Traumatized After Scamming Buyer -- Worth Selling Again? Help!

[heyyousmommy]

Hi all,

After 3 yrs, I've amassed enough of my stuff that I am considering selling on eBay again. I say after 3 yrs, because last time I sold my used goods, I was seriously scammed by one horrendous buyer. I was totally blindsided by her (long story short: she bought my bag, grudgingly returned and the bag was destroyed, clearly having used it for a month, with smoke smell, etc.) and then, eBay literally not stopping to listen to my pleas & just refunding her, etc.

Now, I know there's something called ThredUp but I'm not sure if I can get a good price on my Eileen Fisher, Lululemon, MZ Wallace, Brooks Brothers, etc...

Anybody have any RECENT insight on if it's worth selling on eBay or will this nightmare happen again? I heard from someone that Craigslist is back in style but don't know anything about poshmark, tradesy, etc. When I was a buyer on eBay, if the listing said NO REFUND, and I'm buying something used, I never thought to plot a way to use then get money back! Seem SO DISHONEST!!!

And if some of you think I should just put a good faith on eBay and go ahead and do it, what COULD be helpful? I read somewhere that no matter i say NO REFUND NO RETURN, eBay will step in and refund the money...?

HELP! Thank you so much!!!

[a_c_green]

eBay's terms of sale trump whatever you might think up; yes. That doesn't mean you shouldn't be selling anything here, but there are some high-scam categories that you might want to avoid, at least until you've built up a good record and feel like taking on a bit more risk. (Re)starting your selling career by listing designer purses is probably not a good idea.

As this is not your first rodeo, you're better off than a newbie who hasn't sold anything before, so just start with lower-value items that have less interest to scammers, and take it from there. Good luck.

[emerald40]

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@heyyousmommy wrote:

Hi all,

After 3 yrs, I've amassed enough of my stuff that I am considering selling on eBay again. I say after 3 yrs, because last time I sold my used goods, I was seriously scammed by one horrendous buyer. I was totally blindsided by her (long story short: she bought my bag, grudgingly returned and the bag was destroyed, clearly having used it for a month, with smoke smell, etc.) and then, eBay literally not stopping to listen to my pleas & just refunding her, etc.

Now, I know there's something called ThredUp but I'm not sure if I can get a good price on my Eileen Fisher, Lululemon, MZ Wallace, Brooks Brothers, etc...

Anybody have any RECENT insight on if it's worth selling on eBay or will this nightmare happen again? I heard from someone that Craigslist is back in style but don't know anything about poshmark, tradesy, etc. When I was a buyer on eBay, if the listing said NO REFUND, and I'm buying something used, I never thought to plot a way to use then get money back! Seem SO DISHONEST!!!

And if some of you think I should just put a good faith on eBay and go ahead and do it, what COULD be helpful? I read somewhere that no matter i say NO REFUND NO RETURN, eBay will step in and refund the money...?

HELP! Thank you so much!!!

_______________________________________________________________

That situation has not gotten any better, in fact it has only got worse as more scammers have discovered this site.

Someone can buy one of your valuable items, claim SNAD and send you back a rock.  Or they can claim the package was empty.

And you will be forced to return their money.

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[*eponymous*]

Electronic payments come with buyer protection.

[7606dennis]

Alas!  If being scammed by one buyer can traumatize you enough to keep you from selling for three years, perhaps you really don't have the temperament for selling online.  

[the_fancy_fox]

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@heyyousmommy wrote:

Hi all,

After 3 yrs, I've amassed enough of my stuff that I am considering selling on eBay again. I say after 3 yrs, because last time I sold my used goods, I was seriously scammed by one horrendous buyer. I was totally blindsided by her (long story short: she bought my bag, grudgingly returned and the bag was destroyed, clearly having used it for a month, with smoke smell, etc.) and then, eBay literally not stopping to listen to my pleas & just refunding her, etc.

Now, I know there's something called ThredUp but I'm not sure if I can get a good price on my Eileen Fisher, Lululemon, MZ Wallace, Brooks Brothers, etc...

Anybody have any RECENT insight on if it's worth selling on eBay or will this nightmare happen again? I heard from someone that Craigslist is back in style but don't know anything about poshmark, tradesy, etc. When I was a buyer on eBay, if the listing said NO REFUND, and I'm buying something used, I never thought to plot a way to use then get money back! Seem SO DISHONEST!!!

And if some of you think I should just put a good faith on eBay and go ahead and do it, what COULD be helpful? I read somewhere that no matter i say NO REFUND NO RETURN, eBay will step in and refund the money...?

HELP! Thank you so much!!!

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Basically the rule I live by is that if you cant afford to lose it, dont list it.

I am liquidating my mothers estate. I have a dozen or so dolls valued in the $500 to $2500 range. I dont want them but I have zero confidence in selling them here. Dont want strangers coming to the house either so they remain in the closet.

[ripcityresell]

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@7606dennis wrote:

Alas!  If being scammed by one buyer can traumatize you enough to keep you from selling for three years, perhaps you really don't have the temperament for selling online.  

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I was going to say this exact same thing!

It's probably worth selling again, but as already said, if you got that traumatized by a bad transaction, you might reconsider.

