Scam

[melsni74]

Hello.  I am new to selling on eBay.  I have listed several items and have gotten offers which I accepted.  Their response is they have a question about my item and want me to text them.  I did - and they want me to purchase various gift cards along with the sale (which they say they will add the cost).  I know it illegal and a scam but this has happened to me through different names/ accounts 6 times now!  Is anyone else having this problem?  

[buyselljack2016]

@melsni74 

Many new sellers are targets for this scam. Some fall for it, some don't.

There are posts about it here almost daily. Although you did fall for the "text me" portion, it is good that you did not fall for the scam.

[inhawaii · Accepted solution]

First, you should not have texted them.

NEVER contact a buyer outside of the ebay message system.

If you know it's a scam, why did you do it?

New sellers and/or expensive items are a magnet for scammers.

[melsni74]

Thank you for your reply.   I’m very annoyed because they make offer and I accept then my items are tied up for payment !   

[silverstatetreasureboxes]

@melsni74 

Do not text back ever. Yes it's a scam, you have nothing for sale that these scammers want. They want added gift cards to send to their cousin from Boston. 

     Fake invoices will appear which looks legit sometimes. These dirt bags continue to scam millions each year from online sellers who don't pay attention and text them back, glad you are paying attention but no more texting as that is clue #1.

[ittybitnot]

they have a question about my item and want me to text them.  I did ....

@melsni74 

These people are NOT buyers, they are simply criminals that have no intention of paying you.  The do often send those FAKE payment notifications.  They likely don't even want your product...they want the gift card codes.  

If you actually accepted an "offer" you can report them on site now for "trying to take the transaction off eBay" or something of the sort. Otherwise/also on day 5 you can cancel the transaction for non-payment. 

You can somewhat limit your exposure by NOT using the Best Offer feature and listing your items at fixed price with immediate payment required. 

[southern*sweet*tea]

Report the buyer https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/resolving-buyer-issues/reporting-issue-buyer?id=4084 Use the reason "asking to complete a sale off eBay".

Add the buyer to your blocked bidder list: https://www.ebay.com/bmgt/BuyerBlock Ignore any further messages from them.

Cancel the sale immediately using "problem with buyer's address". You don't have to let the unpaid item process play out.  They're scammers - they don't care if they get unpaid strikes. They soil one account and they move on to another account.  You can cancel here: https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/getting-paid/cancelling-transaction?id=4136

For your reference, this is how the scam works:
All contact should always be through eBay messages. Do NOT, under any circumstances, give your phone number or email address to a buyer. Do not send a Paypal invoice, either. Your email address can be found on the invoice. Do not click links that claim to fix a buyer's payment issue. There is no legitimate link for buyers to fix a payment issue.

No legitimate buyer needs any of these things, and no legitimate buyer will give up their eBay buyer protection by paying off site. Your "buyer" wants your email or phone number so they can send you a very real looking, but very fake payment email. They are hoping you are too inexperienced to verify the payment. There will be NO PAYMENT, only a fake email saying you've been paid and you must ship immediately so the payment can be released. This is a lie. This person wants you to ship your item without being paid. They want to steal your stuff.

As long as you are aware of this, you can follow the process above. Bookmark the links for future use. Trust your gut - if it feels wrong, it usually is. If you ever have any questions you can always come here and ask.

Once you build some seller feedback they will leave you alone.

These scammers are a pain, and there is no real way for eBay to stop them until after the fact. The majority of them are overseas using VPN, and when one account gets shut down, 100 more will take its place. They target new sellers, hoping to cash in on their inexperience and lack of knowledge of the scam.

You need to list fixed price with immediate payment to avoid these scammers.

Switch to the new listing form if you're not already using it.   Decide on the price you want for your item. Be sure to take original cost of goods and fees into consideration.   Go to the preferences section at the bottom, click the link that says "Payment managed by eBay":

Click to require immediate payment, then click done.

