yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[G4 General] flinca:
No problems for m

I ordered from this seller on the 23rd and received the phone in Calgary on the 25th, which I thought was very impressive. I paid $727 CAD plus $16 duty. So far, I have had no issues with the phone.
[G4 General] martinvictor:
I was a bit nervous after reading this thread but I just got my G4 yesterday from tropical mobile in perfect conditions.
[G4 General] galaxys6_007:
Beware of tropical_mobile

Completely agree that tropical_mobile is one of the WORST ebay seller.

A HUGE warning to all those that bought devices from this shi**y seller - They advertise that the phones they sell come with direct manufacturer warranty. They are really not coming with any warranty. I purchased 2 Galaxy S6 phones from them 2 months back and wanted to make sure they are truly covered under warranty. So I talked to Samsung's customer service in the US via chat as well as phone. They clearly stated that the phones are NOT covered under warranty.

When contacted, tropical_mobile claimed that they actually have warranty and gave me someone's personal cell phone number claiming that it is the number of a Samsung customer service manager. His voice message also said 'Thanks for reaching out to XXX on Samsung'. But I am pretty sure that person does not represent Samsung at all.

I then went ahead and asked that I can keep the phone if they can issue a partial refund. By that time the phone itself went down in price by close to $100, so I could have very well returned it for full refund as the phone did not come with warranty as described in the listing, and purchased from a different seller for $100 less for each of the two phones.

But I just did not want to trouble them and agreed for a partial refund of $60 for each phone to live without warranty (despite the fact that I could have returned for a full refund and gotten new phones from other sellers for $100 less each).

After several follow ups, the great Emily responded on 6/30 saying their Account team will reach out to me with a PayPal confirmation of the $120 refund. I also received an email from them saying refund is issued, which never came to my account. In the past 5 weeks, I sent them numerous messages, and the great Emily just kept replying saying 'give 24-48 hours'. I gave them several 48 hours and they just don't seem to care at all.

With all these it was well beyond eBay money back deadline of 30 days. I have now opened a PayPal claim and I am hopeful that a decision will be made in my favor.

Whoever got mobile phones from this bad seller, please check with the manufacturer and I am sure none of your phones will be covered under warranty. They just follow a worst practice to make business.
[G4 General] shook187:
You're as guilty as they are. You sound like a s***** buyer.
[G4 General] ambervals6:
Why is he ****ty buyer? Because that ****ty singapore ass sells knock off items and does everything to put buyers on trouble?

Sent from my LG-D800

---------- Post added at 00:17 ---------- Previous post was at 00:16 ----------

Yupp they are master minds when it comes to playing you.

Sent from my LG-D800
[G4 General] AhsanU:
Where is this post even coming from?! He stated his issue and the seller is clearly in the wrong for misleading him, then not providing him with the partial refund they said they'd give. He doesn't sound like a crappy buyer at all.
[G4 General] prueba01:
I wanted to ask if someone had problems buying from Tropical mobile, since I want to purchase a phone from them, but I see someone did have a problem.

I also found this guy having a problem ...... https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/comments/30z32l/fedex_is_charging_me_14853_for_ebay_sellers/
[G4 General] nexuses:
Somthing wrong is going on my order from trobical mobile, i've been orderd mine on Aug 14 (5 days ago) and there is no update or tracking number from them till now for whatever.. and now i have bad feelings about the all proccess & how it will be ended up with them :|
[G4 General] pelo911:
you got the phone ?

why you not buying from Never-MSRP from USA?
[G4 General] nexuses:
Still not.

i decided to go with that store (unfortunately) becouse they does ship it worldwide (i live in Ukriane).
[G4 General] AhsanU:
If they don't reply to any messages, don't wait too long until you open up a case with eBay (if that's how you got it). eBay is very buyer friendly.
[G4 General] nexuses:
Thanks for your answer, i appreciate that. and yes, they do replay on my messages, but she is laying on me everytime and telling me " we will ship it today." !!

