I was involved in an eBay scam. I purchased an M4 Max Mac Studio for $520 and thought, 'that's a really good deal.' This was on February 9, 2025. I used my PayPal Credit Card (Synchrony) to purchase it. After I purchased, the red flags started going off. At this point, the seller wouldn't refund me and eBay couldn't help.
I tried getting my money back through eBay customer support, but the seller had uploaded the listing under Tickets & Travel > Travel > CarRental which isn't covered by eBay's Money Back Guarantee. I only noticed this AFTER I purchased. I reported the seller for this reason and eBay didn't care.
The seller had used a fraudulent UPS tracking number that matched my city and zip code but not my address. He also deleted his eBay account, or eBay removed it, after I purchased.
I went through PayPal and disputed it there (Feb 10, 2025). On March 17, they sided with the seller because he uploaded a tracking number. PayPal never verified that the tracking number was legit.
Shortly after that, I went to Synchrony (PayPal Credit) to dispute. Synchrony also sided with eBay because eBay insisted it was delivered to my address. They didn't provide ANY proof from UPS.
I had to call UPS about 15 times to get anywhere. All they could tell me was, 'We can't confirm the delivery of this address because you are not the recipient.' I know that. I'm trying to get confirmation that this wasn't delivered to my address. 'We can't do that, sir, because you are not the receiver.'
Finally, I asked, 'Can you tell me the GPS coordinates on this tracking number, please? I need to confirm that this wasn't delivered to me.' It might take you a few calls to get anywhere. Just be patient and don't get angry (I was pissed a few times). Anger doesn't get you anywhere.
I wrote down the address over the phone. This was about 3 days ago (March 22, 2026). I called again today (Mar 25, 2026) with the address in mind. I asked the customer support agent if he could send me an email proving I did not receive the package. He said, 'You mean proof of delivery?' I said yes. I told him my email and about 5 seconds later, I got the Proof of Delivery with the ACTUAL address. It's about 3 miles from where I live. It's still unclear to me whether anyone can ask for proof of delivery for any tracking number and they'll send it to you, or if they'll only send it to you if you already know the address on the package.
Moral of the story: In order to get anywhere, just keep calling UPS and wait for someone to cave in. In order to resolve this scam, it's a numbers game with UPS. If the seller doesn't upload your item under some weird category, go to eBay first. Don't file a dispute with your credit card company. Save this for last.
Synchrony and eBay keep playing tennis without taking UPS into consideration. I'm still waiting for this case to finish.