Winning bidder asking for photos before payment
I just sold 2 shirts and the winning bidder sent me this message (see below) I’m assuming it’s a scam. They have a bid on a 3rd shirt I’m selling so I blocked them but is there any way to relist my items without waiting the 4 days to cancel.
 
9 comments
stainlessenginecovers
·2 years agoNote that putting a buyer on your 'blocked' list will stop you from seeing ANY communications going forward, so you probably don't want to do that yet.
I would reply with (through messages, NOT that email)
"Hello- we only communicate through ebay messages. Also, picture requests needed to be asked for BEFORE you bid, NOT after you've won. You bid per the listing and pictures shown, so that's all there is. Per eBay systems- You have X days to pay or I will be forced to cancel for 'non-payment' (so I get my Final Value Fees credited back) and you will get a 'non-payment strike from ebay' (enough of those and you won't be able to bid or will have to put up payment BEFORE bidding going forward). Thanks"
wastingtime101
·2 years agoIn this case they definitely should. It's a scammer account, not a legit buyer. Replying to the scammer is a waste of time.
mr_lincoln
·2 years agoHu @shawarenda0
-This is a real potential scam, they are NOT being specific with what they want to see on the item, they are just trying to get you to communicate with them off eBay.
-ONLY communicate through eBay, message them through eBay and attach pictures they requested if you want.
-Blocking them will not prevent them from completing the purchase of the 2 items or bidding on the 3rd item. On the 3rd item you would have to cancel their bids
-Wait the 4 days and then Cancel using the reason Buyer hasn't paid on the 2 items, that will pretty much shut down that ID from buying on eBay for 12 months. But I am sure they have other IDs.
-Use the Report Buyer link on the transaction just before you cancel. This alerts eBay of an issue with that person
-On a few occasions when I am pretty confident a Buyer will not pay I use the Sell similar feature on the item and create a new listing auction style. If the Buyer winds up paying I simply End that similar listing. If they don't pay and I cancel I do NOT relist it because the similar one is already live and thus wasted time on the listing has been minimized by a couple of days. And so that you know, the few times I have done this the similar listing did NOT receive any bids that I would have had to cancel and End the listing if the first Buyer paid for the original item.
ittybitnot
·2 years ago@shawarenda0
Classic "text me/email me scammer". If your version of eBay messages still has the option, report it under the "ACTION" tab. There will be no money.
wastingtime101
·2 years agoIt's 100% a scam @shawarenda0 . We've seen numerous times how scammers put an email or phone on their About page trying to get you to contact them off eBay then they will follow up with a fake payment email hoping you'll ship to them without payment, and often they'll solicit gift card codes from you. This one is amazing - even their eBay ID is scammy.
Cancel their bid on your live auction.
As for the other 2 - the buyer will never pay so you can cancel in 4 days for non-payment.
Don't reply to the buyer's message. Make sure you report the buyer for trying to take the sale off eBay.
If you can't wait the 4 days to cancel then send a DM to eBay CS on social and ask them if you can cancel using the reason problem with buyer's address immediately, since they are a scammer trying to take this off eBay. It's easier to wait the 4 days though.
Edit to add links:
Cancel bid - https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/listings/selling-auctions/cancelling-bid?id=4140
Report buyer - https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/resolving-buyer-issues/reporting-issue-buyer?id=4084
Dealing with unpaid items - https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/getting-paid/resolving-unpaid-items-buyers?id=4137
eBay on social: eBay on Facebook, askebay on X, ebayforsellers on insta
fern*wood
·2 years agoDefinitely keep all communication on ebay. I'd wait the time requirement to cancel for non-payment if you need to. Currently you have no other legitimate reason to cancel until then.
ckimodog
·2 years ago@shawarenda0
Tell this winning bidder they you only communicate thru eBay messages. You don't need to communicate thru their personal email address. They can only pay you thru eBay payments as well. If this person doesn't pay you within 4 days on day 5 cancel the sale citing non payment and then you can relist. I would also consider changing your return policy, especially selling clothing. No returns does not mean no refunds.
https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy?id=4210&st=3&pos=3&query=eBay%20Money%20Back%20Guarantee%20policy&intent=money%20back%20guarantee&lucenceai=lucenceai&docId=HELP1238
nobody*s_perfect
·2 years agoYou have nothing to lose by sending the additional pictures, though of course the buyer should have asked for them before bidding. Without a specific cancellation request message from the buyer, the only way to cancel the transaction is to wait out the 4 days until you can cancel based on nonpayment.
Blocking them will have no effect on the bid that they have already placed. If you don't want them to win the third auction, you have to also cancel that bid. But there's still a chance here for 3 successful transactions.
a_c_green
·2 years agoThe need for more photos is a red herring. What the scammer actually wants is the seller's off-eBay email address, so that he can then send completely-fake payment and shipping notifications that eBay cannot detect. The seller can always attach more photos to an eBay message, but the scammer is providing an off-eBay email address that will require the seller to send from his own email address, rather than from within eBay.
Unfortunately yes, but it will be worth it to other sellers to get an Unpaid slap on this throwaway account, rather than to cancel prematurely and have to select a bogus reason for doing so.
Yes, definitely cancel that remaining bid. The chances of any successful transaction with this scam buyer (who even has a scam email-me message embedded in their user name; we're talking a seriously stupid scammer here) are slim to none, and Slim just left town.