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Scams on eBay and How to Avoid Them
by Avril Harper author of 'Bank Big Profits Selling Vintage Topographical View Postcards on eBay' and 'Make Money Tearing Up Old Books and Magazines and Selling Them on eBay'.
The irony is, as eBay grows bigger and becomes more successful, it seems to attract more than its own fair share of rogue and undesirable buyers and sellers. And that can result in honest buyers and sellers being defrauded in their eBay and PayPal transactions.
However, not all ‘iffy’ dealings on eBay are fraudulent. Some are just mischievous, often initiated by chancers who figure their victims won’t bother pursuing them to recoup their losses.
Regardless of how a fraud or other scam happens, it’s usually left to the targeted buyer or seller to sort out the problem for themselves. It can take time, it can be difficult, it’s frustrating and annoying, and there’s no saying an acceptable solution will ever be found. So it makes sense to take steps to protect yourself against becoming the next victim.
Whether you’re a buyer, or mainly a seller on eBay, these tips will help you stay safe:
* Avoid sellers asking you to place another bid, ‘to put them slightly into profit’ or ‘ to allow them to make enough money to pay for Granny’s heart operation’. Whatever the plea the seller will offer to end the auction early and make you the winning bidder. Let me ask you a question to reveal why this is usually the sign of a scam: Why would anyone close their auction early if the price hadn’t reached market levels? I’ll give you one guess, and it’s mainly to do with the ‘seller’ making the same offer to numerous other people before gathering their ill-gotten gains and leaving eBay before alarm bells start ringing!
* Avoid one day listings unless the seller has a long track record with lots of positive feedback. That’s because some scamsters use one day auctions to generate fast sales to build up cash quickly in their PayPal accounts. Then like the bloke offering to end the auction early and make you the winning bidder, they pack their bags and move to new feeding grounds before eBay and PayPal realise what’s happening!
* Avoid invitations to trade outside of eBay, whether you are the product’s seller or potential buyer. This is a classic ploy of fraudsters and it’s also against eBay’s rules and could get you barred from the site. The attraction for fraudsters is, with eBay out of the way, they can drive the transaction along the lines they prefer, whether that be escrow, PayPal, or cash. With you as seller, the fraudster may send you an email from a middleman company with a name that probably sounds like a sub-branch of a major household name bank or finance company.
The company will say the buyer’s money has been deposited with them and you are now free to send the goods.
You’ll be told the middleman company will process payment immediately your goods arrive in their office. Only you won’t be receiving payment because that email came from the fraudster!
Alternatively, the buyer might send you payment through what looks to be an email from PayPal, but it’s actually a fake email. This is one good reason why you should never part with goods without checking a payment has actually been processed into your PayPal account. Also, DO NOT EVER try to access your PayPal account via a link in an email, any email, regardless of how authentic it looks.
As for buyers offering you cash, not only is this outside eBay’s rules and could get you suspended from the site, but it could also find you meeting the ‘buyer’ late at night, and you being attacked and relieved of your goods - without being paid!
* Look out for an unusual sales pattern from your trading partner as, for example, where someone who normally deals in antiques and collectibles, suddenly begins selling laptops, plasma TVs or other high value items. The change may indicate the genuine seller’s account has been hijacked without that person or eBay having noticed. Yet!
* Try asking questions about high price products you might consider buying or where you are suspicious about the seller. Their response, if you receive one, will help you judge how genuine the seller is. If you are at all uncertain, do not bid or buy.
* Beware listings inviting you to communicate via a given email address as opposed to the ‘Ask the Seller a Question’ link, both of which can mean the account has been hijacked and the seller knows questions through the proper channels might alert account owners and eBay to the scam.
* Look for hidden messages and meanings in feedback comments, especially left by sellers for undesirable buyers. As you know, sellers either leave good feedback or no feedback for buyers, they are no longer able to leave negative comments to guard other sellers against dishonest buyers.
That means most sellers choose to leave no feedback where a buyer has reneged on payment or return a damaged item in place of a perfect example they’ve just bid for on eBay. However, some sellers will warn fellow traders via the feedback system, using what’s colloquially termed ‘false positive feedback’. This usually happens where the seller says something like ‘Sellers Beware. Very unpleasant transaction’. Most will stop short of saying the ‘buyer’ is a liar or cheat, but even the slightest hint of an undesirable sale should serve as a warning to others!
Of course, it’s not worth studying feedback comments for all of your buyers, especially for low price products, but it’s a very good idea to check before sending out high value items. As an example, last month I sold a print for several hundred dollars and decided to check the buyer’s feedback which suggested the individual had received a genuine print from two different sellers and returned fake versions for refund!
As a precaution I had an auctioneer friend check my print as it went into the tube and to sign the back in pencil indicating it was a genuine item. If the buyer returns a fake in its place, either that signature will be missing, or the new signature will be a forgery. Either way it’s unlikely eBay or PayPal will support the buyer in a refund dispute. Yes you have to be very devious sometimes, but only with high value items!
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Avril Harper Titles
Make Money Tearing Up Old Books and Magazines and Selling Them on eBay
Bank Big Profits Selling Vintage Topographical View Postcards on eBay
The Ultimate Guide to Becoming an eBay Trading Assistant
The Ultimate Dropshipping Report
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