Beware sellers shipping item, claiming delivery with USPS, but not actual item or package

[JeffH3]

I foolishly purchased an espresso maker at impressespresso.com. Having not received anything after 2 weeks, I checked the site to see it was taken down. Upon further investigation I can find similar people being scammed by this site. I filed a dispute with Paypal, who stated the seller had shipped the item to me. The USPS proof of delivery stated left at front porch. However, I had instructed the shipping to go to our commercial office buidling, which does not have a front porch, nor are deliveries ever left outside. Paypal refuses to re-open the dispute. Any advise? Should I open a dispute with my Bank?

[perplexed_user]

This is one of several common scams going on at this time. Seller likely sent a small piece of junk (toy ring, mask, or even empty envelope) to an address in your zipcode. It probably did get delivered, but house owner probably thought it was junk mail and trashed it. Seller has "prove" of delivery, PP stupidly accepts and case closed. PP is well aware of this scam and several variants, as hundreds of people have complained on this forum, with almost identical details.

What can you do? Start a chat session with customer service (message center), keep trying to convince a rep to help you. There are some folks that got their case reversed and got money back. Have to persist and be insistent about your rights.

If you funded the transaction with credit card you can file complaint with the credit card company.

[Poorme2020]

Guys, lets all do this. Everytime you see a dodgy advert on FB, do a search for the same item to proof it is a scam. They usually rip off some legitimate website.  Then click on the top right corner of the FB ad and inform FB that this is a fraud.  If enough of us are doing this all the time, it will cause these scammers trouble to be blacklisted by FB algorithm.

[JeffH3]

@perplexed_user Thank you for your insights. I used a direct bank account tied to the PP account. I will go your suggested route and try the PP chat or 800# support to see how far I get. Much appreciated.

@Poorme2020 Agree, this was an entirely created website that is now gone. http://impressespresso.com

Found on Google search ads, which are gone for now.

[Poorme2020]

Finally PP has made its final resolution and refunded me in full but not the shipping cost.  Fortunately my shipping cost is not high as I am in the region.  However it is a really long drawn process from June till September with constant push back of the resolution date.  Fortunately I plied PP with a lot of proof.  

Beware Facebook scams, this has turned me off buying anything from Facebook advert, and definitely not going to use PP as they seem to side with the seller.  If you are using PP, please have a LOT of proof. 

Scammer said I bought the item and did not ask for refund.

I took snapshots of the original FB seller post including their return policy, I took snapshots of all email correspondence

Scammer said they sent me the right item:

I videoed the unboxing of the product to show what came out of the package

Scammer said I did not return the right item:

I took video of my packing the same rubbish back to proof I did not scam the seller, and I took pictures of the return parcel at the post office with the exact return address printed straight from the PP return page since the return address is all written in Chinese, I tracked the parcel and took snapshot of the failed delivery.

Finally I hounded PP every other day and every time they sent me a "stock answer" to be patient.  Make a lot of noise, since the seller will be refuting your claims every step of the way.