Can someone help me determine if this is a prelude to a scam?

[blumescientific]

I'm a pretty new seller on ebay and have a few expensive electronic items listed for sale ($4k+).  I received a message from a potential buyer asking me to send them an offer for the lowest price I am willing to sell one of these items for.  The entire message is as follows:

dear sir ,how much lowest price would you please like to sell as buy it now price ?
Mailing to United States address
if you are willing to accept , would you please send the offer through Ebay ? Then I will accept the offer immediately PLEASE NEVER revise the price on ebay , To avoid others to purchase because of time difference i am sincere and serious buyer looking forward to your quick respond thanks

On the upside, this user has 100% positive feedback with more than 5000 "feedback received" (all of it as a buyer, only once as a seller).  However, two things make me suspicious that this may be a scam.  First, the buyer is in China and said the item would be shipped to a US address.   Second, a random sampling of the sellers this buyer has purchased from does not indicate that this buyer has ever purchased anything even remotely similar to the specialty electronic test equipment he/she is interested in buying from me.  It looks like it's all collectibles (sports cards, comics, etc.).

From what I've read here, sellers have virtually zero protection against fraud, so I am being cautious in hopes of reducing my chances of being scammed.  If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions for how I should proceed, I would appreciate the input.  Thanks!

[jonathanbrightlight]

Nothing about that message makes me suspicious, and the fact that it's being shipped to a US address isn't an issue, either, many Chinese (and other foreign) buyers use Freight Forwarders to ship their purchases overseas to them, and most of those transactions go off without a problem.  Just follow the basic rules of an eBay transaction (never try to go off site, never ship to a different address than what is on the order) and it should be fine.  Definitely get signature confirmation on that purchase, it's required for anything over $750.

[luckythewinner]

Can someone help me determine if this is a prelude to a scam?

Every transaction carries the risk of fraud. A scam does not need a "prelude".

From what I've read here, sellers have virtually zero protection against fraud

Correct. Again, a scam does not need a "prelude". Every transaction carries the risk of fraud.

I'm a pretty new seller on ebay and have a few expensive electronic items listed for sale ($4k+).

Some would argue this statement is the best indicator that a scam is imminent. 🤔

The buyer's message simply means that the buyer wants a deal but is worried that someone else would get the deal he wants to get for himself.

For what it is worth, I never send offers to specific buyers. If I decide I am willing to sell for less, I always lower the price to attract the widest audience. 

[sextons-sweet-deals]

I smell trouble!

1. $4,000 item. You are new / low seller with very expensive items. A target for scammers. I would only do pick-up / pay then only for an item that expensive. 

2. Why doesn't the buyer make an offer?

3. Mailing to U.S. address. Might want to check their profile. I would bet they are in another country and will be using a freight forwarder.

4. they state: NEVER revise the price on ebay , To avoid others to purchase because of time difference i am sincere and serious buyer looking forward to your quick respond thanks. That tells me that they are probably located in another country (time difference).

You are the owner. You call the shots. Not the buyer.

If you are willing to ship International, it would be best to use eBay Global shipping service. You will seller protection. with eBay. I recommend shipping your expensive stuff with signature require. That loose change cost can be a deterrent for some scammers. 

Good luck on this. 

[ittybitnot]

@blumescientific 

Your listings make use of the "best offer" feature The buyer likely does NOT want to use the "make offer" feature since you retain the eBay settings that were placed on your account that will result in them having to put up a payment source in order to make an offer to you in the first place.  This limits the payment options they can use, and will result (if you accept) in their c.card being charged immediately.  You could simply tell them the price you will accept, and see it they make that offer if you are so inclined. 

I do not think you can "send an offer" to a particular buyer unless there is an option for you to "respond with offer" in the message flow.  If you can, and do that, the item will simply remain for sale until someone pays for it.  It would be the same thing if the buyer then sends you a COUNTER offer and you accept.  They no longer have to pay for that either, but the product will still remain for sale. 

You are a new seller with expensive items that are going to make you a "scam magnet" here for quite a while.  Please familiarize yourself with the different ploys used i.e. text me scammer, change of address scammer, etc.  These types don't really pay and are easily dispensed with.  It is the ones that do pay, have the front money to scam that are often the least obvious.  

With the mention of Freight Forwarders, they usually can be perfectly safe, and even safer for you if you KNOW THAT ONE IS BEING USED in the first place.  eBay is not going to tell you, and it is easy to be duped by the typical scams in this arena if you are not aware.  

Here is an example of a seller that was a victim of this,  had it taken care of right before he either had to refund or have eBay refund from his proceeds for him.  

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/New-type-of-return-fraud-Bar-code-on-shipping-label-replaced/m...


Remember just about anything can be had for free on eBay at your expense with the right kind of phony claim.  You can avoid some, but know going in your tolerance for risk.  Do not sell anything here that you are not willing to lose, (and pay extra to MAYBE get it back in a return).  

Good luck, and you can always come here for advice and additional information! 

