eBay itself is a total FRAUD - keep away!

[STOJA001]

I suggest no one should never ever buy or sell at eBay whatsoever!
Whole eBay is a scam itself, they're frauding their customers in any way possible!

I had a jewelry store located at eBay -over 500 customers - 100% Positive Feedback.
Then a guy purchased a diamond from my store (he's in the diamond business), I had only 7 days return & money back guarantee. He contacted me after 13 days and opened case on eBay as well - he won the case and got money back $2,460.00. Ain't gonna stop there, no, of course not, eBay let him keep the diamond as well after he got a refund! I lost a diamond worth above $11,000.00 (sold at No Reserve) with GIA Report and I also lost $2,460.00 that eBay detucted from my PayPal account!

He opened a case because the diamond wasn't as described - "item not as described" case.
I sent a letter to eBay with proof and documents of both diamond, GIA Report, etc.
When they received the letter, they never contacted me about the letter and never answered my emails, sent them 6 or 7 - but they changed case from "item not as described" to "item never received". And gave him the money and the diamond! FRAUD!

And it ain't gonna stop there, no, of course not!
I also have a document (from eBay to buyer) where they admit to the buyer why they gave him back money without any reason - against their Policy (lawyer also told this is illegal to do).
It's stated in the letter that they refunded the money and let him keep the diamond because he had earned eBay $11,000.00 in one year!

I even sent this letter to eBay (copy of the document) and threatened to sue them, also contacted a lawyer - no answer now 2 months later! But eBay did close my seller account and whole store after they detucted my account without any explanation!


"However, I understand the diamond you received is very hazy due to microcrystal inclusions inside the stone as identified in your appraisal."

Excuse my language - but WTF!!
Oh yeah, "he's own fake appraisal" beats GIA (Gemological Institute of America)????????? When the F*** did that happen?!

 

[T L]

Very interesting from a seller's perspective. We always hear about ebay scamming buyers, but you rarely hear about it from the seller's point of view. Thank you for sharing, and I am sorry for your troubles. I do think that ebay should make the buyer return the diamond, regardless of how it was described, or the dispute between you and the seller. I think the refund should have been sufficient, and you should have been allowed to get your stone back.

 

[ruby59]

I hear you. Welcome to the new ebay --Freebay where buyers now want the item free. I have been with ebay since 1999, both as a seller and a buyer. I bought and sold some high ticketed diamond jewelry. Until ebay cleans up its act, I would never sell on there again.

A question for you. Did you offer a return policy? If not ebay interprets that to mean you do not want your item back so the buyer can keep it and get their money back. So the buyer filed SNAD. You would think ebay would know GIA is the utmost authority. That is why I laughed when people thought ebay would have a clue to the difference between a copper bearing pariba and a tourmaline. They do not know their .... from their elbow other than the buyer is always right and the seller is scum.

Edited to add: I see you did have a 7 day return policy. Unfortunately, ebay now gives buyers 45 days to take an item, use it, destroy it, and then return it for a full refund.

 

[STOJA001]

Yes, I totally agree!
But the main problem here is that I actually got 7 days return & money back guarantee. This is also stated under eBay's Policy - so the customer agrees to follow this as a rule before buying. He first contacted us after 13 days, we had sent him 3 emails when it was delivered (Signed for) - but got no answer. We didn't want to refund him as much as a cent because he was past due with 6 days - but we offered him a GIA certified diamond (1.22 carat) so he could leave us Positive Feedback - but he refused. And eBay let him win the whole thing - even if it was against eBay's own Policy.

The main problem now is that I have to build a whole new eBay store and sell cheap to get 100% Positive Feedback again - but my name is now black-listed on eBay - so I'm not able to open a new store either.

I dont understand how eBay can let one person ruin everything - when we got over 500 customers and 100% Positive Feedback.
This was also the first case/claim we had - so it's not like we are frauders or anything.

 

[STOJA001]

Yes, I know - must be just a bunch of morons running eBay or something!

