Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

What Can You Do When Defrauded on eBay?

Posted by Cliff on from the darkside-of-online-auction-sites dept.

zeno_lee asks: "About 55 eBay buyers were defrauded by a single high volume ebay seller. I discovered all the victims by backtracking each transaction this guy had for the past month and contacting each one individually. Everyone lost between $400 to $1700 each. I then started an email group to organize action against him and to get our money back. This guy was particularly successful because he had positive feedback ratings before he decided to jump ship. " Systems like eBay are, as most have seen, extremely popular, but the one big shortcoming is that the system only works when buyers can trust the sellers. It's actions like this that break the system and if dishonest sellers can get away with fraud, auction sites will suffer. What options are there when consumers have been frauded on auction websites?

"Most of us followed the proper procedures. You wait 30 days to file a fraud claim on ebay. Then you have the option of getting $175 at most from eBay's insurance. It softens the blow, but for many it's not anywhere close to what they lost. Contacting local authorities hasn't accomplished anything nor has filing with the FBI. Many people who paid via PayPal did get a refund, but others paid via checks.

eBay has been one of the bright spots of the internet. As a NYSE listed company, you'd expect more to be done about helping customers. I hope this question comes as a warning to be more cautious on eBay or not to bid for items on ebay over $400 without escrow protection. I've learned my lesson not to do business with anyone who doesn't use paypal or billpoint. But regardless of what we learned, most of us feel helpless because eBay has not done more to get our money back. Any suggestions?"

9 of 382 comments (clear)

  1. Here's a thought... by Grim+Metamoderator · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Tell Osama bin Laden that this guy said something bad about his mother.

  2. Re:Turd! by Another+MacHack · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Congratulations, sir, on a fine FP. You should, however, have been more self-confident; hedging bets by calling second or third post may seem "safer", but the overall result is much poorer.

    Still, excellent effort.

  3. Fuck them all! Fuck them in their stupid asses! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Quit your whining and stop buying shit on eBay dumbass!

  4. Re:I helped put one of these guys in jail by dopplex · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Wow. I get my genuine Rolexes two for $10.

    --
    "You can take our lives, but you can never take our Flerbage!!!!"
  5. Re:Do what I did... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    you're a jackass. but, i have to admit, the troll worked. some more lame high school jackasses thought you actually did it. ha! rock on.

  6. Re:Interesting statistic from eMarketer: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    c'mon ! slashdot is not SUCH a bad website...

  7. Re:Wanna buy a bridge? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    I would love to buy a bridge. Wow for $25 this is great. I would like to call it Snoopy, is this ok with you?

  8. For Sale: E-Bay Fraud Detection Software by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    100% success rate.

    Look for my auction on E-Bay now.

  9. only stupid victims pay in cash by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Use credit card or escrow.
    Darwinian culling of stupidity.