Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/02/2025

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Supplier on Swappa has great reviews and is a trusted and quality assured compliant supplier which also means the buyer pays extra to ensure swappa and the sourcer does their due diligence. There is something weird going on with these metrics and the staff is not taking it seriously, additionally the supplier appears to be lying about not knowing the basics of tech.. for a company in business for 9+ years, roughly 6k sales, roughly 1.2k reviews.. and to currently have their first bad reviews mirroring my own and latest going back to 2024. out of a decade. i believe there is an unfair bias here among the staff and suppliers, they additionally do not want to refund me the cost of quality ass. shipping and refund the $50ish dollar difference for me to return to samsung. They refused to overnight me any replacement, meaning it wasnt a swap. everything was as listed cosmetically. Not sure if its data scraping or what, but I would like a refund for the whole device upon receipt of me handing the phone into samsung. Otherwise, I would request they pay for a professional to ensure the issue that caused this to occur since the seller claims to not know. I do not feel comfortable simply giving the phone back without proper protocol and ultimately, if they had simply overnighted me an appropriate replacement i might not have begun researching this item. Glad I did though, needs investigated.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 04/14/2025

  ******

  We’re sorry to hear about the trouble related to this purchase. As another staff member noted on the sale page, it looks like a mistake was made by the seller when this sale was fulfilled. This issue was first reported to Swappa on the evening on April 1, 2025, and the seller responded the next day and apologized for the issue and offered a return and full refund – as they should have. 

  The seller was following Swappa rules (and PayPal rules) in getting the return underway, which requires the device to be returned before a refund can be issued. You were upset they would not issue a refund immediately, and instead, you opted to file a PayPal dispute to further escalate the issue. 
  

  Once a PayPal dispute has been opened, the PayPal dispute team takes over the process and sets the overall timeline for the dispute (and eventual resolution). At this time, we recommend you continue working with the PayPal support team until they finalize the dispute. 
  

  Thanks!
  

