Buyer with 0 feedback, joined today, offered above asking price

[snowclonestudios]

I'm really new to this game. I have an item I listed as Buy It Now for $299.99. Someone made me an offer for $300. They have zero feedback and they joined today. I'm assuming it's a scammer but I'm not sure. I'm a new seller also with zero feedback and I think the buyer may be trying to take advantage of my inexperience. What should I do?

[snowclonestudios]

Okay, that's fair.

[snowclonestudios]

Is it safer to sell to a buyer with lots of good feedback or will I still be screwed over?

[thenobletuckylife]

Hi Again,

There is no safe way of selling by trying to figure out who the buyer is.

The safe way is in what you sell and the settings you choose on your listing that help protect you.

Few folks will ever advise new sellers to list high value items especially  for high scam items such as phones/electronics/gaming console etc.

Sadly...you are the target as a seller and the only way to get away from that is starting out slow selling low priced items that seldom are scammed.

Once you build up your selling experience then you can branch out into more pricey items.

Experience is what you need.

Mr C

[calntom]

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@snowclonestudios wrote:

Is it safer to sell to a buyer with lots of good feedback or will I still be screwed over?

---

The deal is that we can't choose our buyers. If they pay, the money hits my paypal account,  then I need to ship. 

Phones and other electronics are a tough business here for new sellers. The scammers are searching for new sellers of those items,  day and night, 24/7. 

[vintagecraze50]

Video taping of packing sending etc etc will not help you AT ALL if you get a scammer for these phones. Ebay views all of this as unverifiable in a return request, or in other words, it is still the buyers word against yours and the videos are not going to be viewed as absolute proof.  Do what others have said here and do not list expensive high scam items here as a new seller. You will be a massive scam magnets for these people.

[snowclonestudios]

What is to stop scammers from targeting me when I have more experience? The mere fact that I have more experience?

[thenobletuckylife]

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@snowclonestudios wrote:

What is to stop scammers from targeting me when I have more experience? The mere fact that I have more experience?

---

Your wisdom and selling experience will help you more than it stops them. They are looking for new sellers which they assume will have little knowledge on how the scamming works.

All I can say is that I would never even sell a $200 item here anymore because it is so difficult when dealing with the problems that so easily can arise...especially for phones and electronics.

Mr C

[siberians_forever]

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@snowclonestudios wrote:

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The worst is that you may actually sell these phones, only to be informed your buyer has decided to return them for whatever reason or say item was never received.  They will return you an empty box or just say they never got it and file claims either way.  eBay will refund the money you recieved to your buyer and you will loose your phones and have no money as well.

---

Let's propose a scenario. I sell the item and I record one uninterrupted video showing me placing the item in the box, getting the shipping with tracking, and sending it.  It's clear from the video that the item is correct in the description. The tracking shows that it was delivered and the video proves that it was the correct item. How else could they still get me?

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Simple, by saying it doesnt work, Item Not As Described, Requesting a Return, which is mandatory...and returning you a box with a broken phone or rock in it with tracking confirmation that you received the return.

eBay will take the money back from your account, give it back to the buyer...and you are left with a rock and no money, no phone.

And then you will have the hassle of trying to figure out how to do a mail fraud case against a buyer who no longer has a registered account on eBay...This happens all the time with folks selling PHONES.

Not saying you cant sell your phones...just be prepared to give them away if you do.

Personnally, I would list the phones on CList or sell them at a yard sale...Cash Only Sale

[siberians_forever]

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@snowclonestudios wrote:

What is to stop scammers from targeting me when I have more experience? The mere fact that I have more experience?

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Nothing...Phones are a SCAM MAGNET and have been for the last two years.

[siberians_forever]

@snowclonestudios wrote:

What is to stop scammers from targeting me when I have more experience? The mere fact that I have more experience?

---

I see you removed your phone listings...wise move...very wise ; )

Sib

[shoptalkid]

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@snowclonestudios wrote:

What is to stop scammers from targeting me when I have more experience? The mere fact that I have more experience?

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One of the most important in my opinion is knowing how to reply professionally  to buyer messages.  That right there is enough to quiet some scammers for good.   

Another is to be able to have more control over your listings, it's better to do so using a pc, not on a phone.  Unfortunately,  what some don't realize is that there are limited options/settings when using the app.  

[snowclonestudios]

Yeah. I actually purchased them on sale and was planning to sell them for a profit. I ended up returning them.