But the main problem here is that I actually got 7 days return & money back guarantee. This is also stated under eBay's Policy - so the customer agrees to follow this as a rule before buying. He first contacted us after 13 days, we had sent him 3 emails when it was delivered (Signed for) - but got no answer. We didn't want to refund him as much as a cent because he was past due with 6 days - but we offered him a GIA certified diamond (1.22 carat) so he could leave us Positive Feedback - but he refused. And eBay let him win the whole thing - even if it was against eBay's own Policy.

But the buyer got back both money and diamond - because they closed my eBay store!

The main problem now is that I have to build a whole new eBay store and sell cheap to get 100% Positive Feedback again - but my name is now black-listed on eBay - so I'm not able to open a new store either.

I dont understand how eBay can let one person ruin everything - when we got over 500 customers and 100% Positive Feedback.
This was also the first case/claim we had - so it's not like we are frauders or anything.

 

[ruby59]

Go on ebay and read the seller's message board. You are not alone. Good sellers like yourself are at the mercy of scam buyers who hold their feedback hostage and ding their dsr's, in order to get something for nothing. And that is why so many of them are leaving and trying different venues. Yet the plated and fake cr*p from China lives on.


Edited to add: 7 day return policy means nothing to ebay. A buyer now has 45 days in which to return an item.

 

[STOJA001]

Yes, I have been reading a lot about eBay after they closed my store.
The most frigthening thin I read was about a woman who had been a eBay seller for 13 years. Suddenly eBay closed her account without any explanation and she received a collection fee from eBay at $50,000.00 - 50K's! When she tried to call eBay and get an answer about why or to get an explanation - they kinda laughed her in the "face" and hung up on her! All she has left now is the collection fees!


Oh, I didn't know about the 45 days - that explains it all!

 

[AN0NYM0US]

How did you describe the diamond in auction?

In the letter you provided from ebay it appears that you described the diamond as "bright and lively" and the seller and his appraiser describe it as "hazy"

From my experience an I1 1.71ct Fancy Dark Brown greenish-Yellow would not be considered "bright" or "lively"

This may be more a case of deceptive seller wording more than anything else.

I do agree that you should get the diamond back though.

 

[STOJA001]

The diamond is not hazy - please refer to the pictures - we do NOT edit the pictures in any way!
It doesn't matter if his appraiser told him it was hazy - because the GIA Report does not say anything about it as "indented or hazy" in any way at all - GIA always explains this in the report if that's the case.

This whole thing is just bull****....
I've been reading about the buyer online as well - he's buying and horrasing other diamond dealers all over - because he owns a jewelry shop at Beverly Hills or something. He just want to ruin other's business - so he earn more himself!

 

[kelpie]

I know getting burned can go either way. That's why I left it as a venue after being among the most vocal trumpeter of finding good stuff on ebay. I am very sorry this happened to you.

I have attempted to sell expensive items on ebay in no reserve auctions but never have I successfully actually gotten the winning bidder to pay for them and the process for reporting no paying bidders and relisting is so arduous. Their whole policy needs to be rethought. I was on ebay for 10 years with nary an issue and just in the last year I have had multiple troubles, the latest of which is hotly contested in a thread here. I am out $850...so for $11k my heart aches for you.

A few months ago I purchased a $100 watch which was missing so many links it was for a 5 inch wrist...I felt that was sufficient to say it was "not as described" since it was supposed to be in perfect condition and didn't mention the bizarrely tiny length, seller didn't respond to my requests to return via messages so I opened a case, ebay quickly decided in my favor however there were no instructions on how to return the item. Not wanting to spend a lot out of pocket (or be a jerk and keep it) I put two stamps on an padded envelope at the advice of my postmaster and plopped it in the mail to the return address. Two weeks later I get an email from customer support saying the seller has not received the returned item and I should "do the right thing" and return the item using this pre-paid label. Why was there no guidance like that in the first place? Anyway, I've changed my tune and ebay sucks for anything more than simple low value transactions. I much prefer doing high value transactions through www.escrow.com after I advertise on a classified site like diamond bistro. DB works because it's a community.

I sincerely hope your diamond and its report are returned to you post-haste.