Actually I decided to be very patient with them. becouse i don't want them to play with me, they have my money already..
[G4 General] nexuses:
Update: I bought the phone in Aug 14, and after waiting for 6 days, i decided to return the item (in Aug 20), but at the same time (shortly afterwards), they updated the tracking number and contacted me to cancel the return process, and i listened to him and did what he asked me. Yesterday, Suddenly, i noticed that the tracking number has changed in eBay and PayPal! Here is the screenshot for the first waybill: http://i.imgur.com/B4BaDTL.jpg

And here is the updated second waybill: http://i.imgur.com/3hKeoyz.jpg

Anyone please can explain to me what the hell is going on?
[G4 General] nikoskip:
I'm having a problem with this seller. I bought a Z3 Compact on March 12, 2015 and about a month ago it suffered the "sudden death" issue. So, I contacted the seller first through eBay and he replies once a day, so trying to achieve a good communication with him is almost impossible. He said that will do a exchange of my device, but now, he is not longer responding. I have him on WhatApp (he also has me), but he only write a few words (once per day, like eBay) and now is not longer answering.

When I purchased the phone, the shipping was fast (2 days), but now that I have an issue with it, all is going slowly. This is frustrating.

He says (on his eBay listings) that all his phones has 12 month of warranty (brand warranty), but Sony is not accepting my device because I don't have a purchase receipt. PayPal or eBay receipt are not valid. So maybe it's true, his phones has 12 month of warranty, but in his country (he is from Singapore) or wherever he bought them.

So be aware of this seller if you concern about warranty and after sale support, because at this moment I'm losing 400 USD.

BTW: he NOT has any presence or warehouse in USA, he is 100% Singapore based seller, so don't expect a local shipping, he is lying on his listings.
[G4 General] rowbaggie22:
You shud get eBay to open a case they can do I think its up to 180 days after you receiving it
[G4 General] nikoskip:
I contacted eBay yesterday. I hope they can help. I will open a case on PayPal too.
[G4 General] galaxys6_007:
After getting 2 Galaxy S6 from them, I checked with Samsung in US to confirm if the phone truly has warranty. And they said the phones are not supported in the US. I asked the seller for a partial refund to keep the phones and they even agreed and sent me a bogus PayPal transaction ID and asked me to wait for a few days. The refund never came through. I wanted to deal this politely with them and was waiting for ever and ever. They play this delaying tactics and with that it was way past eBay's buyer protection deadline. Also with this I could not change the positive feedback I gave them. In addition they listed that the phone ships from Memphis, TN - but they actually got shipped from Singapore. This is another cheating tactic by this seller.

I then opened a PayPal case, and PayPal buyer protection is a JOKE. This seller sells thousands of phones and gives ebay and paypal a hefty commision. PayPal's decision was to have me ship the item back to Singapore to get a refund. The seller who told me in the ebay messages that he is ok to give partial refund, has not agreed to partial refund when PayPal contacted them. So ultimately I am having 2 phones that can die anytime without support. My decision now is to spread the word to all discussion forums related to Android and ebay to warn people from staying away from this WORST seller.

US based sellers clearly sell these models by mentioning that there is no warranty. But this tropical_mobiles is one of the worst eBay seller, but tactically manages to have 100% positive feedback.

They may even ask you to close the ebay case and tell that they will process a refund or return. But do NOT close your case until it is fully resolved. A closed case cannot be reopened. This is another tactic from them. After the case is closed, they will not fulfill the promise made.
[G4 General] nikoskip:
For those who have been scammed by "tropical_mobile", I created this Facebook page where you can report your case, avoiding other buyers to be scammed

https://www.facebook.com/tropical.mobile
[G4 General] shojus:
This guy needs to get a serious ass whoopin! When you play with my money, you have some serious problems coming your way! He is very lucky that he is based in a place where I would never go, because if he was in the US, I would certainly not hesitate a second to pay a visit to his shop... I don't like people that think they can scam and get away with it so I will do things that others will not, just to make a point. It's really too bad that EBay is letting scums like this continue to do business and just let them by. As long as EBay is lining their pockets and making it so claims are not super high, they will let scumbags do business with good people, and in turn, make us fight for something that we are supposed to be protected against! Pathetic!
[G4 General] kingwaffle:
Welp.

