Hi everyone,

I spent the last few hours trying to google if anyone has had the same incident as mine. I've read a lot of horrifying stories here but most of them are luckily resolved. I bought a Chloe bag on evilbay last month. Seller was responsive and as soon as I paid for the bag, communication slowed down. Red flag there. A couple of days later, I asked her for tracking number. She never replied. Messaged her again to which I got a response saying " I've shipped the bag. I will update tracking later." A week went by. I sent her another message to no reply. So after a month, I opened a case on eBay and the seller still couldn't provide them with a tracking number. Today I got an email saying that the case has been closed (after a week) in favour to the seller because I committed an International Customs Fraud? WTF!

I know I might be to blame because I asked the seller to send the bag as $100 value in the customs form. I didn't force her and I would still have bought the bag if she declined to do so but she agreed. I am in Canada and the seller is located in the US. I have bought numerous items before and I've had sellers that are generous and have sent me items with lowered value with no problems. I've also sold numerous times and have sent the items as lower value to help out my buyers with no problems. Customs duties to Canada is just expensive.

I called eBay and they said they can no longer help me and that I need to communicate to the seller directly... which is fine is she's responding to my messages but she's not!

Am I screwed? This is an expensive lesson to learn and I'm appalled that eBay would side her even though she couldn't provide them with a tracking number. Anyone has dealt with this before? Any tips that could be helpful to me? Thanks so much for reading this.

Did you pay with your credit card? You still can pursue this with your credit card even if you lost with ebay.

Uh oh, lowering values to $100 would set off red flags. It is illegal..

Have you checked to see if the seller relisted the item already? This is a strange situation since you have no money or the bag. Since she refused to sell to you, presuming because of the devaluing, then you should get your money back.

Originally Posted by hugable

Did you pay with your credit card? You still can pursue this with your credit card even if you lost with ebay. Uh oh, lowering values to $100 would set off red flags. It is illegal.. Have you checked to see if the seller relisted the item already? This is a strange situation since you have no money or the bag. Since she refused to sell to you, presuming because of the devaluing, then you should get your money back.

Hi Hugable,
Thanks for your message. I paid with instant transfer from my bank account so I'm SOL here.

The seller hasn't relisted the item and she isn't responding to my messages. She agreed to sell the bag to me and agreed to send it as $100 and even said that she has shipped the bag even though she couldn't provide tracking so I have no idea what to do now..

If you filed the dispute with Paypal the seller would have been required to upload proof of shipment.

I wonder if you were on some sort of list because of other parcels that were sent to you because of the lowered value?

Are you going to be in trouble over the international customs fraud?

That sounds so serious.

Unless you paid for express international shipping, the package is not trackable... so it is *possible* that the seller shipped it. Most sellers will cover themselves by getting insurance though.

This is very, very strange. When a case is opened for INR, its a cut and dry case. Seller needs to upload tracking to cover themselves. I have never heard of this happening. Have you asked sellers before to declare lower values on the customs forms? If you have, its possible that those sellers reported you and when a rep went to review this case, saw those reports and closed the case. Unless ebay closed the case in error, I can't think of a reason why that would happen. I am sorry you are dealing with this.

^agree... if you did ask to have the value declared lower than your purchase

price & you have done this in the past. it maybe on your ebay record however,

I would try calling & speaking with a supervisor... you have nothing to lose

at this point...

This makes no sense. IME 80% of international buyers make similar requests. INR is cut and dry. No tracking provided by seller You should win the case. Something is off here.

Since the case that you opened was through eBay, call PayPal. I know that they're technically the same company, but PayPal is a lot better with INRs. I also honestly can't see why you wouldn't be refunded in this case. Even if they're saying that your guilty of something having to do with customs, that would be a completely separate matter, IMO. eBay isn't going to charge you with that...

Ugh! So sorry for your situation!

This is why I don't buy or sell internationally anymore. Customs is a deal killer for me.

Thanks for your replies. I have a few purchases that I've asked the seller to lower the value. I know I'm guilty in doing this but essentially I shop online to get a deal and by the time customs hit, it's even more expensive than retail. I would choose to buy retail here but the selection we have here in Canada is quite limited. We only have Holt Renfrew or The Room to shop for I really wanted this Chloe bag and it was never available here so I was excited to get it. I still want the bag but the seller is unresponsive to my messages and she still cannot provide me with tracking number. I have tried opening a case on paypal and was told I couldn't because I've already opened one on eBay. I called eBay today and got scolded by a rep and was repeatedly told that they cannot help me and they pretty much left me to cut off my own arm.

I know I'm wrong to ask her to lower the value but I'm sure most people have done this too... at the end of the day we're all trying to help out each other right? But the matter that distraught me is the fact the she doesn't have proof of shipment and they sided her. Who knows if she had sent the bag to begin with or if she had sent me a fake one in the mail? I got a message from the seller when I opened the case and all she said was she shipped the bag with USPS and it's help up in US customs... Why would it be flagged down in the USA before it has even left for Canada?

How long ago was the sale? Exact date...

nvmd...just saw OP's update about Paypal.

Originally Posted by IrisCole

Since the case that you opened was through eBay, call PayPal. I know that they're technically the same company, but PayPal is a lot better with INRs. I also honestly can't see why you wouldn't be refunded in this case. Even if they're saying that your guilty of something having to do with customs, that would be a completely separate matter, IMO. eBay isn't going to charge you with that...

not necessarily...ebay has cracked down on customs form fraud ....its a policy violation to ask and if you get reported for it it can go on your record. Its said to encourage illegal activity and because its a crime, can get a buyer in trouble. This may or may not have played a role in this case but nothing else really makes sense at this point.

Are chloe bags to Canada the newest scam right now?

My Chloe get lost from HG bags~

OP have you ever considered using a usa mailing service? I have an address at mydetroitaddress.com every couple of weeks i drive over and pick everything up, it only costs $4 per package. Additionally when i get somethng like Loubies or something i mail the boxes to myself for 6 bucks and wear the shoes back. I thik there are similar things in Buffalo...its worth a bit of a drive because you save customs and its not lost or tied up in customs