You'll have to bear with me because this is my first experience selling anything on eBay (a little late, I know, but I've always avoided it before), and I've heard loads of horror stories about people being scammed out of hundreds of pounds. Anyway, I put one of my camera lenses up for sale yesterday, as an auction with a buy it now price. It sold today for the buy it now price, but the buyer has 0 feedback and only signed up to eBay today. That seems a little odd to me, but I don't know it might be quite common. The guy then sends me a question asking if "the item is in good working condition", despite me saying in the advert that it was in mint condition. He hasn't paid yet and I haven't responded to his e-mail. Should I be worried about this, or am I just being paranoid? If he does turn out to be a scammer, how likely would the chances be that I would get my money/lens back? Is there anything I could do to protect myself?
You should be ok if you are using paypal...it is weird, but everyone starts with the first buy. I sold a car radio/satnav for £300 and the winner paid by e-check...it took around 7 days to clear due to weekends, etc. Hitting buy it now, or even bidding is a contract between you and the bidder. For future reference, it might be worth while putting a disclaimer on an auction that people with less than say 10 feedback, either contact you first or arent welcome to bid.
I got screwed over with paypal just over a year ago. I sold a HTC phone to a "newbie" and had positive feedback left for it. Then three weeks later he put in a paypal claim saying that he never recieved it. I supplied paypal with the royal mail special delivery tracking number that was signed for (albeit by a different surname to who I posted it to) yet paypal found in favour of the conman and I lost £300. I am still in the process of taking legal action against paypal however paypal still claim that as the guy i sent it too was not a verified member I am gubbed.
This is what I'm worried about, if the guy opens up a dispute it seems they will almost certainly side with him, even though I have proof it was delivered.
Well it seems the buyer is now no longer a registered eBay user, so I would not be able to leave feedback if I did end up sending the item, but am still obliged to send it if he does pay up
The buyer can immediately open a dispute, stating he never received the item. Often, paypal decides in favour of the buyer. You must never send anything until the money is in your bank account. Do not leave it in your paypal account. The 'good working order' line is often peddled by these scammers. It seems obvious that he is one. I would simply refund the money if he does pay. You will not be punished.
Because even if I take the money out of my Paypal account, if the buyer opens up a dispute saying the item never arrived or it was damaged, then they will just issue a charge to the card linked with my Paypal account. I think I have a right to be slightly concerned given that there is next to no protection for sellers on ebay. I just don't understand why someone would sign up for an ebay account, buy a high priced item, them remove their account from ebay immediately afterwards. I'm not stupid, I can see that something strange is going on here, and it doesn't inspire me with confidence that the buyer has some weird Nigerian name... OK thanks, I think I'll probably just do that.
Tips for the future: Buy it now, make it so they have to pay instantly with paypal, that way it wont actually end the auction until its payed for. Block buyers from out of the Uk Block buyers with low feedback Thats accessible in your options somewhere(Y)
This week has also been the first time I have ventured into selling on eBay. I have to side with smc8788's concerns, all the policies seem to be biased on the buyer. I've been offered sums of money but stuck to my guns and leave it to the mercy of the auction. A few times new users with 0 feedback have bidded but they have been overtaken by what seems like genuine bidders. When setting buyer restrictions on my item I could only see the facility to restrict bid on users who have negative votes which didnt seem right to me, the limit should be up to you. There is some good advice on this thread. I was originally planning on keeping the money I recieve from my sale into paypal for an item I am planning on buying from eBay, but now I think I will transfer it into my bank account regardless.
It works both ways there was a guy that bought a alienware laptop for around £3000 of someone in the USA. When it arrived he signed for it took in doors opened and found a board game called risk. He emailed the seller saying WTF and got a answer "Life is a risk" paypal refused to do anything as he had signed for it. Apparently if had signed as unchecked he might had stood a chance.
I sign everything that gets delivered to me as unchecked! Ebay can be a strange place, just last week i sold a lathe, cancelled the auction after the buyer and i had agreed a price and the funds were in my paypal account. But nothing i sell gets shipped until the money is in my actual bank account though. I never sell to anybody with less than 10 feedback (100%) yes they may be trustworthy but im not taking the risk. If you cover yourself as a seller and dont assume ebay will sort it you should be ok imo.
paypal offers no security at all. Several time's I've tried to claim through paypal...all that usually happens is the other person stops being a 'member' and they are unable to act.
he didnt delete it, ebay deleted it, it was a scam and you should get an email from ebay soon telling you not to send it. i had the same thing. you need to delve deeper into your options when creating the listing to prevent certian people from bidding.
Sorry to bring this up again but the guy never paid so I opened a dispute and got my listing feedback. I'm trying to re-list the item but I can't seem to find an option to limit buyers with zero or low feedback, I can only limit people with negative feedback or unpaid item strikes/breach of policy reports. Is there any way I can do this?
There are no options to limit 0 or low feedback members from bidding (as everyone has to start somewhere) but you could keep an eye on your bidders and manually cancel there bids if you dont trust them. I would tick the option to only sell to members with linked paypal accounts as the scammers tend not to have this.
