Cool GTX
dang 
 
No laptop = No prof IMO
 
Did it happen - maybe --> so send Laptop to Me or the Police --> Or NO refund
 

Delirious
I rarely buy on ebay anymore unless its a sure thing or I can afford to take a loss. Thankful for amazon

Hoggle
I would be contacting them again and see how they stick to 180
days when you have the sheriffs name, phone number, email and case number. Normally when they are given that kind of information they will talk to the law enforcement and hand over all documents about the sale to the police. You might not get the money back but the person could be looking at jail time for filing a false police report or selling stolen goods.

panzlock
Shame people resort to this kind profit making operation but individuals using online services to purchase merchandise are also guilty of gullibility. I am very calculating when purchasing something as I have done my research and discovered too many deceptive transactions. As a result I have never actually made an eBay or Craigslist purchase.
 
However, your story was suspenseful, informative and dramatic. I enjoyed the unfolding climax despite the lack of nudity, action sequences and profanity. Character development was also terse and deserves more screen time. 5.7/10  Would read again.

transdogmifier
I don't buy stuff off of eBay....except Disneyana pins....10 bucks...I don't really think they'll come after me for that..and I certianly won't waste my time going after someone who doesn't
deliver..I'll just leave bad feedback and move on.
 
I want a laptop? I'll go directly to eVGA, CyberPower, etc...to buy one..
 

aka_STEVE_b
Pretty intricate web ....

Sajin
Sorry to hear that.

rblaes_99
so you refunded the buyer already?  did i miss that in the post?

TheMadDutchDude
Hey guys,
 
This is more of a 'let me get it out of my system' type of post, as well as a warning for all on this forum that I've grown to appreciate more and more. Let me give you the lowdown, and how you can avoid it.
 
Let's start by going back in time, to September 9th, 2018. I've purchased a laptop from a seemingly good merchant, for the princely sum of $334.49 with delivery included. All was well, and I was stoked to finally have a laptop with more power than the Ultrabook I was using prior to that, which was from 2013. It was a superb laptop, but upgrade time came around, and after having used one at work, I was sold on trying to find one. The laptop in question is a Dell Latitude E7470, to keep things more ... uh, precise.
 
So, knowing that I got it for a steal (ironic, you'll see why soon enough), I set out to buy a Dell 7480 after yet again having used one of those at work, and I got it for a decent price of $400 give or take a few bucks. Neat! An upgrade to a newer, thinner bezel on the laptop, slightly more horse power under the hood, and a better laptop in general with Type-C. I proceeded to release the ol' E7470 back into the world and another buyer took it from me for $440 (profit!). All was well, and I thought I was about to walk off with $40 extra in my pocket and a new laptop.
 
Heh, yeah, that's what you'd think. So, some of you may know that PayPal is unable to open any form of dispute after 180 days of a transaction happening. It's written in their policy, and it has something to do with the law. Roll on day 180, March 8th, 2019. All is still well. Day 181 unfolds, and the laptop, according to my buyer, has now been locked with Computrace. For those unaware, Computrace is a BIOS-level bit of software/firmware that allows a user with a valid license, typically an organization, to remotely lock and destroy the OS at the click of a button when it is active in the BIOS. Now, you can also de-activate it or disable it entirely, but if it is active, then the user likely has a license tied to that machine.
 
Now, here's where it first got shady, and I should've suspected that something was up from that point on. The original seller tried to open a case to refund me (yeah, really!) without requesting the laptop to be returned. Seems rather suspicious, right? I thought nothing of it, let the claim close itself as I never heard anything after asking if she'd like me to return it, and went on with life.
 
I didn't know anything about Computrace until last night, when I heard about it and did some digging. My buyer has supposedly reported this machine to the cops, has a case file, Sheriff's name, contact info, and all the good stuff that you'd get your hands on if you found out you have stolen property.
 
I emailed him to explain the situation, and to clear my name of any possible wrongdoing. I told him that I purchased it from a lady and sold it on to him for a profit. Being totally honest about it, I explained the entire situation in an email that was probably half the length of this post. Anyway, he finally replied to me today to tell me that another Sheriff is working on the case, and provided me with another number, all of which relate to the original office which he claims to have filed it through. Seems legit thus far, right?
 
So, PayPal escalated my claim to a higher level than just a dispute, and have requested that he returns the laptop to me. He told me in the email that he has already returned the laptop to a hospital from which it apparently was stolen. Already, huh? Seems a little too soon to me, but the laptop might be in the police department.
 
I'm still awaiting the final verdict, and I have a 50/50 chance that he is simply trying to bluff his way into not paying for the laptop. Although, the whole 180/181 day thing seems like a totally legitimate fraud from the original seller, and possibly even the buyer that took it from me. I have yet to hear from the police department (I contacted them) regarding the legitimacy of this case, and I have also yet to hear anything from the buyer coming forward with an official police report.
 
Creating a dispute against the original seller was denied immediately, so I called to inquire into the situation. I was on hold for 40 minutes to talk to a supervisor - great, I can recite their entire hold story from memory now - who basically told me that they cannot open a case, even though it was literally only a matter of days past their maximum limit of 180. It has something to do with the laws and breaking their own policy. I politely told him that I will discontinue my service through eBay permanently, and that I will heavily reconsider my online payment options from here on out. The best he could come up with is 'I am sorry to hear that, sir' ... yeah, right!
 
I guess this ultimately lands me at my final point of playing the waiting game to see what transpires from this bloomin' nightmare. I'm just sick to deal of eBay promising the world to you with regards to safety, yet stuff like this is all too common. I will hold up my hand and tell you now that I would rather sell stuff on this forum, at a discounted rate, and lose more money, than ever participate in that scandal that they call a safe auction place.
 
As for how to avoid getting scammed on such a level:
Always ask the seller if Computrace is active and ask for proof. If it is, steer clear immediately!
If a deal seems too good to be true, it more than likely is.
Take this last one how you wish: do not use eBay for such electronics.
 
Whew. That's possibly the longest forum post I have ever written. I hope that it provides a little help to someone here. Even if I only help someone save their cash, it's better than no one.
 
Don't get scammed, folks. Please take this as a very real lesson, and one that I would highly encourage you to recall whenever considering an electronics purchase on eBay. I would never wish this upon anyone. Admittedly, $440 isn't the worst it could be, but it's still around 20 hours of overtime, after tax, to make up for it. I hate working to make others richer, especially when they literally robbed me for the money.