Possible scam?

[elgar_8551]

I sold a MSI laptop earlier, didn't receive any payment yet but the buyer assured me he will pay it the next day in the morning. I took a look in his history and he/she apparently has 100 feedback with no followers and reviews. Also, they changed their user id 4 times, and their most recent change was on June 2019 but they decided to add 2014 to their user id. I am new to this website so I am not sure if this is normal behavior, but my gut tells me it is a scam waiting to happen. 

[ohnojoey]

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@elgar_8551 wrote:

I sold a MSI laptop earlier, didn't receive any payment yet but the buyer assured me he will pay it the next day in the morning. I took a look in his history and he/she apparently has 100 feedback with no followers and reviews. Also, they changed their user id 4 times, and their most recent change was on June 2019 but they decided to add 2014 to their user id. I am new to this website so I am not sure if this is normal behavior, but my gut tells me it is a scam waiting to happen. 

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"I took a look in his history and he/she apparently has 100 feedback with no followers and reviews."

I took a look at your history and you have no feedback and a one day history.

Point is, by your criteria, you could be suspicious too.

Your expensive sold computer is listed as pick-up only, and they said they will will pay it the next day in the morning, did they?  At least you don't have to worry about sending it.

The red flag would be if they wanted your paypal address or some other scammy behavior.

[mam98031]

There isn't a way for a buyer than hasn't paid to scam you unless you are willing to ship the item out without payment.  So if after 48 hours from the time of purchase you buyer hasn't paid, file a UID [Unpaid Item Dispute].

Note the date and time you open the UID.  96 hours after you open the UID, if payment hasn't arrived, you can close it for non payment.  Do NOT relist the item until after this transaction is complete.  That means you've got payment or you have closed the UID for non payment.

[hawkwind5454]

So, did your buyer pay, as promised?  Lap-tops [in any condition] seem to be a perpetual *flavor-of-the-week* for scammers, so I can certainly understand your apprehension.

[jihen-7665]

@elgar_8551 the time worry about scams is before you list.

[soh.maryl]

So does that mean you have suggestions for sellers to avoid scammers before they list?

I think we'd be glad to learn of them.  

[fashunu4eeuh]

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@elgar_8551 wrote:

I sold a MSI laptop earlier, didn't receive any payment yet but the buyer assured me he will pay it the next day in the morning. I took a look in his history and he/she apparently has 100 feedback with no followers and reviews. Also, they changed their user id 4 times, and their most recent change was on June 2019 but they decided to add 2014 to their user id. I am new to this website so I am not sure if this is normal behavior, but my gut tells me it is a scam waiting to happen. 

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There is no evidence yet pointing to a scam. If the buyer pays, and you go directly to PayPal to verify the funds are there, it is time to ship. Don't use a link in an email to navigate to PP, but go online and input their web address. Or, if the buyer does not pay within a reasonable amount of time, then you need to open an Unpaid Item Dispute, see link below for more info on that procedure. Being a new seller with an expensive laptop does tend to draw scammer attention, but it is really too soon to tell.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/payment-policies/unpaid-item-policy?id=4271

OK wait, this is a local pickup only. In that case, ideally you want a cash payment upon pickup. This is allowed by eBay, one of the few scenarios where cash payment is acceptable. There should have been a disclaimer in your listing description stating "Contact me for payment methods for local pickup." See the link with this info from the Accepted Payments policy:

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/payment-policies/accepted-payments-policy?id=4269

• Payment upon pickup
  If you offer payment upon pickup, you'll also need to offer one of the approved electronic methods, and may include this statement in your listing: "Contact me for payment methods to pay on pickup."

Be sure to get a signed receipt for pickup documentation. This is valid proof acceptable by eBay in case the buyer tries to claim Item Not Received, see link below for more info on Local Pickup policy.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/posting-items/setting-postage-options/local-pickup?id=4181

"...To protect yourself against item not received cases, it's a good idea to get proof that the buyer picked up the item. For example:

• Confirmation from the buyer in eBay messaging that the item was picked up
• An invoice or other receipt signed by the buyer indicating the item was picked up"