Awesome Ebay transaction

[WolfeMacleod]

I love it when a plan comes together...

teach her to screw with people on Ebay! She bid, she won, she backed out on a contract to buy.

From Gizmodo/Reddit How I got an uncooperative eBay buyer to pay for her purchase. Was it unethical? : funny



"I had tickets to a sporting event and couldn't attend. I made a 1-day listing and clearly stated that the tickets must be picked up in person within 24 hours (the game was the evening after the auction ended, so there wasn't any time to ship the tickets). A woman won the auction for about $600. The auction had ended at 10:00am and by 5:00pm she still hadn't responded to my emails trying to organize the exchange. Finally, at 9:30pm, I got a one-liner email: "I overbid and my husband won't let me buy these. Sorry and enjoy the game! "

I first tried explaining that I wouldn't have the time to resell the tickets (I already got turned down by the losing bidders). She said, "... that's not my problem. It's eBay, not a car dealership. I can back out if I want." I still don't understand the car dealership reference.

I was pretty upset. I was basically going to be stuck with tickets to an event that I couldn't attend. That's when I got the idea to convince her to change her mind.

I created a new eBay account, "Payback" we'll call it, and sent her a message: "Hi there, I noticed you won an auction for 4 [sporting event] tickets. I meant to bid on these but couldn't get to a computer. I wanted to take my son and dad and would be willing to give you $1,000 for the tickets. I imagine that you've already made plans to attend, but I figured it was worth a shot."

At 11:30pm she responded to Payback: "I'll do it for $1,100, no less. I can meet you at the game if you agree. I need your phone number."

At 11:35pm, Payback wrote: "Deal. Here is my number..." (Thanks Google Voice for the throwaway number). She called a few minutes later and made Payback "promise" to go through with the deal. She emphasized that she'd be out a lot of money if Payback backed out. Payback swore he would never do such a thing.

At 11:45pm, the woman emailed me: "Fine. I'll buy them. But you have to drop them off at my house tonight. I'll have the cash ready." So at ****ing midnight I drove to her house across town and met her on the road in front of her apartment building. She was a nasty and rude individual. Things didn't get any better when I told her I wanted an extra $20 for the trouble of driving there at midnight (yeah, pushing my luck, I know). It became very awkward and she literally threw 31 $20 bills at me. I counted them before handing over the tickets. I said, "thanks for the great transaction" as she flipped me off while walking away.

At 10:00am she called Payback to make sure they were still on for the exchange. Payback said that he could no longer go to the game and wouldn't be able to do the exchange. She blew her ****ing top and I swear to god started speaking in tongues. Payback said, "Ma'am, this is eBay, not a car dealership" and hung up.
I got a rabid email 10 minutes later telling me that I was going to hell and that she's reported me to the local police, FBI, and... the fire department. WTF?"

[Geronimo '74]

Lol, payback's a beotch.
Awesome!

[wdfifteen]

That is precious! Ebay no-pays are a pain in the behind. I'm glad to see one got what she deserved.

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by WolfeMacleod

... Was it unethical?

Not in my book

[pete3799]

Got to love that!

[Laneco]

You stride this earth as a GOD among men! I cannot believe you pulled this off. Absolutely the most awesome payback I've ever seen!

angela

[dtw]

So brilliant.

[Joeaksa]

Good Show!

Do not forget to give her some nice NEGATIVE feedback and report her to Fleabay!

[cgarr]

What's the fire department going to do??


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[GH85Carrera]

Great story. Great outcome.

[Paul K]

Great story. Well done. +1 for the negative feedback thing.

Just remember: as winning bidder, she can request your address/phone number.

Lock & load!

[Z-man]

Technically, that's fraud. "Payback" could get in a heap of trouble. Without the car dealership reference, he may have gotten away with it, since "Payback" wasn't directly linked back to the original ebay seller.

The funny thing is, that the woman has no grounds to pursue this 'case' since she too was involved in fraud - she declined the tickets, and then when she saw an opportunity to make $$, "undid" her refusal.

Interesting -- I wonder how the courts would handle it.... but this isn't the real world -- its ebay.

-Z-man.

[targa911S]

possibly the best ebay story ever!

[dennis in se pa]

Good job mate!

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Beautiful - that guy won't have to pay for his own drinks if he's ever out this way!

[red-beard]

See people, Greed is what allows a con man to operate...

[Christien]

Cheering as I read that! Awesome!!!!

[widebody911]

I thought ebay didn't allow bidders to contact each other? I once tried to contact someone who'd bid on a scam auction and it wouldn't let me.

[Joeaksa]

Originally Posted by widebody911

I thought ebay didn't allow bidders to contact each other? I once tried to contact someone who'd bid on a scam auction and it wouldn't let me.

They are making it more difficult but its still possible.

Ebay really is a POS operation and the more I work with them the more I find other outlets to find things.

Joe A

[VINMAN]

Ha ha Love it!!