Mac Pro Stolen On Ebay

[Moonshield]

I'm posting this as a warning to people trying to sell their Macs through Ebay and Paypal. Also, I'd appreciate any advice you may have for me.


I put my Mac Pro on Ebay and someone used the "buy it now" option for $2,599.00 and asked if they could pick it up locally while still using paypal as the payment method. I agreed to these terms thinking that I have the protection of ebay and paypal on my side, but I was very wrong. I received the paypal email saying the transaction was complete, so I logged into paypal and confirmed that it was before agreeing to meet the buyer at a local McDonald's. He seemed like a nice guy and didn't seem to mind that I was late to meet him and after the exchange, I went home a happy seller.

3 days later, I get an email from paypal saying that I will not get paid because the buyer reported an unauthorized access to his account. I'm not covered under the paypal seller's protection because I did not ship the item anywhere. The police wouldn't file a report because it is classified as a civil claims issue and no "crime" was committed. He said it was also not classified as fraud. So now I'm not sure if this ebay user just claimed not to have made the transaction, or if the guy I met just stole the ebay account password. I do have the guys cell phone number since I had to call him to coordinate the meeting. Is there anything I can do?

 

[Kashchei]

I had a similar situation with selling a computer through ebay and the buyer wanting to pick it up (rather than waste the shipping charges). I spoke with ebay and they specifically told me that it was up to me whether I wanted to grant the buyer's request to pick up the machine (I had a flat shipping charge for my auction). They said nothing about this voiding any protection I had through them as a seller. I don't know if this helps, but I wanted to let you know in case it does.

 

[gkarris]

I'm posting this as a warning to people trying to sell their Macs through Ebay and Paypal. Also, I'd appreciate any advice you may have for me.

3 days later, I get an email from paypal saying that I will not get paid because the buyer reported an unauthorized access to his account. I'm not covered under the paypal seller's protection because I did not ship the item anywhere. The police wouldn't file a report because it is classified as a civil claims issue and no "crime" was committed. He said it was also not classified as fraud. So now I'm not sure if this ebay user just claimed not to have made the transaction, or if the guy I met just stole the ebay account password. I do have the guys cell phone number since I had to call him to coordinate the meeting. Is there anything I can do?

No, unless you had him sign a sheet saying he has received the item as descibed on the auction, then it can be his word against yours... and that may not even work as he could say he "never signed anything". You need "3rd party confirmation" - a shipping company.

That's why you need to always SHIP an item of that sorts - and use a service with package tracking and, if expensive, receiving signature required.

We live and learn...

 

[CashGap]

Also, with PayPal, shipping to any address other than the PayPal confirmed address ends any protection for the seller.

The PayPal confirmed address will be prominent in the funding email from PayPal. This is a great way for PayPal to protect the buyer against a hijacked account, so seller's ship to other addresses against PayPal's advice and at their own risk.

 

[Moonshield]

now it turns out there have been 2 or 3 more victims after me from the same guy. One seller lost a $3100 mac book pro. I really hope they catch this guy somehow

 

[SXR]

I'm posting this as a warning to people trying to sell their Macs through Ebay and Paypal. Also, I'd appreciate any advice you may have for me.


I put my Mac Pro on Ebay and someone used the "buy it now" option for $2,599.00 and asked if they could pick it up locally while still using paypal as the payment method. I agreed to these terms thinking that I have the protection of ebay and paypal on my side, but I was very wrong. I received the paypal email saying the transaction was complete, so I logged into paypal and confirmed that it was before agreeing to meet the buyer at a local McDonald's. He seemed like a nice guy and didn't seem to mind that I was late to meet him and after the exchange, I went home a happy seller.

3 days later, I get an email from paypal saying that I will not get paid because the buyer reported an unauthorized access to his account. I'm not covered under the paypal seller's protection because I did not ship the item anywhere. The police wouldn't file a report because it is classified as a civil claims issue and no "crime" was committed. He said it was also not classified as fraud. So now I'm not sure if this ebay user just claimed not to have made the transaction, or if the guy I met just stole the ebay account password. I do have the guys cell phone number since I had to call him to coordinate the meeting. Is there anything I can do?