  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/15/2025

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

  I understand your interpretation and your deflection tactics, as mentioned by the metrics you have confirmed- the only bad reviews are very recent, and only dating back to 2024 latest. I originally stated either the company is either under new leadership from what i can tell or otherwise, reviews are being deleted to cover this scam and scheme. Your employee specifically advised the seller to “blacklist” the device regardless of whether I return it or not. Your claims of this business being trustworthy is automatically invalidated by direct explicit omission VIA this seller Supplytronics LLC, to Paypal who QUOTED the seller to me just yesterday about my review being removed from the website for “violating guidelines”, however it has only been removed after I have spoken out about this and taken logical steps to protect MYSELF, other consumers, and to protect the security of anyone’s private data that COULD be compromised while I have reasonable belief for this data scraping breach to be a tangible threat once the device is returned without any proper inspection or intervention by an expert 3rd party hired and paid by the seller, who can perform the inspection locally with me in person to ensure the quality and absence of bias per either party, or if the phone truly is “useless” to the manufacturer, it would surely be useless to someone who cannot unlock or resell the item, so there should not be any issue with refunding me after documentation of a valid surrendering of this device directly to the manufacturer, or Verizon since it is already seen as a “bricked” device and a loss of profit due to “human error” among supposed surplus “quality” checks. There is an undeniable pattern that needs to be addressed and one of the many options I have provided as the consumer ***who was given the wrong device, that wasn’t quality checked etc and who is STILL out by just under $500*** was the option for the seller to overnight ship me the proper device to avoid any extended risk of this happening a second time, to pay the trade in value difference so I could immediately get a much cheaper but functional phone with my education discount at motorolla during their anniversary sale (trade in dueing the sale plus education discount plus preferred employer coupon discount was roughly $300, meaning refund of roughly $200 to remedy the difference) or to simply pay for a professional here in my general area locally to examine the device to diagnose what was wrong with it/to verify it is safe to return and data wiped prior to me returning the device for a full refund with a clear conscience and feeling secure with my choice in regard to data scraping concerns and other ethical concerns I have mentioned a surplus of times; specifically because the seller originally claimed ignorance for what occured with the phone, before later deciding to blame an old employee etc but the device was last factory reset mid-late Feb. (despite being an older model and quality checked at least “” 2x) and purchased by myself March 28 makes just as little sense as the CLEAR metrics on the website that are simply impossible for a decade or more of selling. To change the excuse/story like this and to supposedly knowingly resell a device checked by alleged unskilled failed employee WITHOUT reviewing the device quality after supposedly KNOWING someone you had to get rid of for their lack of skill makes 0 sense, it really sounds like rubbish on rubbish. Of course, if this HAD been the reality- then the additional quality check I paid for by Swappa should have caught at least ONE incorrectly notated claim on the device; had it actually ever been done. Not to mention, people can change. Businesses can change. So sure, lets say this business has been top tier for about a decade.. what is the definitive explanation proving that absolutely nothing has changed? Even if we view this in YOUR favor, the negative reviews go back LATEST late 2024- fairly recent. If reviews have not been tampered with or manipulated, there is still a clear indicator that something has changed very recently and it is not a positive if alllll reviews prior to late 2024 were positive. MAKES. NO. SENSE. An older model phone with a Verizon carrier lock would have appeared latest 60-90 days after a payment delinquency and would have been caught by any quality check. Which was not only “verified” by the seller with the IMEI numerous times, but I will remind you again about the additional fee paid by me for the shipping and supplemental quality check by Swappa LLC themselves (that did not happen obviously, despite the add on fee for this service). There is 0 way the phone was quality checked or notarized with meaningful, accurate intentions. The phine did not meet any of the criteria advertised- except for the model, the IMEI, the storage and the color being accurate. Well, at least to the naked eye and by extremely limited usage by an average consumer such as myself. I haven’t touched an Android in YEARS, and this is not my area of study, nor my area of profession. If anything, that means I was at a slight disadvantage comparatively to other consumers- let alone multiple “qualified” experts who make their living wages in the area of refurbishing and reselling tech. Somehow a novice veteran Apple user supposedly completed a more accurate quality check “” on the bare minimum device standards (which were also confirmed to be accurate by Swappa staff **** ** so yes, this Apple user correctly located all quality control failures with confirmation by SWAPPA that the device was not as advertised).

  For any business with a decade plus and suspiciously weighted review averages, and for a “third party not a middle man no nonsense no jerks no scams” platform ensuring quality check with an additional fee and supposedly being reputable and trustworthy- is flat out bad practice, bad business and massive red flags. I do not believe that any or all of these details would somehow be “overlooked” or “human error”. With a decade plus selling (roughly 7k items on your website, not to mention other retailers they sell on) and glowing reviews (over 1k) it simply is not realistic for there to be the lack of honest neutral/negative reviews for consumers to gauge their risk and reward ratios and decide on the gamble that is presently dressed as a no brainer deal, with overwhelming positive feedback.

  It is also concerningly suspicious that the seller has over 1k items listed for sale but only roughly 7k sales for the entire lifetime of their business on your page. Pairing this with the clear chargeback/Paypal/Ecommerce “an item showed up but authenticity unable to be determined” loopholes being exploited against reasonable compromises with a client when an order doesnt go as planned and doing everything in their power to seemingly prevent this device and these practices from being investigated- AND AGAIN- admitting to deleting my review after I escalated this issue due to my concerns and not prior, nor giving me any notice to edit or change the review to meet the unnamed “guidelines” it supposedly violated but was not ever addressed during the time of verbal dispute with the seller and your aggro employee **** ** who instructed the seller to blacklist the device if I don’t return it regardless of refund status, although claiming moments before that having the phone examined or returned to the manufacturer is useless because they supposedly wouldn't be able to do anything with it- contradictions, seemingly lie after lie, attempts to force my hand, unethical and what appears to be malicious business practices- AND the many other  details that are all available upon request to whomever wants to see the transcripts/screen captures themselves,

  All of these reasons are why I REJECT this response from the business of Swappa LLC.