[kaykeecorp]

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@heyyousmommy wrote:

Hi all,

After 3 yrs, I've amassed enough of my stuff that I am considering selling on eBay again. I say after 3 yrs, because last time I sold my used goods, I was seriously scammed by one horrendous buyer. I was totally blindsided by her (long story short: she bought my bag, grudgingly returned and the bag was destroyed, clearly having used it for a month, with smoke smell, etc.) and then, eBay literally not stopping to listen to my pleas & just refunding her, etc.

Now, I know there's something called ThredUp but I'm not sure if I can get a good price on my Eileen Fisher, Lululemon, MZ Wallace, Brooks Brothers, etc...

Anybody have any RECENT insight on if it's worth selling on eBay or will this nightmare happen again? I heard from someone that Craigslist is back in style but don't know anything about poshmark, tradesy, etc. When I was a buyer on eBay, if the listing said NO REFUND, and I'm buying something used, I never thought to plot a way to use then get money back! Seem SO DISHONEST!!!

And if some of you think I should just put a good faith on eBay and go ahead and do it, what COULD be helpful? I read somewhere that no matter i say NO REFUND NO RETURN, eBay will step in and refund the money...?

HELP! Thank you so much!!!

---

I've looked into ThredUp but decided against it because of their very bad reviews. (Google it)

selling on ebay is the same if not worse then what you experienced three years ago.

You're only defense is to change your expectations by looking at the big picture instead of focusing on one or two negative experiences.

good luck

[retrose1]

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@a_c_green wrote:

eBay's terms of sale trump whatever you might think up; yes. That doesn't mean you shouldn't be selling anything here, but there are some high-scam categories that you might want to avoid, at least until you've built up a good record and feel like taking on a bit more risk. (Re)starting your selling career by listing designer purses is probably not a good idea.

As this is not your first rodeo, you're better off than a newbie who hasn't sold anything before, so just start with lower-value items that have less interest to scammers, and take it from there. Good luck.

---

I disagree with that statement that someone who sold here in the past is better off than a newbie.  Most sellers that come here with a problem that sold in the past tend to believe that things are the same now as they were in the past (and the past could be as long as 15 years or last year) and they are making huge mistakes because of the policy changes they know nothing about.

OP, I usually advise that you should have as much recent selling feedback as the dollar value of the item.  I do not list high dollar items on ebay.  And I just had a Eileen Fisher top roll off ebay unsold at $14, so you might want to look into other outlets (consignment shops for example) that might pay you less, but cash in hand is a lot better than getting a return request half a year later.  Yes, half a year!  Paypal's dispute time limit is 180 days.

[heyyousmommy]

doing the research now. how about therealreal and theswap?  any ideas? i appreciate everyone's feedback. thank you SO much!!!

[tunicaslot]

Never heard of those two but there is Poshmark - if you have a phone that takes pics and accepts apps.

[retrose1]

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@heyyousmommy wrote:

doing the research now. how about therealreal and theswap?  any ideas? i appreciate everyone's feedback. thank you SO much!!!

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We are not allowed to redirect sellers to specific sites off ebay.

But if I were you, I would look away from the internet.  Most of the newer designer resale sites tend to get the item in hand and then act like ebay buyers claiming all sorts of damage and then cutting their promised offer.  They are hoping that you will give up and take it as it is too much trouble to take it back and find someplace else.

The beauty of ebay is that anyone can sell their stuff, like a high class flea market or garage sale, not many other sites let you do that.  The problem is that the lower class of people tend to take advantage of that.

[badwolf12]

@heyyousmommy If you are traumatized by the risks of online selling, have you considered local consignment shops or finding a local eBay seller willing to buy your inventory outright? There are also local FB groups for in-person transactions and you may even find an eBay seller that way who would buy your items in bulk. You won't get as high of a price since other sellers or consignment shops are re-selling, but cash-in-hand transactions does help to avoid the risks you're worried about.

[scstool]

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OP, I usually advise that you should have as much recent selling feedback as the dollar value of the item.  I do not list high dollar items on ebay.  And I just had a Eileen Fisher top roll off ebay unsold at $14, so you might want to look into other outlets (consignment shops for example) that might pay you less, but cash in hand is a lot better than getting a return request half a year later.  Yes, half a year!  Paypal's dispute time limit is 180 days. 

Retrose, when Paypal first started the 180 day Paypal dispute policy I was a bit worried, but I have never had those Paypal claims appear.

Have you had any Paypal claims past the 30 day period? I hear people (including me) bringing it up but have not heard of it actually happening.

[a_c_green]

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@retrose1 wrote:

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@a_c_green wrote:

As this is not your first rodeo, you're better off than a newbie who hasn't sold anything before, so just start with lower-value items that have less interest to scammers, and take it from there. Good luck.

---

I disagree with that statement that someone who sold here in the past is better off than a newbie.  Most sellers that come here with a problem that sold in the past tend to believe that things are the same now as they were in the past (and the past could be as long as 15 years or last year) and they are making huge mistakes because of the policy changes they know nothing about.

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You'll note that I did warn the OP away from selling high-scam items, and to start out small. However, a past seller is still going to be more conversant with the process than a newbie, so yes, they will have a head start in the basic process of selling.

It's true that a lot has changed in selling here over the years, and it's up to the returning seller to get reacquainted with that (it would be pretty naive to think that nothing has changed in the interim), but at least for a returning seller, it will be new changes in a familiar context, as opposed to a newbie who's completely swamped in a learning process of procedures and rules that are totally foreign to him.