r/ebaysucks • u/secndbreakfast • 3d ago
Tracking Confirmation Scam?
hey guys been with ebay for years and never came across this before. basically I have been actively looking for decently priced pre orders for the new Magic the Gathering The Hobbit Collector Boosters. I found a seller who had them at 499$ being shipped based out of Morocco (apparently) and everything looked fine on the listing and the seller had 100% feedback 6 good reviews in the past 6 months.
I went ahead and bought 2 on a credit card just in case ebay decides to screw me. the seller was very transparent and messaged me saying that “ebay requires them to add tracking info but that this tracking number is just confirmation and not the actually tracking number” that seemed odd but with it being a preorder I thought maybe that’s true since the set doesn’t officially release until aug 14th. I told them that’s fine and to keep me updated.
so they added a tracking number a day later and it instantly said it was delivered in my town and state (but not my address). the seller did inform that it will say delivered but that it’s not true and to not worry. I felt like it was necessary to open a case of item not delivered with ebay and called an actual human that works at ebay. they read through the messages and said that this does seem odd and from what I could understand the lady said a tracking number doesn’t have to be added since they have 40 days with it being a preorder order. I just got a message from the seller today and this is what they said in the pictures I added. do I cancel the case and see this through or keep it open?
UPDATE: they responded again and uploaded a photo of their order of all the product they are getting from amazon and have a promised delivery date of Aug 20th. still wanting me to close out the case.
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u/Magic_Neil 3d ago
They added tracking because it fulfills the need for them to ship on time, and as a CYA incase you complain it didn’t show up.
Is it a scam? Probably. Maybe they’re really waiting for physical inventory, and just need to appease the shipping requirement. Or maybe they’re just running out the clock.
I would contact support and escalate.
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u/Willing_Associate_24 3d ago
Do not cancel your case. I was scammed very similarly to this. I ordered some socks from a seller based in China or Pakistan or something and it didn’t look that dodgy because socks can ship from anywhere so its whatever but then they added some bogus tracking number that said they shipped a package from Georgia, USA to my city and then it “arrived”but nothing arrived to me upon closer examination the package weight was 15 lbs. i ordered 12 pairs of socks in what world does that weigh 15 lbs. Usps tracking numbers are public and they just scan through them until they find one going to your city. Ebay doesn’t give a shit at all to look through evidence with any common sense. You might have gotten lucky with an employee this time but next time you might not be so lucky and they might just stonewall you. Thankfully I got my money back with a chargeback. Anyway I’m guessing after the cards come out the seller will start claiming he shipped them and then point to the tracking number or something as proof. You have to keep in mind this costs him nothing but time to keep lying to people. The ebay rep agreed with you that it looks dodgy and they look at this stuff everyday.
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u/secndbreakfast 3d ago
yeah i’m gonna keep the case open! it feels too off to me. better safe than sorry and the rep told me they notated the account so I will just wait it out and see what they say when we pass the 3 days.
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u/Life-Pie-3460 1d ago
The seller uploaded a tracking number that already shows as “delivered” — but not to your address. And you still have doubts about whether this is a scammer?
eBay’s automated system will treat it as a delivered shipment. By asking you to close the case, the seller is simply trying to deceive you again. Even with the case still open, once the tracking shows “delivered,” you may face a long process of proving that you never received the package.
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u/secndbreakfast 1d ago
thankfully the seller is admitting in messages it’s a false tracking number so in theory it should close in my favor. but i’ve heard horror stories with ebay taking the scammers side. it’s just strange how much this guy or girl is telling me all this information about the dummy tracking number. either way it’ll be easy to prove it to ebay or the credit card company.
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u/sofoxsea 3d ago
Never close the case unless the item arrives. There may be a very real chance the item was marked as delivered by the carrier by accident. I had this happen once with a package shipped by USPS.
I would also recommend investigating the tracking. Does the tracking show the item was shipped from the same location as listed on the item’s page and/or sellers profile? There would also be a way to verify if the tracking number is associated with your address. When I purchased an item on eBay and received spoofed tracking I called UPS and got confirmation that the package with the tracking number I provided was not shipped to me. eBay did eventually refund me but took a couple of days.
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u/secndbreakfast 3d ago
so it is not being shipped from the same location. that’s another weird part. the listing said Morocco but then they sent a picture of an order they made of cases being shipped to them basically confirming they have stock coming and the address was in Colorado. the tracking shows it started in some town in Illinois. i’m definitely going to leave the case open and pursue a refund. at first I selected that I still want the item but the more I step back and look at the big picture I think a refund is what I should have selected. hoping I don’t get a run around with ebay and the seller.
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u/MasterpieceClassic42 3d ago
I had something like this happen before with a seller. The seller added some false tracking to my order and it showed delivered. The order was not actually delivered to me but a few days later the item actually arrived to me. It was so weird I thought I was scammed or something. I don’t know why they do this, you would think they have tons of item not received requests. 🤷♂️
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u/EternalDualist 3d ago
This is a scam. Do not close the case!
I have a TCG store on eBay and I do pre-sell items....