Very sad to hear that . Oh man. This is why I avoid eBay and others for purchases above 20 euros people! When you buy something , just keep it , and when you buy something buy it from the manufacturer. Luckily I havent had to deal with this crap and never will if I keep staying away from eBay and others. Maybe ill do it once but with a person-to-person money exchange.

I can't believe that the police doesnt wanna help you, thats just crap.
Call the guy , try to get some common sense out of him.
Also , what the heck is paypal thinking? For example , you SHIP the item to McDonalds and the guy picks it up there. In that case, you did SHIP the item right? Well, in this case , you brought the item to the guy which is the same ( even better imho ). I think you should really take paypal/ebay up on this , its ridiculous. I think you deserve either your Mac Pro OR money back and a cut of the earnings of paypal for messing you about. But thats just my opinion. Hang on there mate.

 

[TimJim]

Theres nothing much you can do, unless you have his signature proving his payment or something. a similar thing happened to me but on a much smaller scale. Try call the guy and find out what his problem is, and file some sort of report on ebay and try with Paypal (although they might not deal with your side of the story).

Good luck....

 

[jsgreen]

I'd go back to the police and tell them about the pattern of several people also being swindled, they might take an interest if there are several instances. The cops should be able to learn who it is through the cell number (unless that was bought using bogus info.)

I'd also re-report the theft to ebay and paypal, for the same reasons described above. This guy obviously is clever and found a way around the system...which ebay and paypal won't like to learn, as it does harm to them in the long run (even if you did go outside their directions by not shipping the item).

 

[SXR]

Personally I would light up both eBay and PayPal. Obviously they're like "Oh crap , someone got around our system, dont look!"

 

[TimTheEnchanter]

That really sucks, sorry you got taken advantage of Moonshield. I would keep pressing the police to get involved, maybe connect with the other sellers if you can, this isn't an isolated case if there are multiple crimes. Do you know if he used the same ebay account for the others? If so, you could lean on ebay & paypal that they're allowing the fraud to happen. Since you have a cell number, serial numbers, email address (IP maybe) and multiple people that can identify him, you might have a shot. At least, call the local pawnshops and watch craigslist. Can a private investigator or something lookup the cell number?

I hope for the best for you and the others, keep us informed and thanks for the hard lesson, I'll think twice about being the nice guy and make sure I'm covered next time.

TTE

 

[2jaded2care]

Do a search on these forums for the thread "I'm furious at PayPal". One guy there had a similar thing happen with a PSP.

Ever since reading that thread, I won't take PayPal for payment at all. And I generally won't bid on anything over $100 anymore because of the rampant fraud.

PayPal and eBay had better clean things up and start taking care of their customers if they want to stay in business, the scammers are hitting a lot of people.

 

[ob81]

Wow. I have never purchased anything on ebay in my life, and was just about to purchase a monitor from there when I saw the topic surfing macrumors. Sorry about your computer dude. I would track that guy down.

 

[SXR]

Do a search on these forums for the thread "I'm furious at PayPal". One guy there had a similar thing happen with a PSP.

Ever since reading that thread, I won't take PayPal for payment at all. And I generally won't bid on anything over $100 anymore because of the rampant fraud.

PayPal and eBay had better clean things up and start taking care of their customers if they want to stay in business, the scammers are hitting a lot of people.

Thats awfull. Even with a PSP , but a 2500 dollar Mac Pro is slightly different ( at least in size ). I will defo check the topic out.

I use paypal almost every day , no problems. I think those ebay people will do the right thing when you send them an email containing these words.

Sue, lawsuit, money.

No seriously, you should track the guy down.

 

[2jaded2care]

Wow. I have never purchased anything on ebay in my life, and was just about to purchase a monitor from there when I saw the topic surfing macrumors.

Not everyone on eBay is a con artist, but you have to be careful. For example, a "Power Seller" whose positive feedbacks consist mainly of sales such as "1-cent digital download of picture -- puppy, very cute", along with lots of good feedback from people who are no longer "registered users" -- not good. Really.

