Fake buyers

[haveasi56]

I keep getting hit with fake buyers. They make an offer I accept and then they want me to text them on a number. About “the item” I’m selling this has happened on nearly every item I have listed how do I stop this?  

[lamber9347]

@haveasi56 While you cannot stop scammers altogether, you can do some things to make them leave you alone. You are selling items with zero feedback as a seller. That is what makes you a magnet for scammers. They see you as unknowledgeable about how sales work, which makes you vulnerable to falling for scams. 

So start selling small inexpensive items from around your house. Start to build up feedback. Leave feedback for those who purchase from you as it sometimes motivates them to reciprocate. Start purchasing small items yourself, leave positive feedback to the sellers. These small actions create a look of a more experienced seller online. That can help to deter the scammers. Otherwise, it's good that you recognize them for what they are and learn to ignore and move alone. Best of luck to you....

[ckimodog]

They are indeed fake buyers.  They are looking to clean out your bank account by asking you to text them, then they'll ask to pay with paypal, which sellers can no longer accept, add a gift card and send the item to their family member. They are scammers and they prey on new sellers. Block them. Ignore them and do not correspond outside of ebay messaging.  You need to avoid  auction listings and use a fixed buy it now price for your item with immediate payment required.   This will weed the scammers out and perhaps help you to get some honest buyers.  Good luck. 

[lightlily_arts]

Ignore these buyers.  No need for anyone to text.  If you are being plagued with offers, perhaps you should consider listing at a Fixed price with No Best Offer option.

[fashunu4eeuh]

To stop this, list your items as fixed price, with Immediate Payment Required. No Best Offers. If you get a non-payer, make sure you give them a non-paying strike from eBay. Set your Buyer Requirements at their strictest level, which is 2 strikes in 12 months. Then anyone with more than two strikes (serial non-payers) will be blocked from buying your items.

The following is information you haven't asked for but is offered in the spirit of community to help:

I noticed you have set many of your items at auction with a $.99 starting bid. Unless you are selling something rare, designer, valuable or OOAK, set the opening bid at the lowest price you would accept if you got only one bid.

Your titles are lacking some information that would attract more buyers, such as size, brand, color, fabrication, material, etc.

When selling at auction, unless you have something very special, it is better to list at fixed price with IPR (as mentioned above). Most shoppers now don’t want to wait for an auction to end to buy something, especially if you are selling basic or commodity style goods. Settle on a price and list as Buy It Now. 

Good luck and wish you much success.

[pburn]

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@ckimodog wrote:

They are looking to clean out your bank account by asking you to text them . . .

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How would these people "clean out your bank account by asking you to text them?" Of all the dangers of the "text me" scenario, that's not one of them. 

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@ckimodog wrote:

. . . then they'll ask to pay with paypal, which sellers can no longer accept . . .

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PayPal is still a valid payment option for buyers.

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[chapeau-noir]

Especially with clothing I would totally ditch the auctions, particularly .99 cent auctions.  Clothing sells poorly on auction - it's one of those items that people just want to purchase and be done with it.  List fixed price/immediate payment required - that should weed out most of the tire kickers and scammers.  Hopefully you'll get some feedback in from the sales you have had.

After you've racked up some feedback you can expand your selling options.

I went through this on another site when I was new there a few years ago so I understand how frustrating it is.