Feedback Score Building for Later Scam? (Low Cost Item, Zero Feedback, Always Pick First Variation)

[toys-n-at]

I sell (very) low-cost items, typically with variations. Through the years, I've seen an inordinate number of purchases from buyers with (0) or (1) feedback. These purchases almost always select the first variation that shows up in the list. Given that there may be 30 or more variations, It strikes me as odd that (0)- or (1)-feedback buyers almost always go for the first one. They also seem to focus on items with common, well-known names, and rarely hit the lesser-known ones. 

Pure conjecture follows ...  It seems to me that I'm being used to build a feedback score for someone, so that they can look legit when scamming a seller of a high-dollar item sometime in the future. It seems that  perhaps links to a couple of my items are being used repeatedly by different accounts (maybe by the same person).

I talked with someone at Ebay many months ago, and was told that this didn't seem out of the ordinary, and that I shouldn't be concerned about it. Truth be told, it doesn't hurt me -- I get paid, send the item, and never hear from them again. I'm concerned for the unwitting seller down the road.

Is this a known setup? Are any other sellers of low-cost items seeing this? I look forward to your replies ...

[brightlightbookseller]

We don't worry about what feedback our buyer has because it's totally meaningless usually. Yes, it's possible they're setting up an account to sell it or use it for scams, but let people deal with that once a problem actually occurs.  It's more often that they set up their account to buy your item, so that's why they don't yet have feedback.

[a_c_green]

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@toys-n-at wrote:

I sell (very) low-cost items, typically with variations.

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That's an interesting little business niche you have carved out for yourself. 😁

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@toys-n-at wrote:

Pure conjecture follows ...  It seems to me that I'm being used to build a feedback score for someone, so that they can look legit when scamming a seller of a high-dollar item sometime in the future. It seems that  perhaps links to a couple of my items are being used repeatedly by different accounts (maybe by the same person).

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I doubt it, nor do I think it really matters, in terms of how useful it is to have a higher feedback score when you're going to scam someone. There are plenty of scam complaints here about buyers (or sellers) having little or no feedback, but the scam happens anyway. Keep on doing what you're doing and don't overthink things. 😉

[toys-n-at]

UPDATE

Since my original post 6 days ago, I've received 3 items back from USPS with "Attempted - Not Known". 

[a_c_green · Accepted solution]

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@toys-n-at wrote:

UPDATE

Since my original post 6 days ago, I've received 3 items back from USPS with "Attempted - Not Known". 

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Mmmm... yeah, okay, I'm going to go with another theory I saw floated recently, which is that the scammer(s) may be trying out stolen credit card numbers to see if they are still working. The fake Ship To: addresses would be to avoid drawing too much attention to the buyer or his (real) location.

[mam98031]

@toys-n-at 

We need new buyers into the site.  Without them we as sellers can not grow.  I personally don't see anything wrong with them purchasing from you as long as they pay and don't become problematic.

I think you might be over thinking this.

[toys-n-at]

Thanks for your insightful reply. That's an angle I hadn't thought of, and it makes good sense -- more than my own interpretation  :^)   As I've said, I'm not losing anything on these purchases; they just strike me as odd and I was curious to know if anyone else was seeing this. 

[toys-n-at]

Oh, I'm not complaining ... just trying to understand.