@mdlgirl wrote:
Hi, Sorry I'm just responding to this message. He initially contacted me via text messaging. (Clearly I have to change my settings on ebay). I could possibly screenshot the messages as proof but he was smart as he did not correspond on eBay at all). He continued texting me saying he needed my email address and then I received fake PayPal payments which were with added $100 on top of what the item sold as. He kept sending me harrassing emails even though I had expressed that I strictly wanted to correspond via eBay. This person also called me but I did not answer. I will wait 2 days to report this "buyer" for non payment. Are there any other steps I should take? Do you think I should just avoid selling this item on eBay altogether (it is brand new with the shrink wrap still on)? I was thinking maybe I am better off selling this item on Facebook marketplace or perhaps on Amazon. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks again for taking the time to respond to me so quickly.
@mdlgirl
Yes, I would update my settings on eBay if I were you. Quite frankly, I don't understand how this guy was able to text you in the first place. However, you can contact eBay and get contact info for someone once you have entered into a transaction, so chances are that's what he did. But when this occurs, I believe eBay notifies both parties that one or the other has requested their trading partner's contact info. Did you receive any notification from eBay to that effect?
You might want to call eBay and talk to someone in the Trust & Safety Department not only to find out how he was able to contact you, but to make them aware of this guy and what he was up to. See if you can get screenshots of his messages as eBay may want them to verify what you say he did was true. Make sure they know he also tried to harass you by calling you direct and that you repeatedly told him he needed to contact you via eBay messaging.
Bottom line: *Never* communicate with someone outside of eBay Messaging. When someone contacts you by other means, they are trying to circumvent the system one way or another which means they are up to no good.
You can't file an Unpaid Item Dispute until two full business days have elapsed since the listing ended. See my earlier post about how to do that and the timing required. Make sure you close the case if he hasn't paid by the end of the period during which he was given an opportunity to do so. You must close the case at that time to get a refund on the Final Value Fees eBay charged you when the item sold.
If you haven't already, put this guy on your Blocked Bidder List so he will be prevented from bidding on any other of your items.
As far as trying to sell something like an iPad here, many seasoned sellers will advise that you should never sell anything that's more expensive than your feedback score. The reason is that scammers prey on inexperienced sellers and they can see that from your "stats."
You have had no sales in the past year, have a total of 5 for a feedback score, and you're trying to sell one of the most-often scammed items sold on eBay. In a nutshell, you're exactly the type of seller scammers look for and target to rip off.
Once you get this Unpaid Item Dispute taken care of, you can relist it and try again, but it's very likely you have the same experience. Selling locally, cash in hand, is usually a much less troublesome option.
Good Luck!
