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Opinions, please - on what's going on here?

9 replies

dotnet · 06/02/2013 12:45

Two months ago I sold a picture for £45 incl p&P. Bidder paid then asked for it to be sent minus glass and frame to Cyprus (not the address supplied by eBay).
I said 'no'. Reminded bidder twice as time went on that he MUST collect it from the London sorting office where it would have gone after he didn't take delivery (tracked). Long intervals between hearing from him. Fergoose advised I should refund as not received/collected, and reclaim costs.

I found I couldn't, as my printer is broken and I couldn't send images of the relevant pages to Royal Mail. Rang Royal Mail.

Man there said they would search the sorting office and let me know if in fact the parcel HAD been picked up - he seemed to think that was quite possible despite track and trace showing 'We have your parcel' but also that the parcel was in their system (i.e. en route).

The last time I emailed the bidder a month ago) I told him that when/if his parcel was returned to me I'd post it the given eBay address and he'd need to pay approx a further £8 into my Paypal, so I could again send it trackable.

No reply to date. No query about why he hasn't yet got the parcel, no demand for his money back pronto.

I'm mystified by the whole thing. It's been a transaction where I got the whiff of a very big and smelly rat. I could be wrong I suppose, but the whole thing is decidedly weird. What do other eBayers think is going on?

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fergoose · 06/02/2013 13:16

so you haven't received it back nor have you refunded?

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lljkk · 06/02/2013 14:32

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dotnet · 06/02/2013 17:56

Hi Fergoose - no, as I say, I got stymied about trying to sort out a Royal Mail refund because I couldn't send R.M. the images of the relevant eBay pages - my printer's broken. And then, when I rang Royal Mail, they told me to send them their form without the ebay printouts and they would hunt around the sorting office and also check whether in fact it HAD been delivered.
So I've done that and am awaiting an outcome. I'm not asking for advice at this stage, as things are in hand with Royal Mail. I just wondered if anything odd like this had happened to other people and if they could say what might be going on. I still THINK the person I've been dealing with is a scammer - he's been very odd in his requests and also told me what I believe is a sob story. Also, if he had been genuine, he wouldn't be keeping stumm, would he, about not having had his money back? But maybe I'm just an old cynic. I think he saw on my original auction ad that I WASN'T saying I'd mail recorded, and was disappointed when I did (because his iniitial contact asking for pic, minus glass and frame, sent to Cyprus), worried me.)

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fergoose · 06/02/2013 18:07

so you haven't had the item back and you haven't refunded because you couldn't print out the claim forms?

And was the payment more than 45 days ago now? I am surprised he hasn't opened a not received case tbh.

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dotnet · 06/02/2013 18:36

Hi Fergoose, so am I, tbh - except that, as I say, I smell a rat. Tho' I can't really imagine how the scam might have worked (if it was one) unless the bidder was in cahoots with Royal Mail in some way.
Yes, more than 45 days have passed now. I've checked back, and don't know how many emails I sent the bidder, but I've found what I think were the last four - on Dec1, Dec 5, Dec 18 and January 5. These were all 'chasing up' emails. No reply to the last one in which I restate that I'll only send the pic, if it comes back, to the London address which eBay showed. I also said, shall we mutually agree to cancel the sale?

Incidentally the name of the person who'd placed the winning bid wasn't the same as that showing as the eBay registered person. But I know lots of people borrow other people's eBay so they can bid without registering themselves, so maybe that is OK.

The winning bidder said early on that eBay 'wouldn't let him pay', but then sent another message saying it was OK, payment had gone through. That was one of the first things which worried me a bit.

I feel uncomfortable about the whole thing really. If the winning bidder does get back to me and if I find someone with a printer who will let me print off the ebay sale details, can you tell me, fergoose, how I can do that? I tried to dig out the old sale details, but they're are no longer visible in 'My eBay' (Sold). I don't seem to be able to find them although I think I can dig out the Paypal info easily enough, if I need to.

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fergoose · 06/02/2013 18:52

why do you need to print off anything? I would presume he has received it so you can't claim for a lost item anyway can you?

I would just leave it - the buyer would have filed a claim if they hadn't got the item - the fact that they haven't probably means they have received it.

I don't sense scam at all, confused buyer maybe, but scam seems doubtful. The name difference means nothing at all so can be ignored.

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QuietNinjaTardis · 06/02/2013 18:58

Have you definitely had the money for it? If you have then I haven't got a clue but would have thought they have received it.

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sarahtigh · 06/02/2013 19:38

can't they raise a dispute with paypal within 60 days, so if 60 days past there is nothing he can do

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dotnet · 08/02/2013 10:49

I feel very relieved by what you, fergoose, you QuietNinjaTardis and you, sarahtigh have said. Thankyou. I thought he probably had received it, but the last time I heard from him he asked me to return it to him in Cyprus when it came back to me!
I've heard nothing from the Post Office (sorting office) yet, so I'll not worry about the business of my broken printer, and just guess that he was wanting to make out that it hadn't been received so he could get a handy bit of extra loot, courtesy of Royal Mail.
Thanks again - first time I've been messed about in this weird way. I'll forget about him now.