I was scammed via eBay. How do I ensure the scammer doesn’t get away with it?

[KruiserIV]

I purchased a camera on eBay in early August, around 8/7/21. I searched for USA-only vendors, but somehow this Russian vendor popped up and I while the deal wasn’t too good to be true, it was a decent deal so I pulled the trigger. I immediately realized it was of Russian origin and tried to cancel the purchase within seconds of placing the order. The next morning I receive a tracking number and an apology from the seller saying they shipped it before checking their email and messages. Red flag #1. I know I have buyer protections through eBay, so I give the seller the benefit of the doubt. Estimated delivery is 9/24/21. On Sept 2 tracking says “handed over to Germany for further delivery. I check again on Sept 28, and the last tracking ping was the Sept 2 “handed over to Germany…” entry. Since I am four days past the estimated delivery date and the seller hasn’t replied to messages in a over 1 month, I open an “Item Not Received” dispute through eBay. On October 2, eBay rules in my favor, says refund will be issued in 24-48 hours. Around October 8 I still haven’t seen refund, so I message eBay and also call PayPal (method of payment) to see below if they’ve seen anything (I’ve read reports that PayPal will sometimes open a temporary PayPal account and hold refunds for users — no idea why). PayPal says no refunds have come in. Two days later I receive a message from eBay telling me that my case has been closed because of a technical reason. When I asked what the reason was, they said that since a PayPal dispute had been opened, they must close the eBay dispute. Huh? I didn’t open a PayPal dispute. They refuse to believe me. Finally, I made a post on the eBay forums, desperate for help, and was informed that PayPal can proactively open a dispute without request, and that’s likely what they did. That sounds like nonsense to me, but several senior eBay community contributors say it’s true. So, I check the PayPal resolution page and Lo’ and behold, there is a PayPl dispute open. I’m shocked. eBay straight up refuses to reopen their case (the one in which they’d already ruled in my favor and according to them tried to issue my refund on October 6). So, today the package actually arrives. It’s a flat, plastic-wrapped package, clearly too small to be a camera. I film the mailwoman delivering it to me and then me immediately opening it to reveal three what I assume to be Russian-language books. I immediately call PayPal and ask the representative what my options are. They say I can close the INR dispute and open something like “Item not as described,” which I do. Now, I’m waiting for the disputes team to reach out to me. What are the chances that I get my money back? Will PayPal accept my video and photos as evidence? Do I have a chance here?

[KruiserIV]

I apologize for the lack of formatting, I guess the forums don’t allow it?

[kernowlass]

@KruiserIV 

All that could have been condensed to ''I bought an item that is not as described and a paypal dispute is open''.

That would have saved a lot of time to be honest.

If you appealed to paypal about the refund then they would have opened a dispute for you automatically so its a shame you didn't wait it out with Ebay. 

Paypal don't get involved in videos etc, they go by the messages you and the seller have put on the dispute + the information of the item on the auction or invoice that you paid.

If they find in your favour you may well have to return the item back to the seller first at your own expense so I hope you have activated this link before you made the transaction?

https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/returns

[KruiserIV]

Yeah, sorry for the length, but when I posted my issue on the eBay side people asked a ton of questions and so I figured I would state the situation up front. I don’t see how me asking about a refund constitutes me asking for a claim to be opened. Where I work that would be considered unethical, at best. I’m perfectly happy shipping the item back at my own expense. Oddly enough, the PayPal rep who opened my INAD claim said I couldn’t provide photo or video evidence to the claim rep vis email once I was contacted. I guess it really just depends on who you get ahold of, eh? Anyway, thanks for the help. The seller hasn’t replied to me in months now, so hoping PayPal is able to see this for what it is.

[KruiserIV]

Btw, I did “appeal” to anyone. I told PayPal I was expecting a refund, that it was several days late, and I was curious if they had received it and placed the funds in a different account. That was the extent of the conversation.