Selling to buyer with 0 feedback

[jelag88]

I just today sold an item for $2700 then realized buyer has 0 feedback.  That's not necessarily what bothered me, but they immediately sent me a message asking to ship to a different address.  I'm thinking this is a major red flag.  Thoughts?

[fbusoni]

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@jelag88 wrote:

I just today sold an item for $2700 then realized buyer has 0 feedback.  That's not necessarily what bothered me, but they immediately sent me a message asking to ship to a different address.  I'm thinking this is a major red flag.  Thoughts?

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Yes, RED FLAG.

Do not under any circumstances ship to a different address from that printed on the label.

Buyer can then claim item not received and you will lose everything (item and money paid) because eBay demands that you ship to the address on file (which will appear on the label).

Because this is a crystal clear case of suspicious activity, you can call eBay and speak with one of their drones, who (in my experience) is empowered to refund the buyers money and end the transaction so you are made whole. 

Others here may have better advice, but I would try that first; if it does not work, you can message the buyer and tell him you are not permitted to change the address.  Offer to cancel and he will likely agree because he has no choice. 

Do not let on that you think that he is trying to scam you.

Do NOT automatically re-list the item,  and immediately add his name to your blocked buyers list.

Re-list the item after an hour or two.   And report the buyer for suspected fraudulent activity.

(NOTE: excessive detail added for the benefit of new sellers reading this thread.)

[dariudaudery_0]

You think? 😄 Its a scamm, nothing more. Cancel and report. 

[klhmdg]

Do not ship to any address but the one on the label.

Message the buyer and let them know that it is against policy to ship to any other address than the one they put at checkout.

Let them know that you will gladly cancel and they can repurchase with the correct ship to address.

You dont need to call eBay and waste time on the phone. If after you message if they do not respond within your shipping time, cancel the sale for "problem with address"

[soh.maryl]

This is a situation where there's no need to contact eBay.  Do as others have strongly recommended and contact the buyer, explaining why you can't do that.  

[dbfolks166mt]

     I would tend to agree with your assessment and klhmdg response. While not necessarily a scam attempt it does raise a red flag. Buyer may be new an not familiar with the eBay policies sellers operate under with regards to shipping in order to somewhat protect themselves or they may have simply made an error when the setup the account. 

     I would not rush to cancel, block and report this may be a perfectly legit buyer and 0 feedback does not equate to a scammer. I have had as many issues with well established buyers as I have had with 0 feedback buyers. I am assuming the item is the print which probably not a high target item for scammers but anything seems to be fair game these days. One thing I noticed on your listing is you don't accept returns. You do realize that does not translate to no refunds? 

[nobody*s_perfect]

Of course it's a huge red flag, IF it is actually from your buyer. There is a scam in which the scammer sends a message trying to redirect an item they didn't even purchase. So check to be sure that the message is from your buyer; if so, I'd cancel (based on "problem with buyer's address") and block.

[valpelc-0]

I had almost the same experience with a Cartier watch I have listed ,this guy opened an account here and bought the watch , he told me he was from Canada, then he wanted me to send it to Houston under another name, and he wanted it FedEx overnight, I kept waiting to see if  the money had shown up into my account and it wasn't there, he was pushing way too hard, I canceled the order,  now he is no longer on ebay I assume, but if you see the watch in my sold items that's why

[ittybitnot]

@jelag88 

As suggested by another poster, make sure the message to send the parcel someplace else is actually from the buyer ID that purchased it in the first place.  If it is from someone else, and you cancel, you will just may be cancelling the transaction on the REAL buyer who likely is playing no part in this. 

At any rate, you should ALWAYS ship to the address given to you by eBay with the payment. Pay particular attention to the city/state to which you are shipping.  You can see the country of origin on a ZERO feedback (or dormant ID) person by putting their user ID in the following form: 

https://pages.ebay.com/services/forum/feedback-login.html

[chevymontecarlo88]

That is a lot of money to risk if it is a scammer or just someone not familiar with Ebay protocols.

You have been given some good advice but personally i would cancel, block and move on.