Buyer signed up 1 day ago
Summary: mikeymm expresses concern about selling a camera to a new eBay user with no feedback. Several experienced sellers, including thriftyfiftyfifty and fabrics24, advise them not to worry, emphasizing that new accounts often sign up specifically to make a purchase. Other contributors discuss the importance of proper buyer restrictions and share strategies on handling such situations. Ultimately, mikeymm decides to proceed with the sale, feeling reassured by the community's input. Many participants highlight the value of welcoming new buyers while offering practical tips for transaction protection.
I'm selling a modestly priced camera for less than $75 and the buyer just joined Ebay yesterday and has no feedback rating. I'm just a little suspicious. Can others with more selling experience offer any advice?
Thanks!
authentic*vintage
·3 weeks agoI like to leave a feedback that says something like
"honored to leave first feedback for this buyer - blah blah blah"
mikeymm
OP3 weeks agoThank you to everyone who took time and shared their thoughts and experiences. I'm grateful for all the perspective and knowledge coming my way.
I shipped it and I'm not worried about the transaction any longer.
Cheers!
authentic*vintage
·3 weeks agoWe all gotta start somewhere.
janet9988
·3 weeks agoI think eBay should just give everyone 10 feedback when they first open an account.
soh.maryl
·3 weeks agoHow much FB did you have before you first came to eBay? I don't get it.
christworks
·3 weeks ago@mikeymm I understand you feel you got messed over one time, but you didn't. According to your other post, you refunded the buyer before they sent the item back. When you refund the buyer before they send it back, eBay policy is that the buyer does not have to send it back. By issuing the refund, you are in effect telling the buyer you don't want it back. eBay tells they don't have to send it back. I don't see how the buyer did anything wrong. You messed up, and you are allowing that mistake by you to potentially cause you to mess up again by cancelling an order and taking an account hit or, worse, lying about the cancellation reason.
There are two things true about reselling online:
1) By far most transactions go well and aren't a problem.
2) Sell long enough and you will actually get messed over.
If you are going to sell online you cannot let the fear of #2 prevent you from reaping the benefits of #1.
I sell a lot of electronics - cameras, vcr/dvd combo players, phones, speakers, and more. I shipped a $500 order off today to a person with a feedback score of 9. The only reason I even noticed that is because they made an offer and I checked their feedback to see what type of feedback they left other sellers. Speaking of that, this is one good way to look for actual red flags. That does not work when someone has a new account, but honestly they likely have a new account because I found your listing on Google and want to buy it.
Are you here to make money? If so, ship the camera. Pack it well.
That advice about video taping your packing and handing it off to USPS or whatever, I'm sorry, but is a bunch of nonsense. eBay does not accept images or video as proof. That's a lot of work for absolutely no benefit if you are doing it for eBay to side with you. Every amount of work you do as a reseller should have one purpose because time is limited. Ask yourself whether this action addds to your overall net profit or does it take away from it? If it takes away from it there best be a valid reason to keep doing it.
With that cleared up, there are cases where a photo or two can be beneficial. If it is something breakable or valuable, a photo showing how it is packed can be submitted with evidnece to the carrier should you need to file an insurance claim. It isn't needed, but can provide some evidience of how you packed an item should it get broken.
inhawaii
·3 weeks agoThat usually means they joined ebay just to buy your item.
chapeau-noir
·3 weeks agoI've had people sign up just to purchase something I had - it has worked out fine.
Digital cameras are in demand once again as people interested in photography move away from cell phone cameras. Being able to purchase a nice one for a reasonable price is attractive.
mam98031
·3 weeks agoWHY? New does NOT = Bad. We NEED new buyers. As many as we can get. It is the ONLY way to grow Ebay and all of our little businesses. Without NEW customers we will all wither and go away in time.
I mean no disrespect with this question, but do you consider yourself a Seller to be cautious of or is somehow bad because you are a new seller? It is a two way street afterall.
You will be fine, you just need to settle in. There will unfortunately be a time when a buyer does try to take advantage of you as it happens to all of us. But welcome the new buyers, they are what will keep us all selling in the long term.
dbmm-media
·3 weeks agoship it
ten_o_nine
·3 weeks agoA scammer would prefer to use an older account with 100% positive feedback to look less suspicious.
ten_o_nine
·3 weeks agoAs long as they paid through eBay and you ship to the address on file with tracking, you are fully covered by eBay's Seller Protection!
wildthingsgames
·3 weeks agoUnless the item doesn't make it to the buyer, or an eBay hub. This is more, and more, common, these days, unfortunately. (though still rare, in the scheme of things)
christworks
·3 weeks ago@wildthingsgames Exactly how are you not covered? If an item does not arrive and has been lost the carrier, you claim the insurance. If the item is eventually delivered, eBay refunds you if you bought the label through eBay and you met your handling time.
wildthingsgames
·3 weeks agoFor non-delivery, I have never received a insurance success with USPS, nor UPS. They have added many hurdles to successful appeal approval, and seem to deny as a default on the first application.
christworks
·3 weeks ago@wildthingsgames It is very rare a package is lost. I've never had an issue getting insurance to cover it, and again if it is later delivered (which often happens), there are seller protections in place.
