Will I get scammed on ebay?
Discussion
I want to sell a couple of things on ebay, an older VR headset and a graphics card, the VR headset would probably make £100+ and the GPU £500+ but I have read of all sorts of horror stories where the seller is scammed by people either claiming it didn't turn up of swapping it for their faulty one and returning that instead or other similar scams.
What are the chances if it happening to me, if its more than about 5% then I don't think I can even be bothered going in the loft for them, let alone traipsing down to the post office with them.
What are the chances if it happening to me, if its more than about 5% then I don't think I can even be bothered going in the loft for them, let alone traipsing down to the post office with them.
eBay are criminal in how they side with the buyers. If someone returns something it's very easy to substitute a paperback book of similar weight to the headphones.
Possibly all you can do is to restrict the sale:
- no overseas buyers
- no-one with feedback of less than 10
and see if you can stop recently registered buyers from bidding.
I would mark the items with an ultraviolet pen and take a photo of it shining under a UV light.
Other than that there's not a lot you can do unless you turn to other platforms with buyers collecting, but there will be advantages and disadvantages with whatever you choose.
Possibly all you can do is to restrict the sale:
- no overseas buyers
- no-one with feedback of less than 10
and see if you can stop recently registered buyers from bidding.
I would mark the items with an ultraviolet pen and take a photo of it shining under a UV light.
Other than that there's not a lot you can do unless you turn to other platforms with buyers collecting, but there will be advantages and disadvantages with whatever you choose.
I've sold hundreds of things on ebay, ranging from a few pounds to a few hundred, and never yet been scammed.
Most you can do is look at the profile of the buyer, if established, with 100% feedback record then you should be fine. You'll also get an idea of someone from any message.
Insure the delivery of anything valuable and photograph everything. If you're really concerned then do collection only.
Most you can do is look at the profile of the buyer, if established, with 100% feedback record then you should be fine. You'll also get an idea of someone from any message.
Insure the delivery of anything valuable and photograph everything. If you're really concerned then do collection only.
vikingaero said:
Possibly all you can do is to restrict the sale:
- no overseas buyers
- no-one with feedback of less than 10
Overseas buyers are now a safer bet. If you use eBay GSP the buyer can't say they didn't receive the goods, and if they do eBay stand the loss. (assuming your goods arrived OK at the eBay UK depot)- no overseas buyers
- no-one with feedback of less than 10
Ebay is fundamentally a trust based system & very good for selling stuff that you don't really care about. The truth is the vast majority of people are decent, and scammers are relatively few....but of course statistics are only OK if you are not one!
Narcisus said:
I now only sell expensive items cash on collection only on eBay. No way that can go wrong.
Try AVforums classifieds sold a few electronic items on there recently.
I only sell anything cash on collection. Try AVforums classifieds sold a few electronic items on there recently.
The hassle of Ebay siding with rogue buyers just isn't worth it these days.
I only sell a few surplus bits every now and then and until recently no problems at all with ebay.... but it seems anything modern and electrical brings them crawling out of the woodwork...a slightly dated mobile phone..... not as described apparently - agreed a return and hey presto numbers don't match on the badly damaged returned item.... I'd taken a video showing in detail the condition of mine and all it's numbers as I packed it - and did the same for unpacking and inspecting what was sent back - after a bit of ballache and immediately raising with ebay I got to keep the money paid...so just be preemptively suspicious and take precautions and you should be ok.....
There are scammers on eBay with hundred of positive feedback. I would prefer face to face cash sales over eBay. Just lower your asking price by the fees and shipping you would have paid. And go from there.
And eBay always sides with the buyer. They can receive it and say you sent a fake or damaged item. They usually do this from overseas as return costs mount.
Face to face local deals with cash is much better.
And eBay always sides with the buyer. They can receive it and say you sent a fake or damaged item. They usually do this from overseas as return costs mount.
Face to face local deals with cash is much better.
GilletteFan said:
There are scammers on eBay with hundred of positive feedback. I would prefer face to face cash sales over eBay. Just lower your asking price by the fees and shipping you would have paid. And go from there.
And eBay always sides with the buyer. They can receive it and say you sent a fake or damaged item. They usually do this from overseas as return costs mount.
Face to face local deals with cash is much better.
I was looking to buy some Ventro Pro roller skates for my daughter from an ebay seller who had them advertised for £50, collection from Bromley, Kent, as soon as I messaged him, the price doubled after "interest from another buyer who can collect it today". Again with 100% good feedback.And eBay always sides with the buyer. They can receive it and say you sent a fake or damaged item. They usually do this from overseas as return costs mount.
Face to face local deals with cash is much better.
