eBay

texas.star · ‎02-08-2019

Yesterday, I was in contact with a customer about a piece of jewelry. We negotiated a fair price, and part of the deal was that I would not collect sales tax.

After the sale was complete, I received a message from an individual stating they were needing me to ship to a different address, because their father was sick, so they were going to be staying with him. They provided the name and address to ship item. It struck me as odd, because we discussed Texas sales tax, and now they are in New Jersey? Also, the language just didn't sound like the customer I had been in contact with previously. Hmmm...

I messaged back, stating they would need to change their shipping address through Ebay. Then, I went to my other messages and saw that this user was not the buyer. They were just hoping to pull off this scam, and that I'd take their word and ship the jewelry purchased and paid for by someone else.

Unfortunately, Ebay does not make it easy to report users, unless they have purchased something with us. They need to bring back the report button in messages.

The user just set up their account yesterday.

Just thought I'd share. This was a first for me.

divwido · ‎02-08-2019

Nice catch.

Good Moms let you lick the Beaters.

Great Moms turn them off first.

southern*sweet*tea · ‎02-08-2019

Yep, you have to be very careful with these messages. There are scammers who cruise Ebay listings, looking for high value items that have just sold. They message the seller, pretending to be the actual buyer, and try to get that seller to ship to another address. Many sellers have fallen for it and lost the money and the item.

The easier you are to offend the easier you are to control.

We seem to be getting closer and closer to a situation where nobody is responsible for what they did but we are all responsible for what somebody else did. - Thomas Sowell

myjunqueyourtreasure · ‎02-08-2019

Apparently not smart enough to change the "my father's ill so I have to go out of town" line either.

Reality is the leading cause of stress.

hyperrush · ‎02-08-2019

Commum scam.

One sale a day, tomorrow the entire Galaxy!

castlemagicmemories · ‎02-08-2019

We've seen this on these threads many times, you are not alone.

Congratulations! You didn't fall for it!

It's a common scam attempt.

femmefan1946 · ‎02-08-2019

They need to bring back the report button in messages.

Absolutely.

The scam messages all sound alike because the scammers are working from a script. Often English is not their first language and they would not be able to communicate otherwise.

texas.star · ‎02-09-2019

Absolutely, absolutely! It seems like Ebay would want to be notified of this behavior, and eliminate it immediately, versus a seller getting ripped off, and without easy recourse. BRING BACK THE REPORT BUTTON!

brizzybrake · ‎04-19-2019

I've had this happen to several of my listings. I have a laptop for sale that I can't get rid of because scammers like this keep showing up and bidding. I wish eBay did a better job of getting rid of users like this, or perhaps adding a feature where a user who has no buying history can bid. Better yet, certify that users on eBay that sign up are legitimate by asking for a form of ID.

extrememobility · ‎04-19-2019

I believe there is a section on buyer requirements in your accounts page where you can specify this?

dare-2046 · ‎04-19-2019

@extrememobility wrote:
@brizzybrake wrote:
I wish eBay did a better job of getting rid of users like this, or perhaps adding a feature where a user who has no buying history can bid. Better yet, certify that users on eBay that sign up are legitimate by asking for a form of ID.
I believe there is a section on buyer requirements in your accounts page where you can specify this?

Wondering can you provide a link @extrememobility to the buyer requirements page to block a user who has no buying history to bid, and certify that users on eBay that sign up are legitimate by asking for a form of ID?

heartshapedstones · ‎04-19-2019

just wondering~ how does the scammer know you've just sold an item?

cate

jeannicho22 · ‎04-19-2019

This is a two month old thread, but it bears repeating.. Always ship to the address on file regardless of who asks you to ship to another address. Even if the request had come from the OP's buyer, they still could have gotten scammed. eBay claims they will look at messages if a buyer claims INR to the original address where the buyer has requested an address change. PAYPAL WILL NOT. So even if eBay does look at the messages and closes down the INR claim, all the buyer need do is open a claim in PayPal and the will win. In the unlikelihood that the buyer loses their PayPal claim, they need only file a chargeback with their CC company and PayPal's seller protection will not protect them from the chargeback because they did not ship to the address on file.

It is always a good idea to read both eBay's seller protection and PayPal's seller protection.

jeannicho22 · ‎04-19-2019

@heartshapedstones wrote:

just wondering~ how does the scammer know you've just sold an item?

cate

They probably are watching numerous expensive listings at any given time and are notified when they sell. They just contact the seller and pretend to be the buyer. The con artist may or may not have anything at all to do with the real buyer.

texas.star · ‎05-14-2019

Agree. Even if the person was a legitimate customer, I wouldn't ship to a different address. I have had legit customers request this, and I directed them to change their verified address through Ebay, and then I would ship item to the address. Otherwise, as you mention, there are no protections in place.