12345jamesstamps
·3 weeks agoThere are those who use the 'guest account' and have no feedback.
I would ship item...I usually take a photo of package with postage on it and send that in an email to the buyer letting them know item has been shipped.
I also check eBay buyer ID to see it is a USA buyer and that it is not going 'freight forward' to another country...if it is...I tell buyer it usually takes another two weeks to receive the item to receive in their country.
But I always ship the item.
wildthingsgames
·3 weeks ago · EditedThe important thing is to have your buyer restrictions set on this page (if you have access to these settings, which may be a Stores feature, but not sure):
https://www.ebay.com/bmgt/buyerrequirements
The only other real control we have, as sellers, is to report buyers for specific instances of fraud or other negative practices, since we haven't been able to give them visible negative feedback for over a decade. (which really helped us determine whether there was a good chance of fraud prior to shipping)
Remember to ask for a "courtesy credit" if eBay tells you there are no options when a buyer frauds you.
Another great tip, from 30+ years of selling on eBay. For higher value items, record yourself boxing the product and slapping the label on, also include handoffs to the post office in the same single shot video, on items over $750(ish) to avoid loopholes in the system.
When you receive a value return record the label, then yourself opening the package and visibly show the item and make sure nothing is wrong with it before refunding. You can use this as proof with eBay if something comes up. Otherwise, you are basically out of luck.
Hope This Helps. :)
mikeymm
OP3 weeks agoAll great info... thank you.
shire123
·3 weeks ago@wildthingsgames I'm curious. Why do you recommend videos or pictures? Ebay certainly does not accept them as proof of anything. In the seller's mind they would confirm that is what they sent but there is no way for ebay to confirm the authenticity of the video or pictures.
wildthingsgames
·3 weeks agoBecause they have accepted them multiple times. They were recommend by eBay representatives. It may be more in line with the higher tier support, but I have verified it works, through it working repeatedly. Especially with returns that were not the item we shipped.
That is why I recommend them.
christworks
·3 weeks agoThat's a lot of work for something that eBay does not accept.
At best, if someone is attempting to scam you, you can threaten them that you will report them for mail fraud and send them the photos of what you sent them. You cannot send them a video as videos do not go through messages, and you would not want to be talking to them off the platform.
wildthingsgames
·3 weeks agoIncorrect. I have had multiple cases reviewed by eBay (higher tier) support and approved for protection.
christworks
·3 weeks ago@wildthingsgames I will give you the benefit of doubt and assume you are telling the truth. You've also sold in excess of 300k items. The OP is a new seller. Nobody at eBay is going to take their videos. That is a complete waste of time for them.
wildthingsgames
·3 weeks agoWe will have to agree to disagree. I already acknowledged our successful claim approvals may be due to higher tier service, but I, personally, would demand that level of service for higher cost items at any tier.
In order to receive a video eBay will send an email with a link to upload it to their system. That is possible (though, I admit, not guaranteed) for any account. Have a great day.
fabrics24
·3 weeks agoWe have a saying on the forums that goes "The time to worry about being scammed is before you list the item, not after."
I definitely understand the concern, but most newbies are truly just that. They probably made an eBay account specifically to buy the item.
I'd ship as normal; there's no reason not to. You're selling something for under $100, so if someone wants to scam you, that's pretty pathetic on their part.
thriftyfiftyfifty
·3 weeks agoConsidering one doesn't even need an eBay Account to purchase something it doesn't really concern me personally. Then again I don't anticipate in advance what might happen with items I Sold...it would drive me nuts. What specifically drives your suspicions? I have new Buyers all the time without Feedback and absolutely no issues arise.
mikeymm
OP3 weeks agoThanks for your input. I was scammed on a PS3 I sold shortly after I began to sell on Ebay and it left a bad taste in my mouth. I agreed to accept the return if they kept the box unopened in my original packing... and it never came back to me. I notified Ebay, who said they would investigate... but I'm out the $ and the PS3.
fabrics24
·3 weeks agoNext time, only refund them after you receive the item.
mikeymm
OP3 weeks agoGood to know and lesson learned.
thriftyfiftyfifty
·3 weeks agoI'm not out the Dollars on my Returns if it doesn't come back.