  I believe without a doubt that who reviews all transcripts/communications  will understand without a doubt my concerns, without a resolution that ensures my saftey and the saftey of others who may receive this device after me, I am not going to simply bend or break under the excessive pressure or negativity being thrown at me. I will never enable scammers. From where I stand, this entire transaction is screaming scam and cover up. In conclusion, saftey is my number one concern as is authenticity and ethical compliance. As always, I am willing to compromise so any disputes can be laid to rest. to my understanding, the right way of handling this is by NO MEANS handing this device back and ignoring all of the red flags. Compromise realistically and we can go from there, it will be seen by all who read this thread and it will reflect the reality of your business and it’s business practices. Otherwise, please understand that we are both in for a long, tedious journey over $498.66 which certainly isnt anything to you Miss Cooper- but like many average workers and many average college students, $498.66 is a lifeline, which is why I am choosing to handle this the RIGHT way- not the “easy” way. I do not want this happening to anyone else.
  

  I hope you do not mind my repetition and leading in the statement above. Given the nature of your last response, I chose to connect the dots and revisit the most significant sources which lead to me taking the steps that brought us here today. I sensed deflection, but I acknowledge it may have been confusion I misread. Please let me know if there are any details that are unclear; I will reference supporting documents from the Paypal dispute.

  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ****

  

  Business Response

  Date: 04/17/2025

  ****** 

  The seller was attempting to get this resolved for your on Swappa, but you did not want to send the device back before you were refunded. With any return on Swappa, the buyer must ship the device back, and once the seller receives it, they process the refund. 

  However, you wanted a refund first, before returning the device, and then opted to further escalate the issue with a PayPal dispute. PayPal support will not allow Swappa staff to participate directly in the dispute, so now that the dispute has been opened, the PayPal support team will be guiding the return process. If there is an issue with how the PayPal support team is managing the dispute, please follow up with payPal support.

  Thanks!

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/12/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We have been seeking to return an item sold through Swappa for 60 days and the seller agreed to accept a return (without time limitation) and to issue a prepaid label. The seller has not done so. Swappa has been made aware but has not followed through with a refund, or with good communication, or with use of leverage to get their customer to issue a refund. I have been an enthusiastic advocate for Swappa for MANY years. If I was the owner I would want to know that my staff is poisoning the well for my business by being unresponsive and unhelpful. I am from an older generation who agrees that email may be "more efficient" but sometimes a phone call is necessary to take care of business. That sentiment seems to be lost on some in a younger generation who place a priority on serving their desire to not talk on the phone. As an elder here, I believe that inflexibility on that matter is shortsighted and destructive to business relationships that otherwise could be salvaged. Speaking as an older adult and business owner, I think my generation has some wisdom to share here that younger folks would be well advised to receive. Swappa talks about being a safe place to do business. Today is the moment of truth. There is a problem. It affects your company's reputation and we would like to hear from someone who believes that upholding the company's reputation is an important responsibility. I am accustomed to having to bear the burden of other people not fulfilling their adult responsibilities. We want to be able to say there are other adults in the room. Please convince us.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 04/02/2025

  *****
  
  We're sorry to hear about the ongoing trouble related to this purchase. While the seller was initially attempting to get the issue resolved for you without the need for a return, the communication coming from the seller was poor at best, which is unacceptable on Swappa. 
  
  This particular seller has been on Swappa for two years so far, has had 750+ sales, and until recently, had a near-perfect 5-star rating. Unfortunately, that cannot be said any longer, as the seller has had several issues lately. As a result, the sellers' account has been placed on hold (which is to say they are unable to buy or sell; they can only address issues with existing sales).
  
  Having reviewed the sale page, the seller eventually provided a return shipping label on March 12, 2025, but there has been no follow-up communication since, so it is unclear if you have sent the device back yet. Please follow up on the sale page to update the status in terms of whether device has been returned (and please make sure to use the "Swappa I need help" option to alert our support team when the comment is left): *********************************
  
  Thanks!

