First time seller - Got an offer, but paranoid about being scammed

[saryvonn0]

Hi, 

First time seller here. Selling an expensive product (4550 USD). I got an offer he wants it shipped to Hong Kong even though his account seems registered in US. But he did change the address within eBay so that is all good as I understand it, correct ? 

He has an account since 2012 with over 4000 reviews and all 100% positive. Can I trust this completely ? 

And first I put price plus shipping then after negotiating with him I lowered the price a bit and said shipping was 150USD and he asked me to update the listing. 

I don't know why but I have serious trust issues selling on eBay after reading lots of horror stories. All advice appriciated

[fashunu4eeuh]

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@saryvonn0 wrote:

Thank you so much I had no idea about that.

I’m not planning on selling more on eBay than this one product but seriously doubting if I should remove the ad since it’s so easy to be scammed it seems

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@saryvonn0 You are most welcome.

While i enjoy selling here, there is no guarantee for sellers to avoid buyer fraud. Learning the eBay ropes regarding selling policies can arm you with info that can mitigate the risk, but nothing can remove it altogether.

The positive news is that, in 15 years of selling here, i can report that i have never been defrauded by a buyer, finding the wide majority of my shoppers to be honest. However, i avoid the high scam categories (gaming, computers, smartphones, luxury designer goods, electronics, etc.) and though my price points are high at times, they’re not nearly as high as yours.

To mitigate risk, i sell my items at fixed price with Immediate Payment Required, and no Best Offers (BO can void IPR). I offer Free Returns to help avoid bogus Not As Described claims, where the real risk lies.

Whatever you decide, i hope it all shakes out to your benefit. Good luck and best wishes!

[saryvonn0]

Thank you very much for taking the time to help me! I really appreciate it!

And everyone else here as well! 

[lakefor94]

Too bad you can't just sell that expensive item locally for cash? Do the transaction at your local bank and have them notarize a bill of sale while you are there.

[dbfolks166mt]

I would disagree with this statement

"Shipping through the freight forwarder is low risk since the buyers MBG coverage ends when the item arrives at the FF. "

No address voids MBG coverage. This has been verified by eBay staff in the past. 

     See exclusions below from the MBG. Although the MBG ends when the item is delivered to the FF any subsequent claims by the buyer for INR or NAD will probably initially result in the buyer being refunded since the process is automated. It takes the seller to appeal the decision and provide the evidence, which the OP has, that the item was received by a FF and was intended to be forwarded. There are multiple posts on this forum that validate that. 

     What you are NOT protected against is a chargeback. 

You would have to get the buyer to admit the item is being forwarded.

     Not difficult  the OP has messages from the potential buyer to that effect. 

So shipping to a FF isn't 'low risk' in my opinion, but similar risk to any address in the US.

     We'll have to disagree on that one. I have shipped multiple items through FF's with no problems or issues I can't say the same for the issues I have had with domestic buyers. 

[dbfolks166mt]

However, as there is not really an actual problem with the address, it could be unethical to select it as the reason, and if the buyer complains to eBay about it, you might get in worse hot water. “Out of stock” would be the expected choice but then the seller must accept the defect penalty given by eBay.

     In this case it depends. Originally there probably was not an issue with the address since seller only sells to the US and the original address the buyer in Hong Kong was using was a FF in the US. However, when the buyer changed the shipping address, assuming to someplace in Hong Kong now canceling for a problem with the buyer address is appropriate since seller does not ship to Hong Kong. 

     I am still trying to figure out why the potential buyer could even see or make an offer on the item once they changed their address. 

[dbfolks166mt]

Thank you very much for taking the time to help me! I really appreciate it!

And everyone else here as well! 

     It  looks like you pulled the item which was probably a wise choice. 

[saryvonn0]

Yes I think I will try finding a safer way to sell it. Too bad there is no market for it in Iceland

[chapeau-noir]

Someone in Hong Kong wanting an expensive golf club checks out, though - they have world class golf courses there and it's popular (there's also a lot of money).

[ckimodog]

@saryvonn0 

Sorry friend.  I would totally rethink this whole transaction.  Not to mention I would NEVER selling anything this expensive on eBay or any internet site.  It's a different world.  Sell it locally for cash.  This person can do a charge back on you and not only will you lose the item, you'll lose the cash.   You're new and have a lot to learn.  I would make a point to be more educated concerning selling on eBay or you're going to be financially hurt big time.  Don't do it. 

[saryvonn0]

Thank you for the advice. Only problem is it will never get sold locally especially for the same price. I even put a lower price than another ebay seller and that one is already sold.

but id also rather keep it than lose it! I think ebay in general is not for me 🫣

[saryvonn0]

That was what I was thinking too 

[dbfolks166mt]

Thank you for the advice. Only problem is it will never get sold locally especially for the same price. I even put a lower price than another ebay seller and that one is already sold.

but id also rather keep it than lose it! I think ebay in general is not for me 🫣

     If you can find a friend that you trust and can work with either someplace in Europe, UK for example, or in the US you could get the club to them and work the sale through that avenue. If you can find a US based person the foreign sales could go through the EIS program which is pretty much risk free for the seller. 

     Other option would be for the friend to sell it locally in the US or Europe and do a cash transaction. 

[fab_finds4u]

A little late but here's  my 2 cents.

Don't  try to sell something expensive when you have zero or low feedback for selling because some scammers deliberately pick out inexperienced sellers to steal from.

Feedback is no indication that the person is a good buyer because all buyers have 100% positive feedback.

Also, the buyer living in  Hong Kong shouldn't be registered in the US.  They could have hijacked a US account  in order to bid since you only ship to the US.  

Anything involving freight forwarding makes me nervous. The buyer can still open a not as described case and automatically get a shipping label. It will be from the original shipping address. The buyer is given a very long time to return an item so they would need to return it to the freight forwarder and have them return it to you. They'll have enough time to do that.

What ever you receive back, an empty box or a different item doesn't matter because you will be forced to refund.

That's  how easy it is to scam a seller.

I just read an article about the best place to buy and sell clubs and eBay was mentioned but they also said the con was high shipping fees to buy on eBay which really torqued me because the other places also use the same carriers to ship. They insinuate eBay gouges on the shipping.  (What about the clubs with free shipping?)  The author obviously is using a con that isn't true. 

I would hate for you to lose that club. Sell some things around the house and build up your feedback first. Some golf related items would be a plus. It gives you legitimacy you really have that club and  that would attract bidders. You might get more for it.

And if you are contemplating offers remember that shipping cost is not part of the negotiation. I would not even entertain offers but list buy now with immediate payment required.

[saryvonn0]

Thank you for your input! I am so glad I put the question here and how great this community has been in helping me!