Pandas Scam on ebay- Paypal protection ?

[Frenchie]

Hello, 

Here is my today's experience with ebay and I have discovered a scam from a "french" seller selling very rare slabbed ms69  gold Pandas. The starting price (auction) was 600€ and the auction lasted  only 3 days (!). There was only one bid and a few hours remaining. It seemed  suspicious, as this seller had only 21 positive feedback (as a buyer for things such as phone accessories, probably cheap  but no history buying or selling coins), but was registered on ebay since 2008. At the same time, he proposed the payment via Paypal and a 14 days return, so I felt more confident thinking I would have the buyer protection. I was blindly thinking to myself that he was maybe not used to sell on ebay, and these coins could come from an heritage. Moreover, they were slabbed and checking the NGC certification numbers confirmed they were geniune...So, even if the feeling was not quite right and some red lights were flashing, the temptation was high and I decided to bid (a complete set of 1982 gold Pandas from 1 to 1/10 oz) . I bid and won the auction, for...2000€ (this set sells for around 9/10000€ ).

 Although I had won, I felt it was too good to be true. the seller's messages were far from being in perfect French,  and trying to see what could be wrong I found that he would ship worldwide except China and US. It sounded odd to me, I could understand that Nigeria would be an understandable exception, but US...

And then using the advanced search Ebay engine, ...bingo...I have found "my" coins (as other rare Pandas he also sold at the same time)  proposed  by a reputable Chinese seller with a "slightly" and higher price (10500€ BIN)

 The moral is that greed may have made me blind, but one must try to remain vigilant by listening to our intuition.

I still don't know where I could have been scammed with the paypal protection (even if I would have received an empty box). So it would be interesting to know where is the "talon d'achille" of this protection and how this story would have ended at a total loss for me.

Tomorrow, I will call ebay and Paypal and see what they say about this and of course stop these auctions  

 

 

 

[zeusss4]

Open a case through eBay and you will be refunded. I was in the same boat and I have been refunded. 

It takes 7 days for eBay to step in unless the seller does before hand. 

Only issue is I have to wait until next Monday for funds to clear in my PayPal account. 

I took all my eBay purchases to a local jeweller this weekend after this and every other piece was geniune after being weighed and scanned including some items priced very very well. I was very happy with the price I was offered for my pieces considering his very low silver buyback price of £9.50 per ounc e

[Frenchie]

10 hours ago, zeusss4 said:

Open a case through eBay and you will be refunded. I was in the same boat and I have been refunded. 

It takes 7 days for eBay to step in unless the seller does before hand. 

Only issue is I have to wait until next Monday for funds to clear in my PayPal account. 

I took all my eBay purchases to a local jeweller this weekend after this and every other piece was geniune after being weighed and scanned including some items priced very very well. I was very happy with the price I was offered for my pieces considering his very low silver buyback price of £9.50 per ounc e

 

I have not paid and I have  put a claim to ebay in order to cancel the order,  and warning them about this seller as other potential victims are still bidding.

Ebay told me that even if I have paid via Paypal, I would not have been covered  (from them) as I would have proceed outside ebay (remember that the seller did not originally proposed this option and this is only when I won the auction that he gave me his direct paypal address. I still have to ask to Paypal if,  nethertheless, for theiir side they would have covered me  (not F&F payment , with ebay reference  of course)  

So lesson learned, it is better to pay with paypal within Ebay procedure.

[Matty]

I was scammed on eBay selling a 1oz QB lion, I sold the coin on eBay for £1400 BIN, it sold within a couple of days. I received a email from the buyer later that night saying could it be posted to a different address, I thought yea no problem. I sent the coin Royal Mail first class the next day to the new address after receiving the money in pay pal. The next morning I woke to find a email from the person who supposedly bought the coin saying her account had been hacked and not to send the coin. This was to late it was on its way to London 1st class ? And the money had gone from pay pal, I felt quite sick at this point ebay told me it was my fault for sending the coin to a different address and they would not refund the money.

So I got in my car and drove to London "I live up north" and went to the address where the coin was to be delivered, when I got there it was a block of flats where I noticed delivery after delivery turning up at the address UGG Boots car tyres I was amazed, I tracked my parcel and it didn't get delivered as the scammer was not in when the parcel turned up, I call the police and they assisted me with the Royal Mail and trying to retrieve the coin. We traced it back to a post man who had it in his van, luckily the post master told me he was to lazy to try again and would be back for 1 o'clock, like clock work he turned up with the coin ? But said I couldn't have it as it would be returned to sender, I said that was fine the next day I received my coin and on top of that PayPal seen in my favour and refunded me the £1400. 

? thanks scammers

 

[fehk2001]

3 hours ago, Matty said:

I was scammed on eBay selling a 1oz QB lion, I sold the coin on eBay for £1400 BIN, it sold within a couple of days. I received a email from the buyer later that night saying could it be posted to a different address, I thought yea no problem. I sent the coin Royal Mail first class the next day to the new address after receiving the money in pay pal. The next morning I woke to find a email from the person who supposedly bought the coin saying her account had been hacked and not to send the coin. This was to late it was on its way to London 1st class ? And the money had gone from pay pal, I felt quite sick at this point ebay told me it was my fault for sending the coin to a different address and they would not refund the money.

So I got in my car and drove to London "I live up north" and went to the address where the coin was to be delivered, when I got there it was a block of flats where I noticed delivery after delivery turning up at the address UGG Boots car tyres I was amazed, I tracked my parcel and it didn't get delivered as the scammer was not in when the parcel turned up, I call the police and they assisted me with the Royal Mail and trying to retrieve the coin. We traced it back to a post man who had it in his van, luckily the post master told me he was to lazy to try again and would be back for 1 o'clock, like clock work he turned up with the coin ? But said I couldn't have it as it would be returned to sender, I said that was fine the next day I received my coin and on top of that PayPal seen in my favour and refunded me the £1400. 

? thanks scammers

 

1400 pounds u send by 1st class? 

I am brave but only apply to people I know I can trust 

[Fivepoundfred]

Yes the old " can you post to a different address" trick is a typical Ebay scam method. If you sell in the future put a note on your add saying that you will only post to confirmed Paypal address and no other. I have had someone attempt this once and clocked it straight away. On investigation i found that this person was a ex employee of a company with a grudge and had hacked their Ebay / Paypal accounts to buy and pay for the coin and asked for it to be sent to an address 200 miles from the company. Also i had a girl buy a coin who had a UK address on Paypal but had since moved to another European country and asked me to post there. I told her to change her address with Paypal then i will send, she did, i sent and all was ok, but even this could have been a scam attempt at the outset ?

 

 

 

[Matty]

Thanks for the advice, after the whole event I don't think I will try selling on eBay anymore, it's totally put me of. I've seen the selling section on hear might give that a try sometime. 

Fekh It was sent special delivery Royal Mail my mistake.