Fake Fitbit purchase on Ebay.

[VGLZW]

Hello.  I am new to the community and new to purchasing one of these HR wrist band monitors.  It looks great, pro and cons are equal on reviews.  Thought I give it a try since I need to monitor my HR thorough out the day and during workouts. I have been purchasing on Ebay for over 10+ years and never came across a seller like this; till now.

Has anyone purchased a fitbit product on Ebay and didn't get what they ordered?  How was it resolved?  Did it resolve in your favor? 

I encountered a bad seller recently.  The assumed Charge HR, came in the fitbit charge HR box, and it looked a lot like the charge HR in the pictures.  I took a leap of faith and purchased it.  When it came in the mail it was already opened and it did not have a watch type band as seen on the website.  It had the press in metal clasp, like the Charge, but it says global on it.  The seller also told me that there is no such thing as a Charge, which threw up a red flag.  I contacted the seller about it and he kindly blew me off.  Yeah, I was ticked.  Exchanged several Ebay emails and Now Ebay will need to take care of it.  Unfortunately it will take me till May 02 to get it resolved since they extended the resolution deadline.  I will be calling ebay directly about this. 

Beware of seller 2014bestsales001.  The seller does not review his products and will sell you anything thinking that its new, unopened, and unused.  I can give him the benefit of the doubt.  The seller might not know and someone else is doing the shipping and handling.  I doubt it.  What bugs me, the seller,  would not lift a fingure to investigate on his end; as far as I know.   

I normally don't do this and if it could of been avoided, I would of done so.  The seller still thinks I was given an authentic FitBit.  By the way, Fitbit customer service 'Franky' was great and was able to help by confirming that it was not a Fitbit product after emailing him about 10 HDR iphone pictures of what I received.  If it wasn't my persistance to do preventive maintenance, I probably wouldn't be in this situation.

Recent development:

He says I lie, I'm the liar, and I am scamming him.  Why would I lie When I contacted him the day of receiving it.  Further more, I contacted Franky the day after.  He told me it was fake.  I immediately asked for a refund.  This is what he had to say after emailing back and forth.

"Look the fact that you just stated it is a felony to sell something fraudulent on ebay is proof as to why i would never do such thing. I know for a fact i sent you what was described and i know for a fact you are making these false accusations up. So heres what i am going to do for your sake. I will only refund you your money if you send me back THE black fitbit chargeHR i sent you, in its original package and you will without a doubt receive a full refund. However, if you send me whats shown in the pictures that you posted. I am talking about the activity monitor the says GLOBAL on the wrist band. I will not refund you your money and you can take this to civil court, ebays internet jury trial. Whichever you'd like. The return address is Ralph Noel 1149 W. Columbia ave Kissimmee fl, 34744 I look forward to receiving a tracking number."

What is strange is that his location on the ad was stated to be "New York, New York" and he wants me to return it to a Ralph Noel in Florida.  Maybe he doesn't want to incriminate himself.  Who knows.  What's good about ebay is that they will get my money back with their ebay moneyback guarranty.  It would just take longer than usual.

[AngelaMa]

Hello @VGLZW welcome to the Fitbit Community! Thanks for sharing this information  If you want to purchase Fitbit products I would recommend to visit the Fitbit Store or any of our authorized retailers to make sure you are getting an original Fitbit product. 

Thanks for stopping by! 🙂 

[SunsetRunner]

I have not purchased from eBay; however, it is good of you to share this experience with others. 

[VGLZW]

Finally, was able to have ebay step in.  I got him to accept the return.  But now waiting for a shipping label, which he is dragging his feet on.  I will be uploading pictures of the fake fitbit soon.  In the box, you can't really tell if it is real or fake.  Take it out and its a whole other story.

For all you out there, if you have a clamp charger that came with your fitbit charge HR purchased from Ebay, you got jipped.  Also remember that the HR has the optical sensor on the back of the device contacting your skin for the Heart Rate option.  If you don't have that then it is not a Charge HR and you should send it back if its not too late.

[AngelaMa]

Hello @VGLZW thanks for the update! 🙂 I'm glad to know you are returning the fake Fitbit to the seller. To purchase any tracker or accessories visit any authorized retailer from the post above. Remember that using non original charging cables with your Fitbit trackers can damage the battery of the device. 

Catch you later! 🙂 

[VGLZW · Accepted solution]

Hello All, here is an update on this case.

I got an email last night (March 29, 2016) that Ebay resolved it in my favor and the case was closed.  I got my money back, but now I am stuck with this fake product.  I called Ebay today (March 30, 2016) and Ebay customer service rep Jeff says that I don't need to send it back.  I was told by another Ebay Customer Serivce Rep last night (6:30pm) to call today after 8:30am to request a return label if the seller did not issue an Return Shipping Label. 

I currently don't want it and it disappoints/frustrates me everytime I look at it.  I will donate it to Good Will or maybe get rid of it through E-Waste recycling.  I would rather send it the the resolutions center as proof, but Jeff at Ebay customer service says that it is not possible.  For sure, I will not purchase another electronic product from an individual seller on ebay.

Thanks FitBit community for letting me vent my experience on this site.  It is most appreciated.

[AngelaMa]

Hello @VGLZW I'm glad you shared your experience with us, I'm sure it will help lots of users and It's great to know you got your money back! 🙂 

Thanks for stopping by! 🙂 

[HannahSCTV]

Hi there, 

I am contacting from a TV programme in the UK called 'Fake Britain'. I'm keen to hear more about the issue you had, would it be possible to email me on hannah.lawrence@sctvproduction.com?

Thanks!

[Break_recycling]

Also beware of 2014bestsales001 on ebay as a buyer!

Purchased items I had listed on ebay clearly described and classified as "Not working; for parts only, untested, no batteries and no returns", yet they started a returns process because they were "not as described" purportedly due to the items having faulty triggers - so which part of untested, not working and for parts only was incorrect!!??

Clearly the buyer knows how to play the ebay system because I then found that after contacting ebay several times during the process, they advise you accept the item, then suggest you raise a complaint for abuse of the return process, only to then find out they refund the buyer in full, you're also hit you for return postage cost, reject your appeals and all........WOW!!!

Furthermore after spending $50 for a battery (during the return transit period) so that I could power them up once I received them back, I then find each one has faults more glaring than having any faulty triggers (i.e. dud LCD screens), but curiously not mentioned by the buyer, suggesting very strongly that parts were swapped over and yet ebay say they can't (or won't) do anything.

In summary- screwed by the buyer with full assistance of ebay.  Beware of both!!!