please - need help asap!

[c.b.]

I sold a big-money item to a zero-feedback buyer.  the curious thing is that this buyer hasn't had any activity since he signed up in 2015.  I've had no problems in the past with people who register just to bid on or buy my items, and with people who signed up a few weeks or months earlier and then bought from me as the first purchase.  but, given how we all forget IDs and passwords when we don't use them for several years, i worry that there might be a problem.  what is the possibility the account was hacked, and how do i find out?   otherwise, no issues.

thanks!

[c.b.]

sorry - i forgot to check the 'email me' above...so, this is to activate that.

[emerald40]

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@c.b.wrote:

I sold a big-money item to a zero-feedback buyer.  the curious thing is that this buyer hasn't had any activity since he signed up in 2015.  I've had no problems in the past with people who register just to bid on or buy my items, and with people who signed up a few weeks or months earlier and then bought from me as the first purchase.  but, given how we all forget IDs and passwords when we don't use them for several years, i worry that there might be a problem.  what is the possibility the account was hacked, and how do i find out?   otherwise, no issues.

thanks!

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It is possible that it is a hacked account.  But that is done mainly by sellers to list items they do not have.

Otherwise, there is not much you can do.  If they paid, you must ship.

Just make sure that you go into your paypal account and verify that the money is in there and it is OK to ship.

If over $750 use online signature confirmatiom in addition to tracking.

[c.b.]

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@emerald40wrote:

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It is possible that it is a hacked account.  But that is done mainly by sellers to list items they do not have.

Otherwise, there is not much you can do.  If they paid, you must ship.

Just make sure that you go into your paypal account and verify that the money is in there and it is OK to ship.

If over $750 use online signature confirmatiom in addition to tracking.

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thank you for such a clear and helpful response!  that makes sense about the reason for hacked accounts.  as to whether the money is in paypal, i would never fall for an email/mssg saying they've paid -- it was ebay that notified me i should ship.  HOWEVER...it's always important to check just in case--so, thank you!  yes, the money is there, as ebay said, and everything else looks normal.

I always get signatures on anything in the hundreds--including this one.

sooo... am i covered as long as it gets delivered to the address ebay/paypal supplied, or do i need to do/notify anything/anyone else?

thank you so much. 🙂

[lhbm]

FWIW, I joined eBay in 2011 to buy and item or 2. And then didn't use my account for anything for years. And then came back very recently to start selling a few things. I still have very low feedback (under 50) but I'm a real person whose account hasn't been hacked and who just was a very sporadic eBay user until recently. I don't know how I'd prove that to a suspicious seller (and I totally understand why you were suspicious) -- but just to give you a different perspective I thought I'd chime in. It could simply be someone who is not too into eBay but comes around for specific items only once and a while. 🙂

[castlemagicmemories]

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@lhbmwrote:

FWIW, I joined eBay in 2011 to buy and item or 2. And then didn't use my account for anything for years. And then came back very recently to start selling a few things. I still have very low feedback (under 50) but I'm a real person whose account hasn't been hacked and who just was a very sporadic eBay user until recently. I don't know how I'd prove that to a suspicious seller (and I totally understand why you were suspicious) -- but just to give you a different perspective I thought I'd chime in. It could simply be someone who is not too into eBay but comes around for specific items only once and a while. 🙂

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And that is good perspective for the OP.  

[ed8108]

I don 't know the item that you have sold.

Perhaps you may want to film the item as it is being packaged, and film the exact weight of the mail article.

Hope this may be of some help to you.

[sam9876]

"Perhaps you may want to film the item as it is being packaged, and film the exact weight of the mail article."

Why?

[ted_200]

In the past, I've called CS in an instance like this, and told them my concerns and asked them to check it out.  Of course, they aren't going to tell you anything specific, but they did tell me the account did not appear compromised... for whatever that was worth. 

The transaction ended fine.

If the account was hacked, you'll want to watch out for the package re-direct scam. 

