Question for EBay sellers... Scams?

[Footbag]

I just listed a Used iPhone 2G on Ebay. It is already up to $152.50 with a few hours left. I marked the sale CONUS only. The high bidder only has one previous feedback and buy from a year ago.
Now I'm reading about how the iPhone is the number one scammed item for sellers on Ebay. I already know to look out for a phishing E-mail telling me I've been paid which is supposedly from ******. Is there anything else I can look out for? Assuming I get paid, how do I know if it's a stolen card which will be reversed?
Is seller protection worth it? I'm not sure if I qualify, but is it something to look into?

Is there a way to have ****** check a suspicious payment?

[hotreds]

Let's talk again once the sale is over and you know who won. Only then can I or anyone else really give you a helpful answer.

Sadly, all those poopail and Ebay fraud protection helpers are worthless. Only if you have a really high feedback and do a lot of selling/buying will they make an effort- since they want to keep you.

LMK when it's over and I'll use my Ebay intuition to help you out!

[Footbag]

Originally Posted by hotreds

Let's talk again once the sale is over and you know who won. Only then can I or anyone else really give you a helpful answer.

Sadly, all those poopail and Ebay fraud protection helpers are worthless. Only if you have a really high feedback and do a lot of selling/buying will they make an effort- since they want to keep you.

LMK when it's over and I'll use my Ebay intuition to help you out!

I'm sure I'll be re-posting. I actually have another iPhone to sell, so am really hoping this one goes smoothly.

You can tell it's a legit payment when you log into PP and see the amount in your balance.

[Footbag]

Originally Posted by Darrell

You can tell it's a legit payment when you log into PP and see the amount in your balance.

That's what I initially thought until I read about the scammers using stolen credit cards. We'l see. I may just be paranoid, but we hear lots of scams at work. They can be very creative.

[Blueface]

Accept PP only.
Once it hits your account, you are in like flint, unless the buyer later disputes the purchase.
PP verifies its users so any credit card on file and information provided is checked. Hard to imagine a stolen credit card used for PP.

[Footbag]

Originally Posted by Blueface

Accept PP only.
Once it hits your account, you are in like flint, unless the buyer later disputes the purchase.
PP verifies its users so any credit card on file and information provided is checked. Hard to imagine a stolen credit card used for PP.

OK. I am accepting PP and US shipping only. The more I read, the more it seems like the scammers do more screwing up of auctions then anything.

[newcigarz]

I always make sure to specify that I only ship to confirmed addresses. This in itself is not 100 % fool proof, but PP will offer protection if you do.

You can also set up buyer restrictions when listing your item, such as buyers rmust have a US based address, not have negative feedback etc.

[Footbag]

Originally Posted by newcigarz

I always make sure to specify that I only ship to confirmed addresses. This in itself is not 100 % fool proof, but PP will offer protection if you do.

I didn't specify that, and hope the buyer has a confirmed address. I will on the next phone. I'm also afraid that an obvious scammer would leave bad feedback.

[captain53]

Ebay = Scam and the so called PP & Ebay guarantees are worthless. One screwing was enough for me, too bad that many good things and people are cursed by all the scams.

[newcigarz]

Originally Posted by captain53

Ebay = Scam and the so called PP & Ebay guarantees are worthless. One screwing was enough for me, too bad that many good things and people are cursed by all the scams.

Wow, that's too bad that is has not worked out for you.
But I personally can say that I have over 500 unique transactions on E-bay as both a seller and a buyer and have never had more than a minor problem. The only things I can complain about is the fees and percentages that PP and E-bay take. But there are not that many alternatives to sell items with that kind of exposure.

[Barrythevic]

I've been an E-Bay member since 1998. I have never had a problem, knock on wood!

Check out the E-Bay seller protection policy page. It lists all of the things you need to do as a seller to be protected.

Bottom line, ship via a service with a tracking number & confirmation of delivery, only ship to a confirmed address, get signature confirmation for items over $ 250. Ship within 7 days of payment. Communicate with the buyer. List on your auction all terms and conditions. Especially be truthful with your description and condition of your item!!!

