How would I cancel a scam offer that I already accepted?

[yarpipz]

I got an offer for the full price of a product I’m selling. The offer said they had a question about “my product” and said to text their number. In excitement that it got sold I quickly accepted, but definitely should have done my research here. After doing the research after it looks like this is a scam. My question is, since this is a scam, how would I cancel their offer that I accepted? After looking into this further it looks like it’s a pretty convoluted process and I just want this to be solved as soon as I can. Thank you in advance!

[coastaltechsolution]

ways to tell a scam

1. Offer of the full asking price

2. They want to communicate off of eBay 

3. Will be the asking to include a gift card for nieces wedding 

4. You will get a fake email saying it is from PayPal and that you have been paid and to ship now (fake fake fake) 

Now looks like you are on 3, has that happened? 

[eleanor*rigby · Accepted solution]

No, don't cancel anything at this point. Chances are about 99.9% the "buyer" will never pay. After four full days of non-payment, you can cancel using the recently adopted unpaid item cancellation process. 

Please read this entire help page to learn about the process yourself:

Resolving unpaid items with buyers 

DO NOT HAVE ANY FURTHER CONTACT WITH THIS BUYER, VIA TEXT OR ANY OTHER MEANS OF COMMUNICATION!

[yarpipz]

Step 3 has not happened yet, but I will look out for that. Thank you for the info and I will let you know if they ask for that. I did ask them to keep the messages on eBay itself, so I’ll see how they respond to that.

[yarpipz]

Got it I will not message them again! And after the 4 days I will take those steps in the article sent! Thank you for the link!!

[coastaltechsolution]

@yarpipz 

Good for you and glad you suspected scam and came here 

And as @eleanor*rigby  said, don't cancel anything yet as the scammer is not going to pay for anything, they want it all free 

[ittybitnot]

 In excitement that it got sold I quickly accepted,

@yarpipz 

If you "accepted" an offer made via the regular make offer feature you can use the 'report the buyer' feature on eBay.  eBay may just give the ID the boot.  Otherwise, you have to wait (approximately 5 days) until the 'cancel for non-payment' selection becomes visible to you. 

The text me scammers don't pay.  The closest you will get to any money is the fake payment notification they send saying you have been paid.  They can't send that notification to your email address unless you give them your email address. 

Though it is advised NOT to relist until the ID goes Naru (no longer a registered user)  or you file for non-payment, that advice is predicated on the idea that the buyer may actually pay.  Really, you don't have to worry about that. It is probably safe to relist now.   Just don't forget to make sure the sale is cancelled for non-payment or the ID is kicked off the site.  

As a new seller, you are a prime target for these crooks.  One way to slow them down is to used a fixed price format, immediate payment required, and NOT select the 'best offer' feature.   Unfortunately, eBay may stick the 'best offer' on you listing anyway, even if you don't want it.  You may get offers anyway, but be wary of offers of the same or more than you buy it now price by zero feedback buyers. 

[eleanor*rigby]

Generally, with some possible variations, here's how this scam goes:

1. "Buyer" finds a new seller offering a desirable, high-dollar item (such as your sunglasses).
2. "Buyer" makes an offer on an item well above the asking price, preying on a new seller's inexperience and greed (not meant in a bad way).
3. Seller, dazzled by dollar signs, accepts the offer.
4. "Buyer" asks that the seller please text him/her.
5. Seller, unaware that communication with other members outside of eBay's messaging system is a violation of the member-to-member contact policy, is thrilled to send the text.
6. "Buyer" will ask for seller's PayPal email in order to send payment (even if it means concocting some bizarre reason they can't pay via eBay's checkout system).
7. "Buyer" will then send a very convincing albeit fake email/text that appears to be from PayPal, saying payment has been made and it's okay to ship.
8. Seller, quite often not bothering to actually double-check PayPal, ships the item out.
9. Voila! "Buyer" gets item, and seller loses both item and money from the transaction.

[albertabrightalberta]

And don't forget to add that the (fake) payment from the "buyer" will be considerably more than the selling price plus shipping. It'll be extra to compensate the seller's inconvenience. 

[eleanor*rigby]

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@ittybitnot wrote:

 In excitement that it got sold I quickly accepted,

@yarpipz 

If you "accepted" an offer made via the regular make offer feature you can use the 'report the buyer' feature on eBay.  eBay may just give the ID the boot.  Otherwise, you have to wait (approximately 5 days) until the 'cancel for non-payment' selection becomes visible to you. 

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Good tool to keep in mind! From what the OP described, however, I don't think this transaction has quite reached the bar eBay sets for reporting the "buyer." The person hasn't yet asked to complete the sale off-eBay, although I'm sure it would have come to that--sooner rather than later. 

From the Report an issue with a buyer page: