eBay

jht.enterprises · ‎03-05-2024

Just sold a $820 iPhone 15 to a buyer who's account was created on the day the item is sold. They have zero feedback of course and I'm a little apprehensive about shipping... 😬 Any thoughts?

inhawaii · ‎03-05-2024

Zero feedback = Not a concern.

Account created the same day = Not a concern.

Selling a iPhone = Big concern.

I would never sell a iPhone on ebay. Too risky.

Feelin' Stronger Every Day - Chicago

jht.enterprises · ‎03-05-2024

Just curious why you think no returns is a mistake. I would not allow it to reach the point where they have to ask you to step in. If they try to pull a scam and say item is damaged or defective I would accept the return in that situation.

fashunu4eeuh · ‎03-05-2024

@jht.enterprises wrote:
I know you can be scammed with just about everything but People keep saying that it's risky or that you shouldn't sell expensive phones on eBay, but I mean.. there's literally hundreds of thousands of them for sale on here... 🤷

Hi @jht.enterprises

I sell in that price point, but it is mainly vintage clothing and rare collectibles. Never been defrauded by a buyer in 15 years of selling, knock on wood.

But i still have a plan for shrinkage, aware that scamming does happen. Part of that plan is offering Free Returns. Been doing that long before eBay started pushing for it. I do it for one reason and that is to protect my account from bogus Not As Described cases. Realize its not for everyone but it works for me because of my very low incidence of returns.

I have found that customers willing to spend top dollar are my easiest-going buyers. They never give me a moment’s concern. (But i do work hard at customer satisfaction and avoid high-scam goods.)

My concern for you is that you are selling in a high-risk category where it will be harder to avoid those who scam. Your saving grace is your high feedback number. You are not a newbie and they are a riper target for the scammers.

I also do not get uncomfortable with new or zero-feedback buyers, even for my top dollar goods. I have always added on a few extra dollars to each sale which goes into my slush fund as insurance against fraud. Like i said, never had an issue with a buyer. It’s a pretty healthy size slush fund now.

The fact is that any buyer is a potential scammer. Any buyer can rip off any seller at any time by opening a bogus Not As Described case and sending back a rock.

So i assess my risk tolerance before listing every item and decide what i can live with should the transaction go south, knowing that diligent sellers with good customer service practices have an advantage. So i prepare for the worst and expect the best out of each sale.

Best of luck to you, and congrats on your sale!!

reallynicestamps · ‎03-05-2024

but I mean.. there's literally hundreds of thousands of them for sale on here... 🤷

yes.

And 99 44/100 per cent of those transactions go just fine.

The question is, in the few that go pear-shaped, what happens to the Seller and can they afford the loss?

Further, what are the signs of a bad faith transaction?

Anyways I'm just going to cancel the order and say item out of stock

NOOOOO!

You will get a Defect which could in the long run cost you more than a scam transaction.

And the unhappy buyer can leave feedback, which, although eBay doesn't use FB to assess member accounts, is considered by many future buyers. (Usually in the wrong ways, but considered nonetheless.)

gator08041971 · ‎03-05-2024

@jht.enterprises wrote:
Just curious why you think no returns is a mistake. I would not allow it to reach the point where they have to ask you to step in. If they try to pull a scam and say item is damaged or defective I would accept the return in that situation.

Having a return does give you a bit more control of the situation and also weeds out some bad buyers.

You can also setup buyer restrictions to lower the bar on bad buyers trying to take advantage. But when listing a highly targeted item like a high end iPhone and not offering returns on it is like sending up a large flag to attract unscrupulous buyers.

But its your choice, you can proceed how you wish. I have used No Returns for years, but honestly there is no such thing. The Money Back Guarantee overrides this anyway, so may as well offer returns and even return shipping for some items, if nothing else to take advantage of some extra features to help minimize risk.

But again, its up to you.

Gator08041971 • Volunteer Community Mentor 2024
Member of eBay since 2000

sugarnspice777 · ‎03-05-2024

They are going to rip you off.

isaiah53-57 · ‎03-05-2024

@jht.enterprises wrote:
Not sure who was saying it originally but yeah, my no returns policy would not impact anything because I would not let it reach the point for eBay has to step in 🙄. Anyways I'm just going to cancel the order and say item out of stock

@jht.enterprises

You will get a defect this way - I would do some detective work first - Many things you can do - One thing we did in these cases is send them an email with a copy of their shipping address, letting them know that since they don't yet have a successful sale, you want to verify that their address is correct - If they say ship it to a different address, there is your out - If they do not reply, send another email letting them know that if you dont receive a response to verify the address, then you are not comfortable continuing with the sale perchance the address is not correct. In both cases, I think it appropriate to cancel with the reason "something wrong with the buyers address".

