verifying buyer is valid and not a hacked account

[c.b.]

Hey guys - i am wondering how you handle these kinds of purchases.

okay, so we don't get sidetracked by non-relevant issues...before i get into the specifics of this sale, i know some of you just don't sell to low-feedback people.  however, i have done it successfully many times.  a big part of the reason it works for me is that i am mostly selling graded/certified product where the potential for SNAD is not a factor.  i also have some safeguards in place for verifying that what was bought is what was shipped.  I also never ship to anything but ebay/paypal addresses, and since i sell high-end product, i always wait until ebay has confirmed payment has cleared.  so, having gotten all that out of the way, let's proceed to my important question...

I had someone make an offer, and i accepted the offer.  I did make the mistake that i hadn't noticed that his feedback was over 3 months old.  the only reason that makes a diff is if this was a dormant account that was hacked.  they haven't paid yet, and the older history of the account implies that their payments were very punctual.

once before, i had a seemingly suspicious buyer for this same reason, and i actually called ebay customer service to have them check and see if they saw anything suspicious.  they didn't, but they gave me a hard time for just asking.  so, before i go through the process (and potential grief) of contacting c/s, i thought i would ask how you all may have handled this?

and of course, that one did turn out fine.  yet, because i am selling in a hot category, it is a target for scammers.  also, though, because it is hot, some buyers who rarely visit ebay will come by in order to get product.  so, a seldom buyer is not out of the question.

In the past, i have also had what i suspected could be kids using their parents' seldom-used accounts to make purchases.  i had no way to verify, and i had no right to question a registered ebayer...but the communications were sorta juvenile and/or language that was teen-oriented.

but, this time, i so far have not had any communication with the buyer, and i like to give them a little space.  I don't want to pressure them if they are trying to move money or to decide which credit card to use.  However, i also don't want to encourage a scammer to figure out some means of deception.  Is there any process in place now to verify that a seldom-used account is not hacked?  what advice do you have?

plmk.  thanks!

[kensgiftshop]

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@c.b. wrote:

Is there any process in place now to verify that a seldom-used account is not hacked? 

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No.