Is this a scam? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: blueskull
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 07, 2017, 06:58:10 am
content: I've just sold an item on the bay, and the buyer is a zero transaction Columbia buyer, though registered for quite a while, since 2016.She wants me to ship to Florida, instead of her country, to a friend as a gift.She didn't request me to change address. The Florida address is the address she put into the eBay check out system.Since I haven't received the funds yet, I don't know her PP physical address, but I think seller protection is available as long as I'm shipping to her address she entered into eBay system during checkout, is that correct?Any ideas if I'm being screwed over? It's almost $1k, so I don't want to get screwed over on this. On the other hand, she really gave a bid that's quite nice, besides the second highest bidder is from Russia and physically located there -- shipping to there will cost me quite a fortune.

author: Zucca
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 07, 2017, 07:00:31 am
content: 1) Get the money2) ship it with trackingand you should be safe.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 07, 2017, 07:20:19 am
content: I might add two more suggestions...1. Get a signature on deliveryand2. Wait until Hurricane Irma has passed - and things settle - before sending it.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 07, 2017, 09:25:03 am
content: Read the seller protection policies on both ebay AND Paypal (they are two separate companies) and comply with them. It's no good just shipping the package with tracking, you must obtain a signature upon delivery in order to comply with the seller protection (at least this is the case in Australia. Ebay and Paypal policies will differ in other countries). Regardless of what advice you get from the forum, it's their own policies that matter, not what is posted elsewhere on the internet.As a matter of course, I will refuse to ship anything to an address other than what is listed in the ebay or Paypal profiles. If they want me to all of a sudden ship it elsewhere, toughbikkies, the buyer can take it up with the post office/courier company themselves.If you want to be really thorough, take photographs of the package before you seal it up and another one showing the address on the outside (so that it can't be argued later that it wasn't legible or clear). Insurance probably isn't a bad idea either in the event that the item arrives damaged. For high-value items, I'll pay it even if the buyer hasn't opted for insurance.On future listings, you might want to consider blocking your items from people without a rating (or a negative rating) among other criteria.

author: Electro Detective
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 07, 2017, 10:05:36 am
content: Sounds like a scam, 2 highest bidders from Florida and Russia?If it's sorta legit, take their money, show proof of item being sent, preferably via a courier they prefer/agreelet them know up front it's their puppy once it leaves your possessionIf they are scammers, they'll back off on the deal with some lame excuse

author: RGB255_0_0
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 07, 2017, 10:20:10 am
content: Doesn't matter how well you protect yourself as a seller on eBay, buyers are the only ones with protection. You can lower your risk by not selling to people when your instinct questions the buyer and that's what you're feeling now by posting here.IMO it's too risky to send equipment of that value to someone who wants it reshipped somewhere else who has no feedback.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 07, 2017, 10:24:29 am
content: Quote from: Electro Detective on September 07, 2017, 10:05:36 amUnfortunately that won't fly with ebay/Paypal. It's the seller's responsibility until the buyer signs for it.

author: abraxa
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 07, 2017, 06:33:42 pm
content: Quote from: zucca on September 07, 2017, 07:00:31 amI agree. I have never ever have a seller on ebay ship anything before the money arrived in their account. I don't see why you should be an exception.Of course, if they use a method that provides buyer protection then they can claim not receiving it and demand a refund. Not sure how you can prove that they received it unless you ship with tracking + signature. You could however also do the obvious: contact ebay support and ask them how you can protect yourself against a scammer in this case. Then you at least have a written statement from ebay, so you can point at them in case something goes wrong.

author: ez24
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 07, 2017, 07:27:57 pm
content: Quote from: blueskull on September 07, 2017, 07:19:00 pmCurious - did you try and sell it here first?

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 07, 2017, 08:37:26 pm
content: I'm glad you went with your suspicious and queried it. Good result

author: Lord of nothing
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 09, 2017, 08:04:16 pm
content: Even a German TV Show warn people to not ship anything to an address who is not in the Ebay Buyer Info.

author: Kryoclasm
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 09, 2017, 08:43:29 pm
content: One grand...What's your trust setting at?I really wouldn't wager more than $20, tops, on a Zero.Anyway, glad you didn't get ripped.

author: Electro Detective
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 11, 2017, 10:17:46 am
content: Better still, the scammer now has to sell -something- on the street (again) to eat and pay the internet billtill another prospect appears on Ebay

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 11, 2017, 11:02:10 am
content: Quote from: Electro Detective on September 11, 2017, 10:17:46 amPlease tell me you aren't siding with the scammer? It's hard to tell from just reading text, so I won't make assumptions.

author: Old Don
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 26, 2017, 01:56:02 am
content: Even when the buyer takes delivery they can still demand a refund. All they need to do is claim that the item didn't match the description in the auction or that it didn't function. Most times eBay goes with the buyer's story.I sold brand new laptop keyboards and more than once the buyer claimed it didn't work and asked for a refund. I'd get back their old useless Coke/coffee destroyed keyboard and eBay would take the money out of my account. I solved the majority of the problems by placing the new keyboard S/N on the packing slip and also in the shipping email. Hard to send back the old one when the S/N doesn't match the order paperwork.If shipping expensive items then use UPS or FedEx (slower the better for you) and if a credit card fraud notice pops up from Paypal many days after the money was placed into your account then you might be able to redirect the package back to you. The key is to call UPS/FedEx and tell them credit card fraud and to return to seller. USPS doesn't seem to have the ability to stop delivery. Fraud protection for sellers is limited.Also, Priority Mail is not "lost" until 30 days after shipping and while their normal couple of days works most of the time, you can get bit. Also make sure that the P.O. scans a package into the system when you drop off, else it may not appear in their tracking system until it gets delivered.Insurance from all shipping companies is questionable, trying to get full insured amount when things go wrong depends upon their terms and conditions and sometimes you get X dollars per pound and not insured value. Mostly true with freight shipping, but always read the fine print!!!