My G4 died. Sent a text message earlier, phone locked up, stuck at LG logo.

The eBay listing is contradictory in whether he honors the LG 12 month warranty or doesn't. When I bought the phone, I checked out as a guest (without an eBay account), so I can't "contact the seller" via proper means.

Half tempted to just eat the loss, but almost $600 hurts...

Think I'm going to pull the trigger on a Nexus 5x and be done with it.
[G4 General] Makster:
The same happened to me a week ago. The infamous LG logo death.

SquareTrade closed the ticket because it's nominally under manufacturer's warranty.

LG support refused to honor the warranty because it's not a US branded phone.

So the "full warranty" tropical_mobile promised on the product page is worthless unless you happen to be in Taiwan. That'll teach me. :(

Well, it looks like LG has acknowledged the problem and promised to make things right since I last talked to them. I'll try again.
[G4 General] never-msrp:
Why don't you guy report to BBB ?

Reported to eBay is useless as eBay is the biggest scam which protecting Tropical-mobile.

If more and more peoples report to BBB. eBay will have big problems.

---------- Post added at 09:15 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:10 AM ----------

Why don't you guy report to BBB ?

Reported to eBay is useless as eBay is the biggest scam which protecting Tropical-mobile.

If more and more peoples report to BBB. eBay will have big problems.
[G4 General] venom_tan:
Is it someone able claim the warranty from tropical_mobile ? I have been email them about 1 week , they just ask me to waiting their email for further warranty progress . this is ridiculous . When i keep asking them what the progress , they just ask me to wait !! Wt*

Sorry for my bad english
[G4 General] never-msrp:
You need immediate open case at eBay to protect yourself
[G4 General] venom_tan:
i had done researched on google , most of them said ebay just protect within 60 days when you purchased the items . After 60 days they won't care about it ..
[G4 General] never-msrp:
The biggest scam is eBay keep protecting this seller. You can file complaint at BBB to complain eBay let this seller lie for warranty and location
[G4 General] venom_tan:
tropical_mobile just a F**king SCAM , They promise me warranty can be claims but it past 2 weeks already , nothing was happen . I email them every days and just asked me to Wait . Then tell me to call them but the phone number their given just cover operation matter . They Playing me around just like an idiot , F**K !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IF you don't have faith on your phone , DON'T BUY FROM tropical_mobile .
[G4 General] lunensun:
I do not understand why these people still have 100% Feedback on eBay.

They are brazen liars and crooks.
[G4 General] Lang_poi:
I bought a sony z5 form them, and the audio jack is not working. They say they can do a exchange for me, but they use 10 days to send me the return label. After reading this I am super nervous about sent my phone back. Someone say they will let you pay the shipping. Maybe I should sell my phone on ebay and buy a new one? Which seller can be trust?
[G4 General] kenknee:
I purchased my LG G4 H815 in August 2015. The purchase was smooth and shipping was very quick.

HOWEVER:

Two weeks ago March 2016 it went into boot loop and wouldn't start anymore. I contacted LG USA and based on the serial number they said its not eligible for repair in USA and that I would need to contact LG Taiwan. The LG Taiwan site is in Chinese and I'm unable to navigate it. Ive contacted tropical_mobile almost a dozen times on e-bay messaging and each time they've given me an un-useful response. Such as: "Let me check" and each time they never reply again until I message them again to check up on it in which case I'll get a reply like:

1) "Yes. I am checking",

2) "Yes. I am getting LG to contact you",

3) "Let me check now"

4) "Yes. I am checking"

Finally after two weeks when I asked for about the 5th time with a long winded paragraph telling them they haven't given me any useful information nor has LG contacted me. They asked to contact me by phone. I gave them my phone number and they phoned me.

** also note each message response ends with "Emily" While the person on the phone was clearly a man.

Over the phone: Yes I will have the manufacturer contact you. Oh wait can you hold?

I was then put on hold for over 3 minutes while he answered another call (I could hear him chatting the entire time) and then he hung me up. It was 2am so I went to bed.

