Beware of Buyer Scammer

[virtuouswomanboutique]

BEWARE OF SCAMMERS ON EBAY!  I have been an eBay seller since 2016 and this was my first scam.   is the buyer who first made a $71 offer on an item which was a jewelry box.  I did not know at the time, that when a buyer quickly asks you to decline the offer because they entered the wrong address is a huge red flag.  The person claimed that the mailing address was wrong because the item was being sent to their mother in another state and paid a $72 higher offer which was the second red flag.  I should have initiated a refund immediately at this point.  However, I was giving the customer the benefit of the doubt and approved the refund based on that philosophy. I added USPS insurance and shipped the item to their mother.  I video-recorded the clock in good working order with no signs of external damage time stamped on my iPhone.  Immediately, the day after the package was received, the son requested a refund claiming that the item arrived damaged. This was the third red flag.  This buyer had originally said the item arrived damaged with no explanation about what was wrong.  When I asked what happened the customer had changed their story at least 3 different times.  It went from the clock arriving damaged to the clock not working properly and to the doors being off the clock when the package was opened. Here is the rub, they filed the claim again to hasten the refund and eBay sent a message saying that they got involved by buyer request and sent them a return shipping label.  I assumed that was okay until I discovered that the return label was FEDEX and not the original USPS courier, therefore nullifying the USPS Insurance claim of reimbursement.  Once the item was shipped through FEDEX, USPS could no longer be involved because the package was not mailed back to them to initiate a damage investigation.  When I received the clock back, the clock was in the worst condition, with a broken handle, a cracked door, and the clock not working as before. I blame myself because I should have known better from the beginning. I felt like a child and a total idiot. I was fortunate that it was no more than a hundred dollars lost.  My warning is to never let your guard down as a Seller.  Ebay can only do so much, they can't always prevent fraud, so you have to be your investigator with spiritual discernment and plain common sense.  This was an object lesson for me in business. You can protect your business from scams.  Beware of email solicitations from people you do not know or trust, if it sounds too good to be true, usually it's a scam.  Beware of sad stories.  Beware of flattery.  Beware of crisis stories.  This is the lingo of all or most scammers.  They are narcissist and have no conscience.  They have one objective in mind, that is to steal your money! When a customer changes their address after an online order, in most cases a red flag for fraud and scam. Never accept or deposit checks in any or large amounts from customers or business associates you don't know or trust. In fact that check may be bad.  It can happen to the best of us when we let our guard down.  I hope this post helps. If it helped at least one business individual, I did my job.  Have a good day.  

[kensgiftshop]

If you wanted to file a USPS claim, this is what you should have done:

Ask the buyer for a few pictures of the item and package, then refund the buyer.
Have the buyer hang on to the item and package so it can be inspected.
You file a claim with the carrier.

[silverstatetreasureboxes · Accepted solution]

@virtuouswomanboutique 

That is a shame indeed, too many people involved and a wrong address equal a disaster.  Find a clock repair guy in your area and have it repaired and sell it for more money! Thanks for posting.

[vintagecraze50]

You NEVER EVER CHANGE AN ADDRESS on here unless the buyer changes it on their account. That is the biggest mistake you made. You tell them you have to cancel the sale. You get NO defect from ebay becuase of this because they KNOW sacammers try to get you to send to a different address other than their account address. You have them repurchase the item with the other address added to their account. Then they can have the item shipped.

[cambriachick]

Very sorry you were put though this bad experience.

[virtuouswomanboutique]

Thank you for your comment.  However, I kept the address the same on my end; they changed the shipping address after they asked me to decline their initial bid offer. I strongly believe they did an item switch. They kept my good clock and switched it out with their broken item.  They also gave me a sad story, sad their mother had already packaged the item and wanted me to accept the return.

[virtuouswomanboutique]

I wish I would have known to tell the buyer this.  I told the buyer in the messages that I needed to reach out to eBay to get further assistance because of the USPS Insurance claim.  Unfortunately, I could not reach a live person for several days on the eBay platform.  Only chat was available and it kept navigating me back into the chat with no option for a phone call response/request.  Thank you.

[virtuouswomanboutique]

Thank you.

[troubs1]

Unfortunately, there are a number of scammers, both buyers and sellers alike. As a seller, I've found polite words in their message opening and ending is a flag. I had a sob story about how the buyer had lost his job and had no luck finding one, but really wanted the item for their kid and that they are on the verge of losing their home and would I basically sell the item for 75% off. I immediately check their feedback and see that they bought multiple high dollar collectibles over the past month. 

Another was within minutes after purchase, the same as your situation OP, the buyer wanted it shipped to another address. I replied I'll cancel the order and he can buy again with the correct address listed. Never heard from him again.

As a buyer, I always look at feedback to get a sense of their history, but even that doesn't guarantee you won't get scammed. See a price well below the average sale price? Avoid, or exercise caution and take a risk if you dare. Can be hit or miss. Tracking number provided but after a few days or a week shipping service hasn't received it is a big flag. No response to messages is another.

I do what I can to avoid contact with those who try things like this. We need to learn from our mistakes, and if I don't know how to proceed, I look for help here. The people in this community have been pretty helpful to me in the past.

[luckythewinner]

You can protect your business from scams. 

Not on eBay you can't.  Any buyer could have perpetrated that same fraud without any communication at all. Any buyer could file a fraudulent dispute for almost any transaction.