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Offers posing as questions (spammers?)

I don’t normally run two auctions at once, but necessity dictated I sell two of our computers to save up to buy a new one. The inquiries coming in were more than if I had just run one auction this week. That being said I turned off the offer feature because I prefer the auction go to the highest bidder. Now I’m getting inundated with questions saying they want to pay now or buy it now, etc.

Is there not a way to flag these accounts for not respecting the other bidders or the sanctity of the auction itself?  Shouldn’t eBay have a way to handle these fake accounts?

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Offers posing as questions (spammers?)

A message that says "I am interested in your item, kindly text me" is generally the start of a scam where the scammer winds up sending a phony PayPal email that makes it look like the seller has received a payment when none has actually been received. Scammers like to target new sellers, particularly those selling expensive items.

 

Similarly, any potential buyer that wants to pay more than your buy-it-now price or asks you to purchase a gift card for any reason is trying to scam you. eBay has no way for a seller to add the extra cost to the transaction, so that should tell you that the buyer has no intention of paying you through eBay (or at all).


Sending contact information (text or email) prior to a transaction is a violation of eBay policy; this policy is designed to protect honest buyers and sellers from this sort of thing, and to prevent off-eBay sales.


Ignore anyone that wants to communicate outside of eBay prior to a transaction payment. eBay will likely close the scammer's account eventually; unfortunately the scammer will simply open another account and continue sending such messages.


As a seller you should always check your PayPal account directly (not following a link in an email) to see if you have actually been paid prior to shipping. If an actual buyer does not send an actual payment, file an unpaid item dispute and go through that process to get your fees back and to give the "buyer" a strike -- and set your buying requirement to reject bids from users with two or more strikes.

 

You can avoid many common scams by listing your items at a fixed price with immediate payment required and by not accepting offers. If you do receive an offer that you are willing to accept, lower your buy it now price to the offer level. If you do that, the only way the transaction can proceed is if a buyer completes checkout and pays.

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Offers posing as questions (spammers?)


@texasmacguy wrote:

Is there not a way to flag these accounts for not respecting the other bidders or the sanctity of the auction itself?  Shouldn’t eBay have a way to handle these fake accounts?


eBay allows buyers to make offers, even when Best Offer is not available on the listing. 

 

It would make no sense for eBay to sanction users for doing what eBay encourages. 

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Offers posing as questions (spammers?)


@texasmacguy wrote:

I don’t normally run two auctions at once, but necessity dictated I sell two of our computers to save up to buy a new one. The inquiries coming in were more than if I had just run one auction this week. That being said I turned off the offer feature because I prefer the auction go to the highest bidder. Now I’m getting inundated with questions saying they want to pay now or buy it now, etc.

Is there not a way to flag these accounts for not respecting the other bidders or the sanctity of the auction itself?  Shouldn’t eBay have a way to handle these fake accounts?


Unfortunately, it is necessary for the seller to be aware of the various scams as ebay isn't about to police or vet buyers.  Buyers are their life blood and 'maybe' the seller happened to 'forget' to put make an offer.  And, just as unfortunate, since buyers aren't vetted, they aren't really scammers - until they scam someone.

Not saying 'NO' doesn't mean 'YES'.

The foolishness of one's actions or words is determined by the number of witnesses.

Perhaps if Brains were described as an APP, many people would use them more often.

Respect, like money, is only of 'worth' when it is earned - with all due respect, it can not be ordained, legislated or coerced. Anonymous
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