[aproudparent2010]

Of course they have 100% feedback, all buyers do.

Your listings have Make Offer button on them so buyer can use that

You are a new seller with high dollar items, target for scammers

[ittybitnot]

Definitely get signature confirmation on that purchase, it's required for anything over $750.

@jonathanbrightlight 

VERY good point!!!!!   Also in light of recent USPS behavior of refusing to scan parcels going to freight forwarders and denying any insurance claims made my sellers for lost packages sent to such establishments, I would be inclined to send these parcels via FedEx or UPS (labels purchased elsewhere).   

Shipping method is just something to consider.  I didn't have the heart to tell the OP in the thread I linked above that he was lucky he got a "delivered" scan in the first place.  The scenario had already advanced to the "faulty fake tracking return" stage anyway.  

[pickapaper]

@blumescientific 

I've been selling on eBay for 28 years and there is no way I would sell a $4,000 or $6,000 item on eBay, let alone ship it to another country.  Too many things can go wrong. 

But that is my opinion.  YOU have to be the judge of whether you are willing to take the risk.   

Just keep in mind that electronics is one of the highest-scam items on eBay.   

Never sell anything you can't afford to lose.

[caldreamer]

Hard to know in advance if you will get scammed.   Couple of things you should know....EBAY holds Seller responsible if gets damaged or lost in the mail.   Also, because your customer has a "international account" Seller charged extra 1.65% fee.   Better if you use EBAY EIS shipping (you are only responsible for USA portion of the trip and EBAY waives the 1.65% international fee.   EBAY reimburses the customer if it gets lost or damaged during international journey.

If you want to use EIS you need to change your preferences.   Go to SITE PREFERENCES, SHIPPING PREFERENCES (click on ENROLL).    This will automatically "turn on" worldwide shipping for all your current and future listings.   You can "exclude" any countries you don't want to ship to.

[caldreamer]

Also I forgot to mention any customer can contact credit card company to "reverse payment" AFTER they receive your item.   If that happens...customer keeps BOTH item + your money.   This is one of the pitfalls of selling online.

[248williamd]

This is no longer the case, they recently changed how offers work. You can now send an offer, have it accepted, and not buy it without any repercussions. 

[ittybitnot]

 Better if you use EBAY EIS shipping...

@caldreamer 

While your statement is correct there is no way to FORCE an international buyer to use EIS instead of a Freight Forwarder.  eBay does not allow a seller to refuse to ship to a US freight forwarder address without defects and/or penalties.  You get paid, you are suppose to ship.  You can offer EIS, but the buyer doesn't have to use it. 

When PayPal processed the money for eBay sales, sellers were allowed to block payments from non-US sources.  This essentially made it impossible for a buyer who used a freight forwarder from PAYING (not bidding or hitting a BIN button).   eBay does not allow this option.  

eBay does allow you to contest a claim "return request for SNAD* from a buyer that used a F. Forwarder, but that requires the SELLER to know the address was that of a forwarder, and who to contact at eBay to have the claim dismissed BEFORE the situation gets worse. 

[kabilab]

Blume, pickapaper's response at reply #8 is concise and logical. I have sold items on e-Bay since 10/03 and have always followed the rule to never list any stock, the loss of which would be a concern to me.

[nyr134]

I am leaning towards this buyer being legitimate - mainly because he has purchased at least 5000 items on eBay already.  It would be very unusual for him to start thievery now.   

You did a random sampling of whom he has purchased from and found mostly relatively small-dollar items.  That is not surprising: most people purchase many inexpensive items and only occasionally $4,000 products.

The fact that the buyer is in China and has a U.S. shipping address is not a cause for concern.  That is quite common.

[ittybitnot]

You can now send an offer, have it accepted, and not buy it without any repercussions. 

@248williamd 

eBay has removed the "accept" button for buyers that receive offers sent by sellers.  Now when a seller sends an offer (or two or more to the same buyer), they have to be paid separately at full shipping cost.  Removal of the "accept" button on the buyer's end, removed invoicing/request total features for combined shipping on items for which a SELLER sends an offer. These remain for sale until paid for. 

If a seller "accepts" a counter offer from the buyer, or more than ONE from the same buyer the same thing applies.  A seller cannot invoice, send a reminder, or award a non-payment strike for COUNTER OFFERS that the buyer neglects to pay for.   The buyer again has no "accept" button, and likely does not even know their counter offer was accepted unless they happen to check their bids/offers folder. 

These rules are for everyone,  and the second phase of "combined shipping killer settings".   The original were/are the "Buyer Rules" that require a payment source upfront before a buyer can bid or make an offer. These disallowed combined shipping, and auto-billed the buyer automatically when the seller accepted an offer generated by the buyer, or when an auction ended with the buyer as the winning bidder. While sellers that realize that these eBay awarded default settings exist and what they actually do, can turn them off, so buyer's do get an "accept" feature and can request a total for combined shipping, there are still sellers that think this is simply a wonderful idea.  

Some users confuse the two programs outlined above.