[avalee113]

do not accept it then put them on your block list

[radioteam2003]

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@snowclonestudios wrote:

I'm really new to this game. I have an item I listed as Buy It Now for $299.99. Someone made me an offer for $300. They have zero feedback and they joined today. I'm assuming it's a scammer but I'm not sure. I'm a new seller also with zero feedback and I think the buyer may be trying to take advantage of my inexperience. What should I do?

---

Hi snowclonestudios,

I'm late to the party with this comment, but this thread popped up as a suggestion when I was creating a different thread, and after reading the replies you got, I want to add some food for thought. I hope you'll read it all, because I think it's important.

Yes, smartphones/cellphones are a tricky category that tends to attract more scammers than other categories. And yes, it's best to get some experience selling low-dollar items that don't have a lot of meaning (sentimental value) before you jump into the deep end selling high-ticket items.

That doesn't necessarily preclude being what eBay calls a "casual seller " (as opposed a full- or part-time seller) of such items. But it's always good to try eBay as a buyer first, to get a feel for how it works and to asccumulate a few feedbacks.

As for that 0 feedback would-be buyer who made you the Best Offer above your asking price: Why would you automatically think it's a scam? It's entirely possible that it's just a brand-new eBayer who doesn't understand how Best Offer works.

I've had several newbies make me Best Offers over my asking price over the years; they thought "Best Offer" meant you had to offer MORE than the Buy-It-Now price to "win" the item. I just declined their offer and included a note explaining how Best Offer works, that they should offer LESS than the Buy-It-Now price. These were offers on jewelry items, so not cheap stuff, but the transactions where they sent another Best Offer all worked out fine.

Being paranoid about scam buyers is not a mind set that will serve you well. It will seep into all of your dealings with customers and subtly poison your interactions with them. This sets you up for problems.

Instead, bear in mind that Pierre Omidyar created eBay based on the premise that "People are basically good." I've racked up more than 20,000 eBay transactions as both a buyer and a seller (including my selling IDs; this is my posting and frequently buying ID), so I know this to be true. People really ARE basically good!

I hope you'll come back to eBay with items to sell, as well as when you need to buy almost anything you can think of (as well as things you never knew existed and could only find here on eBay!), and I wish you much enjoyment of all your eBay endeavors!

[ebetsy]

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@snowclonestudios wrote:

I'm really new to this game. I have an item I listed as Buy It Now for $299.99. Someone made me an offer for $300. They have zero feedback and they joined today. I'm assuming it's a scammer but I'm not sure. I'm a new seller also with zero feedback and I think the buyer may be trying to take advantage of my inexperience. What should I do?

---

Hi snowclonestudios,

I'm late to the party with this comment, but this thread popped up as a suggestion when I was creating a different thread, and after reading the replies you got, I want to add some food for thought. I hope you'll read it all, because I think it's important.

Yes, smartphones/cellphones are a tricky category that tends to attract more scammers than other categories. And yes, it's best to get some experience selling low-dollar items that don't have a lot of meaning (sentimental value) before you jump into the deep end selling high-ticket items.

That doesn't necessarily preclude being what eBay calls a "casual seller " (as opposed a full- or part-time seller) of such items. But it's always good to try eBay as a buyer first, to get a feel for how it works and to asccumulate a few feedbacks.

As for that 0 feedback would-be buyer who made you the Best Offer above your asking price: Why would you automatically think it's a scam? It's entirely possible that it's just a brand-new eBayer who doesn't understand how Best Offer works.

I've had several newbies make me Best Offers over my asking price over the years; they thought "Best Offer" meant you had to offer MORE than the Buy-It-Now price to "win" the item. I just declined their offer and included a note explaining how Best Offer works, that they should offer LESS than the Buy-It-Now price. These were offers on jewelry items, so not cheap stuff, but the transactions where they sent another Best Offer all worked out fine.

Being paranoid about scam buyers is not a mind set that will serve you well. It will seep into all of your dealings with customers and subtly poison your interactions with them. This sets you up for problems.

Instead, bear in mind that Pierre Omidyar created eBay based on the premise that "People are basically good." I've racked up more than 20,000 eBay transactions as both a buyer and a seller (including my selling IDs; this is my posting and frequently buying ID), so I know this to be true. People really ARE basically good!

I hope you'll come back to eBay with items to sell, as well as when you need to buy almost anything you can think of (as well as things you never knew existed and could only find here on eBay!), and I wish you much enjoyment of all your eBay endeavors!