Fake iPhone

Let me guess... eBay?

Yes, as he said in the very first sentence of his post: +"I recently bought an iPhone 3GS on ebay"+

You have in your possession a fake iPhone. Genius bar appointments are free, but unfortunately, there is nothing they can do for you. You might as well cancel your appointment, as I can confirm, unequivocally, that your phone is fake.

It is DEFINITELY a fake.

Apple do not make iPhone with removable batteries, no SIM-slot (except the Verizon iPhone 4), dual SIM, and no Mute button.

Always buy from reputable, official sellers. Its not worth the hassle trying to save a bit of money.

yea u should be able to get money back say item not as described ebay are very dedicated to helping the buyer

See what happens when I post before my second cup of coffee?...

Julian Wright wrote:
Yes, as he said in the very first sentence of his post: +"I recently bought an iPhone 3GS on ebay"+

They won't charge you but I doubt they will give you a letter saying it is a fake either.

You need to do a charge back right away and file a claim with eBay. If you still have the auction number and the person is advertising it as a genuine iPhone but selling counterfeit phones, please let me know and I will call eBay today on your behalf.

I recently bought an iPhone 4 on eBay. I thought I had done the necessary checks by checking that the serial number was genuine. But when it arrived it was clearly a fake.
At first eBay seemed to be helping. They told me to ship it back to the seller and I would get a refund. I did this and I waited... Then they send me a message telling me "the case has been decided in the sellers favour" and I would not get a refund.

No money - no phone (not even the fake).

Whatever their written policy - in this case eBay appears to be supporting the fraudster.

DON'T BUY POPULAR TECH ON EBAY.

Sorry about your issue, but something smells fishy. If you received and item, and sent it back to the seller with proof of delivery a refund is almost always guaranteed in the buyer's favor, there is a 99% chance of this happening. I know as a seller, sometimes I have to take things back for no reason, just the buyer changes their mind and eBay/PayPal always gives them back the money and I am stuck.

I have been on eBay since 1998 and had 4 eBay stores for about 7-years... so this is an educated post, not a guess.

If this really happened the way you said, let me know the details and I will check with eBay to see what actually happened and why.

Pfyer wrote:
I recently bought an iPhone 4 on eBay. I thought I had done the necessary checks by checking that the serial number was genuine. But when it arrived it was clearly a fake.
At first eBay seemed to be helping. They told me to ship it back to the seller and I would get a refund. I did this and I waited... Then they send me a message telling me "the case has been decided in the sellers favour" and I would not get a refund.

No money - no phone (not even the fake).

Whatever their written policy - in this case eBay appears to be supporting the fraudster.

DON'T BUY POPULAR TECH ON EBAY.

It seems, from todays message that the item is on it's way back to me:
"The seller provided tracking that shows the item is currently on its way to you. You should receive it soon."

I did not ask for it back!

I used the Royal Mail Track and Trace that I since found out doesn't work - I could not see the progress of the package online and neither could eBay. So I assume that they think I did not send it.

I have not received it yet but I have asked everyone here not to sign for a package addressed to me.

Case # 5006265398

We have two separate issues here with separate options.

1. You purchased an item on eBay for a product that was delivered. Your dispute is the product is a fake. Without seeing the listing and without the proof, it may be hard proving a fake to eBay. eBay does not guarantee the quality of the merchandise just the receipt and delivery of said items. If you filed it as a claim that item was knock off, then PayPal would have told you to return the item for a refund. If the person who sold it is "qualified" then PayPal would force the refund and/or pay it themselves through the buyer program.

2. You returned the item (unsure with or without PP instruction) but you returned it in a method that cannot be tracked. If PP cannot confirm you returned the item, they don't know if it is you that may be trying to cheat the seller, they can't tell for sure.

Your only option at this point if the Seller is not willing to work with you on refund, besides of course appealing your claim with PayPal is to file a claim with the courts for damage / loss. Even though I lived in the UK for over a year, I am not familiar with the "Small Claims" system there.

Also be sure to file negative feedback to warn other buyers about this seller if you are sure you are being cheated. Do not leave negative feedback lightly.

"Will they charge me if I ask for a letter to confirm it's a fake?"
Probably not, but expect to hear peals of laughter. Dual SIM? You don't need an Apple Genius to tell you that it's fake. I do not know what you paid for it but, in Bangkok, they run about $100, and half that in Shenzhen, China.

eBay have changed 'PayPal Protection' to 'eBay Buyer Protection' - So, yes effectively eBay/PayPal did tell me to return the item to the seller. I did this with Royal mail track and trace. Their tracking information is available on the Royal Mail internal network - they sent me a screenshot of this. But the same information is not available on the internet - so eBay's automated system does not see it.

I have photographic and email evidence that this is not an Apple iPhone. The seller also inadvertently admitted this.

I cannot leave any feedback for the seller because the item has already been removed from eBay and the seller is 'no longer a registered user'. If eBay kicked them out, why are they now telling me I won't get a refund?