SCAM EBAY BUYER??? "trainbay"

[simon b]

Just had an interesting situation on ebay that I thought might be of interest. I'm fairly sure this guy is trying it on.

 

I've slowly been selling surplus loco's and stock on ebay for the past 5 years, sold hundreds of things and never had a problem before today. Everything I sell is photographed, any defects noted, and test run to confirm it works properly. I listed a pair of old lima 33's which I confirmed as working properly, I accepted an offer on them, boxed them up and sent them on their way as I do with everything else. The buyer then messages me to say they have arrived with damaged buffers and one of them doesn't work at all. The fact he said it doesn't work at all is what alerted my suspicions (let alone the amount of bubble wrap I used in the parcel).  

 

See what you think of the following interaction, sounds like he's trying it on to me...

 

Buyer: This arrived today in this condition, I have attached a pic. Not happy as some of it's broken and not working ??

 

Me:  Hi, was the box damaged as it wasn't sent out like that?

 

Buyer: Box was a little damage, but still, one of the locos is not working at all and the other has broken buffers ?

 

Me:  They were both sent out as working, I tested them myself before sending them out. All the buffers were in place to. Do you want to return them?

 

Buyer:  Yes I will have to return them as I have no choice, I paid good money for them, and I don't think it's fair I have to pay to get them repaired. It's a shame, a real shame, as I liked one of them.

 

Me: Ok, use this as the return address: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx my address xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. 

 

Buyer:  I will have to open a eBay claim so I don't get charged for the postage costs, so you would have to cover them I'm afraid. Sorry just this is not my fault, if you would consider selling the working loco maybe ?

 

Me: I may sell it at a later date, but for now I'll take them back as a pair. I need to do an inspection on both of them here before I decide what I'll do with them.

 

Buyer:  Which confirms my suspicions,

 

Me:  Ok, I've been as helpful as I can be. I offered you to return the item, what could you be suspicious of?
I could be suspicious of something I tested as working before I packaged it up, now not working.
I could be suspicious of you not opening a case, but asking if I'll sell you half the item.
I could be suspicious of your tone of messages.
I could be suspicious that with the amount of items I sell, yours is the only item I've got a complaint with.
Stick to ebay rules, and open a case for this item.

 

End of messages.

 

As of yet he hasn't opened a case... Am I overreacting, or does that sound a bit dodgy to you? He's only been registered a month, this is him: https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/trainbay?ul_noapp=true

Edited May 21, 2020 by simon b

[njee20]

Could be trying it on, yep. Did he actually send you a photo of a broken loco? As you’ve done, tell him to return them, give him a refund, block him and move on with your life. 

[simon b]

1 hour ago, njee20 said:

Could be trying it on, yep. Did he actually send you a photo of a broken loco? As you’ve done, tell him to return them, give him a refund, block him and move on with your life. 

Yes he did send a pic, you can see one of the buffers has been knocked off. (it was a metal craftsman item so probably not as robust as the lima one.)

 

I've blocked him already, but I thought I'd post it up in case he tries to do it to someone else.

[polybear]

I had a similar experience with a non - model railway item.  I thought he was trying it on, and the cost to return was 2/3rds of what it sold for.  But I thought to myself, "no way is that scamming me" so I sent him an ebay label to cover postage, even though it would cost me.  He never returned it, and since the label wasn't used it didn't cost me anything.  Using courier labels from other suppliers will cost you though, so worth bearing this in mind.

[MartinWales]

12 hours ago, simon b said:

 

 

As of yet he hasn't opened a case... Am I overreacting, or does that sound a bit dodgy to you? He's only been registered a month, this is him: https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/trainbay?ul_noapp=true

Wonder why he's changed his ID after such a short time??

Edited May 22, 2020 by AY Mod
Excess quoting removed

[MrWolf]

He's following only one seller, malcrosby7, who judging by the number of items that he has for sale is a dealer. It would be interesting to know if he has had any problems with trainbay?

[njee20]

On 22/05/2020 at 11:40, MartinWales said:

Wonder why he's changed his ID after such a short time??

Looks like he changed his ID the same day he signed up; perhaps he chose a user name with his real name in or something, and then realised. Doesn’t strike me as nefarious. 

[MrWolf]

1 hour ago, njee20 said:

Looks like he changed his ID the same day he signed up; perhaps he chose a user name with his real name in or something, and then realised. Doesn’t strike me as nefarious. 

Probably not, I think we are all expecting the worst due to all the scammers out there. Some people are just not very good at dealing with what the rest of us regard as simple transactions and come across as just plain sketchy.

