Previous buyer sent me a check.

[cocoshell24]

I sold an item on Ebay priced at about $16.  A short time later, I received in the mail a thank you card and a check for $15 from this buyer.  She said she liked my item and would like to order another one, and if $15 wasn't enough she would send more.  I sent her a message through Ebay saying that I was glad she liked my item, but all orders would need to be placed through Ebay.   I didn't cash the check and I did nothing else beyond sending her that message.  It's been about 3 weeks and I haven't heard anything from the buyer.  What do you make of this?  Is it a scam?  If so, what would she gain by doing this?

[dhbookds]

Buyers don't understand ebay rules........I'm guessing she just thought it would be easier to do the check thing (altho in ancient ebay times, some did bounce).  If you haven't sent it back to her, I would and explain you could get into trouble for "taking a sale off ebay."  At least that's how I interpret the rules. 

[titipeo]

Buyer is communicating directly with you, trying to save $1 from item cost, but you get more than you would've gotten if sold on eBay for the $16. Buyer is trying to take the middleman out of the equation. Many sellers sometimes include a business card on their order with their website to entice buyers to purchase direct through then.

[fashunu4eeuh · Accepted solution]

Well, of course you did the right thing because it could be considered inviting an off-eBay sale and that can get a seller’s standing compromised, if not outright banned. 

Try reaching out again and reference the policy that forbids cash payments under most situations, see link below. You could also report the buyer for inviting an off-ebay sale. It is possible that the reduced amount the buyer sent was the item cost minus the eBay fees.

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

”…The following payment methods are not allowed:

• Sending cash through the mail
• Point-to-point cash transfer services such as Western Union or MoneyGram”

Some sellers would think this no big deal, but i play by the rules. Just my two cents.

You could send the check back and include a note explaining your position. Send it return receipt requested so there is no confusion about the fact you will not entertain sales in this way.

Here’s the policy regarding off-eBay sales.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/payment-policies/offers-buy-sell-outside-ebay-policy?id=4272

“If you receive an offer from a buyer to transact outside of eBay, please report it.”

(I personally would hesitate to report fellow eBayer’s for infractions, but that is entirely up to each seller.)

[12345jamesstamps]

It's been a while since I've seen a check from a sale.

eBay did...maybe still...where if you got a check you could mark it  "as payment received" from a check from a sale.

It's usually the older generation who do this.

Did they short you $1.00? LOL

No scam. 

With the older generation....some on Social Security and get paid only once a month. This I know from my repeat buyers.

And some figure by the time you cash the check they will have their monthly social security deposited by the government.

[soh.maryl]

Cancel, citing problem with buyer's address.  Mail back the check, explaining why you cannot accept it as payment.  It's not a scam, just a confused buyer.  

[byrd69er]

Rip up the check and move on. You might want to consider blocking the buyer.

[vintage-camerastuff]

I would deposit the check.  I would include a thank you note with her order.  Send her the item with a note asking her to please use ebay the next time she wishes to place an order.   Also I would remove the item form my inventory.   After that I would just forget about it.

[a_c_green]

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@cocoshell24 wrote:

What do you make of this?  Is it a scam?

---

Nope. (Especially not for a prayer quilt, if that's what you're referring to.)

While it's good to refer her back to eBay for future purchases, she is by definition now a pre-established customer of yours, and is entitled to buy anything directly from you that you have not listed on eBay.

That is, to be crystal clear, if she's looking at other items you have listed here, she needs to buy them here as well. If she's asking to buy something you have not listed here, she can arrange payment direct to you and you ship direct to her, but the key thing is, you do none of that through eBay.

The platform is entitled to its share of any sales you make here. If she's looking to do a future purchase directly from you, it needs to be something that you have never listed here.

[reallynicestamps]

Nope. (Especially not for a prayer quilt, if that's what you're referring to.)

You're kidding right?

I sell a certain amount of theological literature, and those are the worst most entitled hypocrital buyers... except maybe for gamers.

Did the buyer order from eBay and then send a check?

 Explain that you cannot accept a check for an eBay sale.

Or.

Mark it as Local Pickup, where cash /etc payment is allowed.

Did she order from you directly without an eBay order?

She's your customer not eBay's.

This is a subset of the "include your business card with the order" ploy.

None of eBay's business.

A repeat customer is a jewel to be nurtured.

[a_c_green]

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@reallynicestamps wrote:

Nope. (Especially not for a prayer quilt, if that's what you're referring to.)

You're kidding right?

I sell a certain amount of theological literature, and those are the worst most entitled hypocritical buyers... except maybe for gamers.

---

Oh! Okay, I will trust your judgement on that. 😁

In any case, the OP says that the buyer was happy with her first purchase and has sent an unexpected pre-payment for another. If the second item she wants is the same as the first, and a listing for the first is still going, then she should buy through eBay.

If the second item she wants is not listed on eBay, then the OP is free to sell it however desired, as long as no part of that second purchase involves eBay. If it does involve eBay in any way, then eBay is entitled to their cut of the proceeds.

[splendidthreads]

How did she get your address to send it to? Is it showing on checkout now?  

[soh.maryl]

Wouldn't there have been a return address on the previous package this buyer received from the OP? 

[cocoshell24]

She got my address from the order that I previously sent to her, that she placed on eBay.    The label showed her address and my address as the return address.

[gloryglorygifts]

The sale was NOT initiated through ebay, so it does not fall under any of their policies. She was a repeat customer that reached out to you directly and sent a payment to you with good faith that you would send her the item. Just because your first interaction with her was through ebay doesn't mean every subsequent transaction with her has to be. That is not what the ebay policy states.  I would have waited for the check to clear, mailed her item out to her, and reduced it from your inventory.  That was a person to person transaction and not through a marketplace. I think you have lost a repeat customer but that is just mho. 

As reallynicestamps said, A repeat customer is a jewel to be nurtured.