Buyer used Buy-it-now and now wants me to contact outside of ebay

[latimere2023]

So a buyer buys my item via Buy-It-Now, doesn't pay and sends me an email saying he wants me to text him to some number. Now right away this is a red flag. Second his accounts says he is from the UK, but the phone number comes from New Orleans and he wants me to apparently ship the item to Brampton Ontario. Now, add to that the account was made on Feb. 1 with a user name of random letters and numbers. Clearly SCAM. So I called customer service because I am not sure what to do here because my listing is now in limbo and they tell me I have to wait for almost a week then they can cancel it yet this is clearly a scam. What do I do, I was thinking I will call them back, but not sure. 

[a_c_green]

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@latimere2023 wrote:

So a buyer buys my item via Buy-It-Now, doesn't pay and sends me an email saying he wants me to text him to some number. Now right away this is a red flag. 

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Indeed; it's a scam. Cancelling for non-payment doesn't require "almost a week;" it's available as a cancellation option after 96 hours from time of purchase. (Prior to that, your options are limited to choices like Out of Stock (don't choose that one) or Problem with Address. 

Given that you have a scammer here who is not going to actually pay you the $400+ for that graphics card, I would normally say you could probably relist it right now, but

1. Your zero-feedback seller status coupled with a highly-scammed item makes you an absolute scammer magnet. Later sales attempts are not likely to go much better than this one. Consider selling that locally for cash.
    
2. For the record, the way to avoid this particular situation is to find and use the Immediate Payment Required checkbox, which is found under the Payments subhead of the Preferences section of the listing form. That way no one can snatch your item off the market without actually paying you for it first. (However, it does not help you with later scams such as fake damage claims or return swaps. Refer to point 1 above. 🙄)

[nobody*s_perfect]

Yes, it's a scam. Ignore the buyer's request.

You can avoid this by using Immediate Payment Required.

You can cancel the transaction based on "Buyer hasn't paid" after 96 hours after the sale.  Here is the Help page about what to do if a buyer doesn't pay:

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/getting-paid/resolving-unpaid-items-buyers?id=4137 

[monica-sells]

you have been given good advice....please heed the warnings....

[southern*sweet*tea · Accepted solution]

@latimere2023 

Scammers will try to get you to take the sale off of eBay, or get your personal information so they can send you a fake payment email, hoping you are too new and naive to verify that you have actually been paid. No LEGITIMATE buyer needs that information.

Here are some red flags to watch out for.

1. Buyer asks for your email address, Paypal address
2. Buyer sends you a phone number to text/call him/her
3. Buyer asks you to buy gift cards to go with the order
4. Buyer asks you to send the item to a different address after paying
5. Buyer wants you to send the item overnight/express and will pay you a lot extra to do this
6. Buyers says that they cannot pay through the eBay website and sends you a link to click on so that the payment will go through
7. Buyer offers more for your item than the price you have it listed for

If ANY of the above happen, do not contact the buyer or respond to any messages from them. Block them here: https://www.ebay.com/bmgt/BuyerBlock This will prevent them from buying from you.

If they actually purchased, after four full days do an unpaid item cancellation. You can do that here: https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/getting-paid/cancelling-transaction?id=4136 Once you do that you can relist.

Also, if they purchased by buy it now, if you accepted an offer or if they won an auction, report the buyer: https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/resolving-buyer-issues/reporting-issue-buyer?id=4084 Use the reason "asking to complete a sale off eBay".

You need to list at a buy it now price, NO auction, NO best offer, and use immediate payment required. Scammers avoid these listings because they know they can't steal your stuff without paying for it first. When you use immediate payment, the listing stays live on site until it is actually PAID FOR, not just purchased or won at auction.

Decide on the price you want for your item. Be sure to take original cost of goods and fees into consideration. Go to the preferences section at the bottom, click the link that says "Payment managed by eBay", then click to require immediate payment, then click done.

[latimere2023]

Ok thank you, yes I know I have feedback as I am new. Thank you for the info on immediate payment I was wondering where to find that. As for the selling locally I have been trying to do so for a while now with no luck as I am from a smaller city. With what you are saying in point 1 however what is the point then for anyone new to join this site and sell anything if what your saying is all I am going to get is scammers because I am new. Has EBAY become that bad where it is pointless to try?

[latimere2023]

That option to report the buyer is not in the list available to chose from. This is what I get: 

Next, tell us what happened

If your buyer hasn't paid, please open an unpaid item case.

Buyer demanded something that was not offered in my listing

Buyer made a false claim

Buyer misused returns

Buyer messaged me or retracted their bid with no intention of buying my item

[a_c_green]

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@latimere2023 wrote:

With what you are saying in point 1 however what is the point then for anyone new to join this site and sell anything if what your saying is all I am going to get is scammers because I am new. Has EBAY become that bad where it is pointless to try?

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Not at all, but it is pointless to start with big-ticket, high-scam items. Save those for when you are an established seller (a feedback count in at least three digits, the higher the better) and have enough sales experience to know a scam when you see one. This will come with time. Your being here and knowing what questions to ask about your current transaction is a great start.

Start by selling less-expensive items that you can afford to lose completely if things go seriously sideways. (Had you responded to the scammer's request, there's a good chance you would have lost the graphics card. You would have received fake payment notifications and directives to ship without ever receiving a real payment.) Once you know the selling routine, you will be better equipped to notice when things are not right. Good luck.

[latimere2023]

@a_c_green 

I don't want to sell hundreds of items on ebay. I typically have no issue selling things locally. That being said I have gotten into the hobby of building high end computers with high end components which where I live is not a huge market for. I am very versed in watching for online scams as a lot of the same ones are being pulled on Kijiji and Facebook market place. My biggest issue was the lack of options I have to deal with this particular one. 

[a_c_green]

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@latimere2023 wrote:

I don't want to sell hundreds of items on ebay. I typically have no issue selling things locally. That being said I have gotten into the hobby of building high end computers with high end components which where I live is not a huge market for. I am very versed in watching for online scams as a lot of the same ones are being pulled on Kijiji and Facebook market place. My biggest issue was the lack of options I have to deal with this particular one. 

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Okay; understood. The problem you have in this forum is that you will look like a new seller regardless, and scammers will still be lining up to take a whack at you. eBay has very limited protection for sellers, and you may be hung out to dry if the buyer decides to claim fake damage, returns something other than what you sold, or simply does a chargeback with a card provider later on.

[latimere2023]

So then I ask what is the point of any new seller trying to sell anything here?

[simply-the-best-for-you]

While, this is likely a scam, just an FYI, random letters/numbers for a username are perfectly legit & are NOT an indicator of a scam.   They are auto-generated ID's when a Guest uses eBay.  Nothing suspicous about them.  But as others have indicated, the other stuff does indicate a scam in the making, esp since what you're selling is one of the most highly scammed items on eBay. 

[josephb555]

On your eBay page by the item options scroll down to "end listing" and click on it. You will end the listing immediately. You can then relist the item at another time. You should also block the buyer from bidding on your items.

[kensgiftshop]

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@latimere2023 wrote:

So then I ask what is the point of any new seller trying to sell anything here?

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Most new sellers don't have any problems selling here, but you have to watch what you're trying to sell.

Stay away from anything that will attract scammers.

I've been selling since 2011 and there's no way I would list a graphics card.