Is this buyer legit?

[keonegames]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/356188496527?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=bprmkg4gsky&sss...

This is the link to my auction which I've had up for about a month now with no bids. A little while ago I finally get a bid from a zero feedback buyer. I'm new to selling and didn't have any feedback yet as well, but I've always been wary about buyers with no feedback. I haven't sold anything in an auction before and I didn't know if payment is paid as soon as the auction ends like buy it now listings. Or I only get paid after the buyer confirms they received the item . It's not a terribly expensive listing, but I'm new to selling and if this ends up being a scam, it will hurt my start up. It's the user's name as well that has red flags for me. I can't seen to see how to look it up right now, but it was something generic like "I.have.a.question3" 

Are there any measures I can take to check I won't lose out on my item before packaging and sending out this lot?

[slyders_finds]

We can't research buyer because their ID is encoded. Everybody starts at zero. But just like electronics, Collectable trading cards are targets. There is no way to know til the auction has ended how it will unfold. Being a new seller there is a wait period til you get paid. But you should not ship til you are notified buyer paid. 

[keonegames]

Would it be something I would just have to risk sending, even though I have my suspicions? Is there anything eBay does to protect sellers in these circumstances where it may be a scam? I'll be sending the package with tracking, but I've heard buyers can still say they never received the item and I would then have to refund the buyer and be out the cost of shipping and the cards. 

[slyders_finds]

Everyone gets nervous sometimes. Try not to let your imagination run wild. As long as it shows delivered they can't claim they never received. What you really have to worry about is if they open a return and send back an empty box. Honestly not much you can do about that. I will say in all the years selling never had a scam attempt. Just people who didn't have current address on file and got mad a me somehow. Lol.  You can definitely deduct original shipping. I wouldn't have much confidence in Ebay backing you but you could contact customer service and hope you get a common sense Rep. They have in the past refunded the customer out of their pocket, but being new they probably won't do that for you. I don't have many bad customers and my reputation helps when ebay needs to step in. 

[keonegames]

Yeah I've heard of this happening as well where they will return an empty box. I suppose I just have to risk it. I was hoping to not have too many zero feedback buyers starting out, but being my first one in a relatively expensive lot makes me nervous. I've heard even recording yourself packaging the item and taking it to the desk at USPS isn't enough evidence to show the item did have it's contents inside. 

[reallynicestamps]

You ship when you are told the buyer has paid.

Because you are a new unproven seller, the payment will be Held for up to 30 days against customer satisfaction.

Eventually, this requirement will drop and your payments will be transferred to your checking account every Tuesday.

You are registered for Managed Payments right? EBay can't pay you without your SSN and banking information.

my auction which I've had up for about a month

Umm.

EBay jargon.

An Auction is available for (usually) seven days. The highest bidder wins.

A Fixed Price listing is available for 30 days. The first buyer wins.

Auctions can have a Best Offer or a Buy It Now option which end the Auction early.

Fixed Price listings can have a Best Offer option, which the seller can accept, reject, or ignore.

[keonegames]

I did set up my payment page when I first created this account. I do have a small amount in home from a smaller sale I made a week ago. I'm fairly certain this is a scammer now that the auction has ended and I'm about to see their profile. 

 

I shouldn't have to email them for faster payment. I'm pretty sure they are fishing for information. Are there steps I should probably now do to report this? This used up one of my free listings and I'll have to probably relist this again.

[slippinjimmy]

@keonegames 

Yeah it's a scam, it always is when a buyer asks to contact you directly via email or text.

Do not reply, just wait 96 hours from the sale and then you should be able to cancel using the reason "not paid". Wait until that option is available before cancelling.

After you do that you can report the buyer, there should be a choice related to attempting to take a transaction off eBay.

[slyders_finds]

Yeah, filming and photos can be manipulated. Waste of time. 