[cessna152towser]

I had one like that several years ago.     I sold to him a Hornby 47.   Several weeks later the buyer came back to me saying it needed a new armature and asking for a part refund of £7 to meet the cost of this.   I pointed out that he had already had the use of the loco for several weeks and if it was faulty he should have notified me at the time.  I offered to cancel the deal and refund, but he insisted he wanted to keep the loco and just wanted £7.   I wrote back pointing out that it was unfair to other bidders for the winner to seek a rebate on the price aftewards but as a gesture of goodwill I sent him the £7.    He left negative feedback - "Unhelpful seller accused me of breaking item".    I blocked him from future bidding.

Edited May 25, 2020 by cessna152towser
anonymised buyer

[polybear]

8 hours ago, cessna152towser said:

I had one like that several years ago.     I sold to him a Hornby 47.   Several weeks later the buyer came back to me saying it needed a new armature and asking for a part refund of £7 to meet the cost of this.   I pointed out that he had already had the use of the loco for several weeks and if it was faulty he should have notified me at the time.  I offered to cancel the deal and refund, but he insisted he wanted to keep the loco and just wanted £7.   I wrote back pointing out that it was unfair to other bidders for the winner to seek a rebate on the price aftewards but as a gesture of goodwill I sent him the £7.    He left negative feedback - "Unhelpful seller accused me of breaking item".    I blocked him from future bidding.

 

Hopefully you left him negative feedback:

"Dishonest Scammer"

[cessna152towser]

19 hours ago, polybear said:

 

Hopefully you left him negative feedback:

"Dishonest Scammer"

Too late, unfortunately.  I waited around three weeks and when he had still not left me feedback, I left him a positive, to close the transaction (or so I thought).   It was only after I had left positive feedback for him that he messaged me asking for a discount.

[MartinWales]

1 hour ago, cessna152towser said:

Too late, unfortunately.  I waited around three weeks and when he had still not left me feedback, I left him a positive, to close the transaction (or so I thought).   It was only after I had left positive feedback for him that he messaged me asking for a discount.

That really is taking the proverbial!

[polybear]

2 hours ago, cessna152towser said:

Too late, unfortunately.  I waited around three weeks and when he had still not left me feedback, I left him a positive, to close the transaction (or so I thought).   It was only after I had left positive feedback for him that he messaged me asking for a discount.

 

Whether buying or selling I only leave feedback after I've received it, in order to prevent crafty tricks.  I'm always (I think/hope) very fair with my feedback though.

[MartinWales]

5 hours ago, polybear said:

 

Whether buying or selling I only leave feedback after I've received it, in order to prevent crafty tricks.  I'm always (I think/hope) very fair with my feedback though.

Same here! Some take a loooong time, some never!

[Roddy Angus]

10 hours ago, MartinWales said:

Same here! Some take a loooong time, some never!

 

They may also not leave feedback until they have received it, hence no feedback given by either side.

 

Roddy

[jukebox]

4 minutes ago, Roddy Angus said:

 

They may also not leave feedback until they have received it, hence no feedback given by either side.

 

Roddy

 

As a buyer and seller of 20 years on eBay with a 100% record, that is a small price I'm prepared to pay not to have some numpty spoil it!

[MartinWales]

1 hour ago, Roddy Angus said:

 

They may also not leave feedback until they have received it, hence no feedback given by either side.

 

Roddy

So how would you know that it was received safely? More often than not a quick email produces an answer

[Roddy Angus]

3 hours ago, MartinWales said:

So how would you know that it was received safely? More often than not a quick email produces an answer

 

I totally agree Martin and I was probably being unfair to quote you.  

 

I was trying to make the point that Polybear's stance, quoted by you, that, either as a buyer or seller, Polybear would not leave feedback until feedback had been received it could result, if dealing with a buyer or seller with the same view, with no feedback being given or received by either side.  Someone has to be first to leave feedback!

 

I agree that a quick email is the best way to elicit a response from a buyer.  My practice when selling is to use a buyer's feedback as confirmation that they had received the item and are content with it.  If no feedback is received within a few days of posting, I send a polite email asking for confirmation that the item had been received.  I am a private seller but want to make sure that the purchaser is happy and that the item has been safely received.

 

Similarly, as a buyer, I will always leave prompt feedback on any item received from an individual so that they know that I have received it and am content. If there is a problem then I will contact them by email and leave feedback when the issue is sorted.  I will happily give positive feedback, even if there is a problem, as long as the seller quickly deals with the issue in a professional manner.

 

Please accept my apologies for any upset caused by my poor drafting.

 

Best wishes

 

Roddy

[MartinWales]

2 hours ago, Roddy Angus said:

 

I totally agree Martin and I was probably being unfair to quote you.  

 

I was trying to make the point that Polybear's stance, quoted by you, that, either as a buyer or seller, Polybear would not leave feedback until feedback had been received it could result, if dealing with a buyer or seller with the same view, with no feedback being given or received by either side.  Someone has to be first to leave feedback!

