As mentioned in a previous post, I recently sold a Moto x4 from Project Fi on eBay. The phone was my daily driver for about 8 months, and I really liked it. I took meticulous care of it - always in a case, never dropped. My only problems were a less than adequate camera, and the performance of the ISP (Google Project Fi) in my area.
The buyer paid instantly with PayPal and I shipped the phone via USPS the very next day. Yesterday, I received notification from eBay the buyer had requested a refund for "item not as described," claiming the phone was bent. The pictures he submitted are grainy at best.
I immediately sent him a message to ask if the box was damaged, to see if maybe it happened during transit. He stated the box was undamaged and uploaded two unclear pictures of a phone that may or may not be the same (this will come back in a later paragraph.) It's hard to say because the phone is jet black and outside of a closeup looks like a million other black phones.
I know for a fact this phone was in perfect physical condition when I shipped it. I took six pictures for my records just in case. However, looking back, I could have taken better and clearer photographs.
Because of this, I approved the return - I don't feel that I can prove through my own photographs that the phone was shipped in perfect condition. Incidentally, since the order came through about 5 minutes after I posted it, I was focused on wiping my information from the phone and boxing it up for shipment. I, therefore, of course, forgot to write down the serial number and IMEI.
The reason I mention this last factotum is that after approving the refund, it occurred to me to see if maybe I was being scammed. What the buyer will do is determine they need to upgrade their cell phone because it's damaged in some way, buy one similar on eBay, then initiate a refund/return and return their damaged phone as the original. Paypal apparently has stronger protection for buyers rather than sellers, so the seller usually has to eat the cost. I sincerely hope this doesn't happen to me.
If it is not a scam, I will at least be able to see what happened to the phone and maybe take it to sell at a pawn shop, and only be out the total cost of shipping both ways.
If it is a scam, I am royally screwed for the short term. Paypal let me withdraw the funds prior to the sale being complete, which I didn't know was possible. I distributed the money to my accounts according to bills that needed paying. Now, however, eBay retracted the funds, leaving me with a negative PayPal balance. Now, those accounts have negative balances as well, since I have to transfer money back to PayPal.
Obviously, this was not supposed to happen. What was supposed to happen was that I would be able to make a partial credit card payment with this $200, which would give me some breathing room for this month, and have a possible PayPal balance to do some flipping with. Now I have to use cash on hand.
All of this makes me feel pretty crappy. It's as if I am being screwed before I even begin.
I am trying to look at the brighter side: I still have a full-time job, and I have an interview this evening with the manager at the video store down the road from my house.
A part-time income will help stabilize our financial situation mid-term, but I still feel like I need cash yesterday. To alleviate the short-term, I'll take what little cash I have to see if there is anything at the local flea market that I purchase cheap and flip on eBay, and get started on Rev.com, which pays straight to PayPal.
Have a good weekend, y'all. Steve, out.
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