 

[AN0NYM0US]

You would think ebay would know GIA is the utmost authority. That is why I laughed when people thought ebay would have a clue to the difference between a copper bearing pariba and a tourmaline. They do not know their .... from their elbow other than the buyer is always right and the seller is scum.

In this case where did ebay disagree with anything GIA said? How did they undermine the "utmost authority"?

 

[STOJA001]

Thank you very much for letting me know about escrow.com etc

Sorry, to hearabout the money.
Of course, all money counts even if it's just a $1.00. Because when a seller or buyer is honest and pay for an item - they espect to get it as described - I totally understand.

I dont know - really - I dont..
I feel kind of stupid when receiving emails after i've done something at eBay.
They're kinda always explaning things a little too late - no wonder why people are loosing money!

For me it's very hard to have a business - people in Europe dont got the funds to buy jewels, diamonds, gemstones etc. So I have to sell it to United States to earn something. I tried eBay and is now black-listed, I feel like I'm running out of possibillities. I will try escrow and DB as advised, thank you very much!

 

[STOJA001]

How eBay could undermine GIA is my biggest question as well actually!
Because someone who works at eBay doesn't know everything about TV's, trucks, cellphones and at least not diamonds!
The moron "Sam" that answered and decided about this case - must be the most stupid person at eBay.

 

[Frenchcut]

I feel so sorry for you STOJA001. I personnally never bought anything from ebay because I feel it's not secure enough for the buyer...but I would never have thought that it could also be dangerous for the sellers!

Thank you for sharing your story, I sincerely hope that you recover your money/diamond. Let's hope that they find a way to prevent this kind of scams to happen again, whether the scammer is a buyer or seller

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

I have had two disputes with buying diamonds on ebay. Both were not described. One was a late claim I filed with paypal and I was able to get my money back after proving with documentation that the diamond was not described. I had to show proof of seller receiving the diamond before I was refunded.

The second dispute ebay gave me the money without any need to prove I sent the diamond back. I DID send the diamond back, but if I would have chosen to keep it the seller would have been out of luck as far as ebay was concerned.

 

[AN0NYM0US]

How eBay could undermine GIA is my biggest question as well actually!

Maybe I am missing something here, but I don't see how they undermined GIA. I may be wrong but GIA doesn't describe diamonds as "hazy", "bright", "lively" or any other descriptive word you want to use in your auction that could be contested.

ebay can be a dangerous place to buy and sell and unfortunately you cannot give people ammunition to potentially scam you. If you are selling anything with a certificate you should let the cert do the talking. Even photos can be contested.

Again I do not know how it got to be that the "buyer" was allowed to keep the diamond and the refund, that doesn't seem right.

 

[LD]

How eBay could undermine GIA is my biggest question as well actually!

Maybe I am missing something here, but I don't see how they undermined GIA. I may be wrong but GIA doesn't describe diamonds as "hazy", "bright", "lively" or any other descriptive word you want to use in your auction that could be contested.

ebay can be a dangerous place to buy and sell and unfortunately you cannot give people ammunition to potentially scam you. If you are selling anything with a certificate you should let the cert do the talking. Even photos can be contested.

Again I do not know how it got to be that the "buyer" was allowed to keep the diamond and the refund, that doesn't seem right.

Read the transcript from Ebay in the first post where they have clearly taken the buyer's "proof" i.e. another assessment and not the GIA report.

 

[LD]

I suggest no one should never ever buy or sell at eBay whatsoever!
Whole eBay is a scam itself, they're frauding their customers in any way possible!

I had a jewelry store located at eBay -over 500 customers - 100% Positive Feedback.
Then a guy purchased a diamond from my store (he's in the diamond business), I had only 7 days return & money back guarantee. He contacted me after 13 days and opened case on eBay as well - he won the case and got money back $2,460.00. Ain't gonna stop there, no, of course not, eBay let him keep the diamond as well after he got a refund! I lost a diamond worth above $11,000.00 (sold at No Reserve) with GIA Report and I also lost $2,460.00 that eBay detucted from my PayPal account!

