I just sold an item and the winning bidder wants me to ship it to someone with a fraudulent invoice

[mczeebie]

The winning bidder is based in Ukraine, and wants me to ship the item as a "gift" to someone else (assuming in the US) with an invoice that is far less than the selling price (it sold for $430, the buyer wants me to include an invoice in the amount of $150 so it can go through customs without additional charges). I would not be able to insure the shipment ofr its value if I do this, plus I don't want to be involved in a fraudulent transaction. Finally, the buyer said they will pay "as soon as I top off my credit card". I feel I should cancel this sale and go to the next highest bidder. Thoughts?

[myfrugalboutique]

@mczeebie 

I would report the buyer…cancel the transaction and block them.  End of story. You are smart to recognize a very bad situation. 

[mike_jayroe]

sounds like a case of Fraud. If my rotten memory serves me correctly falsifying an e-bay invoice might also be against the law. I used to ship stuff out of the country while working and these documents clearly state that entering incorrect info is a crime punishable by fines and prison time.

[klhmdg]

The buyer can put whatever address they want on the shipment.

As long as you ship to the address on the order you are OK.

Not sure why if they are having you ship to the US, since you are in the US, it would have to go through customs.

Let the buyer know you will ship to the address on the order at the time of payment but that you will NOT supply fraudulent paperwork.

I will assume this buyer will never pay and you will be able to offer to the next bidder but you need to wait.

You cannot cancel this unless the buyer requests cancelation or doesnt pay in 4 days.

Then the option will be there for the 2nd chance listing.

[inhawaii]

I see so many similar thread where the buyer asked me to do this or the buyer asked me to do that.

If you are not comfortable doing what they ask, simply decine.

[ckimodog]

@mczeebie 

No...ship to the address on the invoice.  

[mczeebie]

I just cancelled the order and blocked the buyer. I expect I will get negative feedback from this buyer--and this will be the first time I have ever gotten negative feedback on eBay, but I am just not comfortable with this situation. Ugh!

[brightlightbookseller]

Did they pay?  If you cancelled before they paid, and didn't wait to see if they would refuse to pay, you missed an opportunity to avoid the option of them leaving feedback.  If you cancel after 96 hours citing "Buyer has not paid", they will be unable to leave any feedback for the "transaction" that never took place.

If they'd paid but then asked about this, then yeah, you probably did the best you could, but if you do get negative feedback, while there's slim chance of it being removed, a short professional response without adding emotion would go a long way towards minimizing it's impact on you.

[a_c_green]

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@mczeebie wrote:

The winning bidder is based in Ukraine, and wants me to ship the item as a "gift" to someone else (assuming in the US) with an invoice that is far less than the selling price (it sold for $430, the buyer wants me to include an invoice in the amount of $150 so it can go through customs without additional charges).

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@mczeebie : Oh, bologna. For starters, an invoice is a demand for payment, and that will be settled with an actual payment before you ship anyway. There's no "invoice" to be included in the package, just a packing slip. (You can omit the pricing on the packing slip altogether, especially since it's supposed to be a "gift," but I don't think you can modify the listed pricing if you do choose to print the pricing.) That "gift" shipment is probably not going to somewhere in the U.S. since a domestic shipment doesn't require Customs paperwork anyway.

What they are asking you for is a Customs declaration with a fake lower price on it, and the answer for that is a flat No. (If you're shipping this through eBay international shipping, they will be doing the paperwork and billing the buyer for Customs duty charges anyway; you would not have to get in the middle.)

This transaction is probably never going to be actually paid (although if they do ask to cancel, then you can and should do so right away, selecting the reason of "Buyer requested"). After a full four days have elapsed from the date and time of the sale, you will be able to cancel with the reason of Buyer Did Not Pay, and you will be able to relist. Put that deadbeat on your Blocked Buyer List to avoid further problems. 

P.S. I'm assuming here that those messages are coming from the actual ID of your buyer, and not someone else. If the messages are coming from any eBay ID other than your buyer, just ignore them.

[caldreamer]

There are many scammers on EBAY who target new sellers or anyone selling "high value" items.   You are being setup when customers ask you to ship to "different address" you are violating EBAY rules (customer can claim "did not receive item" and get a refund).   Customer telling they will pay "as soon as YOU top off your credit card" (that is a big red flag).

Never text anyone, give anyone your banking/credit card info  or click on any links.  EBAY will NOT protect you if you get scammed.

[toysaver]

Smart move.  Any buyer who wants you to commit fraud would be willing to do same and scam you.  If you canceled citing a problem with the shipping address they will not be able to leave feedback.  Make sure to report them as well.  

[12345jamesstamps]

I had  a similar case as this.

Buyer in Ukraine may a purchase during this war in Ukraine.

Buyer used a credit card that had an Israeli address to it but didn't want item mailed to the credit card that was used as per the address.

Buyer wanted item mail to Ukraine instead of Israel.

I think buyer wasn't able to make a purchase using his credit card of Ukraine origin.

[mczeebie]

No, they did not pay... said they would pay tomorrow.

[reallynicestamps]

I just had a Czech buyer leave three items unpaid, after many Messages about payment.

Cancellation was automatic after 96 hours.

Ukraine is difficult because of the war.  I don't want to ship there, but I don't want to Block them either.

[rugerskick]

Call up ebay, report the buyer asking you to ship with a fraudulent invoice.