Not a walleye question - looking for legal advise (Ebay).

[FJH1]

It appears as though I have been scammed by a seller on Ebay. I purchased a rare book for $130. I sent the gentleman a US Postal Money Order which he said he received. He said he shipped the book to me and insured it. It has been a couple of weeks now and I have not received the book. I have contacted the seller numerous times via e-mail. At first he replied to my e-mails assuring me that everything was fine. Now he will not reply to my e-mails. I have tried unsuccessfully to contact him via phone. I am vindictive, but not stupid. To a point I will throw good money after bad to make this guy's life a living ####. I have contacted the Postmaster General. They advised me to wait a couple more weeks and then file a trace on the Money Order to verify his signature. I live in Illinois, he is in Minnesota (MPLS area). Any ideas to how I should proceed. Thanks in advance.

Best Regards,

FJH

[BRS1]

I can have some of my Italian friends pay him a visit.

Just kidding, but my best solution in these cases is to have someone that lives in the area visit him personally to discuss the issue. Generally you can have a local that you know drop by and ask about it for you. Personal interaction generally makes the individual take the situtation more seriously than a phone call or email they can ignore.

BRS1

(aka Knuckles R' US)

[Reels]

E-bay has a fraudulant claim you can process. Look under "My E-bay"

They will actually pay you something..if you were scammed. There is a scale on the amount on that page.

I feel you pain about getting scammed. I got taken this spring also.

<{{}}><

[FJH1]

Thanks Reels, I am already in that process, I think it's called "safe harbor". In addition to recouping some of my cash through Ebay I want to make the guy realize that he messed with the wrong guy :-). Like I say I'm not afraid to throw a little good money after bad.

Best Regards,

FJH

[tbomn]

I live in the Mpls area, if you send me a private with this guys name and address, maybe I can gather some info for you. Is it a business, or an individual?

I do a lot of selling and buying on ebay and these kind of people anger me. If I can help you out in any way, being here in Mpls., I certainly will.

[FJH1]

Thanks Brian. If I go that route, which I may, I'll probably hire on a collection agency. I don't want to potentially put anyone in harms way. If I do something I want it to be above board and legal.

Best Regards,

Jamie

[sib]

There's some good advice here. He may have waited before he sent the item to you, perhaps it's not a wash yet. I just received an 18v Sawzall that I paid for 2 1/2 weeks ago. On the package was stamped budget, so I hope that your book is still on it's way. Sometimes sellers aren't as prompt at shipping as they are at cashing the check.

What ever happens, you can do us all a favor and use the feedback area to help warn fellow buyers about what you experienced.

Good luck.

[Dave in Mpls]

I've got my best man on it :)

[FJH1]

Thanks Sib. I have a great deal of info that I have personally gathered about the seller, the info is very extensive. At this point I do believe that I have been scammed and that the book will never arrive. I believe that the seller realizes that he is in posession of an item that is highly desireable and rare. It would not surprise me to see the book posted for auction in the future only to set up another unsuspecting buyer...

Best Regards,

FJH

[Boatnut]

FJH,
being both a buyer and seller on ebay, i can understand your frustration. However, I would give it another week or so. It's not unusual for me to have to wait 3 weeks or so for some items to arrive. others arrive within days. Good idea to stay on top of it though. If it was insured, at least you should get your money back.
let us know how it turns out.

[Gumbo]

Hey Jamie,

I agree with the others to give it a little more time. I do a lot of selling on ebay, and I've had buyers flake out but eventually wind up paying up to two months later. I have a fairly high rating and I haven't been duped yet.

But I hear they don't call him TBO for nuthin! Having him knock on the guy's door sounds like a good backup plan!

[iamwalleye1]

You did say a postal monry order! That is a great start! Did you do a user profile and get his phine number? Also always look at their rating before buying! I would give it a couple more days then go back to the post office! They should be able to file a mail fraud claim!
I have sold and purchased for years and some people should not allowed to sell on ebay! LOL

[punch1]

FJH1,

I have been more fortunate than others. I have over 400 transactions buying and selling on ebay without a hitch (knock on wood!).

What is the sellers ebay handle and how was his feedback rating?

Pat Wunsch

"You should have been here last week!"

[eyewitness]

FJH, I have a friend who is a big time book collector and buys and sells on Ebay every day as a hobbie. He is very familiar with most, if not all the buyers/sellers on Ebay, especially the local ones. Please email the type of book and who this guy is and I am almost sure I can get an answer for you on this person. I know lots of times my friend (ex boss) tells me that he has to wait awhile to get stuff because the seller won't even wrap it up until they cash the check and make sure it's legit. Especially collectables. Also, you might want my friend as a contact if you're looking for something specific. He has an unbelievable book and coin collection.

[Red Ruffandsore]

You have no issue to worry about at all

The shipment was insured and it's his responsibility to recover that insurance if the book is lost.

Using a M.O. was the best thing you could have done. Just do what the P.O. advises you to do...they take mail fraud very seriously. You may have to wait but you will be compensated in the end. Stick with it.

Remember if he mailed it at book (third class) rate, it may take a while.

Stay off the pipe...and don't forget to wipe.

Red

[Marken]

On the 16th of this month, I will be filing a fraud charge against a ebay seller. The last I heard from him he received payment, said thank you and I have not heard from him since and no package.

The tough part is going to be proving he sent it. Personally, I'd let ebay handle it after 30 days. Check out http://www.mindspring.com/~bookdealers/ripoff.html

Excellent information on what you can and can't do.

