How a common scam on here at the moment plays out.

Thanks Callum and S for responding to my earlier post.

S, just to clarify- I am the buyer, not the seller. I submitted an offer to the seller, which they accepted. Ping payment was then automatically applied to the sale, and my delivery address automatically was sent as well. The seller specified "no pickups" and did not provide shipping details, so I have been trying to contact them since auction close.

Here is a TM link outlining what to do in case of problems with a purchase: https://help.trademe.co.nz/hc/en-us/articles/360007000612

Under section "Problems contacting the seller", I have followed all the suggestions listed there. Note item 2. File a no-contact report says: "We'll email the seller, with you copied into the email chain." Nothing there states 'may'.

After my initial Live chat this morning, I followed it up with a couple more. I subsequently received the chat transcripts by email for the two follow-up chats, but strangely not for the original chat. So clearly something has gone wrong with TM's process, weekend or not.

I understand 3 days' wait is probably not long enough, so I'm willing to wait a couple more. But I believe there should be transparency in all dealings, and that TM staff should uphold this.

Cheers Amarie,

Yes! I understand you are the Buyer here and now to have further info' of where/what you have done to contact the Seller and follow up on your purchase already brings new light. - Placing Feedback for your Seller often brings a result also. - You have got the TM team onto it early for you with them contacting your Seller now which is great - By filing a Dispute report with staff prior to 30 days of the Listing closing you are covered under the Buyer Protection clause also.

Same section you are in with 'Problems with your purchase' reads under I haven't received my item as below...

I see under the No Contact report it also states - You can 'reply all' – so the seller and/or our Customer Experience team can help. - Therefore I would expect to bee cc'd into the initial correspondence as stated there also.

Thanks for the update - Hopefully you will have news and your item this week - All the Best - Cheers.

Thank you S, I know you are trying to help. But the section you refer to does not technically apply in my case. The problem is not that "I haven't received my item" -- the item has not even been sent yet, because shipping still needs to be arranged. The problem is that I am unable to contact the seller to arrange the shipping to begin with.

Hence the section that applies to me is "Problems contacting the seller". And as I mentioned, I followed everything specified in that section including placing feedback.

Here is a copy of that section:

You've highlighted an interesting fact, i.e. that TM has different approaches to copying recipients into email correspondence. That's another inconsistency that TM should look into.

Someone has changed the email connected with my TradeMe account without my permission. I have tried to report this but get a message that information about next steps has been emailed to me (i.e. the email that the person is using that isn't my email!). Any advice anyone? 

Hi Jacquie. If you still have access to your account (And I guess you do to be able to post here) Change your password immediately. Check for other changes to your account like delivery addresses, payment instructions, bank accounts etc. You might also find items have been listed for sale or purchases made on your account. The link below will go to the email change where you can change your email back.

Garry Trade Me haven't had phone support for a number of years. Urgent contact is now made via Live Chat.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/MyTradeMe/EmailEdit.aspx

Kia Ora Jacquie,

Sorry to read this has happened to you - Thank goodness you are onto it!

Once you have changed your email and thoroughly checked your account, as Callum has advised, report this again so you receive the 'Next steps' instructions.

Keep your eye on your emails for any phishing attempts - TradeMe have requested any impersonating emails be forward directly through to their Trust & Safety Team using the abuse@trademe.co.nz email address - Cheers.

Wow they are going next level!

I am a trustee of a company that has been told it has multiple accounts. This is incorrect. I have one. My partner has his own and there is the separate business account as per trade me guidelines. Which part is a breach of your t&s or are women not allowed accounts?

Kia ora Pat. I can see that the team has emailed you and are waiting to hear back from you. You can reply directly to that email with the info they've asked for, and they'll be able to help. 

Hi Pat, as per my last message use the Contact Us link and Live Chat to sort it out.

Using the same Device/IP address to access different accounts or having the same address details etc can trigger a suspension. But yes, with some rules, you are allowed more than one account as long as they are aware of them and you have permission in writing. If you just opened another account without getting the OK beforehand that could be the issue.

It has nothing to do with you being a woman........

Kia Ora Pat,

Sorry to read of your trouble here,

This is the Community Forum you are in - Both Callum and I are Members just like you - we are not TradeMe staff - This Community Forum is in place for Members to help each other navigate the platform. - TradeMe do pop in from time to time and you can tell by the Badge next to their name like Lucy's Comment above showing Community Team. - It is confusing and an easy mistake to make as all Comments are emailed as being Trade me - Customer Support.

Lucy has directed you to an email from TradeMe Staff which they are wanting you to reply to - not this Forum. - Once you reply to that email Staff will sort your accounts out for you so this suspension doesn't happen again.

All the Best with your Business - Cheers. 

Yea had a few of those, First email is pretty obvious that it's a scam simply because TM has never in 24 years, sent an email like that, directing you to an outside link for deposit details etc.
With TM, the first email has always been confirmation of sale and everything else is done via email either direct with the buyer/ seller or your own bank account.

