Terrified of Being Scammed

[caspat-20]

Hello! I just listed my first item on eBay…an iPad 10th generation. I started the bidding at $400 and got an offer for $425 the next day. I accepted it and the buyer paid almost immediately. However, eBay says I have to ship it by December 6th but I won’t get the money until the 18th because I am a new seller. Is there any chance of m getting scammed even though eBay says it’s already been paid for? I really don’t want to ship out something I paid over $600 for just to lose everything. I’ve gotten scammed before (not on eBay) and i’m terrified of it happening again. Since the buyer paid, I have a name, address, and phone number for them. I’m a broke college kid and really cannot afford a loss of this amount if I get scammed. TIA!

[nobody*s_perfect]

If eBay says it has been paid for, then you should ship it. If you don t ship it, then you will never get your money.  

The only sure way to not get scammed is to not list anything. 

[kraftique]

Did your buyer have lots of feedback.  I would be more concerned with 0 feedback person. But sometimes you have to take a chance.  I never have been scammed in the 23 years I was on Ebay.  People in the old days use to send cash in the mail to pay for their items.  I would have to send back the change. 

[hartungcards]

Uh.....even if the money was already in your bank account doesn't mean you're in the clear and won't get scammed.  You may want to read up on the eBay MBG.

[hachumi]

You are a prime target, and have a prime item for scammers, I would be worried to...

[caldreamer]

Scammers target new sellers or anyone selling "high value" items (especially tech items).   There are many different types of scams happening on EBAY.    Also you should be aware anyone can "reverse credit card payment" AFTER they receive your item (keep item and your money).   This is just one of the pitfalls of selling online.  EBAY will NOT protect you if you get scammed.

[dbfolks166mt]

     I don't see the item you sold on this account but as others mentioned you are a new seller and you listed a high target item for scammers. A couple of potential red flags you may want to look for. Lack of buyer feedback history, new buyer account that was setup the day of the sale, shipping address is in US but buyers registered address is a foreign country, any type of communication from the buyer that seems odd or questionable. 

     The #1 rule as a seller is never list anything you are not prepared to take the financial loss on. This is probably an item that you could easily have sold locally for cash and avoided the eBay fees, scamming risk, shipping risk, etc. 

[simba6]

Apple items  bring them " out of the woodwork ".    Scammers love them. Easy to flip for quick cash.  All a crook has to do is file an item not as described case.  They can send back anything....yes anything even a cucumber and your refunding in full.  Dang, you even have to pay the return shipping on what they did send back.

Never sell an item you can't afford to lose.   Don't like to say it but, this smells fishy big time.

[chapeau-noir]

I would cancel the item and sell it locally.

ETA: I even no longer sell laptops here and I've been around for a while.

[itsjustasprain]

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@caspat-20 wrote:

Hello! I just listed my first item on eBay…an iPad 10th generation. I started the bidding at $400 and got an offer for $425 the next day. I accepted it and the buyer paid almost immediately. However, eBay says I have to ship it by December 6th but I won’t get the money until the 18th because I am a new seller. Is there any chance of me getting scammed even though eBay says it’s already been paid for?

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Certainly - your bigger risk is not the payment question (Ebay manages that) but everything that happens beyond that point. If your buyer claims that it arrived with shipping damage - or even as an empty box - you will be on the hook for a full refund - either with or without sending a return label in order to get the item back before refunding (your choice). Unfortunately your extremely low feedback count marks you as a new seller and listing a laptop will have scammers homing in on you as a result.

At this point if Ebay tells you that the buyer has paid then its time to ship. You can use part of the buyers funds to pay for the Shipping label. Assuming that the total sale price is below $750 you will not need Signature Confirmation to retain your seller protection against an Item Not Received dispute - but make sure that your Delivery Confirmation tracking number is properly uploaded to the sale details. 

You ship only to the address received with the payment and nowhere else. You may get messages asking you to send the shipment someplace else. Those from other Ebay user IDs (not your buyer) are common bot-issued scam messages and can be ignored. If your buyer asks you to send it someplace other than the address received with the payment tell him No and offer to cancel instead. He can then re-purchase and provide the correct shipping address to you with his payment.

Good luck and keep us posted on how things are going.

[sextons-sweet-deals]

I would not ship just yet. Your new and selling an expensive item that is a target for scams. 

Have you looked at the buyer's feedback, their location, and check the shipping address? Could the adress be a freight forwarder? 

[isaiah53-57]

@caspat-20

With the EVER-INCREASING amount of scams on this site and online sales as a whole, I would perform due-diligence on every higher dollar sale. Following the advise of anyone who says "if they paid you ship" is not advised in my book since you are literally on your own here when it comes to scams - YOU are your best line of defense.

There is nothing you can do to totally eliminate being a victim of scams here, but there are several things I have done in the past when I used to sell here(before the amount of scammers and high fees ran me off) that may be of interest to you.

First off, I always set my handling time on high dollar sales to 3 or 4 days to give me time to "vet" a buyer.

I always googled the buyers address and if I found the buyer to be worrisome by name = RED FLAG. Or by location, such as it was going to a company that forwards items to buyers in other countries = RED FLAG, especially if it was a buyer with low or no feedback and the only feedback they did have was from sellers of trinkets, or low dollar warranties, etc etc. Or that the street view of the address looked like a vacant lot or dilapidated building = RED FLAG

I also would email them(all contacts only through the ebay email system) to confirm their address was correct - If I got a reply back saying ship it to a different address = RED FLAG - Or if I got no reply at all = RED FLAG.

From there I would attempt to call them - Bad phone number = RED FLAG - Will not respond to message left = RED FLAG.

If I still had doubts, but not strong enough to not continue with the sale, I would use signature confirmation, even if it was below $750. And If a case was started for "item not as described", I would send an email letting the buyer know we open all high dollar returns in the presence of our post master, and if we do not receive the correct item back, our policy is to file police reports, a USPS fraud report, as well as an IC3 report.

Its easy to find a buyer for a highly desired item, so my experience is that it always pays to be choosy. For the little time it takes to do the things above, it could save you a lot of time and money in the long run - Best of luck to you.

[soh.maryl]

You are trying to be helpful for this new seller, but isn't it a little late to check buyer's FB (assuming you mean FB buyer has left for sellers), his location and/or shipping address?  The OP has sold and has been paid, so presumably the buyer is now awaiting his item. 

To the OP:  Was this sale on a different ID?  

[jbbowers12012]

Hi,  Being a new seller you maybe should have started out smaller by listing a few less expensive items.  New sellers listing higher priced items are often scammer magnets.  Hopefully everything works out ok for you.  Looks ok so far.  Fingers Crossed.  Good Luck!!

[vintage-camerastuff]

If you are terrified of being scammed you are in the wrong business.   You need to find another avenue to sell your expensive items.