I got scammed.

[John Wick]

I can't play until around April 19th.

I posted that I bought an ACNH edition switch yesterday.

Turns out the seller was a fraud and I got scammed out of $700.

Just lodged a claim with my bank who might be able to get it back as Ebay told me they don't cover bank transfers.

I don't feel too good atm.
I feel like an idiot for trusting someone.

I preordered a regular switch from EB Games AU, as that's when they'll have more stock, so I'll miss out on the easter stuff that I was looking forward to.

If anyone has enough material, and is able to craft me the easter stuff I'd pay in TBT when I have the switch (got the game already), and get a Nintendo Online account.

Heartbroken here.
Feel like an idiot.

 

[lucitine]

Sorry to hear that the eBay person was a scammer. $700 for the acnh switch is insane though fingers crossed you'll get your money back.

You could always start the game on March 20 and slowly TT forward until you catch up to the date.

--

Also, where are you based in Australia? The eb games near me both have switches in stock

 

[spacedog]

im so sorry that happened to you! thats awful </3 what a shame that ebay can't do anything about the situation. im not sure what bank you are with but i had success getting money back from scammers with commonwealth, i hope it works out for you too!

once you get the game feel free to pm me! ill be happy to try craft some easter stuff for you when the event comes around <3

 

[pinkbunny]

Aww, I'm so sad to hear that! Hopefully your bank can help.
I highly recommend only using paypal for online purchases in the future.
We all make mistakes, try not to beat yourself up over it! <3

 

[brockbrock]

I'm so, so sorry to hear this.

I hope you are able to expose the scammer and get your money back, and of course play the game as soon as possible.

 

[lucitine]

Aww, I'm so sad to hear that! Hopefully your bank can help.
I highly recommend only using paypal for online purchases in the future.
We all make mistakes, try not to beat yourself up over it! <3

Or credit cards if you have one. They're pretty good about getting your money back.

 

[Wrathie83]

*hugs* sorry to hear you got scammed x

 

[HungryForCereal]

This is why you dont buy from ebay. That site is filled with nothing but scammers. Well most. Never buy huge valuable items from there. Always get them from trusted sources. Hope you get your money back.

 

[lucitine]

Oh! I just remembered. Play-asia had the ACNH switches when I was looking at their website a couple weeks back. I'm not sure if they still have it in stock but they're safe to buy from (I've bought a lot from them previously).

 

[mocha.]

I’m really sorry to hear about that, hopefully your bank can sort it ASAP. I don’t trust eBay, I hardly use it as my account got hacked once and they took £300 out of my account. Luckily it was through PayPal who are amazing at sorting that kind of stuff out.

Don’t worry too much about missing out - I’m sure there’ll be plenty of trades going around for the Easter items (and maybe leftovers) so you’ll be able to catch up once you get the game!

 

[pocky]

eBay allows bank transfers? Wow. That’s really sketchy.

I’m really sorry, John. Hopefully your bank will get everything sorted soon.

 

[Mokuren]

That's really sad. I would try next time paypal is safer when using ebay

 

[JKDOS]

Just lodged a claim with my bank who might be able to get it back as Ebay told me they don't cover bank transfers.
.

Any seller not using Paypal is a major red flag. I know it won't help now, but I definitely recommend opening a Paypal account and using it next time.

 

[Fridaynightcatlady]

Oh, no! I'm sorry this happened to you

 

[jiojiop]

Did you file a dispute with ebay? Did the seller have a reputation score on ebay or were they new? I’ve had people sell me fake game carts on ebay and I found that if you buy from an existing seller that is trying to build a score (instead of a brand new seller) then threatening to leave a low review score for them and file a dispute makes them refund you immediately.

You could try messaging the seller if they’re established, or filing a dispute. I’ve actually never found credit card companies helpful in stopping charges. I know someone who got scammed by one of those Indian tech support scam calls and the credit card said sorry we can’t do anything, you agreed. I’ve also gone through a scare where we almost got scammed by a property rental company trying to shake down for “extra damage fees” fraudulently in a very sketchy way - the credit card company said sorry we can’t stop any charges. I had to use a strongly worded email to stop the rental company. Hopefully your bank can stop the fund transfer, but don’t feel bad for not using a credit card - it might not have helped and going through your bank might be better.

 

[Byebi]

That really sucks man
Best of luck getting it solved- that's a hefty amount of money

 

[Ley]

This is why you dont buy from ebay. That site is filled with nothing but scammers. Well most. Never buy huge valuable items from there. Always get them from trusted sources. Hope you get your money back.

I agree... ebay isn't very reliable or safe.
hope you'll get your money back though

 

[DJStarstryker]

eBay is actually generally safer for buyers than sellers because of its policies. As in, it's easier for buyers to scam a seller than the other way around.

The mistake John made was doing a bank transfer. Paying via Paypal (and preferably using a credit card) would've been the ultimate safest way. Because 1) credit card companies are generally very good about helping you with scams and 2) Paypal sides with buyers more than sellers and would've helped out a lot too.

 

[jiojiop]

I know it’s often repeated that credit cards are good for customer protection but out of curiosity, have any of you who are saying that ever had to dispute a charge with a credit card company? Here’s my exp:

- friend’s dad got scammed by fake Indian tech support. Credit card wouldn’t reverse charges. Result: took the loss of hundreds of dollars

- rental company tried to scam us by tossing the place after we checked out, sending photos to shake us down for extra cleaning fees and threatened to call the police on us. Credit card company said they couldn’t stop them from charging the card and couldn’t do anything about it. Result: I resolved it myself

- store sold me gift cards and didn’t properly activate them, then refused to retry/refund/replace. Card company useless. Result: I filed a complaint with BBB and they escalated it all the way to corporate HQ within a day and got me refunded

Plus what I mentioned before of having to threaten a few ebayers with leaving a negative review and file a dispute to get my money back on fake game carts.

The only good experience I’ve had with credit card companies and fraud is that they caught an attempted fraudulent charge on a business credit card - someone from a gas station was trying to use it without the pin and they didn’t allow the charge to go through and called.

Seems to me that credit card companies don’t really want to reverse charges or block charges all that much anymore.

 

[JKDOS]

eBay is actually generally safer for buyers than sellers because of its policies. As in, it's easier for buyers to scam a seller than the other way around.

The mistake John made was doing a bank transfer. Paying via Paypal (and preferably using a credit card) would've been the ultimate safest way. Because 1) credit card companies are generally very good about helping you with scams and 2) Paypal sides with buyers more than sellers and would've helped out a lot too.

Not to mention, Ebay (Who owns Paypal BTW) offers buyer protection through Paypal.