Check the potential buyers feedback. This doesn't always help. Over the years I have had 2 buyers with 100% positive feedback who were such a pain to deal with, very slow pay, 2 to 4 weeks, horrible communications, wouldn't reply until threatened with being listed as a non paying bidder, didn't know what they were buying. Not leaving feedback. After 2 horrible transactions with each, I blocked them from ever being able to bid on one of my items in the future. It wasn't worth the time and effort that I had to put in to deal with them.

I have been hit by the overseas buyer that wants to pay 3rd party, send a cashiers check or money order for over the amount and for me to send them the balance. Ship to a "friend" in some other city in the US. These are the usual scam techniques. If you get a message from one of these known con artists scams on the E-Bay system, E-Bay will usually send you a warning message about them as they just don't try to hit one person.

Others are asking to sell to them out of the E-Bay system. This one can get you in real trouble! You have absolutely no recourse in a transaction going bad outside the E-Bay system, especially overseas!

Just like in the rest of life, if the offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

Most people on E-Bay are just like you and me, honest people trying to either find a bargain or wanting to sell something for some cash.

PP now has buyer & seller protection available for transactions in a lot of foreign countries.

Check their web page for the countries covered and what you have to do as a seller or buyer to be protected.

Good luck!

Barry

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by newcigarz

Wow, that's too bad that is has not worked out for you.
But I personally can say that I have over 500 unique transactions on E-bay as both a seller and a buyer and have never had more than a minor problem. The only things I can complain about is the fees and percentages that PP and E-bay take. But there are not that many alternatives to sell items with that kind of exposure.

Same thing here Tony.
I did have one problem one time with a vendor that sold me an item that looked nothing like the one he had pictured and didn't work well.
I immediately contacted Ebay and PP and they took care of it all.
I got ALL my money back to my account, including shipping and fees.

[jsnake]

Take all the measures listed and also ship only to confirmed addresses. I have had problems twice with jewelery purchases and Poop pal was quick to refund my money. I am done with Ebay though.

[Footbag]

Well... The current high bidder has 0 feedback. I hope I don't have to re-list it or get bad feedback somehow.

[Footbag]

Whew... Sold for $178.50 and the buyer looks legit. 67 buys with 100% feedback. Now I'm just hoping the payment comes.

[hotreds]

Good to hear! I know I always cringed when I had a winner with 0 or 1 feedback! Lotsa luck to ya!

[Blueface]

Looks like this will work out for you.

I remember the scammer that once tried to nail my son.
Good thing I got involved.
He listed a trailer I gave him from when I had the business that he later took over.
The trailer was worth around $1,200 brand new.
Used as it was, $500 would be a deal for him to get.
The purchaser had a "0" rating.
He bought it for $800.
He offered my son to pay him "Extra" so my son could then deposit the remainder for him.
(Get where this is going so far?)

He sends a check to my son, to my address as he lived with me at the time.
That is where I go involved.
I opened the envelope thinking it was for me since we have the same name.
There was a check inside and it was for around $1,800 if I recall correctly.
I asked my son about it and he filled me in.
I noted the name difference on the check to the buyer.
I looked up the name on the check and located a number for this "Dr." on the check.
Turns out his checks were all stolen via a scam and this check was bogus and long cancelled.

So, my foolish son would have deposited the useless check, paid the seller the difference into his account, the trailer would have stayed in the garage, the check would have bounced, and he would have been out $1,000.

Things like that happen, you just have to be wiser than the thieves are. In this case, we were. Son learned a valuable lesson. Information on buyer turned over to the authorities.

[elderboy02]

Whenever I get a P-pal payment, I immediately withdraw it to my bank account.

[Footbag]

Originally Posted by elderboy02

Whenever I get a P-pal payment, I immediately withdraw it to my bank account.

Since I don't have many sales this year, my payments are held for 21 days or until delivery. Thats one of the larger stumbling blocks.