Amazon 3rd Party Seller Scam
On RFD, we see a lot of posts in the Hot Deals section from 3rd party Amazon sellers. Some of you guys who know it is an OBVIOUS scam, but you still buy it anyways because you think that Amazon is going to protect you with their A-Z guarantee.
Well, someone posted on Reddit about how he is currently getting scammed from an Amazon 3rd Party seller.
https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinanc ... _recourse/
Well, someone posted on Reddit about how he is currently getting scammed from an Amazon 3rd Party seller.
https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinanc ... _recourse/
On December 30th, I purchased a pair of KEF LS50 speakers through a 3rd party store on Amazon. The speakers are $1500 new, but the company was selling them for $1050. They claimed the speakers were brand new, in the box, never opened.
I did a brief look into the company (https://www.amazon.com/sp?_encoding=UTF ... asStoreID=)
They have 99% positive in the last 12 months (91 ratings). I read the first page of reviews (there is a bad one there now that wasn't there when I purchased) but other then that it seemed legit. The price had me a little concerned $450 off retail for brand new speakers.. so I did some further googling and found some people who also purchased KEF speakers for way under retail cost, some of them said that they received the speakers but the serial numbers were removed from them. Another person explained that sometimes retailers from overseas get the speakers for cheaper, remove the serials and send them to the US to be sold at higher prices. They remove the serial so KEF can't link it back to the original seller. I have no idea if that's true or not, but it seemed reasonable. Either way, I called Amazon up before I purchased the speakers and asked if Amazon would protect the sale if I received the speakers and they were either fake/without a serial number. The woman I spoke to said yes, absolutely. So I purchased the speakers.
On Jan 3rd I received an email that the speakers shipped with this tracking number: 1Z145Y7V0391449227
To be delivered on the 11th... But they never actually shipped. The company created a label but never actually shipped anything on that label. On the 9th I asked them about it:
Order ID 107-5584621-XXXXXXX: 1 of KEF LS50 Mini Monitor - High Gloss Piano Black (Pair)
Is this still on track to be delivered by the 11th?
They responded back on the 9th:
Yes.
The 11th came and the tracking still showed as nothing being sent. I contacted them again that night:
Estimated arrival is today and according to UPS they haven't even received the package yet.. am I getting these speakers or should I look elsewhere?
They responded:
Hello dear buyer, Please see a replacement is being shipped to you ASAP.
They created a new shipping label/tracking: 1Z145Y7V4298720230
With estimated delivery of the 18th. This time they actually shipped something on that label though - but they also included a signature requirement. I had the package address changed to my local UPS store, because I wouldn't be home to sign for it. Should also note, the weight of the package changed to 10lbs from 40lbs on the first label - which made me really skeptical.
The 18th came and I went to the UPS store to pick up the package. The UPS guy pulled out a 8.5x11" shipping packet. I told him that can't be it - they are giant speakers. He said "well this says i4mt3hwin on it" Ok. I signed for it (which I guess was a huge mistake) and brought it home. I figured maybe they sent the wrong the audio item, I'd send it back and either ask for a refund or ask for the speakers again.
Well I got home and opened it and inside was a piece of cardboard:
http://i.imgur.com/liCO3h2.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/y5GietW.jpg
And that's it.
I immediately contacted the seller and requested a refund. I also contacted Amazon, because I felt like no serious/real company would just send a piece of cardboard as an order. A different audio item? Ok I can buy that - maybe it got mixed up... but no, literally just a piece of cardboard. I also went and did a little more digging.. so remember that 99% positive over 12 months? Well if you go back 2-3 pages on their reviews, almost all of the reviews are from one guy in the span of one month. Clearly there is something fishy going on with this company. And it kind of bothers me that Amazon has no system to prevent that type of abuse.