He opened a case because the diamond wasn't as described - "item not as described" case.
I sent a letter to eBay with proof and documents of both diamond, GIA Report, etc.
When they received the letter, they never contacted me about the letter and never answered my emails, sent them 6 or 7 - but they changed case from "item not as described" to "item never received". And gave him the money and the diamond! FRAUD!

And it ain't gonna stop there, no, of course not!
I also have a document (from eBay to buyer) where they admit to the buyer why they gave him back money without any reason - against their Policy (lawyer also told this is illegal to do).
It's stated in the letter that they refunded the money and let him keep the diamond because he had earned eBay $11,000.00 in one year!

I even sent this letter to eBay (copy of the document) and threatened to sue them, also contacted a lawyer - no answer now 2 months later! But eBay did close my seller account and whole store after they detucted my account without any explanation!


"However, I understand the diamond you received is very hazy due to microcrystal inclusions inside the stone as identified in your appraisal."

Excuse my language - but WTF!!
Oh yeah, "he's own fake appraisal" beats GIA (Gemological Institute of America)????????? When the F*** did that happen?!

Ok - to break down some of your post.

"Sam" the claims handler clearly has no experience with diamonds and that's evident from his reply. He also empathised with the buyer in a most unprofessional manner and doesn't appear to have remained neutral. I would therefore (if possible and you'll need to get legal advice) see if you can threaten to take Ebay to court as they have clearly sanctioned theft - i.e. allowing the buyer not to give you the stone back.

I do have an issue with your post and that's the part where you have grossly overvalued your stone. You can't moan because it was won at a lower price than you wanted. If you truly thought it was worth much more then you should have put a reserve on it. I don't mean to split hairs and as I buy coloured diamonds I can tell you that IMVHO your diamond was probably worth what you sold it for (however, of course that's subjective)!

I do hope you get a resolution. I think it's criminal that Ebay have (a) responded in a manner unbefitting to a business and (b) sanctioned theft.

 

[ruby59]

I suggest no one should never ever buy or sell at eBay whatsoever!
Whole eBay is a scam itself, they're frauding their customers in any way possible!

I had a jewelry store located at eBay -over 500 customers - 100% Positive Feedback.
Then a guy purchased a diamond from my store (he's in the diamond business), I had only 7 days return & money back guarantee. He contacted me after 13 days and opened case on eBay as well - he won the case and got money back $2,460.00. Ain't gonna stop there, no, of course not, eBay let him keep the diamond as well after he got a refund! I lost a diamond worth above $11,000.00 (sold at No Reserve) with GIA Report and I also lost $2,460.00 that eBay detucted from my PayPal account!

He opened a case because the diamond wasn't as described - "item not as described" case.
I sent a letter to eBay with proof and documents of both diamond, GIA Report, etc.
When they received the letter, they never contacted me about the letter and never answered my emails, sent them 6 or 7 - but they changed case from "item not as described" to "item never received". And gave him the money and the diamond! FRAUD!

And it ain't gonna stop there, no, of course not!
I also have a document (from eBay to buyer) where they admit to the buyer why they gave him back money without any reason - against their Policy (lawyer also told this is illegal to do).
It's stated in the letter that they refunded the money and let him keep the diamond because he had earned eBay $11,000.00 in one year!

I even sent this letter to eBay (copy of the document) and threatened to sue them, also contacted a lawyer - no answer now 2 months later! But eBay did close my seller account and whole store after they detucted my account without any explanation!


"However, I understand the diamond you received is very hazy due to microcrystal inclusions inside the stone as identified in your appraisal."

Excuse my language - but WTF!!
Oh yeah, "he's own fake appraisal" beats GIA (Gemological Institute of America)????????? When the F*** did that happen?!

Ok - to break down some of your post.

"Sam" the claims handler clearly has no experience with diamonds and that's evident from his reply. He also empathised with the buyer in a most unprofessional manner and doesn't appear to have remained neutral. I would therefore (if possible and you'll need to get legal advice) see if you can threaten to take Ebay to court as they have clearly sanctioned theft - i.e. allowing the buyer not to give you the stone back.I do have an issue with your post and that's the part where you have grossly overvalued your stone. You can't moan because it was won at a lower price than you wanted. If you truly thought it was worth much more then you should have put a reserve on it. I don't mean to split hairs and as I buy coloured diamonds I can tell you that IMVHO your diamond was probably worth what you sold it for (however, of course that's subjective)!

