new ebay buying scam beware

[Disorderlypunk]

ok just been hit badly by this one
sold my chop on ebay had some communication before hand and sent a video of bike running etc (but after winning)
Buyer never came to view just emailed, after winning i thought buyer would come up and collect
paypal payment in different name and a courior came (i hold nothing against courior he is mearly caught up in this)
phonecall saying bike wouldnt start battery had died -ok no problem will pay for a new battery as i kept it on an optimate and never noticed (i thought)
nothing heard for a few days then suddenly money on paypal was marked as unautherised payment
contacted buyer and said he didnt want bike anymore make a refund and collect bike
ok at least i get the bike back as i had regretted selling it but needed cash
but hang on paypal has taken money back so i have no cash - buyer will not return bike untill i pay £1000 refund (thats 2k total)
reported to police fraud team but cant tell you to much about that
told him police informed bike now reported 'stolen by fraud' said i will even pay for same logistics guy to return it (so i can warn him)
im taking a big hit without that bike back and a smaller one paying for the return.
so looks like my streetfighter build is now on hold as will have to tear down the chop to see if any malicious damage has been done.
if i ever get it back that is - this is why i like to do deals with a viewing and a handshake
i always view a bike buy even travveling 200 miles to do so

[dazza]

What a ball ache. Sorry to hear this but thanks for posting as can be a valuable lesson for others. Sounds like the buyer is a messer and PayPal has got you by the short and curly's. Bastards.

[Kenbob]

Surely it's a case of buyer beware especially if he hadn't viewed the bike beforehand, it's his accepted risk.
I guess you didn't specify no refunds when you took the add out.

[His Dudeness]

So he has the bike and paypal have returned the money to him? And now he wants another £1000 for the bike? Is that right?

[Disorderlypunk]

pretty much - paypal is currently holding the original payment but as it was put as 'unautherised payment' it may have been a hacked account so i will never see that
as it stands at the moment is the bike is being held at ransom and i am without the money i needed to pay the fees for a house i needed to rent and move too, this means i cant start my new job and im sure you can see how the world tumbles from there.
i have tried every thing i can think of to try and get this back and its not looking good


i have text him this morning saying that if the bike shows up here with a certain courier i will pay the courier and will inform police the bike is no longer stolen but god knows what is happening. hopefully a bike will show up here in the next few days otherwise im making a few calls and taking a little trip

[His Dudeness]

Have you got his address?

[celticbiker]

The police should be able to find out from the original courier.

[Disorderlypunk]

hopefully will be sorted but who knows what state it will come back in, was ment to rebuild the fazer over winter not redesign the chop lol
cant say too much about what i do and dont know ATM cause obviously the police are involved and dont want to disrupt there investigations etc

[slappy]

Scams like this on eBay are on the rise, you sell something, buyer pays so all good you think. Then buyer tells ebay he has not received goods/not as described/damaged and raises a case against the seller. The money they have paid the seller is then taken from the sellers account and the buyer then sends back some worthless item, not the item you sold originally, buyer now has original item for free, seller has nothing but a hole in his bank account. As far as ebay and paypal are concerned the buyer has sent back the item and received a full refund , they do not check or care that the item returned is the original.
On eBay it is seller beware more than buyer beware these days.

[Dave48]

My commiserations & it just goes to show what lengths dishonest USERS of ebay etc will go to with no thought of the financial & other consequences for the seller.
I had an unpleasant experience with a "customer" for a bike a few years ago & decided that in future would not sell high value items "sight unseen" ie to someone who wasnt prepared to travel to view in person., negotiate & do the handshake &also to fill in new keeper section of V5C. Also I am reluctant to admit strangers to view my property-there are so many dishonest types out there.
I have recently decided to sell one of my bikes and I use a friendly local bike shop who advertise & sell on my behalf, taking a fair commission on the sale, which, in all honesty, isnt much more than ebays sellers fees for vehicles. It relieves me of the stress of dealing with time-wasters, tyre kickers & the "something for nothing" merchants, also the ones who dont show up as promised.
I hope that you get your bike back in good condition by one means or another.Let us know what happens.

[RobG UK]

NEVER take Paypal as payment for a bike.  The scams have been going since paypal was started.

[BBROWN1664]

£50 on paypal as a deposit, the rest as cash. I don't even trust bank transfers or bankers drafts for larger sums.

[Bretty]

I will only do cash, I insist on seeing photo I.d. I will only put their name on the V5. I also print off 2 receipts stating 'sold as seen, no warranty offered or implied' with date, TIME and mileage (this protects you both from any speeding tickets) We both sign both copies, one for them, one for me.

Another common scam at the moment is with people coming to view bikes and either just riding off on it, robbing you or coming back later to steal it.

[ponkster]

£50 on paypal as a deposit, the rest as cash. I don't even trust bank transfers or bankers drafts for larger sums.

That's my approach too - no cash no bike !

[Disorderlypunk]

thats always been my usual way of doing things - not anymore
thankfully i have got the bike back and have decided to to a full rebuild (might even reframe hardtail)
just have to decide which to do first the gsx chop or the fazer streetfighter

[Kamikaze]

How did it come back to you?
Original buyer return it or police action?
Either way congrats on gettin it back.

[F4celess]

I will only do cash.....

I picked up a lovely £50 note printing machine off ebay. Apart from me printing in black ink (not Red - to save money), you'd never tell the difference!  :lol

On a serious note, ebay and paypal appear to use absolutely no logic when it comes to their problem resolution.
Plus they always appear to favour the buyer - who can put down any random excuse for refusing an item received.

You then find PayPal are "holding" hundreds of pounds that you have in there (which is "locked" and you cant withdraw or move it), your hands are completely tied.
EBay has become a complete ripoff, I now prefer Gumtree or Shpock, where its a collection only system.

Sounds a complete nightmare Disorderlypunk - hope you get this resolved and the (returned) bike hasn't been interfered with!