I asked them to give me instructions over messaging/email instead of over the phone since its so hard to get in contact them over the phone and it would be better to have something written and recorded. Their reply to this request was "Can I call you now" (that was around 2:45am and I was asleep already) The next morning I messaged them again and they asked again Can I call you now. I replied with yes, but they never phoned me.

So from my the first day I messaged them 3/11/16 until today 3/27/16 I have still not received any useful information on claiming the 12 month warranty for my phone of which was listed on their selling listing.

I tried to file a dispute with paypal but its been over 180 days and paypal says it can't be disputed.

Ill try with my credit card company next.
[G4 General] talaafi:
I wish I found these claims a lot earlier. I had exactly same experience . I bought an LG G4 and they said it comes with 1 year manufacture warranty but after following up with LG they said this phone is not under any sort of warranty .Tropical mobile is just bunch of scammer . eBay was my favorite in the past but after this experience I realize eBay is just a Ghost and let these crooks scam the buyers . I will warn any body buying from eBay that it is very risky. I love Amazon Now.
[G4 General] talaafi:
Lets take him Down from eBay

Guys we should all email and call eBay and force them to take this seller down . I called and emailed them . I sent a link of this forum to eBay customer service.

eBay phone # 1-866-278-1053

Email: customerservice@ebay.com
[G4 General] VincentLouis:
Bought an item on tropical_mobile <-- total scam

- the product defected after a month

- contacted the seller, asked to wait for 2 days and two days... it last for 1 whole month.

- after a month of waiting, the seller said they not going to help for returning the item.

- try to contact eBay's customer service, the contact number can't be reached.

- Money was gone and the phone cannot be used.
[G4 General] chris48:
Tropical_mobile is getting even worse. I just bought a phone from them. It was faulty so I returned it and asked for a refund. They promised and promised but for more than 3 weeks, no refund. None whatsoever. Ebay won't do anything because I have waited for more than 30 days. I am now asking Paypal for help.

In short: Don't buy from them!!!
[G4 General] sandy731:
I ordered the note 5 in pink gold from them in February. My phone died may 24. Samsung won't honor the warranty as the phone is international. Ok. Contacted tropical mobile may 25 and I'm still waiting for the warranty dept to contact me. They offered me a full refund tonight and to give them 3 days to send me a return shipping label. After reading this thread I'm kinda nervous sending them the phone and not getting a refund. Guess I'll make some calls tomorrow. I only bought from them because of their ratings.
[G4 General] pjlebastard:
I send my phone for warranty 6 month ago and he never send me back...
[G4 General] SystolicDrake:
Hi, uhh I just ordered a phone from tropicalmobile and it arrived yesterday. It had many issues so I asked them to exchange it today and they said that they would do it. But I just checked these posts right now and I am kinda scared. So what do you guys advise me to do. Like can you tell me some precautions.
[G4 General] SystolicDrake:
nexus 6P exchange

Hi, They actually told me not to use the ebay return policy and said that by that way I would have to pay for the return shipping and pay some restocking fees about which I have no idea. So they said that they would send me a prepaid label and then I can ship it back to them. So i did as they said and did not open an ebay return request. They said they would send me the label day after tomorrow. As I am new to ebay and online shopping, Can anyone you guys tell me whether what I am doing is right.
[G4 General] Kammex:
No, eBay will not protect you if you return it on your own, another playing tactic that tropical_mobile is using to scam.

Think about it, after you sent it back, how do you know the seller will refund you your money? Probably not.

If you click on a return request, it will say if you agree to their terms, and you can say that you do not. You will pay for the shipping but no restocking fees.

