"Sketchy" buyer paid but then is no longer registered.

[betawise]

I had a $900 camera lens listed and someone bought it but told me to ship it to a different address. 
He messaged me from 2 different accounts. Here is their messages:

Message 1:
Hello how are you? First of all thank you for thia purchase. I left my dwelling place coz I need treatment. My current location shown on photo below and please use it. For this reason I dont want to cancel this order and let me know. Wish u all best!

Message 2 from a different account:
Hello! I wanted to let you know how excited I am about buying this product; it's for my sibling's birthday present. I've already given you the shipping details. Please ensure the shipping address is correct. Thank you for helping to make this birthday extra special!

His address on ebay is listed at Puerta Rico but the get to know you part says:

Get to know the buyer 
• Located: Calhoun, GA, UnitedStates
• Member since: Apr 12, 2024

So he has became a member the same day he bought the lens.
He paid and the money is in my account but he has been removed.
None of the addresses agree.

I feel like this is some sort of scam but I am not sure what the scam is. 
I am afraid to ship it to any address at this point.

[brightlightbookseller]

That's exactly what's happening, and why we make our listings private (in part) so no one can do that.

[ittybitnot]

 I am now wondering if people watch recent sales and jump in stating "this is my correct address....

@betawise 

Yes, it is a typical ploy used by what is termed the "change of address scammers".    There is a place to report these crooks directly on the eBay message they send under the ACTION tab.  When the ID is different from the REAL buyer, it is clear that the message is a fraud attempt.

On eBay, as you know, you are required to ship to the address given to you with the payment.  Cancelling the sale due to interference by a change of address scammer, only serves to cancel the sale on the REAL buyer who actually paid you. 

Once in a while even the REAL buyer may ask for a change of address after the fact.  Do not do it.  It could be an honest request by the REAL buyer, or a variation of the change of address scam.  There is no way to tell.  In that instance the REAL buyer needs to be refunded, select the appropriate address BEFORE they pay.  

[sumsum70]

You could have had some fun with the scammer before they became naru. Kinda like this:

"I don't mind shipping to your other address, but eBay won't let me print a shipping label for that address. please send a prepaid UPS or FedEx label. The package is a 16x12x8 box and weighs 3lbs."

And if they sent a label, you box up a cinder block and drop it off with their label.

[betawise]

Its in my Bank of America bank account.
To clarify after researching more, the real buyer never messaged me it was 2 other people that are both unregistered now. 
I think the messengers were just trying to confuse me into thinking they were the real buyer so I would ship it to the wrong address.

[toomuchstuffagain35]

In that case I would just ship it (make sure you get Signature confirmation).

[tobaccocardyahoo]

If you are asked to ship to any address other than that on the order, there is a strong chance it is a scam.

When asked, the appropriate response is to decline and suggest the buyer cancel the order and reorder with the proper address. All of the other observations are irrelevant.

[broto_64]

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@betawise wrote:

Wait Wait!!!
Just went back and looked neither of the messages match the ID of the actual buyer.

---

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@betawise wrote:

Just checked. Actual buyer is still registered. has 105 purchases and appears to buy a lot of photo equipment. I am now wondering if people watch recent sales and jump in stating "this is my correct address (insert photo)" and steal the real buyers stuff

---

Yes, there are scammers out there trolling the "sold" listings and then messaging the seller about this change of address nonsense. As you just saw this can be difficult to spot but those messages are not from your buyer! The scamming trolls like to target low feedback sellers with expensive items sold.

This stupid scam hurts more than just sellers, even if the seller doesn't fall for it there's a good chance they will cancel the sale and that hurts both the buyer (and if the buyer reports it, the sellers as well).

Most likely you are safe to ship your item to the actual buyer, from the ebay shipping page, simply send it to the address ebay gives on the shipment page (which means you just purchase the label, the address will be the one given by the buyer and will be correct).

I believe you should not cancel this sale.

[dbfolks166mt]

Wait Wait!!!
Just went back and looked neither of the messages match the ID of the actual buyer.

     lf that is the case and the buyer has paid ship the item to your buyer with the address they have registered when they purchased the item. 

[a_c_green]

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@broto_64 wrote:
Most likely you are safe to ship your item to the actual buyer, from the ebay shipping page, simply send it to the address ebay gives on the shipment page (which means you just purchase the label, the address will be the one given by the buyer and will be correct).

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Ayup. Given that those two messages came from other accounts, they have absolutely nothing to do with the transaction, and given the absence of any other red flags involving the actual buyer, I would just ship as usual (not forgetting the Signature Confirmation for $750+ sales, of course...).

[sextons-sweet-deals]

You state the actual buyer is still registered. You need to review this buyer's complete profile and Google address their location.

a $900 lens is a target for scammers. Some will play the game that it is broke, defective, does not fit, and so on!  Then they open a case, and you get a box of rocks back. Package shows delivered and you're out funds and product. 

You should entertain selling this local. Let the buyer test it and pay at pick-up. You can also state in your listing that signature is required at delivery. Scammers don't like to sign for things. 

Sellers always need to keep their guard up and do their homework before shipping. 

[gone.c-33]

There’s no reason to believe OP’s actual buyer is anything but honest.

I don’t think advising new seller to conduct what almost amounts to a full background check on each and every buyer is productive.