Every Ebay buyer trying to scam me

[avernicsmokeshop]

Hi, I am a new seller here on eBay, and I was hoping to sell some of my old Pokemon cards. At first it seemed like i was going to sell a bunch, and after 2 days i have "sold" over 20 items. Now here is the catch.. of the 20 items I've sold, 16 have tried to scam me, 2 were removed by ebay due to unauthorized buyers, and 2 have not payed and wont respond.. this is very discouraging and everytime i get these offers i have to cancel and re list the items. Is this normal for ebay to be filled with this many scammers and buyers who are not actually interested in paying?

[releasethekraken_1]

Stop using (or at least accepting) offers. Use Fixed Price listings, and use the Immediate Payment Required option.

[vintagecraze50]

Be grateful they caught the unauthorized buyers. Also for these folks who bid and do not pay ebay has begun to get very strict about this practice . You have a high demand item that people like to buy to resell at higher prices. You are new here so you will attract more people thinking you do not know what you are doing, but obviously you do.

[caldreamer]

Yes, big problem with customer not paying after they bid on auction.   Better to change your listings to "buy it now" (guarantees immediate payment).

[dentalrprtek2012]

yes this is the norm for ebay. Scammers are running wild as ebay does nothing to dishonest buyers and they know it, Ebay is all about buyers so you need to be very careful. Its not good buy thats what happens when its allowed.

[dentalrprtek2012]

Ebay getting strict, give me a break to little to late

[dariudaudery_0]

Usually its easy to resell high value electronics that are attracting scammers. Especeially if seller is new.

Since pokemon cards gained huge popularity recently scammers may be working on them as well as some expensive cards could be considered easy sellers. Personally i would think that if scammers are taking on Pokemon cards its not someone who will try to resell them at some corner but just opportunists taking a chance at a new seller.

If you are having trouble with unpaid items - ye it happens allot. 

[Anonymous]

You’re selling on a high scam category on a new account. You’ll keep having to deal with these scam attempts. Switch to fixed price listings without offers. File unpaid item cancellations on those sales and report the accounts. You can click on the help link and type in unpaid item to learn the process. You’ll need to follow through so your fees are credited.

[dentalrprtek2012]

Does not matter what you sell Ebay is full of scammers just look at the posts everyday. This whole problem stems from Ebay letting buyers do and say whatever they want and not protecting sellers.

[dazzling_you]

Same happen to me.. 

[kensgiftshop]

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@dazzling_you wrote:

Same happen to me.. 

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You know dropshipping from the river is not allowed.

[chapeau-noir]

@avernicsmokeshop  0 feedback new account selling high-demand items in a cut-throat market - unfortunately it's inevitable that you're going to have this happen.  It's not just here, either, it's happening in other places.  I sell on another site which is a lot more seller friendly than this one and I still had to deal with scammers when I first started. After a few sales under my belt it stopped.

It's really a shame since you're just trying to sell your own Pokemon cards, but that's the reality we're dealing with.  As others said, fixed price/immediate payment required is the way to go in these circumstances.  You can always lower the price if need be.

Also, you might want to try buying and selling a few others things to at least get rid of that '0'.

Good luck!

[timeywimeywearables]

I have had this twice. Even though some higher end listings require a payment right on the spot. I have seen people pay and as SOON as I go to ship it 24 hours later since I do my own mailing labels at home.(thankfully my mail carrier comes around 1pm) I see a claim saying: The buyer wants a refund(because they can get the bootleg for cheaper(giant red flag) OR they didn't supposedly authorize said claim.  Both times I've just managed to see these messages in time and pull the item from my pickup with other orders.

Anything I sell for $100 or more get insurance and a signature confirmation. I do not trust buyers anymore when it comes to high end vintage items or collectibles like Funkos and Comics.  I also take photos or video to prove the item was in the same condition as it left me and the appearance of the mailing box. I even go as far as to send the buyer proof of the item and how it was packaged to just show them I do actually care that I want the item to make it to them safely and that someone will have to sign for it.

I know it sounds excessive maybe but I would rather protect myself and my items over someone making off with my items for free.

Another thing I'm doing now for high end items is waiting 48 or 72 hours to ship. I would love to mail items out right away, but sadly it just takes 2 bad eggs to make you change the rules of how you do business. I've adjusted my shipping times to reflect this rule.

As many others have said: opt to require a payment right away and that could avoid some problems, but you are going to want to bring your own feedback score up to get people wanting to trust you as a seller and order from you.  I'm not sure how old some of the Pokemon cards you have are but, as a rule of thumb I would wait 1-2 business days before mailing out cards.

[1tuna]

if you want to sell on ebay you have to keep plugging away in the face of adversity

I am glad you get to see ebay in action  with some lower priced items

as others have said.skip the offers and go for immediate payment

try not to get discouraged.............you could be selling phones

good luck

[katzrul15]

It is not just the usual types of items that are being targeted - all types of items are subject to the fraud.  For a long time it was typically electronics, cell phones, computers/equipment, but that is no longer true and has not been for some time.  

Opportunist thieves are not limited to one category.