Is this site actually for real? Every offer I have recieved is a scam and eBay is NEVER available

[andmucci0]

Every offer since I began selling two weeks ago comes with the same message. 
“I would love your item, please kindly contact me at (#) so we can arrange payments. Thank you.  
then no real messages on eBay after that no money sent no one from eBay will call me back and they say they are closed but are supposed to be open. Every time I call they don’t speak English so I can’t understand them and they honestly do not care at all. How do people make money off this site?

[nobody*s_perfect]

You can just ignore those messages. Anybody who wants to contact you outside of the ebay message system is a scammer. A serious buyer will click on the Buy It Now button on your listing, they won't contact you separately.

[cityslickercreations2004]

"Every offer since I began selling two weeks ago comes with the same message. "

New sellers are very much a target for scammers. Ebay can't help with this issue. Scammers are everywhere and not just on ebay. They will just open another account if they get closed down.

“I would love your item, please kindly contact me at (#) so we can arrange payments"

I am sure you know this, but never take your messages outside of ebay's message system. Even legitimate questions. A genuine buyer does need to "arrange" a payment. That is what that pay-it-now or add-to-cart button is for.

I am a seasoned seller and I read these boards often. I learn something new everyday.

Hang in there. You will connect with a genuine buyer soon.

[bonjourami]

As a newbie seller, you are a scam magnet. 185 million members on Ebay, so expect many scammers. You are better off selling with fixed price, immediate payment required..it weeds out scammers.

[bonjourami]

P.S., why are you calling Ebay about this? Its up to you, as the seller, to protect your account.

[fashunu4eeuh]

I see you sold two items thus far, on 9/13 and 9/4 but one has been relisted. So did the grouping for $150 fall through as well and you haven't relisted it? 

New sellers with high dollar items are scam magnets. I wouldn't think they would target you over the two listings you have up currently, but are you saying someone is trying to scam you out of the boots or the boy's shoes?

It is entirely possible to make money on eBay. Sometimes it requires patience and building up some experience to get there. But I wouldn't describe eBay as a fast resource for cash. Another poster recommended selling at fixed price with Immediate Payment Required. That might help cut down on the scammers. Good luck and hope this turns around for you.

[soh.maryl]

Uh, regarding those rain boots.  If you sold them once, but didn't receive payment, you had 32 days to open an unpaid item case.  If you don't do that, you're going to be charged the final value fee on that sale.

[bigdeals.etc]

WELCOME TO EBAY.

Don't you wish "Why didn't I pick the blue pill"? 🙂

[gwzcomps]

As much as I pretend to hate to say it.  eBay is not the place to sell for inexperienced sellers.

[outdatedrecreated]

DONT CALL ANYONE! BLOCK AND REPORT THEM!

[pburn]

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@outdatedrecreated wrote:

DONT CALL ANYONE! BLOCK AND REPORT THEM!

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@outdatedrecreated 

I mean, that's great advice and all, but you do realize these scammers create one-time, throw-away member ids and accounts, right? They never use the same one twice. They create an id, try their scam on someone, and abandon that id.

So, blocking and reporting might make the OP feel better, or give them something to do to make them feel they're being proactive, but it doesn't actually do anything to prevent that person from scamming the next rube.

[fern*wood]

The frequency of these threads made me think about the role feedback now plays in selling on ebay.  Rather than helping buyers choose reputable sellers, I think it now plays a bigger role in singling out sellers for this (and similar) scams.   It puts a bullseye on them.

I really feel feedback has passed the point of being a good thing on ebay.

[soh.maryl]

How does feedback play a bigger role in singling out sellers for scams? Bigger than what?

Because maybe scammers target 0 FB sellers?

[fern*wood]

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@soh.maryl wrote:

How does feedback play a bigger role in singling out sellers for scams? Bigger than what?

Because maybe scammers target 0 FB sellers?

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Yes, exactly.

[soh.maryl]

So how does a seller shift from "inexperienced" to "experienced" if he does not sell?

eBay is not the place for sellers who don't read anything about selling before beginning to list and sell.

Even reading these boards can help educate first time sellers.