How to tell if a bid is a scam

[odvalk-0]

I received a bid for a purse I'm selling. The buyer just started their account this year ( so did I)

How do I know it's not a scam

[pinkryder123]

I wouldn't worry about it. Plenty of people shopping on eBay have new accounts just like you do. I recently sold an item to someone with zero feedback, and it went fine. Be sure to leave them positive feedback if they win the auction and everything goes smoothly.

[annadryl]

Why would it be a "scam"? Your account is also less than a year old. Should they think your auction is some kind of scam too? Should we all just wait a year until we buy or sell any thing? Is that more legit?

[a_c_green]

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@odvalk-0 wrote:

I received a bid for a purse I'm selling. The buyer just started their account this year ( so did I)

How do I know it's not a scam

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I see no bid on your listing for that $10,740 Hermès bag. An offer you received in messaging would not be a bid.

I hate to say this, but an $11,000 item listed in a selling account with zero feedback is a recipe for disaster. Scammers are going to be coming out of the woodwork to have a go at it. You should really reconsider this, and maybe sell it locally on consignment through a company specializing in that.

[angelno10]

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@odvalk-0 wrote:

I received a bid for a purse I'm selling. The buyer just started their account this year ( so did I)

How do I know it's not a scam

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There is no way to tell if a bid in an auction will be a scam or not. 

There is no way to tell if an offer made by a buyer will be a scam or not. 

There is no way to tell if a purchase with immediate payment will be a scam or not. 

[itsjustasprain]

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@a_c_green wrote:

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@odvalk-0 wrote:

I received a bid for a purse I'm selling. The buyer just started their account this year ( so did I)

How do I know it's not a scam

---

I see no bid on your listing for that $10,740 Hermès bag. An offer you received in messaging would not be a bid.

I hate to say this, but an $11,000 item listed in a selling account with zero feedback is a recipe for disaster. Scammers are going to be coming out of the woodwork to have a go at it. You should really reconsider this, and maybe sell it locally on consignment through a company specializing in that.

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@odvalk-0 - In addition to the comments above - you should really take down photo 4 and reshoot it without that UPS label in the background. There is enough of your address showing on that label to reveal exactly where you live based on street information about your town that is easily found on the Internet.

[stephenmorgan]

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@a_c_green wrote:

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@odvalk-0 wrote:

I received a bid for a purse I'm selling. The buyer just started their account this year ( so did I)

How do I know it's not a scam

---

I see no bid on your listing for that $10,740 Hermès bag. An offer you received in messaging would not be a bid.

I hate to say this, but an $11,000 item listed in a selling account with zero feedback is a recipe for disaster. Scammers are going to be coming out of the woodwork to have a go at it. You should really reconsider this, and maybe sell it locally on consignment through a company specializing in that.

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I agree and they should proceed very carefully.

But I was wondering, the purse is advertised as going thru eBay's Authenticity Guarantee program.  Do you think this would this offer any protection as for the various scams that are perpetrated?

[wrong66]

And just how does eBay allow a new seller to list an $11,000 handbag? They ignore their own policies and create a situation that could go south very easily. Incredible!!!

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

When I started my account, I was given 250 listings and $25,000 limits. (Not just 250 free listings, I could list up to 250 items, total value of $25k.)

So I see no reason I couldn't have listed a $25k item on Day 1...

[a_c_green]

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@stephenmorgan wrote:
But I was wondering, the purse is advertised as going thru eBay's Authenticity Guarantee program.  Do you think this would this offer any protection as for the various scams that are perpetrated?

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Good question, but my general take on that is that it provides more protection for the buyer than the seller. eBay would verify it as genuine on its way from the seller to the buyer, but I don't see how easily the seller would be reimbursed if, say, a fake purse was returned as part of a damage claim.

There are also other ways to scam a newbie seller that would not involve the Authenticity Guarantee, such as luring the seller into an offsite sale that would have them shipping the bag directly to the buyer, based on instructions in fake but very official-looking directions sent to the seller in messaging, email or texts (depending on what contact info the scammer has managed to obtain from the seller). 

What concerns me already here is that the Original Poster made reference to receiving a bid, and yet we can see from the listing that no bid has occurred. The OP has presumably received an offer, not a bid, via either an eBay message or the Make Offer button in the listing, but they need to get more familiar with eBay terminology and how the bidding process works.

I'm also hoping to not hear that the OP was persuaded to email photos or text answers to someone who has "questions" about the bag, which would then reveal their off-eBay contact info. I saw a partial address uncovered in one of the listing photos, and that one in particular should really be taken down by the seller.

[annadryl]

The No Returns stance here could really be poking the bear...

[albertabrightalberta]

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@odvalk-0 wrote:

I received a bid for a purse I'm selling. The buyer just started their account this year ( so did I)

How do I know it's not a scam

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I have no idea if that Hermes bag is genuine or not but it sure better be. 

With that said, a brand new user with an item of that value is going to attract every scammer in the world. 

This is not the time and place for you to sell it! Consign it with an experienced reseller. 

[albertabrightalberta]

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@odvalk-0 wrote:

I received a bid for a purse I'm selling. The buyer just started their account this year ( so did I)

How do I know it's not a scam

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@odvalk-0 

You didn't receive a bid on that bag. I'm guessing you received some type of message from a scammer and it's the first step in being ripped off. Was the "bid" you think you received higher than the opening bid price? Was it an offer to purchase and pay you extra for your inconvenience? 

All real bids come through ebay, not through email and not through a text message. 

[odvalk-0]

The reason is because I had a bid prior to this one and did the sold on it. eBay placed a hold on my account for five days. (New account) I never received payment after hold was released. 

[odvalk-0]

Thank you for that comment I didn't even pay attention to that.