I do hope you get a resolution. I think it's criminal that Ebay have (a) responded in a manner unbefitting to a business and (b) sanctioned theft.

Excelent point, Loving Diamonds. I needed to find a magnifying glass in order to read ebay's letter, but it is very uprofessional, to say the least. And if he is that unknowledgable about diamonds, he should not be making a high $$ decision. I would send a copy of that to ebay. I would ask to speak with a guy there named "Herman." From what I understand he has the authority and the knowledge to set things right. Go on the sellers board and post this. They are very helpful there.

 

[STOJA001]

Thank you for your understanding

For me, the money doesn't mean much.
But it's outrageous for eBay to let this kind of things to even happen!

Of course, the $2,460.00 burns in my wallet.
But it's so cruel letting him get the diamond for FREE at my cost - it's my diamond and I had to pay for it!

Or in other words...
I had to pay $2,460.00 for eBay's stupidity - eBay is the main problem here - not the buyer I suppose.
If eBay was real and did care about their customers, they would have deleted the amount from my account and just let him keep the diamond or something. Then it would at least be some kinda "even/fair". I would loose the diamond tho', but I wouldn't loose my money as well.

 

[STOJA001]

Hmm.. At a GIA Report it will be stated "indented" if hazy, foggy etc.
This is not stated anywhere. eBay just undermined GIA anyway!

We do not write anything else than stated in the GIA Report and we also show all customers a video of the actual item before shipping!

 

[STOJA001]

I have been thinking about taking a legal action against them, I've already been talking with a lawyer about this issue. But I can not sue eBay Inc in United States from my country - I have to go to the US.

No, the diamond has a retail value at $11,000.00 or something - we follow price lists from worldwide (including color, clarity, size, cut, etc etc).

No, I didn't mean that!
He got the diamond for the price he wanted it. I dont care about the amount or anything.
But it's not right giving him a diamond worth above $11K's for FREE!

 

[STOJA001]

I totally agree!

I sent letters to eBay with copy's of everything - no answer.
They changed status from "item not as descibed" to "item never received", bull**** as I have tracking number and delivery proof.
This is sent to eBay thru AirMail, email and even uploaded at PayPal when shipped.

Because of this one claim (100% Positive Feedback except this one) eBay shut down my shop, detucted my money for $2,460.00 and got me banned/black-listed at eBay. When I'm trying to contact them (sent 6-7 emails) no answer. Sent 2 letters, no answer!

Of course I could call them, but the main issue about calling them is that I can not speak good english at all. I can only write english.

 

[T L]

I have been thinking about taking a legal action against them, I've already been talking with a lawyer about this issue. But I can not sue eBay Inc in United States from my country - I have to go to the US.

No, the diamond has a retail value at $11,000.00 or something - we follow price lists from worldwide (including color, clarity, size, cut, etc etc).

No, I didn't mean that!
He got the diamond for the price he wanted it. I dont care about the amount or anything.
But it's not right giving him a diamond worth above $11K's for FREE!

I've seen brownish-greenish-yellow or "khaki" and "olive" colored diamonds like that on Arthur Langerman's site for around that much, so I believe it's a realistic retail value, which is many times higher than the ebay value. Here's an example, without a GIA report, and it's a half carat smaller.

http://www.langerman-diamonds.com/s...n-diamond-Heart-Shape-125-ct-polished_Diamond

They tend to be a little hazy, but you said your was not. No matter the price, he shouldn't have been able to get it for free.

 

[STOJA001]

Yes, that's totally right.
We try to set an estimated retail value as close to the reality as possible.

 

[cookies]

I am sorry to hear what has happened.
How did you ship the diamond to the buyer? Did you request a direct signature?
I feel like if you can prove the diamond did get delivered to the right place/person, eBay cannot just say "item never received".

ETA: I just went through the whole thread, and realized eBay was aware that the buyer got the stone. So never mind my question.

