Am I setting myself up to be scammed?

[nichalissa_0]

Hi all,

I'm a first time, one-off seller with a high value (~$800) auction currently going on an old camera I had laying around (not trying to start a business on ebay or expecting to sell much of anything here in the future).  The auction seems to be going well, and my first bidder contacted me to get some basic authentication that I was legit, which I fully expected and addressed timely.  Since then, others have come in to bid (also expected), but have not contacted me at all.  They have lots of exclusively positive feedback and profiles that are at least a couple of years old.  The feedback seems to be from a variety of sellers (not just one or two), although comments are all very superficial like "Thank you for an easy, pleasant transaction. Excellent buyer. A++++++".  But I've also read this isn't uncommon or necessarily indicative of anything to be concerned about. 

While I did a few days of research on selling via ebay before I posted this, I've been reading all the horror stories of scams and fraudulent buyer activity (claiming damage, no receipt, wrong item shipped, etc) with little to no recourse for sellers even when shipping with insurance and signature required upon delivery.  It's got me rethinking whether selling through ebay is still a good idea.  I certainly do want to sell this and am of course happy to do all diligence and work to hold up my end of the transaction, but  as a first time seller with a relatively high value item, am I setting myself up to get defrauded here?  Is there anything suspicious or any warning sign I'm missing in all this with my inexperienced eyes?  Any insights, guidance or suggestions are all greatly appreciated.    

[gracieallen01]

If the buyer texts you outside of ebay messaging, I would say, 'Yes!', you are being setup.  The warning sign is communicating where the buyer obtains any outside contact information.

[soh.maryl]

No one, buyer or seller, who has been on eBay for more than a day or two, can guarantee safety and security for any buyer or seller.  It would be beyond foolish to do so.  

There's no eBay requirement that bidders contact you, but, if they do so, it has to be inside of eBay.

All buyers have all positive FB because they cannot be given anything else.

There's nothing amiss or wrong with "superficial" comments in FB.  Some of us have set our FB so that it's automatic.

You apparently understand that a sale over $750 should be shipped with signature required.

It would have really been good for you to do some buying before selling and/or to start off your selling with a less valuable item.  

[downunder-61]

The bidding looks pretty normal, and your current HB has a good FB score and knows bidding going by one of their bids

[1tuna]

I woud aslo concur that the high bidder knows bidding

I can aslo say that the high bidder does not know what they are doing

bidding with gusto a few days before the end is a sign of an amaeteur

any high bidder that keeps on going is shooting themselves in the foot

of course this is all good for the seller and it might just be conjecture

it might not matter if the final price goes to 2000 but if the high bidder is trying to get it for less they should stop bidding for a few days

so many strategies..........

[jayjaspersgarage]

There are different ways to unload expensive cameras.  I once sold seven Leica cameras in one afternoon and believe me it wasn't on-line.  I pocketed tens of thousands without any fees and walked away from the camera store a happy seller.

I do list some very old clunker cameras here in my ebay store just to bring in fresh eyes but for every one I sell here I sell ten at garage sales.

[vintage-camerastuff]

Vintage camera buyers are some of the most honest buyers.  I see nothing in your listing that would cause me concern.  You have a high value item that is very desirable to camera collectors and film camera users.  As long as you don't sell outside of ebay you should be good.  Nothing I see that should worry you and I've been in this business for nearly 20 years.  Having said all that you should never let your guard down when selling a high priced item on ebay and stay vigilant.

[a_c_green]

---

@nichalissa_0 wrote:

I'm a first time, one-off seller with a high value (~$800) auction currently going on an old camera I had laying around (not trying to start a business on ebay or expecting to sell much of anything here in the future).    

---

An account used exclusively for buying will always show 100% Positive as it is not possible to leave a lower rating for a buyer; it's Positive or nothing. 

That said, I agree that your current lead bidder looks legitimate, with no bid retractions and a 4-digit feedback count. The bigger risk is someone un-vetted who swoops in at the last second and then tries the usual scam methods on you: requesting a text with more info (so that a fake payment notification can be sent later via text which eBay cannot detect), claiming fake shipping damage or an empty box, etc. (To be clear, a last-second snipe does not indicate a scammer; I do that all the time in my buying account. It's what your winner does that can indicate a scam in the making.)

So let the auction run and keep us posted on the results, especially if the winning bidder starts making any unusual requests post-sale. Because the final sale will be over $750, you are required to ship with Signature Confirmation in order to maintain seller protection against an Item Not Received dispute. Good luck.

[dbfolks166mt]

     Others have pretty much covered the bases. About the only caution I would add is when the item sells if it is to a foreign buyer using a freight forwarder you may want to consider whether you want to follow through with the sale depending on your analysis of the risk. 

[donsdetour]

New sellers are a target for scammers:

Some have already been told to you.

This item you yourself are setting up  for problems: its been stored and can you guarantee the timing of the shutter? Did you remove the battery to see if it leaked??

In other words you can not guarantee some thing about it. 

Also such is usually for the higher end an over seas shipping: such usually goes through a freight forward system.

 Such can be a problem though I have never had one with using such.

Simple rule is: If you can not afford to lose item and money spent on it and shipping: do not list it on the Internets.

Read these boards about the ways that folks are ripped of of item, and money.

[nichalissa_0]

Thanks very much to all of you for such quick and helpful replies.  I greatly appreciate the guidance and insight.  I will let the auction continue to roll and keep this thread updated with how this all turns out!