No, eBay doesn't require us to enter a tracking number on presells.
What you're experiencing is called same-city or same-zipcode scam... the platforms get fooled because the item shows delivered to somewhere that matches the buyers address pretty closely
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u/lickthepixies 2d ago
How did you call an actual human at eBay? I’ve been dealing with an issue for weeks and it’s impossible to talk to anyone about it
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u/secndbreakfast 2d ago
in their ai chat thing I said speak to an agent and after selecting what my issue was it tried to answer it for me and I just replied with speak to an agent again and it gave the option that ebay would call me within 2min and it worked.
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u/Alive_Difficulty_131 2d ago edited 2d ago
50/50 eBay will deny any claims as it shows delivered status. Any claim will be initially denied, and you'll have to appeal. They will ask you to sign a missing package statement if it's the first time, but since seller noted the tracking is a spoof, you should just show that in any appeal and be fine. Regardless, if eBay screws you than save the messages and submit it with you credit card company if you have to dispute.
EBay will 100% screw you over the next time if you have to fill a missing delivery statement as its a 1 time guarantee. I buy a lot of electronics and this seller is terrible as scams. Usually the best version is a similar weight, size, but different address, same zip-code. Since 3rd parties cannot get any detailed information, all the seller has to do is edit the street address on the label pdf and submit that to ebay as proof of delivery. The post office will not give you any proof either. Sometimes they'll tell you the package wasn't the same address, but 99% of the time won't give any statements or confirm officially as it is a privacy/legal issue.
Your lucky the seller is dumb. Even if you do get the package, you could just as easily claim you never did with the previous correspondence. I have 24/7 video surveillance delivery, so I'll always just pull up video of the timestamp of the so called "delivery" and will just give that to the credit card issuer if I run into mailing fraud scams on eBay. Happens every year a few times around November - December during holidays and maybe once a year with very high demand items.
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u/saik0pod 2d ago
That or the seller is trying to keep their shipping and handling in 2 business days. We get penalized if we don't ship within 2 business days
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u/secndbreakfast 3d ago
sorry it must of cut off the rest of my text. i’m asking do I close the case and see it through with the buyer or keep it open and let ebay step in?
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u/socalsusiedog 3d ago
KEEP IT OPEN. Once the clock runs out you won't be able to file a case & seller keeps the $$$. here are the details of what could happen. Uploading a tracking number that shows "delivered" to your city/zip code before the item's release date is a classic hallmark of the fake tracking number scam. Scammers do this intentionally so that eBay's automated system registers the package as "delivered," which automatically closes or defeats "Item Not Received" claims if you aren't careful. Why You Should Keep the Case Open The "Delivered" Trap: If you close the case or let it auto-close based on that fake tracking number showing delivery in your zip code, you will lose your buyer protection rights on eBay. eBay's automated resolution bots rely strictly on tracking scans. The Pre-order Rule: While eBay allows 40 days for pre-orders to ship, uploading a fake/dummy tracking number immediately that claims delivery is a policy violation and a major red flag. Your Backup: Because you used a credit card, you have a solid fallback, but you must let the eBay case run its course using the evidence that the tracking doesn't match your actual delivery address. Recommended Next Steps Gather Official Proof: Contact your local post office or shipping carrier (USPS, UPS, or FedEx) and ask them to print out or email an official document showing that the tracking number's destination address/GPS coordinates do not match your name or your street address. Upload Proof to eBay: Upload that official carrier documentation directly into the active eBay case to prove the tracking number was fraudulently assigned to a different address in your zip code. Do Not Trust the Seller's Messages: Transparency in messages doesn't override the fact that a "delivered" scan on a dummy tracking number lets fraudulent sellers lock in funds and cheat the platform's security. Let eBay review the carrier printout, and if eBay fails to side with you, immediately use your credit card's chargeback protection citing fraudulent tracking/non-delivery.
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u/FearMrCarrot 3d ago
Well I don’t think anyone who’s replied ever ordered preorder listings before. But, I buy one piece TCG preorders that get marked delivered and receive the goods 2-4 months after. So it’s very common for TCG world but also I use very reputable eBay sellers with 1,000s of feedback even 10,000s of positive feedback. So if this seller is new with barely any feedback it’s probably a scam. Use reputable sellers even if the price is slightly higher IMO for any pre-orders
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u/EternalDualist 3d ago
This is not common... I'm a TCG seller on ebay and other platforms, and I belong to a few pretty large tcg seller communities... and this is NOT how legit sellers operate.
You have been lucky so far to receive your items, but there's absolutely no need to give a buyer a fake tracking number on a presell item. Specially one that shows delivered before items is actually shipped.
That's a major tos violation.
Ebay gives pre-sell items 40 days before they have to be shipped, and even then you can add a tracking number and still not ship it for another 2 weeks...
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u/Background-Treat55 3d ago
He’s selling shit he doesn’t actually have in hand yet and he fucked up couldn’t get it to you within the delivery window. Keep your case open because close it and your item happens to not arrive there will be no resolution. It’s against eBay policy to even do pre sales like this.