Buying from a new seller
Should I be a little Leary on buying an item over $150 from a seller with zero feedback and history of 4 items that must have been over a year ago since I can not see them? I know everyone has to start somewhere but I don’t want my money tied up in PayPal if it’s a scammer. Thanks for any input
9 comments
kh-samyak
·4 months agoHi everyone,
Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.
Thank you for understanding.
lakefor94
·3 years agoI always avoid newbies. No extended track record, no payment from me.
annadryl
·3 years agoIt's their money that is held as a new seller, you have ebay, paypal and bank protection if something goes wrong with the transaction. But just because they are a new seller doesn't automatically make them a scammer. What are the red flags besides not selling lately? What's their feedback look like?
winshortmag78
OP3 years ago 
eburtonlab
·3 years agoIn general, you can avoid a lot of headaches by choosing to purchase only from established sellers that have recent and past positive feedback as a seller for selling items in the same category that you intend to buy. If someone is selling a dozen apple watches, but has no feedback, or only has feedback as a buyer, or only has feedback for selling dress patterns or fishing lures (actual examples I have seen), perhaps wait until they have a track record of positive feedback for selling electronics before you buy from them.
You might miss out on a good deal from a new seller once in a while, and nothing can guarantee that you won't still run into an issue anyway, but you can avoid a lot of potential problems by choosing to do business with established sellers. Anyone can put together a listing that looks nice -- it is not hard at all to simply copy an existing listing -- but it is much harder to create a history of consistent sales and positive feedback.
For more experienced sellers, you can learn a lot about the sort of seller you are dealing with by checking the seller's feedback page to see where the seller is registered and to notice if the seller has any negative feedback. If you see negatives indicated in the table of recent feedback, you can choose to exclusively see each type of comment by clicking on the numbers shown in the table. Reading negative or neutral comments can often tell you if a seller has a pattern of problems with items not matching the descriptions, canceled orders, late deliveries or item location misrepresentation.
If a seller has a pattern of too many serious negatives -- or just not enough positive history -- it is often better to find another seller with a better track record to do business with.
20r-83
·4 months agoWhat about an expensive designer handbag but authenticated from ebay, should i still be worried if the seller just started this month?
christworks
·4 months agoThis is a 3 year old thread. The user you are asking is likely not here anymore. Please start a new thread so we can discuss your concern without old information being used as a basis.
simba6
·3 years agoUnless it's an item you can't find from another seller I would say pass. They can start with lower price items and build some feedback first. Always pay by credit card for the added protection.
stephenmorgan
·3 years agoYou could get scammed at anytime by anybody no matter their sales or buying history, however the majority of eBay sales have no issues. You have to determine the risk you are willing to accept.