[melsni74]

sorry....   I didn't realize it was a scam at that point.   Ebay says we can contact buyers ourselves so when they gave me their number to text and requested pictures I didn't think anything of it.  Their initial excuse was since they were paying so much for the item - they needed more detailed pictures.   I honestly didn't think there was an issue at that point.   Then (after tha) is when they asked me to purchase a gift cards, etc....    I didn't respond back after that - however - I keep getting the same ones over and over to purchase items (under different names) and that is when I reaized this must be the same person using different identities.   Ebay contacted me with the initial one as a scam after the fact.....   I am now aware of the situation and will try my best not to get caught up in it again.  ......     It is just heartbreaking that the last 5 sales I have had, have been from scammers!    I don't seem to be doing very well with sales on Ebay.   I don't know if it is my pricing or what..... thanks for your help 

Melissa 

[melsni74]

thanks for the advise.   I did report it to Ebay (the first one) when it happened.   Just coincidentatlly Ebay contacted me as they were scammers and I followed their advice and even sent a copy of the text message - I didn't know how to block them so I appreciate your info on that.   I noticed that (it is probably the same person) using a different name has done this to me 6X!   I didn't respond to the other messages and have since cancelled the sales.   It is just heartbreaking to me that I have been a victim 6 times now and these were my only sales on Ebay since 2 weeks ago!   I was so excited to sell some of my higher priced items ~    lesson learned.    thank you so much for your detailed information.   

Melissa 

[ufogirl1]

I have a real piece of work that knows how to work the eBay system.  She stated on her ad she has something I have been looking for.  What I received was not what she said in her ad.  I contacted her and she said it was my fault!  Now she wants me to send the item back to her and pay the shipping.  That is a con artist.  She knows eBay will not help me. I actually got a message from eBay to print my postage label!  I have been trying for 3 days to get them to help me.  When I order something from Amazon and there's a problem they resolve it immediately.  It will be a cold day in .... before I ship it back at my expense.  Good luck to anyone trying to resolve a problem with eBay.

[a_c_green]

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@ufogirl1 wrote:

I have a real piece of work that knows how to work the eBay system.  She stated on her ad she has something I have been looking for.  What I received was not what she said in her ad.  I contacted her and she said it was my fault!  Now she wants me to send the item back to her and pay the shipping.  That is a con artist.  She knows eBay will not help me. I actually got a message from eBay to print my postage label!

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It sounds like you filed a Not As Described dispute (which looks like the right choice), in which case you have received a postage label that was paid for by the seller and is ready to print. It is not done at your expense. Just print it out and stick it on the package.

[pomb5708]

They have now tied up 4 of my listings TODAY! I thought I had them figured out. #1 - full-price offer (no one does that, do they?) #2 - new profiles. No photos. No feedback. Just joined in 2022. But one of the profiles that "bought" 2 of my items today had a 100% positive feedback rating as a buyer with 47 reviews! Had now I can't list anything until eBay cancels their orders in 4 days. That is lost potential legitimate sales I am missing because of these scams! What gets under my skin is that we are the ones that get "punished" for canceling the orders when we know it's a scam!! As soon as they send a message asking me to text them I should be able to cancel the order with no fear of loosing any privileges on eBay. I have reported every one of these but I dunno if eBay can really do much about them. Maybe they need to monitor the messaging like Mercari does. Except allow exchanging of contact info AFTER payment is received. 

[ms.rodriguez*]

 Why don't you write the following text to all of your listings.  " We only accept payment through Ebay.  Payments are due in 4 days or we will ask Ebay to cancel. ASK questions before bidding.  We do NOT respond to texts. "      If you are using auctions and you  see someone bid on your item with 0 feedback and new to ebay, immediately cancel their bid and block them.

Finally, I have not checked what you are selling or sold but I bet it was an expensive item.  Why don't you try and get some feedback and experience selling cheaper items?  ON my 2 selling accounts, I started by selling hot wheels for 3.99.    I did not start selling expensive items until I had plenty of feedback and knew what I was doing.

[southern*sweet*tea]

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@ms.rodriguez* wrote:

 If you are using auctions and you  see someone bid on your item with 0 feedback and new to ebay, immediately cancel their bid and block them.

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Build a new store.  Stand in the doorway and turn away anyone who's never been there before.  How long will you be in business?

If I open a brand new ID right now and bid on an auction, should the seller cancel it?