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/07/2025

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Swappa has consistently advertised prices on their front pages that are lower than the actual prices of products available for sale. I have repeatedly reached out to Swappa to ask them to fix their pages, so that they stop advertising products at low prices that do not actually exist, but they have not changed anything despite multiple attempts and requests by me to do so. For example, if you visit **************************, you will see the top two results are for MacBook Pros "Starting at $99" and MacBook Airs "Starting at $103." But when you click those options, you are taken to another list of products, not a single one of which is priced as low as the prices Swappa claims these products are "starting at." This is not a difficult request—simply a request that prices not be advertised as lower than what they actually are. Updating the site to reflect the current lowest price for these respective categories would not be a burdensome or difficult task—or for Swappa to simply manually update these prices every so often. It does not seem that they do so (I emailed them most recent in December 2024 and I note the same false prices then as what is listed today, March 7, 2024).

  

  Business Response

  Date: 04/02/2025

  ******
  
  This complaint has been forwarded to our dev team for further review, and if you come across any additional examples, please share them with our main support team via our help desk: ***********************
  
  To reference one example you provided in December: 
  
  This laptop landing page (**************************) currently notes the “starting at” price of many different laptops. At present, the MacBook Pro shows a starting price of $89 and leads to a landing page for various MacBook Pro models, which is found here: *******************************************
  
  However, it is important to note that not all MacBook Pro model years are on display on that page. This initial page shows newer models, but there are numerous other models available via the “All Apple Laptops” link toward the bottom, which reflects the full MacBook line and shows the MacBook Pro that starts at $88: **************************************************
  
  This is not done in any way to be deceptive, and those advertised starting prices are accurate based on current listings on Swappa. But again, this BBB complaint, your previous support ticket from December, and this reply have been forwarded to our dev team for further review and to see if this can be made clearer. 
  
  Thanks!

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/02/2025

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

  I appreciate Swappa and wasn't sure how else to raise this concern, so thanks for looking into this.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** *******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/08/2025

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I emailed *************** and got no response. Why can't I log in to my account even with the PayPal method?

  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/11/2025

  The account was flagged by our automated systems and suspended due to possible connections to other previously banned accounts. This decision was not made lightly or without careful consideration. We understand this is frustrating, and if you wish to appeal this decision, you can do so here: ******************************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/14/2025

  As I noted in my previous reply here: 

  At that time there are two possible outcomes:

  1. Your account ban will remain
  2. Your account ban will be revered. If this is the outcome, our support team will be in contact via email.

  If the ban remains in place, there will be no further communication. 

  However, to extend further here, your account is going to remain banned due to the connections to several previously banned Swappa accounts. 

  Please note that any future accounts will also be banned if/when discovered. Given the ban, and the reasons that lead to the ban, this will be the final reply on this matter.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/18/2025

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  As I clearly said since you can't read; you gave two contradicting messages to me. You lied to me and of course you won't sign your name off at the end of your message because you're a coward. You don't dictate what is the final reply---I will!
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** *******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/27/2025

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  There has been no resolution but I was told disturbing info when in contact with UPS today. I was told that while **** *, a seller with Swappa.com still has my money in the amount of $534.52 for the empty UPS package I received instead of the iPhone 14 Pro that UPS while I was speaking with their claims department, UPS informed me they reimbursed **** * $534.52. So, this by you all should be understood to mean that my bank is still lacking the $534.52 USD that **** not only received my money but also the money from UPS in the amount of $534.52 he was supposed to arrange having the money sent to reimburse me. Indicating that **** now has now a total of $1,069.04 in the positive while I'm left wrongly according to UPS with -534.52 (negative). I was told by UPS the Case# ************ contains the details mentioned. They informed me they sent the 534.52 on 12/04/24. This must be resolved immediately by reimbursement as is the proper resolution via Swappa but I'm sent in endless loops from swappa to paypal to chase to ups to **** back to paypal, back to chase bank just endless circles. Today PayPal told me I should also file a criminal complaint with the FBI against them and gave the contact info. Apparently no one wants to rectify the situation.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/28/2025

  **** ****
  We’re sorry to see this issue being dragged out by the seller. As we mentioned in our communication on the Swappa sale page – if UPS has refunded the seller – the seller now needs to issue your refund in order to keep their Swappa account in good standing. 
  
