If you SELL on ebay beware the latest scam.
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You advertise your item and state that you will post it first class/second class. You get a Proof of Posting from the Post Office. After a few days your Buyer says it hasn't arrived and opens a dispute. Ebay and Paypal WILL take the money paid off you whilst the dispute progresses and then they WILL find in favour of the Buyer because they do not accept Proof Of Postage, only Proof Of Delivery is accepted. The Buyer gets their money back and you lose both the money and the 'lost' item. The latest scam is that Buyers are saying they have not received an item when they actually have, and due to the Ebay system they are able to get a refund off the Seller and so get the item for free. As a Seller you must post everything signed for/tracked/recorded to cover yourself against this, if not you stand to lose out big-time. Unfortunately Ebay have now set maximum permitted Postage charges which do not always cover the actual cost of sending items via the aforementioned services, so Sellers lose out either way. As more and more people find themselves unable to afford the things they want there will be more and more scams and crime rates will increase....... not everyone scrimps, saves and cuts-back, some will steal, scam and get everything they want at other's expense.
Responses (4)
Thanks wendiew, my son went through that very same scenario only the other week.
As you suggest 'proof of postage' is not 'proof of delivery' so like you I encourage anyone using ebay to pay a little more in postage to get that signature as proof of delivery, it keeps everyone happy especially the seller.
There is no doubt that any selling/buying system where both parties are remote from each other will result in the odd bit of grief. I have been a member of Ebay since 2002 and never really had a problem in stuff getting there or indeed being received by me. But I have seen sellers openly state their item is sent with a 'certificate of postage' that they will provide should the item not be received. The fact remains that the certificate of posting confirms a contract between Royal mail and the sender only, not the recipient, so it has to be the sender who follows it up. The system is absolutely open to abuse and Ebay don't help, they just rely on people being honest ... honesty flies out of the window in a wanton society. I guess the only way is to encompass the proposed extra postage for recorded delivery into the start price ... I bet Royal Mail are getting a flood of complaints/claims as a result of this, no wonder their costs rise daily!
i sent a phone aboaud which i sold of ebay, i didnt stand a chance as i just sent it small packets , royal mail dont give out insurance on posting phones aboard so the buyer just opened a despute without emailing me saying they havnt received item and he just got his 100 pound back ebay and paypal only see the buyers side, and royal mail are no help what so ever i said a claim form to them and they sent it back wanting no the tracking number and everything else i didnt have as i only had the recept which i thought was proof enough but they arnt , so why does it say on a postal receipt please keep the receipt as PROOF of postage when they mean nothing
Hi krill08 ... I am sorry to hear about this.
I understand that Royal Mail do not support extra compensation for mobile phones sent abroad and limit their claim to 100 first class stamps.
Looking on Ebay, it seems that mobile phone sellers restrict their phone sales to recognised UK postal codes only and it seems for good reason. This problem should become 'self-levelling' where your kind of poor experience will mean that no one will post abroad under such circumstances. In fact, it is an ideal scam situation to buy from abroad ( like your own sale ) and simply deny receipt. When I have sold things on Ebay, I tend to restrict bidding from abroad or only with permission for this very reason.
Royal Mail do appear to state that the loss is the responsibility of the postal service within the country to which the item is being sent and mobile phones are 'restricted' goods for compensation. Obviously being forewarned would have been forearmed on this occasion! I would have pursued my claim with Royal Mail for at least at least a postage refund. But, the problem with these things is that they are SO complicated and full of bureaucracy that you need to be a lawyer before you do anything nowadays!
I think thats why a lot of sellers dont send to abroad now - Apparently even the Asian ones will not send to Italy, Ukraine, Pakistan , India in particular its in their postal terms but will send to UK , Germany etc
Gives you a good idea who are the more dishonest countries though.
Yep been there done that thanks Wendiew its been common practice for a long time but hasnt happened much to me thankfully!
Even mentioning it on a forum like this isnt a good thing either as it can give people ideas espceially if they are on here to save money.
Hmmmm
Catch-22.
I mentioned it so that any sellers on here are aware and can ensure they post items with tracked delivery. So even if some low-life does fancy trying their hand at this scam it shouldn't be anyone on here that loses out because they will hopefully have heeded my warning.
Hi Wendiew
Love the new look! Thanks for the information. I think that if you check it out that Royal Mail do offer insurance to post abroad also, have recently checked this out after selling a high priced item, but it does cost.
In the UK to get a signed for delivery it costs 74p, this isn't with any additional insurance but does protect against the buyer saying that it hasn't arrived.
Just a thought, you can get a pricing booklet from the post office that details all the prices and weights for posting items in this country and to Europe.
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