Outrageous Offer

[shinson36ht]

Shoes could be purchased for $40.  Sale end no bids.  Offer came in more than twice the amount but they wanted a phone call.  Is this legit? How do I flag ebay?

[wrong66]

No, it is not legit. There's no reason for anyone to have your phone number. This person intends to scam you.

[mr_lincoln]

@shinson36ht   No, its a scam ... you NEVER have to call or text, etc.  eBay messaging is how you communicate, it protects your personal information like phone number, email address, etc.  It happens a lot ...

[toysaver]

Never communicate outside of eBay messaging.  It's a scam.  

[gracieallen01]

One of the more popular, and common, scam on ebay.  Not legit - It's a scam, to get your information to send you a fake PayPal 'you've got cash' notification and advise that you will get payment as soon as you upload tracking to prove shipping.  Or, maybe a request for a Gift Card.

Not too sure there is anything tell ebay about a transaction that didn't happen.

[reallynicestamps]

And if they ask for gift cards, even eBay gift cards, it's also a scam.

Good on you for checking.

[luckythewinner]

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@shinson36ht wrote:

Shoes could be purchased for $40.  Sale end no bids.  Offer came in more than twice the amount but they wanted a phone call.  Is this legit? How do I flag ebay?

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There is no point in reporting this user to eBay, because eBay does not not have sufficient information to identify buyers. Anyone can create a new eBay account in a matter of seconds. 

[southern*sweet*tea]

Anytime a buyer wants you to text or email them, it is a SCAM.
Do not engage with them at all. Give them no information.

Report the "buyer"

Block https://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?bidderblocklogin

Ignore

The whole idea is for the seller to be blinded with greed, or just stupidity, and for the scammer to get the seller's phone number or email address. Once that happens, the seller receives a very real looking, but very fake email stating that they have been paid, and in order to receive their funds they need to ship the item right away. Sometimes these emails will also have a phone number, for the seller to call and "verify" the transaction. That phone number is a direct line to the scammer.

These scammers depend on a seller's greed/naivete/ignorance/stupidity to ship the item without checking to see if they have actually been paid. It works surprisingly well, even with established sellers, because for some strange reason people want to "trust" emails.

There is no reason on this planet for a buyer to need a seller's email address, phone number, or any sort of financial/payment information. Everything a buyer needs is right there when they click the buy now button on a listing.

In addition to the above, anyone asking for a gift card to be included is a SCAMMER. Anyone offering to pay more for an item than the listing price is a SCAMMER. Anyone making an offer higher than the buy it now price is a SCAMMER.

Don't fall for it. You will NOT GET PAID. You WILL BE ROBBED of your item.

[bargainnation]

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@gracieallen01 wrote:

One of the more popular, and common, scam on ebay.  Not legit - It's a scam, to get your information to send you a fake PayPal 'you've got cash' notification and advise that you will get payment as soon as you upload tracking to prove shipping.  Or, maybe a request for a Gift Card.

Not too sure there is anything tell ebay about a transaction that didn't happen.

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It should be reported because chances are very very high that person ("buyer") is trying to run a scam. The fact that a potential victim did not fall for their scam is no reason that eBay should not be informed.  eBay can/should monitor this "buyer" and perhaps remove them from eBay before their scam succeed with some other new or inexperienced eBay sellers.

This "buyer" is not going to stop because one seller did not fall for his/her scam. They make money from this popular and profitable scam when even one seller sends them merchandise and/or gift cards they did not pay for and never had any intentions of paying for.

[inhawaii]

Call his bluff.  Re-list the item at the higher price and let him buy it legitimately.  No phone calls. No emails.  No gift cards.  I bet you a nickel he doesn't buy it. 

[dhbookds]

brittanie@ebay 

another for the list

[gracieallen01]

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@bargainnation wrote:

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@gracieallen01 wrote:

One of the more popular, and common, scam on ebay.  Not legit - It's a scam, to get your information to send you a fake PayPal 'you've got cash' notification and advise that you will get payment as soon as you upload tracking to prove shipping.  Or, maybe a request for a Gift Card.

Not too sure there is anything tell ebay about a transaction that didn't happen.

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It should be reported because chances are very very high that person ("buyer") is trying to run a scam. The fact that a potential victim did not fall for their scam is no reason that eBay should not be informed.  eBay can/should monitor this "buyer" and perhaps remove them from eBay before their scam succeed with some other new or inexperienced eBay sellers.

This "buyer" is not going to stop because one seller did not fall for his/her scam. They make money from this popular and profitable scam when even one seller sends them merchandise and/or gift cards they did not pay for and never had any intentions of paying for.

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Oh, I whole-heartedly agree that it should be reported.  However, since it didn't actually 'happen', and just 'maybe' was the buyer's attempt to scam, I don't really think that ebay is too interested (from previous indications and/or responses) in being bothered with it.  Personally I would be inclined to report the attempted scam to the IC3 site and the USPS Postal Inspectors - whether I ever see results or not - more so than ebay, as they get paid to DO something about it.