This scam process feels a lot like they have borrowed from the likes of paypal etc, where you need to logon to the credit company (paypal/ western union etc) confirm the deposit, separate to the site where you made the purchase.

TM on the other hand, has everything onsite, except they don't have access to your own bank account.
Theres simply no need to go anywhere except TM and your own bank

Garry.
My suggestions for two accounts is for simplicity and greatly reduces any chance of confusion between accounts AND you can access both accounts at the same time on the same computer without having to switch logons.
It also greatly reduces any problems with TM Cookies getting confused/ corrupted

TM just closed my account after there was a double up of purchases. One phone cover arrived Friday, then another on Mon or Tues.
seller leaves it all up to TM. NO dialogue just closed. I used to be a top seller, ha. But stay with Facebook now. TM said the seller is a big customer and he does no wrong so it must be you that ordered another phone cover. Why would I want 2???

That's a bit strange Robin. Do you have any more details there?  You do mention there was no communication from Trade Me. Is there some other way you know that was the reason your account was closed?

Currently selling a car on here was contacted by a potential buyer who claimed he’s very interested in the car. He insisted that he have a VAC report so I sent a report generated from Trademe. They insisted it had to be from vehicle audit.org the website appears legit on face value however when you go to the checkout screen the price comes up in US dollars. I replied to the email and told them that it had been reported to the Police heard nothing since be wary.

Well spotted Tony. Always good to keep track of these new ones. You would probably be wise to pass the potential buyers info on to Trade Me. They could take a look and close the account if necessary.

Yes, a clear scam website. These are rife in USA, haven't heard of them being tried here yet, but it was only a matter of time I guess. The website is full of spelling mistakes and grammar errors, has no real contact info.

I’m a little late to this party but I had something similar happen to me it was the New Zealand post version of it… I would’ve kept going too (so dumb I know) and it was legit right up until I told them I wasn’t with any of the major banks that I was with a credit union and the supposed NZ Post live chat replied to me and I quote “then you better get the “duck” outta here. Thank God for my humble little credit union account 😂

I got one last year and played around with it in Tor Browser.

[Unlisted on Youtube] https://youtu.be/20GgzRaFeRM?si=KbvEMZGq-CzKrkcM&t=67 

The 'support chat' provided the best laughs. "Message from TradeMe: dear buyer, why you use russian ip-address?"

Surprising to me that there (at least appeared) was a person actively monitoring their phishing website.

All the more reason to only have your email address in your buyer message. Don't include phone number or address. Maybe not even a bank number (they could use the first numbers to find which bank you are with for a more targeted version).

It is obvious that all transactions on TradeMe are not to be trusted. They have been infiltrated by the dishonest scammers. I will stop using TradeMe.

My recent experiences
1) Purchased an item using Ping. Product never arrives. Vendor does not respond. TradeMe dispute resolution does nothing.

2) Product arrived from China. A complete fake/dud. It looks the part but thats it. Functionally useless. TradeMe dispute resolution does nothing.

Hi Paul. I am interested in your comment "Trade Me dispute resolution does nothing." What exactly happened there?

Paul,
This happens in all web communication systems and generally all media systems from time to time.
Trademe is not alone in this problem.
Sale /repairs/ auctions/ and a lot of other business's, even those that don't deal with the public at all, get this happening.
99% of the time, it is the user being distracted for whatever reason and not seeing the clues.
Eg:
Seems too good for the price/ service
Grammer/ sentance construction. spelling if wrong ;-)
Pushy tactics
Countdown for end of sale counters
Super flash websites
Crazy cheap
Odd email address
Missing or dead links to important information
100% AWESOME timing (you really needed that item)
Amazing descriptions of services/ options etc
Etc
Etc

Callum, I contacted Trademe regarding the two transactions described above. They acknowledge my Dispute Request. They say they will contact me again in 4 weeks. And thats it. Nothing more heard from Trademe or the Vendor. In fairness, the second item above, I only just contacted Trademe.

Thanks. So has it been 4 weeks? (For the first item) Trade Me acknowledge the disputes system is under pressure, so it can take a long time to wind through the system. Months even from my experience. Is that too long? Yes, it is. But with patience you will get there.

Yes, 1st item, more than 4 weeks.

You can contact TradeMe staff through "Live Chat" for assistance in possibly nudging this along for you - unfortunately Buyer protection is not guaranteed and some people have been waiting 4+ months for a resolve - Not a very good system or outcome for Buyers at all.

Ok, I accept that these things can take time. I assumed that because TradeMe said they would contact me again in '4 weeks', then that was the time required to resolve my issue. I now understand that it can often take longer than that. So, I will just wait for something to happen.

The hugely inflated price should be an instant red flag. Smells of the old Ill send you a big money order (stolen)  and you send me the change scam. If they changed one detail it would be nearly impossible to spot except for the additional chat pages. 

Hi Garry. Watchers carry over. So if they were watching before, they will be again. Unless they remove the item themselves. As both a seller and a buyer this is a feature I like. Yes the aim is to make more sales. Is this a bad thing?

You can easily remove an item item from your watchlist if you no longer want to continue watching...............