Offered $599 for a $430 item

[the_horak]

So I know that this is meant as a goal for a scam. I was offered $599 for a $430 item I'm selling. Going to ebay.com (not through the email I received), I see the offer as being real. The scam comes in with the buyer wanting me to send him my PayPal info so that he can pay me.

Now, obviously, I'm not doing that. I accepted the offer, though, not really thinking at the time. At this point, should I just expect him to back out? If he pays me through PayPal and eBay, do I need to worry about shipping it and then losing my money and my item?

[myboardid · Accepted solution]

It is definitely a scam - the "buyer" wants your Paypal info so he can send you a FAKE (very real looking) email that says you've been paid but need to ship before it shows up in your account. IGNORE the offer, report the buyer for attempted scam.

[the_horak]

Sounds good thanks. 

[myboardid]

I don't know what the item is, but if you have it listed as an auction, take it down and relist it as Fixed Price, with IMMEDIATE PAYMENT REQUIRED. Consider the following: Buyers can buy, pay, then when you ship, make a claim of receiving an empty box. You would lose and would have to refund. Don't sell anything here you can't afford to lose.

[pjcdn2005]

How do you report someone who hasn't made a purchase yet?

[myboardid]

You can't - you are correct about questioning that. I was thinking the scammer had already made the purchase.

[the_horak]

I already reported the buyer. It was not auction but only a buy now item.

[southern*sweet*tea]

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@the_horak wrote:

I accepted the offer, though, not really thinking at the time. At this point, should I just expect him to back out? If he pays me through PayPal and eBay, do I need to worry about shipping it and then losing my money and my item?

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Your "buyer" will try their darndest to get your email address or phone number so they can send you a fake payment notice.  They will make every excuse in the book - their Paypal isn't working, your checkout isn't working, etc. - IGNORE THEM.   Forty-eight hours after you accepted the offer, file the unpaid item dispute.

DO NOT get involved in any sort of conversations with this person.

If you DO get notice from Ebay that the buyer has paid, log directly into Paypal and verify that the payment is there. I doubt seriously you will get paid, though. This is definitely a set up for a scam.