If I can't block guest checkout, what's the best way to protect myself against fraudsters?

[Anonymous]

I sold a bunch of items last year with no issues(my feedback is 100% positive).  Then one guest checkout dude came along and bought multiple items and claimed all were damaged upon receipt.  eBay incentivized his fraudulent behavior by refunding him from their own $$ repeatedly, without having him return the items to me, or at least send pictures of the alleged damage.  There's more to his rottenness that that, but I will leave it there.

Needless to say, the whole thing left a really bad taste in my mouth.  I have a number of out-of-print Genesis titles to auction, and I am dreading reliving that whole experience.  It doesn't look like I can disallow guest checkout, nor forbid zero-feedback buyers who go thru normal checkout. 

So.....what can I do to protect myself against people like this guy scamming me again?

Thanks.

[robbie31415]

There really is nothing.

If you are above average with free 30 day returns you can deduct upto 50% of a refund. (TRS only need 30 day not free returns)

That's about it.

[ebooksdiva]

Not entirely sure what your feedback has to do with you wanting to block guest accounts. 
When buyers open cases for damaged or  not as described is never a wise idea to allow eBay to refund the buyer for you, they allow buyers to keep the items, it also results in defects against your selling account for not handling your returns yourself. Guest accounts are not the only buyers that will open NAD cases for a refund, even seasoned buyers of umpteen years will open those cases. 
I have had numerous guest accounts purchase from me without any issues. You can block eBay IDs you can also block bidders with 2 unpaid item strikes, but you can't block buyers with zero feedback or guest accounts. 
"So.....what can I do to protect myself against people like this guy scamming me again?"

Nothing, except make sure you are packing your items well against damage. That's about all you can do. 

[soh.maryl]

eBay's Money Back Guarantee is pretty good for buyers.  ALL sellers need to get acquainted with it, preferably BEFORE beginning a selling career here.

It's always best if a seller handles an item not as described case himself.  BTW, there is no eBay requirement that a buyer send a picture of the item he claims is NAD.

[fashunu4eeuh]

Hi @Anonymous . eBay is a buyer-centric platform. Sellers bear all the risk.

What you have described is the built-in liability all eBay sellers face. Virtually any determined buyer can scam any item at any time by invoking the Money Back Guarantee.

If you choose to list here, there is no method to gain 100% protection as a seller. Essentially no way to prevent a scammer from accessing your goods via an Item Not Described claim. And that’s not the only protection  available to buyers. They can also go to their credit card companies and bypass eBay altogether.

To mitigate some risk, these are the practices i employ, as shown below. But first let me say that in 15 years of eBay selling, have never been defrauded by a buyer nor had a case opened against my account. The fraudsters are out there, but it’s not an absolute that every seller gets targeted.

These are some of the practices i use to avoid trouble:

1) For many years i have offered Free Returns (long before eBay began pushing them) and have done so to solely protect my account. A buyer has no need to open a bogus claim in order to get a refund from me. Historically I get very few returns, and have set funds aside from every sale to act as insurance for any unexpected expenses.

2) I do not jump immediately to the conclusion that a buyer is lying about an issue. I give customers the benefit of the doubt and then draw conclusions after investigation. Scammers always tip their hands. Until they do, buyers deserve what customer service i can offer.

3) My Buyer Requirements are set to the strictest settings to block serial non-payers. 

4) The majority of my listings are Fixed Price with Immediate Payment Required.

5) Employ caution with what is listed. Avoid  items in high fraud categories. This can include tech (like smartphones, PCs, tablets), gaming goods, electrics, and luxury designer items. Before listing any expensive item, i first assess my risk tolerance. If i cannot afford a loss on an item, it does not get listed. (That is the only foolproof method of preventing loss on eBay.)

6) Know all the policies that govern the site, including a thorough understanding of the eBay User Agreement and the Money Back Guarantee policy. Sellers have to know as much, or more, than the scammers do. It’s our first line of defense.

7) While there is no way to block certain categories of buyers, individual IDs can be blocked by employing one’s Blocked Buyer List. 

😎 eBay now offers comprehensive seller protections for international transactions in their eBay International Shipping program.

9) Along with #8, my preferences are set in Shipping Exclusions for countries with poor postal or customs systems, social unrest, war, etc.

10) Use quality packing materials.

[fashunu4eeuh]

Sellers have 30 days after a case is decided to appeal eBay’s ruling. See the link below with the how-to’s.

BTW, don’t allow eBay to open an appeal for you. There are a few ducks that need lined up first.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/managing-returns-refunds/appeal-outcome-case-seller?id=4369#:~:tex....

[stainlessenginecovers]

Nothing you can do here, on Amazon, on Craigslist, On Offerup, On Mercari etc etc.

Selling on the internet has it's flaws (unless you use some of the above as 'local' only, which would limit your available buying pool by about 450,000,000 

[buyselljack2016 · Accepted solution]

One consolation,             "guests" cannot bid on auctions.

[Anonymous]

My mention of my feedback rating was meant to show that I pack and ship my items with no problems(and in fact numerous feedback comments of mine mention how securely packaged the items were).  Now Mr . Guest Checkout comes along and claims that 3/3 or 4/4 shipments were somehow damaged, and won't provide pictures or anything like that.  

[Anonymous]

Thank you- this is the most helpful response, as those fake claims were all Buy It Now.  Maybe I will do the Genesis titles all as auctions.

[movieman630]

The bigger question is why would you want to block "guest checkout"?  Is the rate of fraud so high with guests that you would want to?

I would argue it isn't.  In fact, blocking that function would hurt sales.  There's a lot of people who surf the net looking for one thing, they find it on ebay but don't want an ebay account.  They just want to buy that one item.  Why should those customers be sidelined?

You can use your BBL.  If someone is constantly targeting you, figure out their motivation.  Is your price too low?  etc.  Then report their identity to ebay. 

[luckythewinner]

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@Anonymous wrote:

eBay incentivized his fraudulent behavior by refunding him from their own $$ repeatedly, without having him return the items to me, or at least send pictures of the alleged damage.  There's more to his rottenness that that, but I will leave it there.

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If eBay refunded him from out of eBay's pocket, how did he scam you?

[Anonymous]

Because eBay suggested that I refund him myself, and I refused unless he returned the product, because I knew he was lying.  I had never had a single claim for damage, and then he comes along and says every single package he got was damaged.  Here's 2 things I left out of the original post:

1. He originally contacted me and asked if I would make an exception and ship to him in his.....Eastern European country that is a hotbed of cybercrime.  I refused.  He bought several items anyway, and provided a fake US shipping address, so that he could "hold them" while he worked on a valid US shipping address.  I cancelled the auctions, then he worked out something with a US-based family member and used that address to purchase.  Then claimed damage on every single purchase.  The transactions were rotten from the start.

2. I'm not a big eBay seller with hundreds of listings.  I have been selling off some higher-value, out of print items as I prepare to move.  It's not like a $20 refund against hundreds of other listings, and I can just write it off as a tax loss.  They are all very hard-to-find items and losing the $$ would really hurt.