Buyer is wasting my time.....

[amawil3768]

I'm selling a pair of shoes to this lady. She wanted to text me and had all these questions. She said that she was buying these shoes for a friends bday. Now she wants to also pay for a giftcard and send the giftcard with the shoes to send to her. A day and a half of this. I have oblidged her but have yet to receive a payment.

Am I being impatient? Or is this buyer wasting my time? I'm trying to sell these shoes. I need the cash and she's stalling when I could just easily sell to someone else without all this trouble. I have pictures and have been straightforward.

[vintagecraze50]

You have a buyer. I would be extremely happy about that. Continue to answer any questions they may have and if the item sells before they make up their mind. Well, then that’s good too.

[fashunu4eeuh]

Run, do not walk away from this buyer! This sounds like a scam! You will not get paid. Do not send the gift card.

This buyer is trying to get you to send the items immediately. You may receive a bogus notice that payment has been received but it is a fake email or text. Do not click on a link in such a message.

There is never a reason for a buyer to have your phone number or email. All communication should only take place in Ebay messages. 

Always check PayPal before shipping. Go directly to your PP thru your browser to verify payment.

[ronaldms.innergroovenmore]

amawil3768, 

What's up with the gift card? I would just focus on the shoes, and that's it. You are selling shoes. If she wants the shoes, she will buy them. If not, move on. You have more important things to worry about than her wasting your time. I would send one last message that says something to the effect about the shoes. Period. The gift card is her worry. If she is not serious look for another buyer. You are doing everything you are supposed to do as a seller. Now it is her turn as a buyer to do the same. There is something to be said for the positive exchange of goods and services and not wasting your time. Your time is just as valuable as her is.

I am a seller here on eBay as well. I sell mostly used LPs, some new LPs, Waterford crystal, a few books, and I have also sold some paper money and coins in the past. 99% of my transactions have been positive experiences, but I did have one buyer that was a pain in the rear. This buyer was much like yours with excessive demands and wasting my time.

Good luck and I hope this helps a bit.
Ron Morrison

[7606dennis]

I have to agree that something doesn't ring true with this buyer.  I would probably block them. 

How did they get your cell number to text you, by the way?

[fashunu4eeuh]

@amawil3768 

Have you purchased the gift card? How much is it for and what vendor? I am very concerned about this "buyer". You are a new seller with an expensive item. Scammers sometime target newbies with high dollar items and try to prey on their inexperience. There is absolutely no reason for this person to ask you to provide another item. If she needs a gift card, she should procure it herself. It is highly inappropriate for her to request this, as well as being against eBay policies (buyers cannot ask for items not included in the listing). But as she has not actually bought the shoes yet, I would immediately place her on your block list, and do not respond to any more of her messages. 

Wait, I see that the Donna Karan shoes sold this afternoon. But i also see you have relisted them. Why is that? So the buyer in question has clicked the Buy It Now today, but you have yet to be paid, and decided to relist them? I'm just guessing here. A sold item cannot be relisted without canceling the transaction. Ebay will expect payment on that sale, regardless of the fact that no monies have changed hands. Did you cancel the transaction? If you can, please let us know what the situation is. 

[bigdeals.etc]

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@amawil3768 wrote:

Now she wants to also pay for a giftcard and send the giftcard with the shoes to send to her.

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Wait a minute. I don't get this part. Are you saying that the buyer wants to buy the shoes and on top of that have you buy a gift card for her (like a target gift card) to include with the package with the shoes, and she'll pay you for the amount in the gift card? And of course she'll pay for the shoes too? 

Why doesn't she just send the gift card to her friend herself? This all sounds pretty fishy and burdensome for you.

[annadryl]

I read about the extra-gift-cards scam almost every day. They already have you on the hook, haven't paid (and won't) and they're fishing for more. Sending extra gift cards is like sending extra cash.

I wish bots would dectect these gift card messages, they seem to pick up on every thing else...

Good luck~

[bigdeals.etc]

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@annadryl wrote:

I read about the extra-gift-cards scam almost every day. They already have you on the hook, haven't paid (and won't) and they're fishing for more. Sending extra gift cards is like sending extra cash.

I wish bots would dectect these gift card messages, they seem to pick up on every thing else...

Good luck~

---

Oh wow. So I was correct in my assumption? I guess I've been pretty ignorant to not even realize this is a common scam. But c'mon, even if it isn't a scam... why would anyone even agree to this? Maybe you can help buy a television set for the buyer from Amazon and send it to their house and they'll pay you for it too. 🙂

UPDATE: I'm not angry at the OP or anyone else here. Just a bit shocked that this is even a common scam and I was just being facetious.

[mvls1]

Don't do it. It is a scam!

[mam98031]

Why did you give them your phone number?  The first thing you should always tell a buyer that wants to start texting you is that you won't respond.  All communication MUST be through the Ebay email system.  No exceptions.

As others have told you, this is a scam.  Tell her to stop texting and only communicate via Ebay email if she has more questions.  If she hasn't actually purchased anything, I'd block her in a heart beat.

[tienhu-66]

I'd like to you!

[thanhcon-77]

I'd like to you!

[luckythewinner]

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Now she wants to also pay for a giftcard and send the giftcard with the shoes to send to her. A day and a half of this. I have oblidged her but have yet to receive a payment.

This buyer is wasting your time and setting you up for a scam. If she follows through with the scam, she will eventiually send you a spoofed email claiming you have been paid through paypal, but the payment will not appear until you ship. Overpaying you and asking you to refunds with an untraceable cash equivalent is the biggest red flag you could possible get. 

Please don't take this the wrong way, but you are a new seller who is engaging a scammer and the scammer senses your desperation to make this sale. 

I could just easily sell to someone else without all this trouble

If that is the case, stop communicating, wait two how did this buyer purchase the item without paying immediateHow did this buyer pourchase the 

The fact that she is engaging you 

[this*old*attic]

Yes.

And it’s all over - someone spoofed the principal’s public school email account at my school last year, asking everyone to buy ITunes gift cards/scratch/send a pic of the code.

 I forget the “story” - some emergency, at a district meeting and forgot to bring a white elephant gift or something like that.