Ebay scam targeting Leicas (hit twice in one week)

This is remarkable. So sorry to hear this. Within the last year I, too, have stopped selling/buying on ebay. I pay the extra money on KEH or Usedphotopro or (even better and more reliable) on here at the classifieds. I'm done trying to hunt for ebay bargains I have had too many bad experiences lately both buying and selling.
 
Many years ago, I sold a Canon lens on ebay. The sales price was about $1k. As soon as the auction finished, the winner contacted me with a request to send the lens out quickly. I think the auction finished on Thursday and he wanted me to get the package out on Friday. The money was safely in my Paypal, so I thought, "sure, why not." The delivery address was in Belarus, which while interesting, didn't bother me at the time.

I did package up the lens and take it to the post office the next day. I figured the transaction was basically complete at that point.

On Monday, I received a bunch of email from both ebay and Paypal saying my accounts had been locked for fraud. The Belarusian buyer had used a stolen account to purchase my lens, so all the money from that transaction was forfeit. Furthermore, they suspected me of being part of the fraud and that's why my accounts were locked pending some kind of internal investigation.

After a little digging, I was able to contact the actual owner of the ebay account that bought my lens. I apologized for the situation and gave him my contact info in case he needed it for a police report. He had identity theft to worry about, while I was only out the price of one lens.

Needless to say, I was pissed. I did some more internet research and found the email address of the Postmaster General of Belarus. I wrote them a note detailing the contents of the package, the tracking number and included all the details I could about the fraud.

A couple of weeks later, I did get my Paypal and ebay accounts out of hock. That was nice, but I still lost the lens. It's definitely the seller that takes on the most risk in these sales. I figured that was the end of the story.

Roll forward one year. An unexpected package arrives. In it is my Canon lens in perfect condition, with some of the original packaging. No note or anything, just the lens. I guess the postal authorities in Belarus were able to intercept the package before it was delivered.

My only take-away point from this is to perhaps let an expensive ebay sale sit for a few business days before sending it out to the buyer. That gives Paypal/ebay a chance to discover fraudulent activity (or more likely, it gives the owner of a stolen account a chance to stop the transaction).
 
Another route is not to take returns on Ebay.

It will cost you some sales, but it will also make it more difficult for scammers.
 
I responded to your Facebook post with the following information, perhaps RFF readers will find it helpful.

USPS scans packages as they travel through their system. USPS will know if ship labels have the address altered.

USPS tracking devices that all delivery carriers use, record GPS coordinates upon delivery.

USPS will also therefore know if the delivery GPS coordinates do not match the address referenced on the *original* ship label.

With this information you should be able to prove the scam to eBay and have them cover your loss.

You’ll probably need to speak with a postmaster to get these details.

I have previously used this data to retrieve packages.

Good luck!
 
All the more reason I sell my old gear on consignment through respected vendors. Aside from a private sale where the cash is exchanged on the spot, all other options nowadays are fraught with peril.

Scams abound. No signatures are being taken by FedEx or USPS on account of Covid and so some scam buyers are claiming, "I never got it!". The cost of insuring a $5000 lens or $10,000 camera with FedEx/USPS cuts the profit margin razor thin and sellers have often opted against it.

The worst beasts come out at the most trying of times.
 
I responded to your Facebook post with the following information, perhaps RFF readers will find it helpful.

USPS scans packages as they travel through their system. USPS will know if ship labels have the address altered.

USPS tracking devices that all delivery carriers use, record GPS coordinates upon delivery.

USPS will also therefore know if the delivery GPS coordinates do not match the address referenced on the *original* ship label.

With this information you should be able to prove the scam to eBay and have them cover your loss.

You’ll probably need to speak with a postmaster to get these details.

I have previously used this data to retrieve packages.

Good luck!

Good points,
but this only applies to US sales - not international

USPS international outgoing shipping is terribly slow now due to far fewer airline flights
better DHL or even UPS for international
 
Good points,
but this only applies to US sales - not international

USPS international outgoing shipping is terribly slow now due to far fewer airline flights
better DHL or even UPS for international

The OP sales were domestic, so hopefully this may help someone in a similar position.

Im not sure how eBay processes international returns to the US, whether they use the post or other carrier. If it does go through the post to an alternative address, the USPS ‘MDD’ (‘mobile delivery device’ - scanner - that all carriers use) would record the final delivery GPS coordinates which may be useful.

And yes, I will no longer ship USPS international as the delays are far too long.

Recent DHL shipments I shipped, on the other hand, took only 3 days and actually cost less than USPS priority...which promises 6-10 days in ordinary circumstances (but the COVID excuse is delaying things for many weeks...)
 
Another route is not to take returns on Ebay.

