eBay/Paypal selling help - how not to be scammed
Discussion
Just sold my PSP Go on eBay.
The buyer used Buy it Now, and paid via Paypal straight away.
They are a new member, with only 3 feedback on small items from today.
Does anyone have any tips on how to protect myself from being scammed? Maybe I'm being ultra suspicious, and hopefully it will all be fine.
https://www.paypal-marketing.co.uk/safetyadvice/Se... seems to be simple enough, but Paypal has a reputation for screwing sellers in favour of buyers. It's >£150 also.
The buyer used Buy it Now, and paid via Paypal straight away.
They are a new member, with only 3 feedback on small items from today.
Does anyone have any tips on how to protect myself from being scammed? Maybe I'm being ultra suspicious, and hopefully it will all be fine.
https://www.paypal-marketing.co.uk/safetyadvice/Se... seems to be simple enough, but Paypal has a reputation for screwing sellers in favour of buyers. It's >£150 also.
Take photos of everything, including the serial number. Put identifying marks on the accessories too. Send it by a tracked delivery system with enough insurance to cover the value of the package.
And remember that some people only join ebay if there's something comes up that they really want. My first purchase on there was a 10 month old Caterham...
And remember that some people only join ebay if there's something comes up that they really want. My first purchase on there was a 10 month old Caterham...
I have re-listed my iphone 4, 5 times now. everytime i get sopme w
ker buying it now then never paying or actually sedning an email saying thei account has been hijacked and they have no intention of paying.
I also got a countless amount of e-mails asking to pay by paypal but collect in person. That is a scam as they will pick it up then raise a non delivery dispute. You will have no postage proof, you will lose. Or the paypal account is hijacked but you already gave away the goods.
ker buying it now then never paying or actually sedning an email saying thei account has been hijacked and they have no intention of paying.I also got a countless amount of e-mails asking to pay by paypal but collect in person. That is a scam as they will pick it up then raise a non delivery dispute. You will have no postage proof, you will lose. Or the paypal account is hijacked but you already gave away the goods.
I've been on Ebay for a little under 10 years, use it regularly (buy stuff 3 or 4 times a month and sell one or two items a month) and have never been scammed. You're an idiot if you get scammed - it's easy to spot the potential scammers and deal with them long before the auction ends.
HellDiver said:
I've been on Ebay for a little under 10 years, use it regularly (buy stuff 3 or 4 times a month and sell one or two items a month) and have never been scammed. You're an idiot if you get scammed - it's easy to spot the potential scammers and deal with them long before the auction ends.
Not entirely true if they decide to scam you after receiving an item or they send you an item that is either incomplete or faulty in the first place. Not happened to me but happens to many!isee said:
I have re-listed my iphone 4, 5 times now. everytime i get sopme wker buying it now then never paying or actually sedning an email saying thei account has been hijacked and they have no intention of paying.
I also got a countless amount of e-mails asking to pay by paypal but collect in person. That is a scam as they will pick it up then raise a non delivery dispute. You will have no postage proof, you will lose. Or the paypal account is hijacked but you already gave away the goods.
If you specify 'immediate payment if buy it now used' you'll never have someone buy something without paying!! Come on! 5 times and you're still not using it!ker buying it now then never paying or actually sedning an email saying thei account has been hijacked and they have no intention of paying.I also got a countless amount of e-mails asking to pay by paypal but collect in person. That is a scam as they will pick it up then raise a non delivery dispute. You will have no postage proof, you will lose. Or the paypal account is hijacked but you already gave away the goods.
HellDiver said:
You're an idiot if you get scammed - it's easy to spot the potential scammers and deal with them long before the auction ends.
It's easy to spot a scam when buying but much harder (if not nearly impossible) when selling. Especially since the whole bloody system is so geared in favour of the buyer. However having said that the only time I did get scammed was when I sold a PSN code I didn't need, the buyer had 100% positive feedback, paid me shortly after the auction was over and as soon as I sent him the code by email he claimed the codes didn't work (even though I had tested them before the auction and knew he was lying) and Paypal refunded the money from my account! I emailed and called them countless times, despite the fact that they didn't even ask for my side of the story.