Always message them first before parting with any cash, it's a nightmare getting refunds from PayPal without angry calls to their customer service centre in broken English
CourtAgain said:
I was looking to buy some Ventro Pro roller skates for my daughter from an ebay seller who had them advertised for £50, collection from Bromley, Kent, as soon as I messaged him, the price doubled after "interest from another buyer who can collect it today". Again with 100% good feedback.
Always message them first before parting with any cash, it's a nightmare getting refunds from PayPal without angry calls to their customer service centre in broken English
Sounds like the cliched dodgy seller. It's like underquoting to lure them in. Always message them first before parting with any cash, it's a nightmare getting refunds from PayPal without angry calls to their customer service centre in broken English
I’ve sold hundreds of things on eBay, the vast majority without any bother at all. I only take payment by eBay Payments (used to be PayPal) so I get the money in my bank account before I despatch, and anything worth more than about £20 I send by Royal Mail signed for, or eBay Delivery where you can choose from a variety of couriers with tracking & signed for services.
If you’re concerned about people swapping good stuff and sending back faulty items to you for refund, you can always mark the item being sold, with a small discrete cross or other sign that you’ll recognise, and keep a photo of it as evidence of it being packed up if you’re that concerned.
If you’re concerned about people swapping good stuff and sending back faulty items to you for refund, you can always mark the item being sold, with a small discrete cross or other sign that you’ll recognise, and keep a photo of it as evidence of it being packed up if you’re that concerned.
Edited by clivek on Friday 14th April 08:00
I sell quite a lot, the last few months a good few tens of items.
Scammers are less of an issue these days issue. Items range from £20 to £1000.
The only thing you must do IMHO is..
Photograph the serial numbers on expensive items.
Package the item well.
Pay for the correct level of insurance.
I also have 5 days dispatch on my items, I never post straight away.
So if there is some sort of scam there are a few days for it to come to light.
Also... what GFX card is it... asking for a friend...
Scammers are less of an issue these days issue. Items range from £20 to £1000.
The only thing you must do IMHO is..
Photograph the serial numbers on expensive items.
Package the item well.
Pay for the correct level of insurance.
I also have 5 days dispatch on my items, I never post straight away.
So if there is some sort of scam there are a few days for it to come to light.
Also... what GFX card is it... asking for a friend...
CheesecakeRunner said:
clivek said:
I’ve sold hundreds of things on eBay, the vast majority without any bother at all. I only take payment by eBay Payments (used to be PayPal) so I get the money in my bank account before I despatch, and anything worth more than about £20 I send by Royal Mail signed for, or eBay Delivery where you can choose from a variety of couriers with tracking & signed for services.
If you’re concerned about people swapping good stuff and sending back faulty items to you for refund, you can always mark the item being sold, with a small discrete cross or other sign that you’ll recognise, and keep a photo of it as evidence of it being packed up if you’re that concerned.
This is what I do and my experience also. If you’re concerned about people swapping good stuff and sending back faulty items to you for refund, you can always mark the item being sold, with a small discrete cross or other sign that you’ll recognise, and keep a photo of it as evidence of it being packed up if you’re that concerned.
With anything high value, particularly electronics, I make it clear in the description that all serial numbers have been recorded, and show photos of them. An accurate description with no embellishment (no ‘excellent condition’ subjective wording) and lots of good clear photos.
When packaging up, I photograph things going into the packaging, and the package before it’s sent - sometimes video. Only ever use Royal Mail tracked services, and signed-for if over £100 in value.
Never bother with auctions, I use Buy It Now with Make An Offer, and set the auto-accept boundaries to what I want. Priced right, stuff always sells quick. If something is high value, I also do free postage.
No buyers with low feedback, no overseas buyers, no swaps, ignore any messages that appear to be written by Neanderthals.
I look at the past auction results say something sells for c£100. I do buy it now for £95 and its normally gone for £90 in a day.
I could faff about with auctions but doing BIN also lets you see the feedback before you accept.
Thanks for the replies, I might try the buy it now function and I see several people have mentioned they you can ask for cash on collection but I thought that was against the ebay rules, not that I'm that bothered about keeping my account, I usually use Amazon to buy most things online.
The GPU is a 3080ti by the way but isn't touting stuff on here a bit iffy as well.
The GPU is a 3080ti by the way but isn't touting stuff on here a bit iffy as well.
tommytaylor said:
Thanks for the replies, I might try the buy it now function and I see several people have mentioned they you can ask for cash on collection but I thought that was against the ebay rules, not that I'm that bothered about keeping my account, I usually use Amazon to buy most things online.
The GPU is a 3080ti by the way but isn't touting stuff on here a bit iffy as well.
Have sold Cash on Collection on eBay for over 20 years with no probs currently have 50 items listed.The GPU is a 3080ti by the way but isn't touting stuff on here a bit iffy as well.
Yeah cant sell on the forums.
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