I think I got scammed, what to do?

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Joralin

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I bought a Martin Style 1k from reverb, and I wasn't aware that there are scams too.

I bought it immediately, because it was a really good (yes maybe too good) price and got suspicious later. 500 €, but it was refinished and with lacquer cracks, so I thought it would be a good, but somewhat normal price.

Later I found a few things out:
-The seller has no feedback
- the PayPal payment didn't go trough the first 2 days (message"seller has not accepted yet") . I wrote a message about that to him - no answere. At day 3 it got trough.
- shipping is 0 € from France anywhere in the world...
- I found a big seller on ebay that sells a Martin Style1 Mahogany. His pictures have the same background, and a very similar Form of writing the description

What should I do now? It hasn't been sent at the moment.

Should I open a reverb case or contact paypal directly?

I don't want to give him time to do whatever type of scam he is trying to make.
 
If all you’ve done is given payment through PayPal, in all likelihood you’ve lost the money but nothing else. They have your address too, I suppose, for shipping the uke. But they don’t have your credit card info or anything, PayPal won’t give them that. They just know your address and they have the money you gave them.
 
donboody said:
If all you’ve done is given payment through PayPal, in all likelihood you’ve lost the money but nothing else. They have your address too, I suppose, for shipping the uke. But they don’t have your credit card info or anything, PayPal won’t give them that. They just know your address and they have the money you gave them.
Click to expand...
But why do you think the money is lost? I can start a refund with reverb and maybe I can activate PayPal help too?
 
Sorry to hear that… reach out to Reverb and PayPal. If you bypassed Reverb’s payment system and used PayPal Friends and Family you might be out of luck…
 
Thanks guys.

Yes it was "goods and services". I opened a return in reverb.

I guess I have to phone with PayPal since there is no refund case that fits my situation in the system.
 
If you're going to file a claim through Paypal; I recommend you watch this video so you don't fall victim to their refund policies.

It's a slightly different situation but there might be helpful info in there. I know it's a really long video (the dude's channel is monetized so the more he talks the more money he makes) but since he's just talking you can watch it on 2x speed and still get all the info. You can probably also skip a lot of it since he tells the whole story about the guitar and the back and forth with the seller etc that's not relevant to your situation.
 
Sounds like you are protected by both Reverb and Paypal and just need to jump through some hoops. I would pursue resolving this through both places simultaneously and immediately.

I was unaware that there was a " seller acceptance" button on PP. When I have paid or received payment, it seemed like a done deal right away. Good luck!
 
I saw that instrument a night or two ago. I believe it must be the same one as the details were the same and set off some alarm bells for me- new member, no feedback, free shipping anywhere and crazy low price. To be honest, the price was what really made me suspicious. After doing a bit of digging I found that the pics were the same ones from this listing.

www.ebay.com

Vintage Martin Style 1K Koa Soprano Ukulele From Early ~ Mid 1930's | eBay

Nice 2A-3A grade curly koa on top and back (Don't show up well in pictures). The ukulele is beautifully refinished. No wear on frets. Sold as is.
www.ebay.com

As others have said- I would contact both PayPal and Reverb.
 
Joralin said:
But why do you think the money is lost? I can start a refund with reverb and maybe I can activate PayPal help too?
Click to expand...
Hey sorry. I’m not an expert on this and didn’t mean to suggest so. Probably should have stayed out of it. I really just meant to say, it doesn’t look like you’re in jeopardy of having your identity stolen.
 
If you used a credit card linked to your PayPal account, you can also talk to them about holding payment and covering the loss if PP and Reverb don't work out.
 
I could be misremembering, but if you did the transaction entirely through Reverb, they don't release the money to the seller until you confirm receipt of the instrument. And the seller has only a few days to ship before Reverb alerts both parties that the clock is ticking.
 
Thanks for your help guys.

I got my money back quite fast.

I opened a return in reverb and talked to the customer service then.

They told me to contact paypal.

I called them (hard to get a real person to the phone, i hate this new "chatbot nd no solutions thing" many companys seems to use).

They opened a case case but told me they cant "escalate" it now.

Luckily the system "escalated" it automatically and i got my money back immediately :)

Well next time i check the seller first, no matter on which platform they sell..
 
This instrument has been relisted at another low price. This time the new account says it is Switzerland.

reverb.com

Vintage Martin Style 1K Koa Soprano Ukulele From Early - Mid 1930's | Reverb

Vintage Martin Style 1K Koa Soprano Ukulele From Early to Mid 1930'sCondition >> Dark area in pictures are just shadow, not discoloration. Excellent - Very good condition - Professionally refinished 25 years ago. Absolutely no scratches, dents, cracks, separations, repairs or modification. ...
reverb.com reverb.com

This pics are the same as

www.ebay.com

Vintage Martin Style 1K Koa Soprano Ukulele From Early ~ Mid 1930's | eBay

Nice 2A-3A grade curly koa on top and back (Don't show up well in pictures). The ukulele is beautifully refinished. No wear on frets. Sold as is.
www.ebay.com
 
Reported to Reverb
 
Im not sure what they intend to do with this scam. Obviously you get your money back if you activate Paypal/Reverb.

Maybe they hope you pay with another payment system, or they will provide a shipment number if your not fast enough..

I hope they dont use the adress + paypal adress for any other scam.
 
They have listed it twice that I have seen and I would not be surprised if it pops up a few more times. I agree with you. I am not sure what the scam is, since you can get a refund. At the same time, there are always new scams with some plan that have some new angle that most of us would never think of. I guess you have to give credit to the criminal mind. Imagine if they used it for something good!
 
EDW said:
They have listed it twice that I have seen and I would not be surprised if it pops up a few more times. I agree with you. I am not sure what the scam is, since you can get a refund. At the same time, there are always new scams with some plan that have some new angle that most of us would never think of. I guess you have to give credit to the criminal mind. Imagine if they used it for something good!
Click to expand...
I think in most case they scam reverb and not the buyer. They give a tracking number so reverb releases the money and have to refund the buyer.

I don't know why they haven't provided a number in my case.

Well they changed shipping to 5 € instead of 0😬
 
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