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Suspect buyer may not be genuine
Hi eBay Community,
I'm a new seller on eBay, having been a member for about a month now. Today, I received an order on eBay, and I'm unsure about the next steps. I would greatly appreciate any guidance or support.
I have a suspicion that the buyer may not be genuine, as they have similar products listed for sale on eBay. How should I proceed with this order? Is it advisable to ship the order to the buyer if I suspect they may not be a legitimate buyer?
I'm concerned about the potential impact on my store performance if I decide to cancel the order due to suspicions of fraud. Can you provide insights into this matter?
If I choose not to cancel the order and the buyer later requests a return, leading to damage to my product and affecting my finances, what steps should I take? Additionally, what actions can I take if the buyer maliciously leaves a negative review?
Your expertise in navigating these issues would be immensely helpful.
Thanks for your support.
inceptions
Mentor2 years agoWelcome to selling! Let's make this short and sweet...if the buyer pays, you need to ship. That's what you agreed to do when you signed the user agreement.
Many sellers purchase items on eBay to resell on eBay. That isn't fraud. (It's not particularly smart for a seller to purchase items he plans to resell on eBay using his seller ID...he would be wiser to use another account for buying, but that's another discussion.)
If you cancel the order, you'll receive a defect on your seller record, so you don't want to do that. You don't have a valid reason for cancelling.
There is nothing you can do to prevent returns and losses from returns. That's part of doing business and there is no reason to suspect that this buyer is guilty of any kind of fraudulent behavior. Don't list items with a value you cannot afford to lose if things go south.
Any buyer can leave negative feedback if it represents his opinion of the transaction and doesn't violate policy. If it violates policy, you can ask eBay to remove it.
You can read all kinds of horror stories, but they are few and far between. In 19 years of selling, I've have a few mild annoyances but no horror stories. Horror stories can happen anywhere - just listen to the news each night. But unless you sell in high-fraud categories, you're not likely to encounter one.
There is a lot to learn when you start selling and it's good you are being careful and asking questions. Mentors on this board are always here to help when you need it!