[missjen831]

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@ed8108wrote:

I don 't know the item that you have sold.

Perhaps you may want to film the item as it is being packaged, and film the exact weight of the mail article.

Hope this may be of some help to you.

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It won’t help win an eBay dispute, PayPal dispute, or chargeback so how would this be of help to OP? It would be a waste of time, is what it would be.

[ed8108]

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@missjen831wrote:

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It won’t help win an eBay dispute, PayPal dispute, or chargeback so how would this be of help to OP? It would be a waste of time, is what it would be.

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You have insuffient knowledge evidenced by your reply.  The steps I mentioned did provide protection against certain buyer allegations and was posted by another op on the Ebay community discussion boards.

 That seller was certainly happy he did what you claim to know to be a waste of time.

[c.b.]

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@lhbmwrote:

FWIW, I joined eBay in 2011 to buy and item or 2. And then didn't use my account for anything for years. And then came back very recently to start selling a few things. I still have very low feedback (under 50) but I'm a real person whose account hasn't been hacked and who just was a very sporadic eBay user until recently. I don't know how I'd prove that to a suspicious seller (and I totally understand why you were suspicious) -- but just to give you a different perspective I thought I'd chime in. It could simply be someone who is not too into eBay but comes around for specific items only once and a while. 🙂

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thank you, too.

again, as i said... nothing else is a problem.  i am NOT questioning the status of the REGISTERED user.  i take pride in the fact that i have been a very positive first purchase by several newly registered ebayers.  however, they are typically not completely dormant for 3 years before using their account (you were merely 'sporadic'), so i was being cautious.  I surely do understand people not jumping right in.  or, maybe the buyer has bid on some items and never won anything.  I do know dormant accounts are hacked, so i thought it would be good to check...that is, if there was an easy or recommended way to do so.  it would be bad to have something go wrong and then everyone tell me i should have asked... so i did.

again, thank you for sharing your personal experiences.

[c.b.]

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@castlemagicmemorieswrote:

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And that is good perspective for the OP.  

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yes, i agree.

while i do not think you are one of the pessimists on here, i find it very interesting that the last time i came here with a question about shipping a multi-thousand-dollar purchase (this not that big), all the chicken-littles were telling me that my buyer would probably end up being a scammer.  i did not believe that...and everything turned out fine.  yet, everyone was insisting that i should have been more suspicious--even though there was nothing to indicate that i should have been.

this time, i saw something that really did need to be questioned...yet, everyone is now calling me suspicious.  this place needs to be more consistent.

no matter what, i have found the help this time to be much more valuable.  thank you, all, for your help!

[shipscript]

@c.b.

This is probably a legitimate buyer who now needs something they could only find on eBay instead of Amazon.  If you are uncomfortable with a transaction, there is nothing wrong with setting up all of your backup positions. Yes, it could be a waste of time if nothing comes of it, or it could be helpful if an issue arises.  But if this is a rare occurrence, and you don't feel inconvenienced by it,  I vote for "be prepared".

In eBay's "good ole days" I seemed to sell a lot overseas. I would photograph the open package to show the interior packaging and would photograph the outside of the sealed and labeled package and the label. I would then email these photos to the buyer. It served three purposes: 1)  it was part of my shipping acknowledgement that included tracking info, 2) the buyer knew I was careful about packing, in the event customs made hash of the contents, and 3) we both knew what to look for and show to the carrier should the package be lost somewhere in transit. And now there is a fourth reason: 4) the buyer knows the seller is well prepared with unknown documentation and will not be sucked into a scam.

Hopefully, this is just a dormant buyer who is thrilled to find just what they want on eBay.

[ed8108]

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@sam9876wrote:

"Perhaps you may want to film the item as it is being packaged, and film the exact weight of the mail article."

Why?

 risk adverse?

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One may wish to have some degree of documentation that may help to impeach the credibility of some false claims. 

May be useful in mail & internet cases?