It will cost you some sales, but it will also make it more difficult for scammers.

That's what I had to do a couple years ago, when the Scam-t0-Good sale ratio started hitting more than 2:1. I also reduced my selling on ebay from several dozen cameras/lenses a year to about 1 every 2 years. And those usually end up being some "partial refund" hacker too.

To the OP, what countries were the buyers in? In the US there are a lot more avenues you can take to bust them.
 
i hope you get your money back by filing a fraud claim and i hope ebay goes away for good with their increase of fees and unchecked fraud. not to mention every single camera in the past years i've bought there i had to return as it was in poor condition and the sellers do not describe the condition accurately. even had this problem with two respected dealers. only in person/forum from now on. i'm talking about maybe 8-10 different bodies and lenses each one in garbage condition some described as mint and priced at the ceiling
 
You certainly can deny returns. You say "as is" and "not guaranteed to work" and then let them try a dispute. Ebay will shut them down after a few back and forths. Irritating, but it's the current "global economy" attitudes that are causing all history of human interactions and honor to be flushed.
 
i hope you get your money back by filing a fraud claim and i hope ebay goes away for good with their increase of fees and unchecked fraud. not to mention every single camera in the past years i've bought there i had to return as it was in poor condition and the sellers do not describe the condition accurately. even had this problem with two respected dealers. only in person/forum from now on. i'm talking about maybe 8-10 different bodies and lenses each one in garbage condition some described as mint and priced at the ceiling

Remember - 95% of sellers on ebay don't know what the camera they are selling is. They found it in grandpas closet, or at a yard sale. They sell dishes, old jewelry, records, and the occasional tool like a 50 year old camera. They don't know to look for dust inside a lens, shutter curtain wrinkles, or delaminating rangefinder windows. Expecting SPECIALTY EXPERTISE from a GENERALIST SELLER, and that they are somehow a "dealer" is a fools errand. Even a dealer doesn't run a roll through all 37 of their cameras, in multiple light conditions, altitudes, and temperatures to "torture test" the camera. Just the buyer expects all that. These are 50 year old precision tools.....they're GOING TO break.

The "ceiling" price you mention, adjusted for inflation, is about 15% of the cost of the camera, when new. Most people in 1950 or 1975 couldn't afford but one camera - in a lifetime. Today the money paid for these things is CHUMP CHANGE. The price of a Leica M3 in the day was about 1/3 the price of a car. The price of a Nikon F2 kit about what going out to a fine dinner every week for a year cost. Today, it's 3 trips to Starbucks.
 
There is no way not to accept returns. If the seller opens a dispute saying the item is not as described your stuck.

I stoped years back too, but find myself there again (new account). No enough camera stuff to sell, T-shirts and small items. I’m not accepting returns, showing everything in pictures I can think of a stain or hole and keeping my fingers crossed.

I’ve had three scams where a new user is making an offer and wants me to communicate over a cell with text. The first two had equal signs where spaces should be so they were easy to spot. The second looked more normal and was $20 over the offer, so I took it only to figure out it probably was a scam. I have to be more mindful.

Like I have said many times before eVilBay and PaynPal 5uck.

B2 (;->
 
I stoped years back too, but find myself there again (new account). No enough camera stuff to sell, T-shirts and small items. I’m not accepting returns, showing everything in pictures I can think of a stain or hole and keeping my fingers crossed.

I’ve had three scams where a new user is making an offer and wants me to communicate over a cell with text. The first two had equal signs where spaces should be so they were easy to spot. The second looked more normal and was $20 over the offer, so I took it only to figure out it probably was a scam. I have to be more mindful.

Like I have said many times before eVilBay and PaynPal 5uck.

B2 (;->

I got scammed just like that. Always communicate with the buyer using official eBay internal messaging for everything to be on the record. I don’t sell anymore.
 
For any expensive item i always post express and have it insured, which the customer has to pay for. If you do that you can deter most scams since only legit buyers would want to fork out the money to safely transport their 'soon to be theirs' item. Trying to save with shipping cost is asking for trouble imho. Even with returns i would pay for premium shipping and insurance it at my own expense than having the entire item lost. Always check the shipping address is exactly as registered with ebay or you had sent previously. Any changes to that is asking for trouble!
 
Another route is not to take returns on Ebay.

It will cost you some sales, but it will also make it more difficult for scammers.
Yes, but the problem is that eBay does not actually permit a true "no-return" policy. You can state that as a seller, even click a box to indicate that, but if the buyer claims the item is significantly different than described, eBay usually forces a return. eBay will nearly always side with the buyer in a dispute (real or fraudulent) and expect the seller to take the loss.

eBay return policies override seller policies. It's been that way there now for a few years.
 
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