  Please keep in mind, that Swappa does not hold the funds, which means the seller needs to be involved, and they need to issue the refund. 
  
  As a buyer, your direct buyer protections are attached to the payment you made, which is sent through PayPal directly to the seller. If the PayPal support team closed the dispute in favor of the seller – they missed the mark given you never received the item.
  
  You mentioned to the Swappa support team that PayPal would not re-open the dispute on an appeal. Given that, and in a case where the seller does not issue a refund (as we instructed them to do on the sale page), you should proceed with the steps recommended by the PayPal support team to further escalate this claim against the seller. 
  
  The Swappa support team will continue to monitor the sale page and provide guidance as necessary, but unfortunately, we cannot forcefully pull the funds from the seller's PayPal account for an immediate resolution.
  
  Thanks!

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/22/2025

  Type:Delivery Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I asked to cancel my order before UPS showed that it was even received. The seller is stating he already shipped it, but was able to retrieve the package because he owns the UPS store. Seller is refusing to provide a refund for the order despite saying he did took back the package and is trying to claim that it's fraudulent because I asked him to cancel before UPS even showed that he provided the package to them. UPS still shows that it was never received, the seller is holding my funds, and support disabled my account. My last attempt at purchasing ended up being fraudulent from the seller, they listed a reported stolen phone, and then shipped an empty envelope which is why I placed a s3n. The seller was not responsive from the beginning and that certainly shaped my experiences with Swappa. After thinking about the experience, I asked to cancel the order and sever ties with Swappa because they somehow not only allowed a stolen phone to pass their checks (at&t verified the phone was reported to them as stolen per the **** the seller provided), the phone didn't even arrive. I received an empty envelope that the phone wouldn't have even fit in. Can you actually let me know what train of thought you could possibly have thinking I'm trying to scam this seller by backing out after an entirely scam listing, that somehow you allowed a with a blacklisted ****? Need I remind you the prior seller was literally still unresponsive to this day. Then after trying to find a replacement, I decide dealing with this website is not worth it and ask to cancel the order due to no tracking provided. The seller than calls me a scammer citing he actually shipped it when he didn't, them claims he somehow has the magic ability to erase UPS records of it ever being passed to them, and then banning my account? How does that make any sense? Then all the sudden the tracking number shows it was created AFTER all of this happened? Your support is incompetent.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/28/2025

  ******
  
  You made four purchases on Swappa. There was an issue with the seller on the first purchase, and the sale was canceled and you were refunded. 
  
  Your second, third, and fourth purchases were all made, and then canceled by you. To note, Swappa considers all sales binding, and sellers are not obligated to refund due to a decision change. That said, the sellers honored your cancelation requests and you were refunded for the three purchases. 
  
  Given the multiple cancelation requests over such a short time (Jan 16 - Jan 22), your Swappa account has been permanently closed. 
  
  Thanks!

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/28/2025

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because you have an unjust reason to suspend my account.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** *****

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/29/2025

  As noted in our previous reply, given the multiple cancelation requests over such a short time (Jan 16 - Jan 22), your Swappa account has been permanently closed.  If you wish to appeal this decision you can do so here: ******************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/21/2025

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I purchased phones on swappa from Cellular Resource on 2 occasions. Swappa claims they don't sell stolen or financed phones but they let Cellular Resource sell phones that were financed. I wasn't aware of this until attempting to register on swappa recently. I lost money on a iphone se and iphone 11 since still financed from previous seller. The company agreed to let me return iphone 11 for replacement. I attempted to sell the replacement on swappa and it also came up as financed. I let both swappa and Cellular Resource aware. Cellular Resource stated would not assist. I have sent numerous emails to swappa, no response. I checked I needed help on swappa sale page and no response. I have purchased 8 phones from swappa, I will hesitate before doing again as they don't enforce there standards and let business sellers sell stolen or financed phones. Why have policies if don't enforce. They appear to let businesses sell broken, stolen or financed phones , according to Bbb ratings.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/28/2025