[dbfolks166mt]

     There is a lot going on in your question. First as a seller you should always operate under the #1 rule as a seller and that is to never list anything you are not prepared to take the financial loss on. While the actual number of scams is probably a small percentage of all the transactions that take place on eBay they do happen, more so in some categories than others. As a seller if the item sells, the buyer pays you should ship the item unless there is an issue that prohibits you from doing so such as the buyer does not have a valid shipping address or they ask you to cancel the order. 

     As far as the individual being a 0 feedback buyer everyone has to start somewhere just as you are starting with 0 feedback. Sometimes the buyer could be purchasing from a guest account although that would not be applicable in your case since guest accounts cannot bid on auctions or make offers. Despite your buyer not having any feedback they do have a track history on eBay having bid on 5 different items in the last 30 days. 

     With regard to payment for auctions unless you have auto-pay enabled in your seller settings the buyer has 4 days to pay for the item after which time you can cancel the transaction for non-payment. The auto-pay function for auctions and offers is similar to the Immediate Payment Required for fixed price listings. 

     The buyers user ID and messaging notes they have could be simply a lack of understanding as a new buyer, they have only had an account since 31 October. They may not realize that eBay will send them an invoice when they complete a purchase and that they should not actually put their personal email out there anyway. It may be something they correct in the future as they gain experience as a buyer. 

     As for possible scams yes they do happen. You should read through the money back guarantee and understand that while eBay does favor the buyer in most cases they do offer some very limited protection to the seller.  You can find the policy at the following link. 

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy... 

     You can search this forum to help educate yourself on the common types of scams that buyers run. You can also utilize this forum to ask questions and get advice from some very seasoned sellers, preferably BEFORE you have a major issue. The advice and expertise you can access on this forum in most cases far exceeds what you will get from eBay customer support. 

     Others have already covered the funding hold with regards to payment but it basically has two pieces the first being when the buyer pays eBay for the item and the second is when eBay pays you for the item. 

      I wish you the best in your selling adventures please feel free to return to this forum with any additional questions you may have about this or any other selling activity. 

[dbfolks166mt]

I did set up my payment page when I first created this account. I do have a small amount in home from a smaller sale I made a week ago. I'm fairly certain this is a scammer now that the auction has ended and I'm about to see their profile. 

 

I shouldn't have to email them for faster payment. I'm pretty sure they are fishing for information. Are there steps I should probably now do to report this? This used up one of my free listings and I'll have to probably relist this again.

     This may also simply be a case of a new buyers ignorance about how things work on eBay. The scammers will generally directly reach out to you after the sale has been completed with messages relating to payment or changing the shipping address. It is something you should report to eBay and let them sort through it with the buyer. 

[lacemaker3]

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@keonegames wrote:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/356188496527?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=bprmkg4gsky&sss...

.... It's the user's name as well that has red flags for me. I can't seen to see how to look it up right now, but it was something generic like "I.have.a.question3" 

...

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Yes, that's a total red flag.

That user is not new to eBay. They already know how to post their email address in their user profile without getting caught by the bots and blocked (all those dots instead of spaces between the words). Their previous user ID (ending with the number 2, also opened yesterday) is already NARU.

Keep all communication through the eBay messages. Do not email, text or call them. Do not send an eBay message or invoice, eBay will remind them to pay. Do not give your email address (eBay messages are sent through an anonymous system).

If they pay for it (which is very unlikely) the payment will show up in your eBay seller account. Your first payments will probably be held until after delivery or up to 30 days, but the payment will be there anyway. You will never have to provide a tracking number by email in order to see the payment (that's a favorite tall tale by these scammers).

They probably won't pay, and then you need to cancel the transaction with the reason "unpaid" which you will be able to do 4 days after the end of the auction. Also report them for trying to take the transaction off eBay.

[keonegames]

Thank you. This is helpful and good to know on what measures I should be taking. This is frustration as a new seller to be running into something like this, this early on. I was excited to see a bid on my lot last night until I saw the username and feedback they had.