At any point in your collecting journey, for any amount of money.
- Yes
- No
0
voters
*No I’m not offering a solution, just curious to see how degenerate our hobby is 
3 Likes
I think so. I ordered a Box Topper Scizor a few years back (2019?) and when it arrived I immediately noticed a huge dent on the face of the card. It looked exactly like the dent from a binder ring. So I got on eBay and spoke with the seller but he dismissed me and had the audacity to call me a liar.
After a few days of arguing, he told me to send it back, so I did. (big mistake)
2 weeks went by so I messaged him and said, “Hey, have you received the card?” No response. 3 weeks, I messaged him again, no response.
At this point, I spoke with eBay again and they told me I should not have returned the card without filing a return claim. Oh crap.
6 weeks go by, and I decided to try one more time. To my surprise, he answered me. He said that the card I sent him wasn’t even the card he originally sent. Furthermore, it was a different card then the photos I sent him.
So this guy thinks there are at least 3 copies and I’m trying to scam HIM. I asked him to send the card back and he did, but I got no sort of refund for the damage obviously. I did some internet sleuthing and found out that the guy is like 1,000 years old so I’m pretty sure he’s just senile. The worst part is that this whole ordeal took so long that I no longer qualified to leave feedback of any kind.
I made so many rookie mistakes during this transaction that I pretty much scammed myself.
4 Likes
I once ordered a raw shadowless base set Wartortle and I received a First Edition copy instead….is that a scam? 
7 Likes
Yeah you’ve been had. Better change your answer
3 Likes
Early on when I was getting back into collecting I bought some ETBs from a site masquerading as Pokémon Center. Lo and behold the boxes never arrived and they never responded to emails so a simple credit card chargeback was in order.
1 Like
There is some nuance to be had about it all, but I think the average person probably isn’t. Depends largely on where you buy. Like I think somebody buying from wisewailmer on ebay are a lot safer than someone buying from someone named “sneakerboiiii420” on whatnot or tiktok. new people are getting scammed a lot by not being discerning.
I on the other hand NEVER buy from suspicious characters. Nope. I love the pokemon spinarak.
2 Likes
Yep, it’s been a ride.
- I bought a case of VSTAR Universe on Mercari that turned out to be resealed.
- I purchased a Kareons Umbreon on Mercari, which looked mint in the pictures but received a completely different card in much worse condition.
- I bought a Grey Felt Hat Pikachu on Cardmarket, and it turned out to be a fake.
Thankfully, I was able to get my money back in all three cases.
6 Likes
Weirdest one was ordering from a new eBay seller, bought something not Pokemon related. Person listed way cheaper than others ($20 vs $35 going rate) and had a lot of quantity sold.
I bought, they shipped UPS. It was marked as delivered in my town, but it was sent to some random address in my same zip code, probably just an empty envelope. Turns out they did dozens of this scam with the same product. Luckily most people left negative feedback, and when I called eBay telling them the situation, they refunded.
Gotta look out for the “item delivered” but not to you scam.
2 Likes
Three times:
- Back in 2017 (maybe 2016), I bought a pack of legendary collection for my sealed collection. While inspecting the pack, the crimping seemed off and I realized it was resealed. I opened the pack and it was filled with neo discovery commons. Contacted the seller on ebay who ghosted me, and had ebay step in to refund me.
- last year out of 300+ sales, I was scammed once. I sold a Leafeon V alt art from ES and the buyer claimed that an empty package showed up. I had them send me photos of the package and it had a big rip in the bottom, but the top of the bubble mailer was still the exact way I had sent it. I asked about the hole and they said they made it and the package looked fine before they got it. Buyer clearly was lying and after initially pressing them on it, I decided to back off and just eat the $80 loss.
- The dragonite card saga from a few weeks ago (as detailed in the ebay garbage thread).
2 Likes
Bought a mario pikachu from an ebay account that was stolen. Got my money back though. Still don’t have a mario pikachu 
2 Likes
It’s a me a Mario
2 Likes
I copped this once.
Munch pikachu.
Apparently there is a black market for dud tracking numbers and eBay enables it good and proper.
Also got scammed for a fake gold star espeon.
Lucky i got a refund in both cases tho
3 Likes
Someone tried to scam me by setting up a “preorder” for the ES Flareon/Jolteon/Vaporeon premium boxes. I learned this later, but apparently you have 60 days to file a claim on an eBay order, once it’s beyond that then you can’t use the website, you have to call someone. This seller only offered the preorder window outside of the 60 day release date, which in hindsight was intentional. The ship by date in the listing comes and goes and obviously no shipment. After messaging the seller, I noticed they began changing their username and ignored all messages. eBay was no help so ultimately filed a chargeback with my bank and it was resolved in my favor. Funny enough, once the chargeback was filed the seller was magically able to get back in contact with me, to try and trick me into withdrawing the chargeback
4 Likes
Fake packs in big chain toy stores. I was pretty good at dodging those bullets even as a 10-year old, and boy were there a lot of bullets, but it did happen at least once. Shop closed its doors two weeks later.
4 Likes
I’ve had cards delivered in the wrong condition, cards shipped with no protection and got destroyed in the mail, cards stolen in the mail by workers, bought mislabeled cards that the auction house advertised as though the label was accurate, buyers falsely claim that packages were not delivered, buyers falsely claim that what I sent them was incorrect, many sellers cancel orders or purchase a shipping label and then not ship the item, etc.
Luckily, in every scenario, I’ve been made whole. It’s really not if you will be scammed, but when. eBay Authenticity Guarantee has made life so much easier as a buyer/seller. Buyee is still the wild west when buying from Mercari, Yahoo, etc.
13 Likes
IT’S PIKACHU!!!
During the 2020-2022 boom, I purchased a pretty average looking copy of a Skyridge Crystal Charizard holo. Probably PSA 6-7 worthy copy for at the time ~1000ish USD. Was being shipped from the UK…so excited when it was out for delivery. I was working from home so I got the mailman right away…open the package and all that was inside was a cardsaver.
Had to file a police report for eBay’s claim. Was a nightmare…but was more devastated that I didnt get the card. The seller had good feedback as well…so I’m guessing it was something at customs.
2 Likes
Back when I started collecting again I bought a cheap box of like 500 cards. Most of which if not all were fake. Found out when I tried to scan a ditto vmax. Ive learned a lot since then lol. Oh yeah I got scammed on a pair of sneakers too. That was fun
1 Like
Ordered a box of Mtg Phyrexia All Will Be One for a Phyrexian-themed Friendsmas gift between like 15 people in my playgroup. Luckily, I was making up separate gift bags and I opened the box ahead of time. There were no packs inside the box and instead there were Amazon mailers for bulk and small, taped-together stacks of random commons, approx the size of what would come in packs. Ebay buyer protection really came in clutch and I received a refund within 2 days of sending back the box and the seller receiving it. I never received any response from the seller at all after reaching out to explain that it was a scam box. I gave the benefit of the doubt to the seller as it’s possible they didn’t know it was a scam box, but the silence on their end kinda screamed scammer to me.
Just found the pic I used for evidence and sent to Ebay support.
4 Likes
i ordered a booster box of evolving skies once for £120 and when it got delivered they where all fake, fortunately i had used my credit card and could get a charge back on it so i didnt lose my money
2 Likes