  Kimberly, 
  
  We’re sorry to hear about the trouble related to these purchases. Devices listed on Swappa must meet certain criteria requirements, and our support team reviews listings before they are approved to ensure these requirements are met. Unfortunately, when it comes to device financing – we have to rely on the information being provided by the wireless carrier at that time. While less common, the carrier can change the status down the line as they get new information, which is what happened here. In general, sellers are expected to address and resolve issues, but resolutions become more difficult when the purchases date back to August 2021 and April 2022, and the issue is not reported until 2025.
  
  Thanks!

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/15/2025

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have had two transactions with enterprise sellers on the platform in the last month. Both were bad, the second rises to the level of fraud. I was shipped a defective device advertised as "mint", and the seller is now claiming it was somehow damaged in my care, despite showing no evidence the device was ever functional before sale. Swappa's extremely lenient requirements for businesses operating on their platform not only allow but facilitate this, taking money out of the pockets of consumers and funneling it to "enterprise" sellers, then distances itself when there's a problem. The only resolution Swappa ever offers is "dispute it with PayPal", as though they are disinterested and not at all culpable for enabling these scammers on their platform.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/28/2025

  *****
  
  We’re sorry to hear about the trouble with the Galaxy Z Fold6 you purchased. It looks like the device arrived with a screen issue, and the seller quickly agreed to accept a return. Unfortunately, that is where the issue became a bit more complicated because the seller reported the device was returned with two scuffs. While Swappa staff has been monitoring the sale page and providing guidance as needed, we have not handled the device so our support team simply cannot say when the scuffs appeared.

  The seller you purchased from has been on Swappa for roughly 10 years and has sold 1285 devices and has a 5-star rating. Given the sellers history, we're certain a resolution can be reached. We encourage you to continue working with the seller, and the Swappa support team will continue to monitor the sale page until this has been fully resolved.

  Thanks!

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/14/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  ****** *********** Fraudulent sale through Swappa using a fake delivery confirmation (payment through PayPal). • Ordered Apple iPad from swappa.com on August 28 • Paid using Paypal: $304.91 • Order page: ********************************* • Received shipping info on September 1st o Merchant: ***** ******************************) o Ship to address: ** ********* ***, Glendale, MO 63122, United States • Tracking number: ************************** • Tracking said it was delivered September 3rd. (tracking does not show actual address) • Upon delivery confirmation, Paypal released payment to seller • However, nothing was delivered at ** ********* **. • I filed a claim with PayPal on Sept. 5th because I had not received the item o Claim was denied because they had a delivery confirmation • Visited Kirkwood post office on morning of September 6. o They found that a package with that tracking number was delivered to: **** ***** ***** ** **** St Louis, MO 63122 o Post office e verified that indeed a package was delivered at 2*** ***** ***** ** ***** He also verified that a single person lives at that address and that they did receive a package. The package was not my order (iPad). He did not tell me what it was. • I asked the manager to provide that information to me in writing so I can dispute the payment to Paypal, but he also said he could not give me that info. I asked if there was anything he could do to help me, he asked for my phone number, he said he would call someone and get back to me within an hour. He never got back to me. • I have communicated with Swappa multiple times. They said the seller was removed from Swappa for fraud. They suggested I appeal to Paypal or credit card company, which I did, but claim is denied. Swappa claims they cannot force or provide a refund and take no responsibility at all for fraudulent transactions on their site.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/26/2024

  *******
  
  Sorry to hear about the trouble due to this purchase. While issues like this are very rare – this is one of the key reasons why we use PayPal – due to the extensive buyer protections they offer. 
  
  As you noted, the seller was removed from Swappa due to fraudulent activity, which is why our support team recommended you open a PayPal dispute. Unfortunately, it sounds like PayPal has dropped the ball on this dispute. 
  