[Last Boat Off]

My own experience would suggest that the attorney general of your state and also the state of the seller probably take internet crime very seriously. Most have a web page to file a consumer complaint. Do a web search for "Minnesota attorney general". I had a bad Ebay transaction on an $850 item. After 3 months of broken promises from the seller, I wrote a letter to the attorney general's office in the state of the seller (Florida) and sent a copy of it by certified mail to the seller. That finally got me the desired response and I got a refund from the seller in a matter of days without ever having to actually follow thru with the attorney general. I also had a certified inquiry once from an attorney general from yet another state (Misouri) asking if I had any problems with a certain Ebay seller who had caused problems for someone else (but not for me), so they do care about matters like this. The seller I had my problem with had all good feedback when I bid, then a whole bunch of complaints in a row after mine went bad, so sometimes a good Ebayer can turn bad. Ebay is still great, most are good honest sellers, and I have saved thousands over the years, even bought some things I could not have found anywhere else. So don't get discouraged by one bad deal. GOOD LUCK.

[FJH1]

Thank you for all the advise. I have acquired a great deal of personal info about the seller. His Ebay rating is high. A detective friend of mine saw my post and he contacted and advised me last night. I sent another e-mail to the seller last night saying I had contacted Ebay and the Postmaster General and that I would be retaining private legal consul. The personal info that I have received is from a long time friend who is very familiar with the seller, I trust the info. I still have doubts that the book will come. However, minutes after sending my latest e-mail I received a reply from the seller saying that he shipped the book via Priority Mail last night... I hadn't received a reply from him for a week. If the book isn't here on Monday morning I'll keep moving. For the most part I feel that people are very honest and trustworthy. I have had nothing but great luck on Ebay up to this point. I think I just ran into a bad apple. I'll update with info. Thanks again!

Best Regards,

FJH

[ChuckD]

This incident reminds me of a nightmare I had on an Ebay-like situation. I think your package will come, FJH.

I once bought a Yamaha 9.9 4-stroke over the web and the shipping company stole my motor. I tracked it on their system and when it reached Chicago it "disapppeared". The paperwork made it on the truck to Minneapolis, but the motor didn't. How does a shipping company lose a 100lb motor? They don't, they stolen it! How do you prove it? You can't, really.

I used a local shipping company to arrange the shipment through a larger shipping company. They informed me it was insured and all that mumbo jumbo that one needs to feel secure about shipping expensive motors around.....turns out it was insured for $.10/pound! $10 check for a $1,000 motor!
After a lengthy battle and almost a lawsuit, I was eventually reimbursed and a summer without a kicker motor. Turns out my local shipping company reimbursed me out of their own pocket for the incident.
Get everything in writing!!

[FJH1]

I think I remember reading about this in the past. Probably back when Eric/CO was looking to buy his kicker?

Best Regards,

FJH

[Jerry]

I have been reading the replies to this post and find the whole thing quite appalling. I was under the assumption that any business is responsible for their actions. In this case, Ebay. As for shipping, most people do not know that you are responsible for the item once it leaves the sellers door-that is accounting for you and law as I read. That is why Cabela's and Bass Pro ask if you want insurance before they ship. I say, use a charge card and if somethning happens you have the charge card people take action. Now, I know ebay is not into charge cards nor are most sellers. But, I was under the inpression that you can escrow the money until the package is delivered. This matter is exactly why I have not bought on Ebay. I feel life is challenging enough that I am willing to go through a reputable dealer to save hastles from one bad apple.
GB&GBUS,
Jerry

[Last Boat Off]

What can be a tough problem is that even if a package is insured when sent, if it gets lost they will only allow the sender, not you, to file a claim. It happened to me where the USPS lost an expensive insured package sent to me by an Ebayer. The sender sent me the insurance receipt so I knew it got sent. I was at the mercy of the sender to fool around with the claim and the USPS would have nothing to do with me, even though I was the one who would be out the money and I was the one who paid the shipping and insurance to the sender. They would only deal with the sender who made the transaction at the post office in the first place. If you don't have a sender on the other end who is willing to fool around with the claim you could still be out of luck.

[SUPERTROLLER]

FJH1, I find it amazing that all of the sudden he says he mailed it last night. If you do get it on Monday, you can still make sure everyone has this guys number. In his feedback type this: Didn't mail item until threatened with legal action. Nobody that researches his feedback will buy from him. Alert E-bay that he may change his Seller name and open a new account because of this. You are being truthful and E-bay wants to keep this type of guy off their site. He ruins it for the honest people.

[Meathead]

FJH1,
This seems to be a more prevalent problem recently. I had the same experience as you. Including the *.*s in the mail. I didn't contact the PM General but the U.S.Postal Inspection Service. Along with e-Bay
they did the most to help me recover my money. E-Bay's fraud service got me a check from their insurance company, and the Inspection Service sent a letter to the scammers to try to straighten things out. They sent me the balance in two money orders. If you can, recover and print your correspondence, save anything connected to your scam.
I tried the Fl. and Oh Attorney General offices, called their local County Sherriffs and Police department. It didn't gain anything but satisfaction. At that point the money was secondary. I was going to
do anything to disuade them from doing this again. Also, I filled out a form on the Justice/FBI Internet Fraud Section.
I hope your book is in the mail and you will be satisfied. I'm so paranoid now, when I ordered a book on fishing recently from reputable people and it didn't get here when I thought it should have I started firing off e-mails and really felt bad and apologetic when it did get here. when it was supposed to.

[Fuzzy]

The real lesson learned here is that you really can't trust anyone from Minnesota. ;0 just kidding

[jwhite58502]

Look up the INTERNET FRAUD COMPLAINT CENTER or IFCC on the web they notify law enforcement for you of the scam in your local jurisdiction as well as where the scammer lives. May not get your money back but you might. Also may get reimbursed back through the auction site.

Good Luck