Seller(s) With 0 Feedback?

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PokePhD

PokéBeach Verified Seller
Member
Update: Seller turned out to be a fraud but I got my money back. Oh well. :p

Hey PokéBeach,

So I had an amazing offer pop up today and I've got an affordable shot at something I never thought I could ever own. The seller and I have briefly discussed it and as far as I can tell, it seems legit. However, the seller has no feedback whatsoever and lives across the world in the Philippines.

Obviously, this raised a couple red flags to me but I wanted to hear some thoughts from the community so I've got a few questions:

1) Can PayPal really protect me if the seller ends up being a fraud?

2) What steps should I take to make sure I can get my money back?

3) Have you ever made an expensive purchase from someone with no feedback?

I am extremely close to buying the item in question but I'll have to transfer funds from my bank in order to afford it so I haven't just yet. :p I have this sinking suspicion that this is one of those too good to be true scenarios. Although, as far as I can tell, the worst that could happen is I might not have access to $700 for a few months while it's tied up in the dispute process.

Take care,
SoulWind
 

Daelum

Climbing the stairs to the top
Member
Read this. It's a guide on making safe transactions online outside of Ebay.It should answer most of your questions.

And if you don't mind me asking, what is it that you are buying? It actually is important to know as it can affect the legitimacy of the deal.
 

PokePhD

PokéBeach Verified Seller
Member
Daelum said:
Read this. It's a guide on making safe transactions online outside of Ebay.It should answer most of your questions.

And if you don't mind me asking, what is it that you are buying? It actually is important to know as it can affect the legitimacy of the deal.

Woops, forgot to mention, this is actually a transaction on eBay.

I was bidding on a 1st edition Neo Destiny Box. I was outbid and ended up not getting it, but I received a Second Chance Offer from the seller for my maximum bid. I was just reading about scammers in the Philippines though so I'm pretty sure I'm not going to take the offer.
 

Daelum

Climbing the stairs to the top
Member
I would go ahead and take the offer. Worst comes to worst, you get the item and it's fake so you open an ebay case or you never get the item and still open a case. The only bad thing that can really happen is that you get your money tied up :/

Although sellers from the Philippines do have a bad rep in general, I've never encountered fake cards from the Neo series.

So it really comes down to if you are comfortable with it or not.
 

Binx345

Verified Seller
Member
yes paypal will refund you and take it (money) directly from seller if it comes to fake product/or not received item. I have seen many fake pokemon cards but NEVER any fron the neo or expedition/aqua/skyridge sets. thats not to say they dont exist though.
 

PokePhD

PokéBeach Verified Seller
Member
Thanks for all the advice.

So, I've realized I can make the purchase without any risk and went ahead and bought it.

I don't mind if the money is tied up as long as I get it back. :p
 

Secret Pikachu

Aspiring Trainer
Member
Congrats on your purchase! I hope it turns out to be legit!

Like others have said, if the transaction is through eBay, you should be fine.

I never knew those boxes sold for that much!
 

PokePhD

PokéBeach Verified Seller
Member
Secret Pikachu said:
Congrats on your purchase! I hope it turns out to be legit!

Like others have said, if the transaction is through eBay, you should be fine.

I never knew those boxes sold for that much!

Thanks! They actually sell for a lot more. :p

I'm hoping to resell this and make at least a thousand dollars profit. ;)
 

DarkPkmnTrainer

Aspiring Trainer
Member
Yes, ebay will help you if the item turns out to be fake - but they will also require you to ship it back with some sort of tracking/insurance for that to happen too. I've heard of people still shelling out almost $50-100 just to safely return the fake goods to the seller to get the refund.
 

Daelum

Climbing the stairs to the top
Member
SoulWind said:
Thanks! They actually sell for a lot more. :p

I'm hoping to resell this and make at least a thousand dollars profit. ;)



Wow, I didn't know those boxes went for so much! Definitely top 3 in the box price list :p
 

bagoly14

Collecting is expensive -_-
Member
Daelum said:
Wow, I didn't know those boxes went for so much! Definitely top 3 in the box price list :p

1000$ profit? You really have to have a bidding war going to get that, not saying it couldn't happen though - I've been stalking those boxes (never pulled the trigger - I always feel I get so little for my money if I keep it and open it :() and have only seen it go above 800-1200 once - and it went to like 2k or something if I remember right a few months ago.

I would however say you will pull in an easy 300$ profit if the cards are legit and you list for 1300 obo :cool:
 

DarkPkmnTrainer

Aspiring Trainer
Member
bagoly14 said:
1000$ profit? You really have to have a bidding war going to get that, not saying it couldn't happen though - I've been stalking those boxes (never pulled the trigger - I always feel I get so little for my money if I keep it and open it :() and have only seen it go above 800-1200 once - and it went to like 2k or something if I remember right a few months ago.

I would however say you will pull in an easy 300$ profit if the cards are legit and you list for 1300 obo :cool:


Not really. Ebay will take away $117 as fees, paypal will take away another $38, and shipping for the box (you're gonna want to insure that) will also be pricey. In conclusion, profits wouldn't be very good unless you sold it for much more than what you bought it for.
 

Daelum

Climbing the stairs to the top
Member
bagoly14 said:
I've been stalking those boxes (never pulled the trigger - I always feel I get so little for my money if I keep it and open it :()

Why the heck would you ever open that kind of a box? If you open a WoTC box, you will almost never make your money back for the box if you get it around normal price (you'd have to buy it at original retail price when it was released :p). The only way I could see you making money back on a WoTC box is grading the cards, getting 9's and 10's, then selling them all. Even by doing this, you'd have to pick the perfect set that brings high value graded singles to break even with grading costs.
 

PokePhD

PokéBeach Verified Seller
Member
Daelum said:
Why the heck would you ever open that kind of a box? If you open a WoTC box, you will almost never make your money back for the box if you get it around normal price (you'd have to buy it at original retail price when it was released :p). The only way I could see you making money back on a WoTC box is grading the cards, getting 9's and 10's, then selling them all. Even by doing this, you'd have to pick the perfect set that brings high value graded singles to break even with grading costs.

Sometimes you can get a decent deal on Jungle/Fossil Booster boxes. You usually won't make your money back but if you want a Mint/Gem Mint set, that's one way to go about completing it. :) In my opinion, the only WoTC Box worth opening is Legendary Collection but that doesn't mean I wouldn't open others if I had the money. :p
 

omahanime

Come and visit me.
Elite Member
Advanced Member
Member
Binx345 said:
sooo what happened soul wind/? i mean how did u find out the seller was a fraud??

SoulWind said:
Thanks for all the advice.

So, I've realized I can make the purchase without any risk and went ahead and bought it.

I don't mind if the money is tied up as long as I get it back. :p
 

PokePhD

PokéBeach Verified Seller
Member
Binx345 said:
sooo what happened soul wind/? i mean how did u find out the seller was a fraud??

Basically, the seller refunded my entire payment and sent me an email via the message center on eBay. He asked me (with rather poor grammar), if I could send the money again due to a problem on his end with receiving it. He sent me a second invoice on PayPal (with a different PayPal account but for the exact same amount), hoping I would send the money there. Most likely because I wouldn't qualify for eBay's Buyer Protection if I sent the money directly like that. Not only is it against eBays policies but it wouldn't look like an eBay transaction. Anyway, after several phone calls to eBay/PayPal, and a trip to the bank, I've secured my funds and the seller will most likely be banned from eBay under fraud. :p

@Mods, if you guys want to lock this you can go ahead. I had most of my questions answered and the seller turned out to be a fraud anyway.
 
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