  If you have information from a USPS investigation that confirms the item was shipped to another address – PayPal needs to get this resolved in your favor. Please continue following up with PayPal support, provide them with all the information you received from the UPS investigation – and continue to escalate with PayPal management as needed. 
  
  Thanks!

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/27/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response.

  Thank you for facilitating this complaint. I appreciate Swappa’s acknowledgment that the seller was removed from their platform for fraudulent activity. However, I find their response inadequate, deflective, leaving me without meaningful recourse, and indicative of a broader failure to protect buyers who trust their marketplace.
  

  Key Issues with Swappa’s Response:
  
  Deflection of Responsibility:
  While Swappa may rely on PayPal for buyer protection, they cannot absolve themselves of responsibility for enabling a fraudulent transaction. Swappa facilitated the sale, allowed the seller to operate on their platform, and earned fees from the transaction. Simply pointing buyers to PayPal when fraud occurs fails to address their role in ensuring a safe marketplace.
  
  Inadequate Buyer Protections:
  Swappa’s Terms of Use may shield them from legal liability, but this does not absolve them of ethical responsibility to safeguard users from fraud. By acknowledging that the seller engaged in fraudulent activity and was removed, Swappa implicitly admits the system failed to protect me as a buyer.
  
  Lack of Support in Resolving the Issue:
  Swappa suggests I escalate the matter with PayPal and provide USPS documentation proving misdelivery.  PayPal denied my claim because they rely solely on tracking information, which the fraudulent seller manipulated.  This advice is impractical since USPS could not provide such documentation to the recipient due to privacy rules.  Furthermore, Swappa has not offered to assist in obtaining this evidence or to advocate for my case with PayPal, leaving me with no viable path to recover my funds. I visited the post office on more time today (12/27/2024), and they were unable to even find the tracking number (92001903470167300071987745) in their system, further proof of the underlying fraud.
  
  Proposed Resolution:
  
  Swappa should take greater accountability for fraudulent transactions facilitated on their platform. At a minimum, I request that Swappa:
  
  - Actively intervene with PayPal to ensure this case is resolved, given their acknowledgment of the seller’s fraudulent activity.
  - Assist in obtaining the necessary documentation from USPS to confirm the misdelivery.
  - Consider issuing a refund directly, as they knowingly allowed a fraudulent seller to operate on their platform.
  
  I trusted Swappa as a marketplace for reliable transactions. Their lack of accountability in this situation has left me with no recourse for recovering my lost funds, which I believe is unacceptable.
  
  Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to Swappa providing a meaningful resolution.

  Sincerely,
  
  George Souroullas

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/06/2025

  *******

  Unfortunately, once a PayPal dispute is opened, that is managed by the PayPal support team, and they do not allow Swappa to interact directly in the dispute. In this case, it sounds like PayPal incorrectly sided with the seller, which means we can only recommend that you continue pushing PayPal to get the dispute reopened. If there is information that we can provide to help with your claim to PayPal, please reach out to our support team: *********************** 
  

  Thanks!

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/29/2024

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I've never had a Swappa account before in my life. I've created one a few days ago, started creating a listing I haven't finished, tried to login a few days later to complete it, only to find out my account was disabled. Upon contacting support, apparently due to "violations of our terms, policies, or guidelines". This makes no sense whatsoever and support refuses to elaborate.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/04/2024

  Hello,
  
  We're sorry for any inconvenience this has caused and wish this could have worked out differently. If you wish to appeal this decision you can do so here: ******************************
  
  Thanks!

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/13/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: No further response from the business, despite contacting both their support and appeal teams several times
  
  Sincerely,
  
  * ********

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/26/2024

  Again, we're sorry for any inconvenience this has caused and wish this could have worked out differently. If you wish to appeal this decision you can do so here: ******************************

  Once an appeal is filed, the ban can be reversed or remain in place. 

  * If the ban is reversed, your account will be reactivated and you will be informed via email.

  * If the ban remains in place, no further communication will be sent.