Is this a scam?

[elizni-93]

Hello,

A buyer has made an offer for an item that is exactly the same as the asking price (it was an offer made the morning after the ad was put up). They wanted it ASAP (it's an item of clothing so why they would need it ASAP during the time of Coronavirus I don't know). They gave me an email address, a whatsapp and asked for my paypal. I sent a response through the ebay message system telling them why i could not send it asap good friday). No reply. I sent an email telling them that I responded on ebay. they responded only to the email (their pic was a female model studio pic) with an address, a request for my paypal and a weird comment saying 'i want it for my stepson' (it's a dress). I told them I could not continue any communication or start any transaction off ebay and to please continue on the website. that was an hour ago or so. No response.

Is this a known scam? Is there a way of reporting this person?

I posted about this an hour or so ago and it seems to have vanished. It was marked as spam. It definitely wasn't that. I am just seeking help/advice. Have to write the whole thing out again. Really frustrating as it contained more detail. Is there a way of finding that post?

Thanks.

[sunnysouth1]

This is a scam attempt. Buyers need to pay through eBay checkout.

Did you accept the offer? If you did the buyer will not pay.

When a buyer doesn't pay:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/unpaid-items.html

Add the member to your blocked list:
Blocked bidder/buyer link:
http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?bidderblocklogin

Set your buyer requirements:
Go to your My eBay > Account tab > Site Preferences > Selling Preferences > Buyer requirements and block buyers who:

Have received 2 Unpaid Item strike(s) within 12 Month(s)
Have a primary shipping address in a location I don't ship to
Have a feedback score of -1 or lower
Check the box to block members on your blocked list from contacting you.

I don't see that you have ever posted about this before now.

[elizni-93]

Thank you for confirming. No I did not accept the offer as I was waiting for them to just pay the normal way for the asking price since it was the same as the offer price.

Thanks for the tips too. I will do the things on that list.

Am I able to alert Ebay to this person or have they not officially done anything that is considered rule breaking?

I'm guessing my previous post was removed as it was marked as spam? I definitely posted it. It was called 'If it looks like a scam and smells like a scam is it a scam?' I mentioned what I was selling in the post so maybe it was considered spam for that reason. Definitely wasn't trying to sell anything to forum members.

[sunnysouth1]

You are welcome.

You can report this member to eBay but most of the time they are already gone.

Right now it will be difficult to report this member due to the pandemic. Most eBay employees are working remotely from home.

You can try here on either of these sites:

Ask eBay:
https://twitter.com/askebay
https://www.facebook.com/eBay/

I'm not sure why your prior post was removed but I don't see any other posts from you other than this one.

[elizni-93]

Thank you. Very helpful!

[sunnysouth1]

You are welcome!

[gracieallen01]

Sometimes a post disappear, especially if one goes off page to look up something, rather than opening another page/window.

Yes, it is a scam.  Generally, one would get a fake PayPal e-mail saying that you have money and that it is yours just as soon as you upload tracking as proof of shipping.  You got good advice and info from the other poster.

[elizni-93]

"Sometimes a post disappear, especially if one goes off page to look up something, rather than opening another page/window."

Whilst I appreciate your condescension, i'm not an old person. I do know how to use the internet. The post was definitely 100% created. After maybe a few minutes or so the post was then marked as spam. A button or link was made available suggesting I could report something that I thought was incorrectly reported/ an abuse of the report button which I then clicked on and it took me to something that wasn't what they suggested but instead was just a report button. 

Thank you otherwise.