Two bidders, something is sketchy

[nujabesdela]

I recently sold an item on ebay and noticed that the two people bidding back and forth have different User IDs but the SAME billing address. I figured this out because I extended a second chance offer too soon (I have multiple of the items so I can ship more than one to avoid neg feedback). They were bidding back and forth on the item. EBay says they are STILL awaiting payment but yet I got a message from paypal from where both of them had paid and it said the payment will take some time to clear because they paid from their bank. Both of them. This just seems sketchy and I'm still an amateur at this stuff. Am I just being paranoid?

[candd205]

They message you got from Paypal probably wasn't from Paypal at all. It was probably written by one of your buyers, who sent you an e-mail that looked real, but isn't. Don't mail any item until you are sure you received the funds in your paypal account. Don't rely on any messages like this.

[nujabesdela]

I've heard about phishing emails so I quickly logged into my PayPal account and it shows that their payments are pending because they need to clear with their bank first.

[candd205]

That sounds promising, but still don't mail it until the funds appear in your paypal account.

[ersatz_sobriquet]

That is strange. I would call ebay and have them take a look at it. The same person shouldn't be bidding against themself in an auction. Sounds sketchy to me too. I suppose there is the extreme possibility that two people within the same household both recognized the need/desire for the item and have no idea their family member is also bidding on that very same item. 

So is the name of the buyer on both of them the same? Or just the address? 

[nujabesdela]

The names are different, not similar at all. I guess two people could be bidding back and forth against one another in the same house, but that's just so odd to me and I've never seen it happen before.

[ersatz_sobriquet]

Two of the cameras I presume? Not the phone, right? 

The cameras sold for more on auction than they sell for new buy it now. That's not extremely unusual, but seeing as how the bidders reside in the same household, it's bad news. 

Call ebay and have them look at it. 

[geotouloupos]

1. Do not ship if items are not fully paid in Paypal

2. Call ebay support and they will guide you. If you don't get clear instructions 

and you are still confused after calling ebay you can recall until you reach the right person. 

Ask for a reference number for conversation with employee. 

[nujabesdela]

It is on the phones. Not the cameras. Luckily enough I have double all of that stuff and I wanted to keep it but if both payments go through then I guess I just have to part with both since I made a rookie mistake. This situation just seems so odd though. And paypal showed the payments as pending which is good and all. But just seems weird. 

[geotouloupos]

If the items are not paid in the end you can open unpaid item case and close it after 4 days but do not ship or relist items until you came to conclusion and unpaid item cases close. 

[dtexley3]

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@nujabesdela wrote:

I've heard about phishing emails so I quickly logged into my PayPal account and it shows that their payments are pending because they need to clear with their bank first.

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This is the latest scam.  They will continue to send you official looking emails supposedly from paypal  hoping you will ship.  As soon as you ship (before the payment clears) they will withdraw the payment and you are out your items.

Frequently they will also send emails that claim you need to upload a tracking number (ie ship) before the funds can be released.  DO NOT BELIEVE THEM.

Open an Unpaid Item dispute (UPI) as soon as possible and close it as soon as possible.  Unless of course in the very unlikely case they actually pay, then you most likely will have to ship.  And you will likely receive INR (item not recieved) claims, INAD (item not as described aka SNAD) or chargebacks.

I would say you have about a 90% chance that these are scammers.

Be VERY skeptical on what CS says, frequently they will say whatever gets you off the phone fastest, regardless of validity.  If you call CS come back here and get some feedback BEFORE doing anything they advise.

[ebbyisme]

Op says he logged into Paypal and the payments are pending. Just wait until the funds clear.  Just ignore everything else and ship when you've logged into Paypal and see funds have cleared.

It could be two overseas buyers using a mail forwarding/reshipper. Often buyers from the same country, or even region, will use the same service so they would have the same ship to address. Some items are more popular in certain countries, I have one type of item that is almost always bought from Chinese buyers for much more then a U.S. buyer would pay and they often bid against each other and have the same address. I have never had an issue with these sales.

After reading they are phones..... nevermind.... that is a minefield and I wouldn't want international buyers purchasing them..... Phones and anything weird usually means scam.

[hafoster]

1. It's not the same household --

it's the same freight forwarder.

2. It's a real PayPal email, not phishing --

but no money will be added, so the payments will never clear.

[deep-garnet-red]

Possibly the same forwarder. Try googling the address and seeing what comes up.

eta: I should have read to the end...lol

[nujabesdela]

The address is a trucking company