You've not heard of anything like this before? Things like this have been happening for years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY3UKeDZqv8
http://www.ecommercebytes.com/C/abblog/blog.p … 1172589574.html

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Apple-MacBook-Pro-w … =item418ad537c4

It clearly says PHOTO of a Macbook and that the buyer would not receive an actual laptop if they bid on this auction, so as far as I'm concerned the buyer received exactly what he bid on. It's not the sellers fault that he has the reading comprehension of a gerbil. Also, anyone who thinks they are going to get a 1500 pound laptop for 300 is foolish to start with.

And another thing, buying an expensive piece of electronics from a negative feedback seller? Seriously?

He's got no worries, though, because of ebay's "the buyer always wins" method of resolving disputes.

Seller is an idiot, because even though the item is described properly, it's clearly a scam.

Buyer is an idiot, not only because of the lacking reading compression, but also because his new "career" hinges on a Macbook he bought unseen on ebay. If I were to start a career where I needed a laptop, I'd be buying a (cheap) Windows laptop immediately instead of waiting for a used item to arrive.

Article is terribly written.

^

This times infinity squared. £300 just seems way too far fetched for a black and white picture of a laptop, even if it was described as such. You're better off finding a new, cheap (or even a relatively nice and used) Windows laptop for that price, which would work well with what the buyer's trying to get into. On that same token, the buyer should've gotten a pair of eyes and realized what the item actually was, instead of going on what seems like an impulse and buying the bloody thing.

Needless to say, the buyer should 10000% get a refund immediately.

This sounds more like a long con to me... Player 'A' lists a comically fraudulent item, Player 'B' purchases it, eBay refunds 'B' the bid price. 300 profit from a photocopy for team A+B? It all hinges on wording the item specifically so no one other than 'B' bids on it...

tincup wrote:

This sounds more like a long con to me... Player 'A' lists a comically fraudulent item, Player 'B' purchases it, eBay refunds 'B' the bid price. 300 profit from a photocopy for team A+B? It all hinges on wording the item specifically so no one other than 'B' bids on it...

How is it a profit? The money refunded to B is taken back out of A's Paypal account so there is no profit. Paypal has a 21 day hold on a seller's funds just to prevent that sort of thing and even if it goes out beyond 21 days before the buyer makes a claim, they can also charge their credit card or do an electronic transfer from their bank account to recover the money. It's all in the terms that you agree to as an ebay/Paypal user.

And if you as a seller have no money on your Paypal account by the time refund is withdrawn, your balance becomes negative. And until you add funds, you can't perform any Paypal operations, like paying from credit card's balance.

I've seen several of these type of auctions on Ebay recently. I've never been scammed like this, but I'm very careful when bidding. In general, if it looks too good to be true, it usually is.

sliderider wrote:

tincup wrote:

This sounds more like a long con to me... Player 'A' lists a comically fraudulent item, Player 'B' purchases it, eBay refunds 'B' the bid price. 300 profit from a photocopy for team A+B? It all hinges on wording the item specifically so no one other than 'B' bids on it...

How is it a profit? The money refunded to B is taken back out of A's Paypal account so there is no profit. Paypal has a 21 day hold on a seller's funds just to prevent that sort of thing and even if it goes out beyond 21 days before the buyer makes a claim, they can also charge their credit card or do an electronic transfer from their bank account to recover the money. It's all in the terms that you agree to as an ebay/Paypal user.

Good to know. Thanks.