Nothing I could have done as I had no way of proving anything.
ramz said:
HellDiver said:
You're an idiot if you get scammed - it's easy to spot the potential scammers and deal with them long before the auction ends.
It's easy to spot a scam when buying but much harder (if not nearly impossible) when selling. Especially since the whole bloody system is so geared in favour of the buyer. However having said that the only time I did get scammed was when I sold a PSN code I didn't need, the buyer had 100% positive feedback, paid me shortly after the auction was over and as soon as I sent him the code by email he claimed the codes didn't work (even though I had tested them before the auction and knew he was lying) and Paypal refunded the money from my account! I emailed and called them countless times, despite the fact that they didn't even ask for my side of the story.
Nothing I could have done as I had no way of proving anything.
As seller I try to encourage people to pay me direct to my bank or offer to meet half way and pay cash if it's not too far to drive.
I have only had one person who refused to do this and he ended up not paying me by any method and left me neg f/b accusing me of being a scammer.
My 1k+ pos f/b tells a different story.
I saw something last week (quite expensive) from a guy with few seller f/b and no history of selling similar items and his answer of 'an unwanted gift' seemed a bit suspect to my question of why he was selling it.
I suggested I pick it up next week as I will be close to where he lives and he said he could change it to a BIN and I could pay with paypal and then pick it up.
When I pointed out he will be paying nearly £50 in Payscam and FleeceBay fees he said it was ok to pick it up and pay cash next week and he would remove the item!
A seller can get scammed by a buyer when the buyer claims the sent item is a fake when it really was genuine and the seller then gives a refund, the buyer returns the item that turns out to be a fake and is not the item that was sent. Seller loses money and the original genuine item.
I have only had one person who refused to do this and he ended up not paying me by any method and left me neg f/b accusing me of being a scammer.
My 1k+ pos f/b tells a different story.
I saw something last week (quite expensive) from a guy with few seller f/b and no history of selling similar items and his answer of 'an unwanted gift' seemed a bit suspect to my question of why he was selling it.
I suggested I pick it up next week as I will be close to where he lives and he said he could change it to a BIN and I could pay with paypal and then pick it up.
When I pointed out he will be paying nearly £50 in Payscam and FleeceBay fees he said it was ok to pick it up and pay cash next week and he would remove the item!
A seller can get scammed by a buyer when the buyer claims the sent item is a fake when it really was genuine and the seller then gives a refund, the buyer returns the item that turns out to be a fake and is not the item that was sent. Seller loses money and the original genuine item.
isee said:
I also got a countless amount of e-mails asking to pay by paypal but collect in person. That is a scam as they will pick it up then raise a non delivery dispute. You will have no postage proof, you will lose.
That must be a new one first I've heard of it. eBay is really becoming a st hole.i think i have listed 6 items (for sale, i've bought a load more over time) on ebay from 1p wonders to Latest phones and motorbike kit
Every single item i have had hassle with!!
[RANT]I refuse to ever use ebay again ... Scammers and wkers! Anytime i've ever had contact with ebay it's always been to no avail ... From threats (he wanted an extra item that was not listed added free) to scammers trying to get me to send them my paypal details. I mean how stupid are the general population, somebody has got to be falling for this st!![/RANT]
i'm gonna stop i could go on for ages!!
Every single item i have had hassle with!!
[RANT]I refuse to ever use ebay again ... Scammers and w
kers! Anytime i've ever had contact with ebay it's always been to no avail ... From threats (he wanted an extra item that was not listed added free) to scammers trying to get me to send them my paypal details. I mean how stupid are the general population, somebody has got to be falling for this st!![/RANT]i'm gonna stop i could go on for ages!!
dewaltman said:
isee said:
I have re-listed my iphone 4, 5 times now. everytime i get sopme wker buying it now then never paying or actually sedning an email saying thei account has been hijacked and they have no intention of paying.
I also got a countless amount of e-mails asking to pay by paypal but collect in person. That is a scam as they will pick it up then raise a non delivery dispute. You will have no postage proof, you will lose. Or the paypal account is hijacked but you already gave away the goods.
