Phone Number request

[sheswe-72]

A potential buyer has requested my phone number.  Is this normal?

[evry1nositswindy]

NO!  Keep all communications through eBay messages.  Never share phone number, email address, text, etc.  These are all attempts to scam you.  You would receive a fake paid message from PayPal and ship your item without payment.  Happens all the time unfortunately.

[disneyshopper]

No, it is not normal.  Reply to the buyer that all communication must be made using ebay messaging.  Asking for a phone number in order to text or call s a red flag for a possible attempt at scamming.

If the buyer has not paid by day 4, on day 5 the seller can file a Cancellation with the reason Buyer didn't pay. The seller gets his/her FVF credited, the buyer gets an unpaid strike recorded on his account, no one can leave feedback. Two or more unpaid strikes, and the buyer will find it difficult to bid/buy from sellers who block buyers with 2 or more unpaid strikes. Do you have your Buyer Blocks in place?

https://www.ebay.com/bmgt/buyerrequirements

As a new seller, you are ripe for scammers.  List as fixed price with Immediate Payment Required (you will need to switch to the advanced/business tool for that option, which is located in the upper right corner of the Quick Listing Tool), no Best Offers, and your listing will stay active until someone actually pays for the item.

[sheswe-72]

Do I except the buyers offer without giving my phone number?

[disneyshopper]

Yes, you can accept the buyer's offer without giving your phone number.  If the buyer has not paid within 4 days, then on day 5 follow the instructions I gave in my previous reply.

[woodland_gnome]

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@sheswe-72 wrote:

Do I except the buyers offer without giving my phone number?

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I wouldn't.  That s/he asked for your phone number is a strong indicator that s/he is a scammer (maybe not, but odds aren't good).  Most of them have learned to wait until after you have accepted to ask you to text or email them (they get the # or address that way, and hope that since the item is now tied up for 4 days you would be more likely to fall for their scheme in wanting to get paid.

You are a new seller. You are going to attract more scammers than legitimate buyers. To keep the scammers from committing to buy your item (and tying it while you go through the unpaid item process) don't use auctions or Best Offer. List as fixed-price Buy It Now only and set the BIN to Immediate Payment Required. Click "Payments managed by eBay" in the "Preferences" section of the "Complete your listing" page of the new listing flow and check the box for "Require immediate payment when buyer uses Buy It Now" at the top of resulting popup.

eBay is experimenting with requiring pre-authorization for payment when a buyer makes a Best Offer but that's just an experiment and not applicable to all buyers (as a seller you can opt out--it makes combined shipping discounts difficult to impossible--or into the experiment in your Buyer Requirements). Otherwise auctions and Best Offer (and some Buy It Now) allow the buyer to promise to pay in order to scam you.

Note that anyone requesting you to contact them outside the eBay message system (email or text or phone) is almost certainly a scammer trying to get your contact information (e.g. to send you a fake payment message). Any mention of a gift card is also a red flag (they make the real money getting sellers to buy gift cards to send with the package for which they "pay" extra in the fake payment message).

Respond to any message wanting you to text or email or call that you only communicate via eBay messaging, and cancel for non-payment after the 4 days is up if s/he has already committed to buy. Make sure your Buyer Requirements are set up to block anyone with 2 or more unpaid cancellations in the past 12 months and those with primary shipping addresses in locations you don't ship to (and opt in or out of the pre-authorization experiment as your situation warrants). Add anyone who doesn't pay to your Blocked Bidder/Buyer List (and anyone wanting you to contact him/her outside the messaging system). But the scammers can create new accounts a lot faster than eBay can remove the ones that prove to be scammers. And some have the skills to hijack established accounts to scam with, so don't think it's only new accounts that can get you. Be wary of anyone requesting anything out of the normal flow of eBay business (you list, possibly they ask legitimate questions solely with the messaging system, someone uses the buttons you choose to buy/win the item, they pay, you ship to the address given with the payment, eBay tells you on the website--don't rely on email or text messages and don't click any links in them--that the funds have cleared and it's OK to ship).

[sheswe-72]

Well other's said I could accept the offer.  I did.  I emailed the potential buyer through EBAY system saying I would not provide my phone number, and If they have questions about the product to contact me through Ebay.