Another Ebay scam?

[mustbebob]

This has happened to me 5 times over the past month on eBay auctions so I thought I would let you in on what's happening. These were NOT coin purchases, but other items. If this has happened to some of you, please chime in with a comment.

I had successfully bid on some automotive and electronic parts. The location of the items was the USA which is one of the requirements for just about all of my eBay dealings. When the transactions were processed to my credit or debit card, it was quickly followed by an individual 'International Transaction fee' assessed by my bank. This means that the seller was overseas. This is not noted anywhere on the auctions. More investigation led to the determination that the parts I had ordered were now coming from overseas, so the delivery date is vague (they said anywhere between 25 Jan and 9 Feb)

I am trying to contact eBay about this, but it keeps telling me to contact the seller, who do not reply. The fee is not large, but the point is that it was taken from my account without my knowledge and the fact that the auction says USA, but parts and fees are from overseas (China specifically) is an issue with me. Any comments or am I just missing something here?

[Maineman750]

I buy a lot of stuff on eBay, Bob....but this one has never happened to me....maybe because I look at the delivery date first ? I don't do it for any particular reason, but I do.
I am thinking that once you get your parts, give them negative feedback for the extra charge....that will get eBay involved

[makecents]

I do quite a bit on eBay and have never had anything like this happen before. Like you, I pretty much always buy U.S.. I do look at their rating too and check negative or neutral ratings, I usually stay away from low number or new sellers too. It will tied up your money for about a week but would cancel the order and open up a case against the seller in this particular instance and give them a negative rating too.

[Petespockets55]

I would notify the bank of an unauthorized transaction and they will probably refund the amount to you.

I had authorized a payment of $100 and the company processed a $1,000.00 charge. "Oh my" I said!
It took about 4-5 business days to process (the full $1,000.00) but the bank just had me fill out a form confirming I didn't authorize that amount.

[GrumpyEd]

If you pay with a credit card through paypal or money from a paypal account maybe it wouldn't add a fee unless you saw it at checkout?

[WaterSport]

Another scam on another forum has a person contact you after you sold an item and tries to get you to send it to another address "because their fathers sick and in the hospital so he had to move" etc.

WS

[mustbebob]

Thanks for the replies folks. I did get a reply from one of the sellers, who turned out to be the other two sellers as well. They were in China and said that they ship from China to warehouses all over the US and this is the first time they had ever heard of an International Transaction Fee (Yeah...right). I will indeed leave feedback and try contacting eBay again. My bank will not refund the money because it actually was an international transaction. We are talking really small money here that depends on how much the item was. However, there is the "Someone pissed Bob Off' factor that needs to be addressed. PayPal is also getting involved.

[jfines69]

SOPiBOF - Some One Pissed Bob Off Factor

[makecents]

SOPiBOF - Some One Pissed Bob Off Factor

That's a Bob I don't think I would want to run across!

[makecents]

Thanks for the replies folks. I did get a reply from one of the sellers, who turned out to be the other two sellers as well. They were in China and said that they ship from China to warehouses all over the US and this is the first time they had ever heard of an International Transaction Fee (Yeah...right). I will indeed leave feedback and try contacting eBay again. My bank will not refund the money because it actually was an international transaction. We are talking really small money here that depends on how much the item was. However, there is the "Someone pissed Bob Off' factor that needs to be addressed. PayPal is also getting involved.

Oh, at this point, it would be totally about the principle for me!