Concerned About Buyers

[wiscbookreseller]

I listed a new PS4 for sale and so far all of the bids have been from buyers with very low feedback, like single digit. I just got a bid today from a buyer that has 0 feedback, but it shows he's been a member since 2014.

I'm concerned about what is going on. I don't want to cancel the auction, but I have a feeling I am about to be scammed.

Obviously, I want to sell the item, and create a good buyer experience, but I need to protect myself as well. I am very concerned about shipping off a brand new PS4 to someone with 0 feedback (assuming they win) that has been a member for years.

I know it's against the terms of service to reject a buyer based on the number of feedback, but I also feel that I need to use some common sense.

I guess I'm just looking for some advice from more experienced sellers. I haven't been selling that long.

[grousesassin1]

I understand your fears i have just started selling on ebay just over 3 weeks now and I have already got my 1st non paying buyer who won an auction on saturday. mr_lincoln on here has been a good help with info on what to do, so a shout out to mr_lincoln there. it is not a high priced item just a jacket that hit the winning bid at $25.00. when i sent this person an invoice i saw where my item was to be sent and imediately thought **bleep** this is gonna be a problem buyer. im still holding out hope that i am wrong and will be opening a claim tomorrow 6 days i feel is more then enough time to wait for payment. it can be scary especially when you are just starting out. but like the others have said if you are scared or cant afford to lose it dont list it. right im just consitrating on smalls until i get my confidence up.

[omg_its_kt]

That was a bit harsh. I'd be concerned too. And I've been burned before by a similar experience. The buyer purchased a used iPhone from me, sent the money (over $600) and was verified through PayPal. I was told to ship, did so, then his money ended up bouncing. I tried to stop it with the USPS but no success. He got the phone and ended up blocking me after multiple attempts to get the money. This was 6 months ago and after countless calls to eBay and PayPal, I still have no money. eBay says it was PayPal's fault and PayPal says it was eBay's fault.

[mr_lincoln]

@grousesassin1

---

@grousesassin1 wrote:

I understand your fears i have just started selling on ebay just over 3 weeks now and I have already got my 1st non paying buyer who won an auction on saturday. mr_lincoln on here has been a good help with info on what to do, so a shout out to mr_lincoln there. it is not a high priced item just a jacket that hit the winning bid at $25.00. when i sent this person an invoice i saw where my item was to be sent and imediately thought **bleep** this is gonna be a problem buyer. im still holding out hope that i am wrong and will be opening a claim tomorrow 6 days i feel is more then enough time to wait for payment. it can be scary especially when you are just starting out. but like the others have said if you are scared or cant afford to lose it dont list it. right im just consitrating on smalls until i get my confidence up.

---

Thank you for the compliment.  When you are ready to open the claim just go the Resolution Center, I think you will need the listing number.  Once you process the UnPaid Item (UPI) add that Buyer to your blocked list.  If you have ANY problems getting this done come back here or you can private message any of us for further assistance.

[grousesassin1]

i looked at my buyers feedback 6 out of 24 were no pay no response...Not a good average if ebay cant get payment i will block this buyer and relist the item seems its popular item selling for way more then i was asking for my starting auction bid. All the more reason seller should be able to give bad buyer feedback, with that many no pays i think a buyer should be blocked from buying for X number of months

[femmefan1946]

buyers feedback 6 out of 24 were no pay no response.

Sigh

If those seller had opened Unpaid Item Disputes that bidder would be long gone.

Do you have your Seller Preferences set to automatically Block bidders with Strikes for nonpayment?

You can cancel any bidder without giving a reason. You can add any bidder to your Blocked Bidder List without giving a reason.

Once the bidder becomes a buyer, you can refuse to send until Paypal tells you he has paid -- on your PP account page, not in some random email.

You can use Signature Required shipping, even though it is not required by eBay for items valued under $750, because the carrier won't then leave it unattended on the porch.

You can use a third party insurer, like shipinsurance, for insurance against claims of damage in shipping.

You can insist that there will be NO REFUNDS WITHOUT RETURN, and eBay will back you up. 

Are six ways to protect yourself enough, or do you need more?

[grousesassin1]

i dont know how to do any of that stuff or how to open a claim i went to eBays contact us page to talk to a live human so they can walk me through the process, im a more visual person. and there was zero nadda none nothing on contacting ebay it just kept bringing me back to the same 'what do you need help with" page.  where the heck did the call us or call me numbers go i just used them last week...ARRRGGHHH this is so darn frustrating

[mr_lincoln]

@grousesassin1 

---

@grousesassin1 wrote:

i dont know how to do any of that stuff or how to open a claim i went to eBays contact us page to talk to a live human so they can walk me through the process, im a more visual person. and there was zero nadda none nothing on contacting ebay it just kept bringing me back to the same 'what do you need help with" page.  where the heck did the call us or call me numbers go i just used them last week...ARRRGGHHH this is so darn frustrating

---

Not a problem, processing the UPI is farily simple.  Explanation plus pics for you.  i can only go so far because I do not have one to process but once you find it and go further it is pretty easy.

