a phone number. I'm not sure about eBay. Another option. Let this Nigerian joker pay (or not pay) and either ignore him or string him along. He doesn't expect to receive the laptop with 6 days, does he? On the 7th day, report him as a non-paying bidder and he won't be able to leave you negative feedback. Would he have any reason for leaving you negative feedback earlier if he thinks he's going to get a free laptop shortly? (I see there could be a problem if you want to relist this exact item right away.)
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I hope things turn out ok for you on this.
My short answer for future sales would be to stop selling on ebay. I did. I've been using craigslist with better results. My item, my listing, my rules. You may not get the premiums gained in bidding, but you don't get the head aches either.
Plaz
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Off topic:
Plaz wrote:
I've been using craigslist with better results. My item, my listing, my rules.
Plaz
Very good way of saying it. I recently checked out craigslist myself and I managed to get a 4200+ x2 Socket AM2 cpu from a local guy in my state, and he was very prompt and shipped my item great.
A year ago I myself had someone email me on craigslist and told me if they could send payment using some weird banking system they had blah blah, but i clearly said sorry, US Money Order. Your rules, your auction. :-D
On Topic:
I am sorry to hear in the situation your put in. Hope you get the whole Fleabay situation figured out.
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If i were ebay i would block all traffic from nigeria. It is unlikely that any transaction from there is legitimate.
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Go the open item dispute route, one of the options is "Mutual transaction cancellation" or something like that. Then further reason select "Both parties decided not to complete this transaction.
In the future make sure to set up your filters. Select what countries you will ship to and block anyone not in those countries.
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I only ship to Europe, UK and USA.
Then I click "Only accept bidders from your accepted bidding blablabla", that way anyone from africa won't be accepted.
I also add in the text: "Absolutely no shipping to Africa."
Hope this helps.
Btw. Try offering the next bidder a 2nd chance offer. Or just relist and type up "relisted due to deadbeat bidder"
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Amithony wrote:
If i were ebay i would block all traffic from nigeria. It is unlikely that any transaction from there is legitimate.
Having worked in Nigeria myself (and other African countries), I would say that "most" transactions from there are probably cons, but there are an awful lot of honest, hard working Nigerians too.
Personally, I would be happy to ship to Nigeria but only if the transaction was covered by PayPal and the person agreed to pay for the recorded delivery and insurance.
The main question to ask your self is "why would somebody from Country X want my product?" For example, Nigeria is an English speaking country that uses PAL TVs and 240v power, so why would someone want a used NTSC 110v A500?
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Thanks everyone for the replies. But I'm still not able to proceed.
Should I reply to him or not?
Will he be able to leave feedback before the 7 days? If so, will the unpaid dispute remote the negative feedback?
Thanks,
Neofree
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You have to reply. Reply politely and explain the transaction is null and void because you put in your description no international sales. Tell him you are initiating a mutual transaction cancellation and for him to please accept it. Just be polite but specific.
There is always a risk of a negative strike, but he probably won't. Even if you do, there is a chance you can get eBay to remove it. Just follow the eBay rules to the T, that starts with communicating. If he stops replying and/or refuses to accept the mutual cancellation, you will have to wait the 7 days. If that happens, wait and file again.
BTW, I just remembered. IIRC with unpaid item dispute there is an option for "Buyer from a country I don't ship to".
Good luck.
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Ok I went to site map, resolution center, under "I sold an item" I picked I want to cancel a transaction, put the item number in, but I dont see anyhting about mutual. This is the same thing I said to eBay's live help twice and they werent able to answer.
I see:
The buyer has returned or is returning the item for a refund
The buyer did not want the item
The buyer purchased item in error
The buyer requested shipment to an unconfirmed address (I tried this but it said I had to wait 7 days)
The buyer and I disagreed over terms
I sold the item to another buyer
I don't have the item anymore
I ran out of stock
Other reasons
Thanks,
Neofree
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OK I figured it out. I got into chat with eBay again it worked out this time.
You need to choose "Other reasons". So he has 7 days to respond to the request. Hopefully he accepts it. If he does nothing I can close the case and automatically win. If denies the request I cannot open another case! But if he leaves negative feedback I can send a request to the trust center to have it removed.
WHAT A PITA!!! I spent most of yesterday being so upset that I couldn't think straight. I will definately require some feedback from now on...
Thanks,
Neofree
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For example, Nigeria is an English speaking country that uses PAL TVs and 240v power, so why would someone want a used NTSC 110v A500?
Because as most modern european TV it can handle 60 Hz mode, and play games at their real speed without a huge black line at the bottom...
If you want to make a "safe" deal with such a country :
1 - make a huge S+H registred with UPS, FEDEX, or EMS (Chronopost) in the fastest way.
2 - Never accept Western Union pay check
3 - If the money finally arrive on your bank account (you never know), WAIT !!!!!!!! Your bank may not check it well enough during the first 3 days (they have only receive an order, not a real bank transfert !!!), so wait at least 10 days (up to 1 month), that your bank take the time to check the origin (stolen cheque ?) and get the real money !! If your bank didn't get the real money, then the transaction will be aborted and the unreal money will deseaper of your counto ...
You can also add Australia, Japan, N-Z to the safe countries ;-)
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Reply to the winning bidder that you will not ship outside the USA as you specified such in the listing. Cancel all their bids, state why and then offer the item to the next highest bidder via the second chance option. You can also report the bidder to Ebay for 'Unwelcome and Malicious bidding' which usually makes the scammers back off a bit.
Once their bids have been cancelled, the auction will automatically revert to the next highest bidder automatically and you can proceed from there.
Don't be scared of the possibility of negative feedback from them. Remember, you CAN reply to such feedback citing 2 simple words which will have a devestating effect on their future bids with people ... 'Nigerian Scammer'. Use the tools you have to their greatest effect :-)