 

[ErikAndre]

Phew, what a horrible perdicament... I'm very sorry about this and your loss. I never had anyone ever offer to meet me for any eBay transaction, but if I ever intended to sell locally, i would instead use craigslist and stick with a cash-only payment. Usually, in my craigslist, I would say I would take it to eBay if it didn't sell (and that usually turned heads).

But man... for a Mac Pro. I think I would have first chosen eBay for such a sale (considering the value), but would have been victim to the same thing.

Thanks for the warning. I hope this can get resolved somehow for you.

 

[CashGap]

Really out of line to pin any of this on PayPal.

They VERY clearly explain that the only way to deliver the product safely is by shipping to the seller's confirmed PayPal address, and that YOU are taking responsibility for the entire transaction if you ignore that advice.

It's tough when ignoring that advice costs you, but you can't go to PayPal and say "I disregarded your instructions, and I want you to protect me even though you told me that you could not protect me if I disregarded your instructions!".

"PayPal and eBay had better clean things up and start taking care of their customers if they want to stay in business, the scammers are hitting a lot of people."

I think they are doing OK. Fraud is probably in the tenth or hundredth of a percent of total transactions. Probably lower than the rate of bad checks passed/received in brick-and-mortar stores... that is, a seller who uses eBay/PayPal exclusively has LESS fraud loss than a seller who operates a traditional store.

 

[GSMiller]

Sorry to hear your loss. I read in someone's LiveJournal about a year back about them selling a MBP on eBay to someone in Russia who paid with PayPal, only to be notified by PayPal the transaction was unauthorized and they didn't do business in Russia, so they lost the notebook and the money.

I tried selling an HP notebook on eBay last fall only to have every single "buyer" trying to screw me over! They would use Buy it Now and send me this email about being on vacation in another country and buying the computer for their daughter going to school in Nigeria. I gave up and just kept the damn thing.

 

[Mindflux]

Sorry to hear your loss. I read in someone's LiveJournal about a year back about them selling a MBP on eBay to someone in Russia who paid with PayPal, only to be notified by PayPal the transaction was unauthorized and they didn't do business in Russia, so they lost the notebook and the money.

I tried selling an HP notebook on eBay last fall only to have every single "buyer" trying to screw me over! They would use Buy it Now and send me this email about being on vacation in another country and buying the computer for their daughter going to school in Nigeria. I gave up and just kept the damn thing.

Same thing happened to my buddy selling a Sony DVD Camcorder. Except he had already removed the money from PP. By law PP cannot remove money from your bank account unless you authorize it, so my buddy told PP to choke on it and had his bank account info changed so PP couldn't just remove it.

Some protection, paypal.

 

[AceWilfong]

I bought Michael Vick Chew toys for xmas gifts for fellow dog owers. Seller urged us to wait because shipments were delayed. When I tried finally for a refund, PayPal sez I waited too long. Screw Paypal, as far as I'm concened. (Still waiting btw).

 

[taylorwilsdon]

You should have sent a signature-confirmation required package containing a critical component (video card, etc) that would prove he received it. PayPal would have sided with you then. Lesson learned (don't think I'm being insensitive, I've been scammed a ton of times on ebay as a seller from false claims, phished paypal and ebay accounts, etc)

 

[luminosity]

What a bummer . Very sorry to read. No advice to give, but much sympathy.

 

[Sun Baked]

You lost a computer, some people lose a car with the fake funds scams.

 

[je1ani]

NEVER EVER EVER!!! Let go of the product without having the cash in hand. When you receive money in paypal direct it to your bank account and once you have the cash ship out the item... it's sad you'd fall for that scam. it sucks!

 

[Airforce]

I'd put up another macbook on ebay and try to get this guy to nibble at it. Meet him in person again, kick his ***, call his mom fat, and steal his wallet

Ah, only in a perfect world...

 

[mrwizardno2]

NEVER EVER EVER!!! Let go of the product without having the cash in hand. When you receive money in paypal direct it to your bank account and once you have the cash ship out the item... it's sad you'd fall for that scam. it sucks!

Only problem with giving paypal your bank account is that if that money comes up questionable, they seize it from your account immediately. My dad had it happen once, it bounced tons of checks but the bank eventually let the fees go.