Scammers

[ermed_8479]

If you are an experienced ebay seller, how do you distinguish if someone is a reputable buyer? I would think it could be based on their reviews, however, I have had a slew of "buyers" who had amazing reviews and then apparently their accounts were "hacked" and their offers cancelled. 

What is the balance in determining an established buyer?

[wrong66]

Buyers can ONLY get positive feedback, so that's not a good benchmark to go by.

[jayjaspersgarage]

Well, you can't tell for sure whether a potential buyer is a scammer or not but given the value of your first listings you are about to find out.

It is hard to believe that a new seller could list so many expensive items out of the gate.  It would be a good idea to list your higher priced items with "immediate payment required" in a fixed price listing instead of running high priced auctions.

You will know who is scamming you when they don't pay for several days and then email you asking for special treatment.  

With a zero (0) feedback score YOU are a target for scammers now given the high priced items you are listing.

Good luck out here.

[soh.maryl]

I am absolutely dazzled by the fact that eBay has allowed a new seller (you) to list so many expensive items.

Wish you would have come here first because we would have told you to start off with low dollar things so that you could learn how eBay works without losing money to scammers.

Better still would have been for you to be a buyer first to not only learn how it works but to accumulate some feedback.  

Please bear in mind that you will be a target for scammers.  There is no way that you can be guaranteed not to have issues.  Feel free to return here and ask advice if needed.  

[toysaver]

EBay is not the best venue to sell expensive items.  You'll be able to distinguish the scammers after they've gotten the item and been refunded. 

[katzrul15]

Tagging on.....

Usually a "new" seller has listing restrictions/caps to minimize issues for the new Seller or their potential Buyer. 

Heed the advice given....a zero FB ID really is a scam magnet.  Good luck!

[donsdetour]

https://pages.ebay.com/securitycenter/stay_safe.html 

https://pages.ebay.com/giftcardscams/ 

On advice on judging a buyer: none.

On advice to sell:

If you can not afford to lose item and money paid for it:

do not list it.

[nuclearomen]

because your items are on higher end price scale you will no doubt deal with scammers. Not saying all buyers are scammers of course, but the higher the asking prices the more target you can be for them. 

[katzrul15]

@ermed_8479 

Come to the boards often to ask questions.

Lots of really knowledgable posters who can guide you.

Good luck.   

[caldreamer]

No way to tell if customer is going to scam you.   Because you are a new  seller with "high value" items you will be targeted.   Customer can get your item and then "reverse credit card" charges (keep item and your money).  EBAY will NOT help you if you get scammed.  

Really no such thing as "no returns".    EBAY Money Back Guarantee supersedes your "no returns" if customer claims "not as described, defective, counterfeit".   You are force to give full refund (including postage BOTH ways).   Customers are NOT require customers  to prove claims.   Even if they return "box of rocks" you are forced to return money.    EBAY only looks at return tracking#.   EBAY always rules in favor of customer.

Unfortunately, there are many, many different scams going around on EBAY now.  

[docordoc]

Shipping via Smart Post is a bad idea.  Should your item suffer shipping damage you will not have much luck in filing a claim.  I would also advise a signature guarantee that the item was delivered for the types of things you have listed. 

[pikabo-icu]

@ermed_8479 

In addition to all the sage advice above:

Since buyers can only receive positive FB, sometimes you can get a better look at a buyer by reading the FB they've left for other sellers.

Look and see if it's been a LONG time since they purchased..

That's about all you can do. If you're selling BIN and they pay, you need to ship.

If the item is $750+ make sure to ship with signature required to be eligible for the little seller protection eBay provides us.

I usually ship sig confirmation with items $500 or more but that's my personal choice. I include this in my listing and my shipping has Sig Conf selected already.

INSURE your packages! You have a lot of glass & breakables so insure against damage & loss.

Best of Luck and Happy selling!! 

[dbfolks166mt]

     As others have mentioned there is no way to be 100% sure if you are being scammed. While you have some high dollar items posted, and some very nice pieces, they are probably not as high a value target for scammers as things like cell phones, computers and other electronics. 

     I also notice you do not accept returns on your items. You need to fully read and understand what that REALLY means as far as the eBay Money Back Guarantee. You also ship worldwide and have setup an exclusion list which you may want to review and add a few more countries. China, Russia and the FSU states are infamous for running scamming operations. Also be cautious of foreign buyers that are in your exclusion list using freight forwarding companies to get around the country exclusion list. 

     If you are going to sell and ship internationally you may want to look and and consider using the eBay Global Shipping Program and the Global Shipping Center which operates out of Kentucky. If you do utilize that service eBay is the one that actually sends the invoice to the buyer to factor in the international shipping and the cost of your shipment to the shipping center. Once the center receives your package they handle the shipment through the international carriers and update the shipping information on the order. With freight forwarders you often loose sight of the package and tracking information once it reaches the freight forwarder. 

      A lot of the items you are selling are high value and fragile so make sure the package is adequately insured. I have shipped a lot of fragile items through USPS and have had to file a couple of insurance claims with them which took quite awhile to resolve. 

     Given your location, the items you are selling, the exorbitant eBay fees, the scamming risk you may be better off finding alternative sites to list some of you items on where the exchange can be person to person and payment accepted in cash, especially the fragile items. This virtually eliminates any scamming, SNAD, INR........... issues. You can also list the item for 15-20% less since you are not paying fees, shipping insurance............. and other costs.

[dbfolks166mt]

Timed out before I finished. 

     If you are trying to determine if you are being scammed you can always come to this board and ask about a sale before you ship the item. A few things to watch for given the items you are selling. 

1. New buyers that have only had an account for a few days or weeks. 

2. Buyers with 0 feedback, Given what you are selling most potential buyers are probably art aficionado's who specifically shop for this type of thing on a regular basis. 

3. Anything to do with gift cards. 

4. Anyone offering you more for the item than what you are selling or have it listed for. 

     Read the postings on this board and you will get some other ideas about what to watch for.  About every type of scam that can be ran or has been ran is posted on this forum. 

[kennys-kollectibles]

 Over the years I have learned, there is subtle hints that certain buyers will end up being a problem. 

It usually starts out with a message that is inappropriate.