Lol here’s an email I received from eBay regarding the seller

 

maybe direct from factory perhaps has an insider there that can get stock before other sellers

 

ebay cancelled my transaction this morning, and after a quick robo-call to file a claim, they skipped right past the seller response step and refunded me on the basis of an invalid tracking number being provided. eBay and PayPal could solve a lot of these problems by lengthening the escrow period on sales proceeds, demanding a security deposit to compensate buyers above and beyond refunds, and requiring documentation of postage weight at shipping (although we’d probably just wind up getting rocks rather than LEGO pieces in that scenario). Of course that would make the platform a bit hostile towards sellers and marketplaces need two to tango so I guess we’re stuck with this annual purging of good eBay sellers instead.

 

I wondered why I'd been getting feedback for sales of used incontinence pants for the last year!!!  

 

So, couple things to factor, 1.) I made that post about 9 days ago, when there was about only one recent negative feedback, and the seller even responded to it. 2.) immediately after this post, I was the one who pointed out the excessive amount of discounted prices on a majority of their listings and recommended caution, and 3.) The current story from Ebay is that their account was hacked and now that control has been restored to them, they will allegedly correct the wrongdoing. While this could just be another part of a very drawn out and unusual scam we haven't quite seen yet, at least not to this level of bizarre, it's worth considering this is legitimately what happened and liujunling87_5 could still be a legit seller.

My main issue is that a bit too often here we see posters spreading paranoia when a seller gets 1 negative feedback from someone claiming they were scammed, with often zero context to support it. Is it entirely possible the seller went rogue and this is just the first reported instance? Yes. But at the same time, it's not unheard of for some new-to-Ebay &/or Chinese ordering idiot to not know what they're doing, leave negative feedback for the seller right off the bat, and now you have an entire community of collectors avoiding that seller based solely on one idiot's misunderstanding. I understand getting scammed is something that continues to happen with regular frequency, but at the same time, I prefer to apply Hanlon's razor to many of these first reports.

 

I did try and 'decode' the first negative feedback they received before jumping to conclusions...

See  


But then all the other negatives started rolling in  

 

See, that's what I meant. The first negative can be just one in a very long series of negatives to come, but at the same time, it can also be a standalone example of an idiot not knowing what they're doing. It's best to wait and see how the situation plays about before sounding the scam alert far and wide at the first possible instance to be seen.

 

I have put in 3, $300 plus orders from him. They come fast. He is a great seller. Also ordered Megatron and when his order fell through he contacted me and gave refund.

 

just ordered this let you know how it goes , noticed seller on good list , I was looking for a decent computron the combiner wars version much of it seemed a rehash of existing combiner wars transformers , the wei jiang computron did not do it for me so saw this computron by wartbotron looks great and was £143.00 reasonable price IN STOCK Transformation Warbotron WB-03 Combination Computron Toy Box set gift | eBay

 

Benefit of the doubt, and trying to stay positive, because it does happen, but Maybe they had a helper who decided to help themselves. You're Not gonna check up on them if you dont think there's a reason to. Then its too late. I think that goes for Baba and Showz, if something happens, show will tell you they have to check with the partner. (NOT saying baba and show are doing anything bad) The recent holiday was in that time frame, so Kinda like when you have the neighbor hold your mail and water your plants when you are on vacation, except you come back from vacation and see your mail piled up outside your door and plants are dead.

 

I got the same email message from ebay about liujunling87_5 compromised account. I want to give the benefit of the doubt here but the number of us who had the same thing happen with the same number of mistakes around zip codes etc. it just doesn't add up.

 

Order xtransbot neptune from xialeyulo9 on 9/30 and got tracking info on 10/1, but it hasnt moved. Contacted xialeyulo9 twice and no answer. Saw his feedback went all negative and took down all the listings. Contacted ebay and they said i gotta wait until 12/10. Bastards dont care. Maybe I'll take it up with Paypal or maybe suck it up and wait.

 

I got the same message from Ebay:

Our records show that you recently contacted or received messages from liujunling87_5 through eBay's messaging system. This account was recently found to have been accessed by an unauthorized third party, who may have used the account in an attempt to defraud other members.

We've taken action to restore this account to the original owner, but wanted to let you know to be suspicious of any communication you may have received from them. Nothing is wrong with your account at this time – this message is just being sent as a precaution. If you have received any messages from liujunling87_5 that appears suspicious, please feel free to forward them to us at [email protected] for review.

-- Safety Tips --
-- Don't respond to the sender, through either eBay or your email provider, if the message is an offer to buy or sell an item. This type of offer may be fraudulent, and the transaction won't be covered by eBay protection programs.

- - If you received what appears to be a Second Chance Offer for an item you recently bid on, and it appears in My Messages with the subject of "Message from eBay Member," it isn't a legitimate Second Chance Offer.

Real Second Chance Offers appear in My Messages with a blue background and subject that says, "eBay Second Chance Offer for Item...". Always check for both the blue background in My Messages and the subject line of "eBay Second Chance Offer for Item…" when responding to a Second Chance Offer.

-- Never pay for your eBay items using instant cash wire transfer services such as Western Union or MoneyGram. It is against eBay's Safe Payments Policy for a seller to request payment with these methods, as these types of payments are unsafe if you're paying someone you don't know.

-- If You've Already Sent Payment or Shipped an Item --
- - If you already sent payment for an off-eBay transaction, or if you're a seller who already shipped an item to a fraudulent buyer, we suggest you take the following steps:

-- Contact the payment service you used to make the purchase. If you paid by credit card, most card issuers provide consumer protections in instances of online fraud.

- - If you sold and shipped an item to a fraudulent buyer, contact the carrier you used to ship the item. You might be able to receive additional assistance from the shipping service. If it was sent through the United States Postal Service, you may want to file mail fraud charges. Please go to:


So... the account was hacked... I purchased thru Ebay... I received: no item, no refund, and tracking shows it as delivered to another state in the USA (not mine). Really Ebay? Really?

I am soooooo done with overseas buying. Fin.

 

It was a complete scam. Ebay owes the buyers a complete and speedy refund. I'll be filing my PP claim asap.

 

I just received my 4th item today from chao7623. It was a little slower this time but on average 2-3 weeks. I'm still waiting on my KO Masterpiece Ratchet which he shipped but it is saying it's at the regional distribution center Hangzhao, Zhejiang since the 12th and hasn't updated.

 

I have a mp 08x grimlock I’m not expecting to get from liu....I’ll keep you posted.

 

So the item was removed, and I never received a hacking message from eBay. I’ll contact them tomorrow about a refund.

 

Why is tfclub on the bad list? Feedback is solid and I have gotten a few items from them.

 

I haven't received anything either. Will give eBay and the seller a few hours and then contact them.

 

As memory serves, they're an odd listing on the bad seller list because they're not really scammers or thieves, but had a very long history of selling very cheap KOs, in extremely poor packaging, with lots of damaged shipments, and offering little to no refunds or replacements for their poor handling. While their service has possibly improved over time, and may warrant revisiting, I don't know how many buyers are eager to gamble on their level of handling just yet.