If you specify 'immediate payment if buy it now used' you'll never have someone buy something without paying!! Come on! 5 times and you're still not using it!ker buying it now then never paying or actually sedning an email saying thei account has been hijacked and they have no intention of paying.I also got a countless amount of e-mails asking to pay by paypal but collect in person. That is a scam as they will pick it up then raise a non delivery dispute. You will have no postage proof, you will lose. Or the paypal account is hijacked but you already gave away the goods.
I have even had ebay customer support online who told me there is no such option... And I know there is because I was on the buying end of it before. Thanks
I've been on Gaybay for about 8 years now, and only got scammed once, bizarrely. Thought I'd buy my old man a new camera, point & click jobbie and got sent the box & instructions, but no camera..what was so weird was that the seller had been on ebay for years, loads of positive feedback both as a buyer and seller, and yet was selling these so called "cameras" - about 4 of us got stung. I gave the seller two chances to refund, and then raised a dispute. Ebay were just slightly better than useless and did refund me, and suspended the womans account.
The only thing I have done with more expensive items I've sold is wait for the Paypal to clear, then immediately move the payment in to my current account. That way, its up to Paypal to sort, and I've already got my money paid and out of escrow.
The only thing I have done with more expensive items I've sold is wait for the Paypal to clear, then immediately move the payment in to my current account. That way, its up to Paypal to sort, and I've already got my money paid and out of escrow.
There was a good scam on eBay a couple of years ago where the thumbnail image was of a half naked girl...you click on it, and the page automatically redirects to their own page that is a carbon copy of the login page. You retype your login details...and then it takes you back to the page again.
Now they have your login details!
The big thing to learn from this is don't have your PayPal password the same as your eBay account...otherwise they can get into that as well. Bet there are a good number of people that have the same password!
Now they have your login details!
The big thing to learn from this is don't have your PayPal password the same as your eBay account...otherwise they can get into that as well. Bet there are a good number of people that have the same password!
isee said:
dewaltman said:
isee said:
I have re-listed my iphone 4, 5 times now. everytime i get sopme wker buying it now then never paying or actually sedning an email saying thei account has been hijacked and they have no intention of paying.
I also got a countless amount of e-mails asking to pay by paypal but collect in person. That is a scam as they will pick it up then raise a non delivery dispute. You will have no postage proof, you will lose. Or the paypal account is hijacked but you already gave away the goods.
If you specify 'immediate payment if buy it now used' you'll never have someone buy something without paying!! Come on! 5 times and you're still not using it!ker buying it now then never paying or actually sedning an email saying thei account has been hijacked and they have no intention of paying.I also got a countless amount of e-mails asking to pay by paypal but collect in person. That is a scam as they will pick it up then raise a non delivery dispute. You will have no postage proof, you will lose. Or the paypal account is hijacked but you already gave away the goods.
I have even had ebay customer support online who told me there is no such option... And I know there is because I was on the buying end of it before. Thanks
Seriously. You guys that are having problems need to understand ebay. There are loads of things you can do to stop scammers/problems. As said, in 6 years and over 500 feedback, I've never had a problem selling anything from phones to cars!
Follow these steps and I fail to see how you can be scammed, and even if you were, ebay will back you.
1. When listing something, put 'Buyer Restrictions' on. This means you can stop people bidding who don't meet your criteria (you choose which). Things like stop people who have feedback of less than 5, don't have a credit card on file, don't have a paypal account, those who have unpaid item strikes, etc, etc.
2. As said before. Never take payment by any other means than paypal.
3. Always send Special Delivery, or for items worth <£50, Recorded Delivery. Both these ways will give you protection with the Post Office as well as stopping them saying they didn't receive it.
4. For electrical items. Take note of Serial Numbers (photos are best) before you send it.
5. Be honest with the decription. If there are marks on the item, describe them as accurately as possible and photograph them.
6. Never send abroad, and state this in the listing.
7. For Buy it Nows. ALWAYS tick the box that 'Requires Immediate Payment' This will stop people 'Buying it now' and not paying! Like isee's problem earlier!
8. Just seen Jontyr's post. This goes without saying, but NEVER NEVER NEVER put a Username and Password into ANY website that's been accessed from a Link
If you follow these general rules, you can't go wrong. I really don't get people who moan about ebay, they only have themselves to blame IMO.
If anyone can think of anything I've missed please feel free to add more on!
Edited by dewaltman on Friday 3rd September 10:11
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