I also doubt that these guys are selling the phones legitimately. The screen protector is IN THE BOX. Not an official screen protector from Samsung or anything, a crappy dollar store fingerprint-magnet screen protector. The "sealed" stickers are probably fake. I think they purposely buy defective phones, resell them, they'll give you a positive review, then you will give them a positive review, realize the item is crap, and make you suck it up or make you return it improperly and steal your money.
[G4 General] SystolicDrake:
nexus 6P return

I just checked the ebay returns policy and it clearly states that if the item is faulty or not as described it is the seller's responsibility to pay for the return shipping. So after they send me the label I can open an eBay return request. can i do that? Because the seller told me that he would send me the return shipping label on my email(not through ebay).
[G4 General] Kammex:
Let him send it, I will bet you the email is sketchy. You can do it after, just do not send the item without an eBay process. That way, you can also make the seller pay for return shipping.
[G4 General] SystolicDrake:
Oh **** **** ****.... I just found out I messed up. 5 days ago I had opened a return policy, later that day I was able to call that guy and he told me to close the return and told me that I could open it again and gave me stupid reasons. I believed him because I did not check this forum and it was my first time online shopping. Now I realise I cannot opens return shipping request again. Any other options left for me?
[G4 General] Kammex:
You done goofed. Call eBay, I think they can open it back up. Otherwise, if you can't get a return claim, hang on to the phone. Try a PayPal dispute, although that is a lot harder since the address will be incorrect. See if you can get it repaired (since you want to return it, it's probably something wrong) and sell it back, or just suck it up.
[G4 General] Kammex:
The eBay and PayPal claims are closed, and Tan Chwee Leong or whoever the seller is just called me today pretending to be "eBay customer service". He said he saw my post of the XDA forum and wondered if he could help with the return. Also asked if I have a tracking number and any proof, probably to confirm that I don't have the tracking number. Wouldn't give a name and most of the call was silence. I am going to talk to a lawyer about this case, this whole business is obviously a scam.
[G4 General] cops:
Hassle is the beginning...

I'm glad that I saw this thread. Purchased two S6 from these people, had problem with one, so I emailed them to return it. It would take them weeks to reply and finally they told me to return the phone (without any other info). I asked them for a return label and they stopped answering me. I went to open a case on ebay, but 30 day was passed. I ended up leaving two Negative feedback but they were removed since I mentioned the name "Emily" in the feedback:cyclops:. I wish I could get back at them :(
[G4 General] Kammex:
Call eBay and tell them to edit it or allow you to edit it. It probably won't help though, since I noticed somehow a few of their negative feedback disappeared too. They might have ties with eBay for all I know.
[G4 General] shbt:
Has anyone gotten their refund from this seller? I'm going through the same thing.
[G4 General] jinsonsanik:
S7 Galaxy Edge . cheating by ebay tropical mobile

I too had same experience where in i bought s7 edge for 689 usd ( it was mentioned that shipping is free) its mentioned as shipping from TN-USA. somehow they shipped from Singapore and i got invoice from fedex for duty of 110 USD. When i asked ebay they said i cm completely protected from any charges . when i asked tropical mobile they also told me the same . but no one initiated the ownership to resolve the issue with fedex . now i am paying the amount its clear case of cheating . when i reached them they somehow managed me not to leave -ve feedback until the feedback period get completed.

jinsonsanik@yahoo.com
[G4 General] Kammex:
I need to report for fraud too, is there a website link that you can give me for more info?
[G4 General] rgillbilly:
I have reported them through eBay but our next step is the FBI internet crime web page.

I can not post web links due to forum design but it would be good to document what happened and post, not only here but on the facebook page and file with ebay and also file with the FBI internet fraud website.
[G4 General] VincentLouis:
For the followings unfortunate buyers, I going to make things quick.

People who not yet past 30days, don't waste your time contacting the seller, they will keep ask you to wait a day and a day until it past 30days, open a case on eBay or contact eBay immediately, google it how.

---

People who already pass 30days, eBay will not do anything to help you, not even if you have all the evidence showing the seller cheat/cone/trap you. NO, stop dreaming.

---

People who using PayPal and still within 180days, contact PayPal directly or open dispute case on PayPal account, google it how.

It usually going to take more than a month to solve a case, keep bugging PayPal and follow up if you want your money back.

---

Additional tips:

- The seller will call you using a different number and pretend they are PayPal and try to cone you again, whatever they asked you to do, do not close the dispute case on PayPal. (They try to offer me repair fees, and continue using the defected phone, REMEMBER if you accept it, and PayPal will not protect you again if your phone detected again within a year.)

- Paypal has PayPal Refunded Returns service, ask Paypal for more info or google it, if they ask you to return the item to the seller.