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FAKE BUYERS!!

Is there any trick we can use to identify fake buyers? As the community consist with lots of scammers, it is important to identify them prior to deal with.

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Re: FAKE BUYERS!!

I think you are talking about Scammers. Yeah, the Scammers mostly intend to come up with a huge story, sometimes asking some more information about products or such thing. But, there can be some scammers who are looks like genuine, but with fraudulent intention behind. The best thing you can do to identify the scammers, keep in touch with the Community chats and threads as well as to follow exact eBay policies. Have a great time ahead!

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Message 13 of 17
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Re: FAKE BUYERS!!

I just can't imagine that "fake buyers" are going to be your biggest obstacle for the successful completion of transactions on eBay.

Message 2 of 17
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Re: FAKE BUYERS!!

A message that says "I am interested in your item, kindly text me" is generally the start of a scam where the scammer winds up sending a phony PayPal email that makes it look like the seller has received a payment when none has actually been received. Scammers like to target new sellers, particularly those selling expensive items.

 

Similarly, any potential buyer that wants to pay more than your buy-it-now price or asks you to purchase a gift card for any reason is trying to scam you. eBay has no way for a seller to add the extra cost to the transaction, so that should tell you that the buyer has no intention of paying you through eBay (or at all).


Sending contact information (text or email) prior to a transaction is a violation of eBay policy; this policy is designed to protect honest buyers and sellers from this sort of thing, and to prevent off-eBay sales.


Ignore anyone that wants to communicate outside of eBay prior to a transaction payment. eBay will likely close the scammer's account eventually; unfortunately the scammer will simply open another account and continue sending such messages.


As a seller you should always check your PayPal account directly (not following a link in an email) to see if you have actually been paid prior to shipping. If an actual buyer does not send an actual payment, file an unpaid item dispute and go through that process to get your fees back and to give the "buyer" a strike -- and set your buying requirement to reject bids from users with two or more strikes.

 

You can avoid many common scams by listing your items at a fixed price with immediate payment required and by not accepting offers. If you do receive an offer that you are willing to accept, lower your buy it now price to the offer level. If you do that, the only way the transaction can proceed is if a buyer completes checkout and pays.

Message 3 of 17
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Re: FAKE BUYERS!!

Op is from Sri Lanka.................no sales on this ID............

Message 4 of 17
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Re: FAKE BUYERS!!

Please tell us what you mean by 'fake buyers'. We know what scammers are...

Message 5 of 17
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Re: FAKE BUYERS!!


@avmad-16 wrote:

Is there any trick we can use to identify fake buyers? As the community consist with lots of scammers, it is important to identify them prior to deal with.


If a buyer does not pays for an item after committing to purchase it, he is not a buyer and I do not ship the item to him. 

 

If a buyer pays for an item after committing to purchase it, he is a buyer and I ship the item to him. 

 

Message 6 of 17
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Re: FAKE BUYERS!!

Smart buyers will stay away from sellers who have falsified information to use paypal to sell and receive buyer's money.

For some......It seems wisdom has been chasing you, but you have always been faster.
Message 7 of 17
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Re: FAKE BUYERS!!

You might want to be more concerned about real buyers trying to pay you when you cannot legitimately receive funds to your Paypal account.

The easier you are to offend the easier you are to control.


We seem to be getting closer and closer to a situation where nobody is responsible for what they did but we are all responsible for what somebody else did. - Thomas Sowell
Message 8 of 17
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Re: FAKE BUYERS!!

I am new to eBay and this is my first time selling. I have already I had a “buyer” give me a sob story that he is in the military and that this purchase is for his cousin but he also  asked if I could send a 600 dollar gift card with the item and that they would send an extra 100 on top of everything for the hassle and that he really needed to get his cousins this for Christmas...  

Message 9 of 17
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Re: FAKE BUYERS!!

Would be interested in learning how you expect to be paid with Paypal, since your country has forbidden Paypal payments to be received?  

Message 10 of 17
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Re: FAKE BUYERS!!

Did you miss the question about how you expect to be paid?  

Message 11 of 17
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Re: FAKE BUYERS!!

I have had a number of fake buyers.  A fake buyer will typically bid more than your asking price then never pay or proceed with the transaction. The transaction counts as legitimate on ebay and you have to go thru the process  to have it voided.  You also loose all the information on your listing since ebay voids the transaction.  Sometimes the buyer will make their reviews private so you cannot see their bad purchase history.  They are not trying to rip you off since they never pay and the system prevents that.   They do it just to aggravate sellers.

Message 12 of 17
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Re: FAKE BUYERS!!

I think you are talking about Scammers. Yeah, the Scammers mostly intend to come up with a huge story, sometimes asking some more information about products or such thing. But, there can be some scammers who are looks like genuine, but with fraudulent intention behind. The best thing you can do to identify the scammers, keep in touch with the Community chats and threads as well as to follow exact eBay policies. Have a great time ahead!

Message 13 of 17
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Re: FAKE BUYERS!!

This is the best explanation i have seen. Very true!

Message 14 of 17
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Re: FAKE BUYERS!!

I've been selling on eBay for a couple years. Recently more and more jerks are asking for stupid considerations for my items. Some will bid and never pay. The best way to avoid these jerks is to notice their eBay name 'handle'. Most of them do NOT have any type of rating or their number is very low (like 0-10). I had one today named 'great service 2020' which asked me to give my item away with what they offered. These people are scum and I just ignore their questions or I will cancel/reset my listing if I see them as a potential bidder. 

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