On My Ebay go to the Account tab and HOVER your mouse (cursor) over the tab, a pull down will appear, go to Resolution Center and click that.

In Resolution center check the "I haven't received my payment" the click Continue.

Next screen has a little window where you either type in or copy over the Listings number then click Continue.  From there it may ask you some questions, I forget but you should be able to take it from there.  I will put together some pics for adding a Buyer to your Blocked list, that is done in Site Preferences.

[grousesassin1]

ok thank you i think i did it right i now have a note on the listing that says unpaid item case open. or somthing like that. like i said this buyer has several feedbacks that say bad buyer no payment no response.. which is currently my case with him. whether another seller has opened a case on him before i do not know.

[mr_lincoln]

@grousesassin1 Excellent, you are doing just fine.  So here is what happens.  You have to wait four (4) days to the minute before you can Relist the item.  Right now eBay is messaging the Buyer that they have 4 days to Pay or else they 1) lose the item and 2) get a strike against them.  Later tonight I will get the pics and instructions on blocking the Buyer but if the Buyer messages you simply ignore them at this point, nothing to say other than Pay up. 

After 4 days you will have to go back to the Resolution Center and Close the case, eBay does not do that for you.

[grousesassin1]

Ok thank you! You have been a big help...now if i could just get the rest of my stuff to start selling...i have alot of photos to take and alot of things to list new, used and vintage

[mr_lincoln]

Okay, to block a Buyer ...

First, the last post I did with Pics the uploader and pic function spread them out. Hopefully these will not do that, I made them smaller so they may be hard to read. Keep this in mind. A blocked Buyer ca not contact you on anything new but they may still be able to contact you the item they bid on. Since you basically turned it over to eBay you just ignore them at this point.

-Go to the Account tab and click on it, on the menu that appears click Site Preferences

-Your Site Preferences may come up with all sections open OR they may be compressed. Either way you want to scroll down to Buyer Requirements and over on the right click blue SHOW command, This will open them up. Sometimes if you wait too long to do something they may close up on you again …

-Next look all the way to the bottom of the Select Requirements and check the box that says Don’t allow blocked buyers to contact me.

-Then over on the right click the blue Blocked list.

-Next will be a window where you type in the Buyer’s id EXACTLY as it appears on your item. Then click Submit (blue button). This will kick you out of Site Preferences and record your entry. You can always go back in to Site Preferences and read the other Buyer Requirements but for now just add that Buyer to your list.

[rgraf2zacharia]

Maybe someone can help me with my recent sale? I was selling an expensive new jacket and a person seemed very interested. He asked me a million questions, all of which I answered. He was trying to get me to accept a bid that was too low and he was so persistent that he was annoying me. I gave him my lowest price that was acceptable and then I told him that. He then started questioning whether the jacket was authentic and was getting even more annoying. He never accepted my lowest price at this time. 

I felt that a scam might be in play and that he might claim that he never got the item or that it was defective or something else so I blocked him from making the purchase. After I blocked him he kept messaging me over and over but I ignored him at that point because he seems a little unstable to me and I didn't want to get scammed by him. I really don't want to get stuck for the high price that the item costs me. The very next day the item was purchased by another person (in the exact same size and color that the first guy was interested in!) and from the same city. Even the ebay names of the buyer and the blocked individual had the same word in them. It's obviously the same guy although he says that it's for his daughter blah blah blah.   

So now what would you guys recommend? Should I ship out the expensive jacket and take a chance even though I don't really trust the buyer not to pull a scam? He's paid for it on paypal. This blocked guy seems a little obsessed and a little unstable to me. I really don't even want to ship him the item where he would get my name and address off of the box, to be honest. So what do you guys recommend that I should do? I'm certain that the buyer is the same person as the one that I blocked.

P.S. I've been selling on ebay sporadically for years and have a perfect rating. I just don't want to get a bad rating or get scammed on this expensive item. Thanks!

[sam9876]

"How does listing it like that help prevent scams? Even if I list it as an auction, people will still need to pay before I ship the item."

You don't seem to understand how a fixed price listing with immediate payment required works.

[cinjamanbooks]

We tend to veer away from game systems unless it is going to be extremely profitable for us, like we were able to buy it at a really good price. We have been scammed twice on here, once for a PS4 and one for an Xbox One system. These systems seem to be high scam items like others have mentioned. We have found that it is very difficult to prove the system that was sent, and scammers lie and state SNAD. eBay did not side with us in these two situations. Luckily, we had serial numbers and opened police reports, and mail fraud reports. Once those were opened, in both cases we were able to quickly resolve. One in particular the police in their town actually went and found the PS4 at their home with matching serial number. I know that this is rare to happen, but we were thankful! However, even in that situation, eBay refunded us out of their own pocket, and let the buyer keep the money. Go figure!