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Using the Internet to Screw Scammers

by irawr Banned
8 replies
  • OFF TOPIC
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Alright so. I noticed a seller on Ebay selling a nonauthentic item as such.

This is against the rules and it's illegal to even own counterfeit goods.

Judging on this person's feedback, I don't think they're the kind of person to do this on a regular basis so instead of reporting them I messaged them and let them know that what they are doing is illegal and it's a scam to sell counterfeit items even when sold as non-authentic. (It's like you're buying a crime. It would be like buying a WSO that gave you a pack of pirated movies and came with lessons on how to to sell them.)

The person responded, they didn't know (obviously) and wanted to know if they could return the item on Ebay, but the seller had a no return policy.

Well as an experienced seller on Ebay: There's no such thing as a no-return policy. Anybody can return the item as long as they have a good reason.

So I got the person to return the item as "Not as Described" which means the original seller will have to pay to have this counterfeit item shipped back to them. (Or lose the money and the item. Which will happen automatically if somebody reported them and the account got banned.) Not to mention all of the other fees they lose.
  • Profile picture of the author ProducerK
    Not to be crass or anything here, but I don't think there is enough time in your lifetime to stop all the people who are going to take the path of trying to rip people off.

    Put your time back into making yourself more money and making a positive influence in other peoples lives, your make a much stronger impact on the world.

    I feel you though, its so much more work to scam people then it is to run honest and good business.
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    • Profile picture of the author irawr
      Banned
      Originally Posted by ProducerK View Post

      Not to be crass or anything here, but I don't think there is enough time in your lifetime to stop all the people who are going to take the path of trying to rip people off.

      Put your time back into making yourself more money and making a positive influence in other peoples lives, your make a much stronger impact on the world.

      I feel you though, its so much more work to scam people then it is to run honest and good business.
      It wasn't like I was sitting there doing it all day.

      I probably spent more time typing up that post.

      I also don't understand your point. So if people got scammed and are about to get banned, I shouldn't spend 60 seconds to let them know? Uh? Alright. Ok. Fair enough. I'll think about that next time I see it. Happens pretty regularly.

      So since there's not enough time in my lifetime, that mean's I shouldn't contribute anything? You sure man?

      So it's not okay to be a positive influence unless I'm making money?

      Alright lesson learned, I guess. Maybe you're right.
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  • Profile picture of the author ProducerK
    I think you took my point a little bit wrong.

    I am in agreement, the bad people need to be stopped.

    And if you are able to do that without taking up too much time in your day, I support you 100%.

    The point I was trying to make is just not to focus too much time trying to stop the bad guys.

    I guess when i was reading your post it hit a bit of a nerve, because I have felt the wrath of these people as I am sure you have as well.

    Thanks for sharing your experience, at least WF is well moderated, thats why I like it here.
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    • Profile picture of the author irawr
      Banned
      Originally Posted by ProducerK View Post

      I think you took my point a little bit wrong.

      I am in agreement, the bad people need to be stopped.

      And if you are able to do that without taking up too much time in your day, I support you 100%.

      The point I was trying to make is just not to focus too much time trying to stop the bad guys.

      I guess when i was reading your post it hit a bit of a nerve, because I have felt the wrath of these people as I am sure you have as well.

      Thanks for sharing your experience, at least WF is well moderated, thats why I like it here.
      Yeah I've been scammed a few times, buying items sold as authentic, upon receiving it, I knew before it was half way out of the package that it was fake. I've gotten a refund every time, but these people are usually extreme jerks about it. As if being a jerk about it is somehow going to change the outcome. You would think they would just say there was a mixup and take the return instantly, so they can keep the account active longer. Four out of five times that didn't happen.

      If people have complaints about the moderation here, check out Ebay. There's certain categories that are flooded with fake garbage on a regular basis. There's a pattern with those sellers, they rarely have > 100 feedback because the accounts get banned. This person stuck out since they had > 1000. Maybe I should have mentioned that in my original post.

      It's really hard to believe Ebay isn't somehow contributing to it. The way the system works, it kind of protects the scammers. Ebay shouldn't be dealing with these people at all, it should be going straight to law enforcement. Sometimes it does, there's stories of people getting locked up, but it's pretty rare compared to the amount of scams I can see. Sometimes it's clear as day and I'm looking at 20 auctions, realizing they all got scammed, and thinking "80% of the people aren't even going to figure it out."
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      • Profile picture of the author Harry Exper
        Originally Posted by irawr View Post

        Sometimes it's clear as day and I'm looking at 20 auctions, realizing they all got scammed, and thinking "80% of the people aren't even going to figure it out."
        In that case why don't you offer the service of helping people figure out scam auctions on Ebay, since you are such an expert. I'm sure people would gladly pay you for your effort.

        Or perhaps create and sell an ebook teaching people how to spot scammers on Ebay..
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        • Profile picture of the author irawr
          Banned
          Originally Posted by Harry Exper View Post

          In that case why don't you offer the service of helping people figure out scam auctions on Ebay, since you are such an expert. I'm sure people would gladly pay you for your effort.

          Or perhaps create and sell an ebook teaching people how to spot scammers on Ebay..
          There's no viable business angle here other than maybe a website.

          It's hard to explain without giving the niche away (which I could, it requires a massive amount of specialized knowledge or it won't work) but I don't expect many people outside the business of buying and selling these items to know what to look for. There might be a market but I would rather give the information away on youtube or on a website to build trust.

          Which I have actually done and it's not really doing me much good. It's ranked #1 in Google. Not much traffic. Maybe 10 visitors a week, I do get a lot of people thanking me in comments, contact form, social media, and what not. Considering the low traffic volume, it might actually be my most engaging page. I get at least 5-6 people a month tracking me down on facebook just to tell me how much they want to thank me.

          It's usually people who think they might have been scammed but aren't sure. They really don't know what to look for are and aren't sure how to deal with it. They're usually also concerned that they could get completely scammed if they attempt to return the item. It's generally almost always Ebay, and no, you're usually safe returning stuff on Ebay, there's some exceptions which I do list on my site.

          A popular youtuber (in the niche) covered the same topic. This person actually went out of their way to track me down and thank me for my efforts.
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  • Profile picture of the author ProducerK
    I feel your pain buddy.

    Lets just remember this, Ebay and Paypal were the same company for a long time.

    And as I am sure you are aware, Paypal is absolutely terrible, on so many levels I would probably run out of space trying to type everything I hate about them. A close second would be American Express, almost just as terrible in terms of everything.

    That's a conversation for another day.
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    What happens when you stumble onto someone selling on ebay & their uncle is a lawyer that comes after you for slander?

    I get it, you want to save the world but the world doesn't want to be saved before they're scammed, they want to be saved after the fact.
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