If they do respond, it gives you an avenue to get a feel of who you are talking to - We have continued with sales we were initially concerned about after conversing with a buyer - It also gives you an opportunity to ask them if the address is a Freight Forwarder if you happen to google it as such - If they say no, then cancel for the same reason above...If they say yes, then you have got them to admit they are using a third party for shipping, which would void the MBG...These things have worked well for us in the past and its the main reason we always put 3-4 day handling times on high value items to give us the time to vet a buyer.

dbfolks166mt · ‎03-05-2024

The time for risk analysis is generally before you list an item. As others mentioned cell phones are a HUGE scammer target. That being said I would have done a couple of things before deciding to cancel.

1. Write down the IMEI and serial number for the phone and retain it just in case you are scammed.

2. If the sale was international and the phone is shipping through the EIS program by all means ship it. Once

the phone reaches the EIS hub and issues are eBay and EIS's problems including chargebacks.

3. If this is shipping to an international buyer through a freight forwarder consider shipping it. Once the

item reaches the freight forwarder the buyers MBG coverage is gone. However that only applies to

claims through eBay and not for CC chargebacks.

4. If it's a domestic sale go with your gut feeling. New accounts and 0 feedback mean nothing the buyer

could simply be using a guest account to make the purchase.

5. You are going to get a signature receipt, not that it means a lot, but be sure you add enough additional

insurance to cover the value of the shipment. I just finished up, and was paid by USPS, for my third lost

shipment in a period of about 7 months.

jht.enterprises · ‎03-06-2024

Not sure why you think there's no such thing as no returns. I've had add buyers want to return items in the past simply because it wasn't to their liking or wasn't the right size for them, ect.. reasons I have no control over.. but because I had the no returns policy they did not initiate a return and thus I did not eat the loss of shipping costs to ship to the buyer and also pay the return shipping. I'm just a simple small time seller and feel that me having a new return policy is perfectly justified. If I was a seller with 5,k,10k or 20,000 items for sale, I would expect such sellers to offer free returns.

jht.enterprises · ‎03-06-2024

I would take a defect or negative feedback over losing $820 any day 😅

albertabrightalberta · ‎03-06-2024

@jht.enterprises wrote:
Not sure why you think there's no such thing as no returns. I've had add buyers want to return items in the past simply because it wasn't to their liking or wasn't the right size for them, ect.. reasons I have no control over.. but because I had the no returns policy they did not initiate a return and thus I did not eat the loss of shipping costs to ship to the buyer and also pay the return shipping. I'm just a simple small time seller and feel that me having a new return policy is perfectly justified. If I was a seller with 5,k,10k or 20,000 items for sale, I would expect such sellers to offer free returns.

The problem many have with a no returns policy is that buyers see no returns so if they want to return an item, they believe they need a reason. And as such, they will choose a NAD (not as described) reason, making you on the hook for accepting the return and paying return shipping (plus their full original payment) or if you refuse the return, they escalate and ebay gives them the refund from your funds PLUS they get to keep the item for free.

albertabrightalberta | Volunteer Community Mentor
"I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you."

robbie31415 · ‎03-06-2024

I'm sorry but you are suggesting abusing cancellations.

You can't just use 'issue with buyers address' simply because you feel there is an issue with a buyers address.

If the buyer did not request to ship to a different address and the address falls within what is advertised for the market then the seller should ship the item.

The buyer didn't respond to my message = Issue with buyers address.

No.

isaiah53-57 · ‎03-06-2024

@robbie31415 wrote:
I'm sorry but you are suggesting abusing cancellations.
You can't just use 'issue with buyers address' simply because you feel there is an issue with a buyers address.
If the buyer did not request to ship to a different address and the address falls within what is advertised for the market then the seller should ship the item.
The buyer didn't respond to my message = Issue with buyers address.
No.

You can - We've done it before.

There is NO ONE looking out for you here but yourself.

If you are comfortable shipping a $1000 item to a 0 FB buyer with no successful sales to their credit, who cant respond to an email to verify their address, then by all means, have at it.

To us, with buyers of this nature, if the email is suspect, there's as much a chance that the address follows suit. That's a possible problem with the address we cannot verify otherwise, so we find it VERY reasonable to use that option to cancel.