So the 3rd party company gets back to me, they send me an email requesting that I ship back the speakers and they will refund me the money. Thing is I never received speakers, I received a cardboard box. I'm not shipping that back to them, I'm not wasting money on that. I awaited Amazon's response.
Well Amazon closed my claim.
We have closed your claim for this order because the order is not eligible for coverage. However, the seller has agreed to issue a refund to you after you return the order as per the instructions listed below. The seller is not obliged to refund the return shipping fees.
-- Return Address: XXXXXX XXXXXX
If you decide to return the order, we recommend following these best practices to be sure that your package arrives and to avoid customs fees.
-- Write "Return Merchandise" and the order number on the package -- Complete any customs forms needed and attach them to the package. -- Insure the package and request signature confirmation delivery service. -- Get a receipt for your return costs from the carrier.
Because your order arrived, the order is eligible for coverage only if an item in the order arrives damaged or does not match the seller’s description. Our investigation shows that you received the correct item and that it did not arrive damaged.
So I called them again and explained again that I did not receive the correct item. I received no item other then a piece of cardboard. So I'm not sure what they are expecting for me to ship back to them. So Amazon contacted me again asking for more information:
To resolve your claim quickly, we need your help to understand what went wrong with order 107-5584621-5027431.
Within 3 business days, please reply to this email with a description of the differences between the item that you ordered and the item that you received. If we do not hear from you within 3 business days, we will close your claim until we receive your reply.
We look forward to hearing from you.
-- Date of Claim: January 18, 2017 -- Claim Amount: $1049.99
So I send them this:
I ordered a pair of $1000 KEF LS50 speakers. I received a small piece of cardboard in a shipping packet.
This is what I ordered: http://dagogo.com/wp-content/uploads/20 ... 0x1000.jpg
This is what I Received: http://i.imgur.com/liCO3h2.jpg
This is what the cardboard came in: http://i.imgur.com/y5GietW.jpg
Which obviously can't fit 40 pound speakers.
On the 23rd I get another email back from Amazon:
We have closed your claim for order 107-5584621-5027431 because the tracking information below shows that someone at your address signed for the package. This order is not eligible for the A-to-z Guarantee because it arrived at your address.
So basically now they are telling me that they can't help because I signed/received the order. Which is a little ridiculous to me. Like in this case, yeah - like obviously speakers aren't fitting into that little package, but at the time I felt the package (there was something clearly inside which turned out to be just cardboard) I figured they sent the wrong item, so I figured I'd send it back to them. But what if they sent a big box with bricks in it? Would I just have been equally screwed for signing for it?
Either way, I contacted Amazon get - this time I spoke to a manager and I explained everything. Not only did she agree with me that I should get my money back, but she agreed that the reviews on the company seemed strange and she wanted to push that through and re-escalate my A-Z Claim.
Well today I got another response from the claims:
While we understand your concern, we are unable to assist you with this purchase. As previously stated for your order 107-5584621-5027431 because the tracking information below shows that someone at your address signed for the package. This order is not eligible for the A-to-z Guarantee because it arrived at your address.
Again I called Amazon - this time I spoke to a different manager who said "I shouldn't have signed for the package, Amazon can't help me" essentially.
So I'm sitting here wondering now, what am I supposed to do? I paid for the speakers on my Chase Card and I contacted them. They have to file a dispute which can take 7-10 days to even start it. In the long run I'm going to continue pursuing that - but I've read stories of people's Amazon accounts being closed for disputing large purchases. I buy tons of stuff through Amazon (Prime Member) and I would be really annoyed if they closed my account over this. That being said, I want my money back and I feel like it's ridiculous that Amazon won't cover me because I signed for the package despite nothing being inside of it.
Is there anything else I can do or someone I can contact? The 3rd party store no longer responds to my emails so that's out of the question.
TLDR: Bought speakers through 3rd party store on Amazon. They shipped me a piece of cardboard instead of speakers. Contacted Amazon who told me several times that they can't help me get my money back because I signed for the package.
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