 

[STOJA001]

I am sorry to hear what has happened.
How did you ship the diamond to the buyer? Did you request a direct signature?
I feel like if you can prove the diamond did get delivered to the right place/person, eBay cannot just say "item never received".

The package was shipped as EMS (Express Mail Service).
With tracking number, and yes - Signature upon Delivery.

No, did not think so either.
But believe me, eBay did and they think they can do whatever they please.
Just a bunch of morons!

 

[Arkteia]

I sold just a few trifles on ebay, for $ 5.00, and apparently I am neither gaining nor losing $$ just getting positive score for my store. Yet I already fell prey to a scammer who threatened to report me to ebay (for receiving the item one day later, but he paid me much later, too!). He said he'd leave a positive feedback if I retracted the shipping fee, and I did, and then he left nothing... Just taught me that there were many schemers preying on ebay, be it for expensive items or cheap ones. Moreover, my profit is "swallowed" by the shipping price and ebay openly advises you to "hide" the shipping price in the price of an item... I called ebay once to see if anything could be done about it, and the guy on the other end was plain unhelpful. Simply clueless...

This being said, I feel that ebay favors neither buyers nor sellers, it favors itself. They need a quick sale, with minimum complications, and the profit. The "ratings" mean nothing... in fact, one of my favorite cutters gets certain amount of "negatives" and yet I'd rather buy from him than many "100%" vendors. In general, I try not to leave negatives, it is just my personality, but once I left general "positive" with "2" for "as described" (an ugly praseolite... a positive was only because it was a praseolite, although desaturated and milky) and got a slew of questions from ebay... I wish we had "neutrals" too.

I can not comment on your situation because I am not an expert in prices of diamonds. I am sorry that you have lost so much money and had no way to resolve the situation. I think all threads about ebay are very helpful. One learns a lot through them.

 

[T L]

I've never been a seller on ebay, only a buyer, and although I've been scammed in the past, or extremely disappointed in items that were not as great as described or like the photo, I find ebay to have some amazing deals. I have a few trusted sellers I buy from, and there is no way, no how, I could have purchased some gemstones for the prices I paid anywhere else. I think it's really important to be an educated ebayer and never spend more than you're willing to risk.

Every time I purchase a stone, I always think about, "what if I don't get my money back if I don't like it?" Unfortunately, that just doesn't go for ebay, but for other vendors off ebay. In these economic times, it's getting more difficult for vendors to provide a prompt refund. Some vendors refund in installments, or not at all. I think as a gemstone collector it can be risky, as it's not like buying a pair of jeans from Nordstrom. We're often buying from small companies, and sometimes they don't have the cash at their disposal, especially in this weak economy. Therefore, before I make a pricey purchase, I make sure it's a vendor I totally trust, and I know I can get a store credit, or refund, if I don't like the gem. I have one seller that I know it would have been difficult for him to make a prompt refund, and he allowed me to have a store credit. That is also an option as well, and I'm sure some sellers would appreciate it.

 

[LD]

I've never been a seller on ebay, only a buyer, and although I've been scammed in the past, or extremely disappointed in items that were not as great as described or like the photo, I find ebay to have some amazing deals. I have a few trusted sellers I buy from, and there is no way, no how, I could have purchased some gemstones for the prices I paid anywhere else. I think it's really important to be an educated ebayer and never spend more than you're willing to risk.

Every time I purchase a stone, I always think about, "what if I don't get my money back if I don't like it?" Unfortunately, that just doesn't go for ebay, but for other vendors off ebay. In these economic times, it's getting more difficult for vendors to provide a prompt refund. Some vendors refund in installments, or not at all. I think as a gemstone collector it can be risky, as it's not like buying a pair of jeans from Nordstrom. We're often buying from small companies, and sometimes they don't have the cash at their disposal, especially in this weak economy. Therefore, before I make a pricey purchase, I make sure it's a vendor I totally trust, and I know I can get a store credit, or refund, if I don't like the gem. I have one seller that I know it would have been difficult for him to make a prompt refund, and he allowed me to have a store credit. That is also an option as well, and I'm sure some sellers would appreciate it.

+1 - couldn't agree more with each and every word.