 

I agree that a quick email is the best way to elicit a response from a buyer.  My practice when selling is to use a buyer's feedback as confirmation that they had received the item and are content with it.  If no feedback is received within a few days of posting, I send a polite email asking for confirmation that the item had been received.  I am a private seller but want to make sure that the purchaser is happy and that the item has been safely received.

 

Similarly, as a buyer, I will always leave prompt feedback on any item received from an individual so that they know that I have received it and am content. If there is a problem then I will contact them by email and leave feedback when the issue is sorted.  I will happily give positive feedback, even if there is a problem, as long as the seller quickly deals with the issue in a professional manner.

 

Please accept my apologies for any upset caused by my poor drafting.

 

Best wishes

 

Roddy

Roddy. Please don't apologise,as no offence was caused!

 

Completely agree with the points you have made in the paragraphs above, and it's the way I prefer to work on Ebay,that is deal with others as you would like to be dealt with yourself.  

Edited May 27, 2020 by MartinWales
info

[GeoffAlan]

On 23/05/2020 at 23:20, MrWolf said:

He's following only one seller, malcrosby7, who judging by the number of items that he has for sale is a dealer. It would be interesting to know if he has had any problems with trainbay?

Yes I suspect that malcrosby7 is a dealer. I've bought several n gauge items, including locos with absolutely no issues. In fact he's one of the sellers I look for when wanting an item.

Edited May 27, 2020 by GeoffAlan

[cessna152towser]

"Trainbay".   

I put an old Lima Sprinter on eBay for a start price of £9.99 earlier this evening.  Within minutes I was messaged by "Trainbay" asking if I will consider a Buy-it-Now price.   My answer is sorry but no, the auction will run its full course.

I have also now blocked him from bidding on my items in view of the hassles he has caused to Simon B.

Edited May 27, 2020 by cessna152towser
inverted commas

[cb900f]

I was well and truly scammed 2 weeks ago. I had a 1/32 diecast Mosquito that I purchased new many years ago. I never had it on display hence it remained in the box. I decided to sell it and it sold for £100 + £10 postage. Having received the model he told me that on inspection the antenna had been bodged and there were traces of residual glue on the fuselage and that he would send it back . I offered to refund part or all of the full price. He offered £30 + postage as he would use it for spares. I didn't want to get into messy dealings so I agreed and refunded him £70. However I was suspicious , as why would this supposed perfectionist want one for spares so I bookmarked diecast mosquito . Sure enough within a week he had sold it for BIN £139 + £15 postage. The money doesn't bother me but it's the fact that people can lie and cheat and couldn't care less . I e mailed him to congratulate him on his dishonesty, needless to say he has not responded.

 

Pete 

[cctransuk]

12 hours ago, cb900f said:

I was well and truly scammed 2 weeks ago. I had a 1/32 diecast Mosquito that I purchased new many years ago. I never had it on display hence it remained in the box. I decided to sell it and it sold for £100 + £10 postage. Having received the model he told me that on inspection the antenna had been bodged and there were traces of residual glue on the fuselage and that he would send it back . I offered to refund part or all of the full price. He offered £30 + postage as he would use it for spares. I didn't want to get into messy dealings so I agreed and refunded him £70. However I was suspicious , as why would this supposed perfectionist want one for spares so I bookmarked diecast mosquito . Sure enough within a week he had sold it for BIN £139 + £15 postage. The money doesn't bother me but it's the fact that people can lie and cheat and couldn't care less . I e mailed him to congratulate him on his dishonesty, needless to say he has not responded.

 

Pete 

 

With respect - you presumably had inspected the model before offering it for sale, and knew that the antenna had not been "bodged and (that) there were (not) traces of residual glue on the fuselage"?  If so, why on earth did you refund him £70.00?

 

I'm sorry, but these scammers prey on people who "didn't want to get into messy dealings".

 

It's a hard world out here !

 

John Isherwood.

Edited May 28, 2020 by cctransuk

[davefromacrossthepond]

8 hours ago, Roddy Angus said:

 

I will happily give positive feedback, even if there is a problem, as long as the seller quickly deals with the issue in a professional manner.

I couldn't agree more.

[MrWolf]

1 hour ago, cctransuk said:

 

With respect - you presumably had inspected the model before offering it for sale, and knew that the antenna had not been "bodged and (that) there were (not) traces of residual glue on the fuselage"?  If so, why on earth did you refund him £70.00?

 

I'm sorry, but these scammers prey of people who "didn't want to get into messy dealings".

 

It's a hard world out here !

 

John Isherwood.

 

Unfortunately, eBay always sides with the buyer who complains, whether or not he is a swindler. I had the same problem some years ago with a new convertible top for a car. Buyer says it's old, mouldy and damaged. Then ignores my response. EBay take the money back from me and threaten to chuck me out.