Posted 17th Mar 2022
I have just sold a high value item on eBay, the person that has bought this hasn't any feedback and they only joined eBay in 2021
Worried in case I get scammed any advice please
Worried in case I get scammed any advice please
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sorted byThe eBay community is quite useful for latest scam advice / prevention.
Preventing it happening is incredibly difficult. The returns scam, it seems Royal Mail are now trying to combat with the GPS co-ordinates.
Sending an item, either return or selling, I start a video showing the item itself, it's condition, serial numbers and then boxing it, then sealing the bag showing the label on the front. Log ALL serial numbers and make a notice of this on your listing. If you are selling a mobile for example, state all serials are logged and should the phone go missing, it will be barred.
Do not ship to a different address, always ship to the address eBay states.
Check your ebay returns address and make sure it is right. I bought a £900 iPhone and had to return it. The chaps return address was completely wrong and eBay said just send it. I messaged the seller and he sent me a new label. If I had sent it and Royal Mail had attempted delivery, eBay would have automatically refunded me and the seller would have been item and £900 down.
Oh...always ship UK only (edited)
When buying high end electrical goods on eBay, do your research. Sift through the sellers feedback, set it to 12 months and have a good read. Some sellers have the same few people leaving feedback.
If you're buying a high end phone, check where it is coming from. If it is a Cash shop, be careful.
One of the most prevalent mobile phone scams is to buy or take out a contract on a high end phone, sell it or cash it in and then claim down the line on insurance. Seller gets money off the original sale, replacement handset off insurance and the buyer is left with a barred phone. If you buy a phone off eBay that is on a contract, you do NOT own that phone.
Ask the seller for serial numbers and IMEI's. Run a checkmnd on the serial and imei no's. It costs £1.99 but saves you a hell of a load of hassle. It will tell you if it is stolen, barred or on asset watch. A lot of the networks stick their phones on AssetWatch until the phones final value has been cleared on the contract - it's their asset at the end of the day.
See if the seller can provide the original receipt. Some insurance companies will not insure a phone without this. It also helps with warranty claims should you need one. Apple are generally pretty good though.
When paying via PayPal you get 180 days buyer protection. After that you're on your own.
yes I've noticed you can add videos aswell as photos now on eBay. I also use a UV marker pen on my items in case they swap it.
what does the tracking say?
it may still arrive today and if it does and the buyer is happy, claim for late delivery with royal mail and they will refund the postage back. (edited)
Buyer modifies label to a different address nearby and sends an empty box.
Royal Mail deliver / attempt delivery and update the tracking to say so.
eBay buyer protection auto refunds buyer as Royal Mail tracking says delivery attempted / delivered.
I have noticed recently Royal Mail are now displaying GPS mapping where they attempt delivery on Special Delivery. Must be to try and get around this scam.
Go on the Royal Mail website and type in the post code he has given you. It will list you the addresses available under that post code. (edited)
If you deliver the goods to the address on the order and obtain proof of delivery then EBay seller protection will support you against item not received claims.
The grey area is if the buyer opens a return and either returns an empty box, or a different item etc etc. it takes time to sort out, can be stressful and there is no guarantee you won’t be out of pocket. From over 20yrs trading on eBay my rule is simple, sell volume at small prices and nothing at high prices, this way you protect yourself as any loss due to fraudsters is small and you learn to move on swiftly knowing that the majority of your customers are decent people.
From what you have said, you are worried you could be scammed. If you are concerned now before sending the item, then think how you will feel while the goods are in transit and for a few days after receipt until feedback is left or the returns period closes. If I were you I would cancel the sale, you may lose the 30p transaction fee but that’s nothing compared to the stress and worry you will cause yourself if you send the item. Then re advertise as collection and cash only or find an alternative way to sell your item.
You are asking to be scammed.
Sorry but there are threads like this on her nearly every day.
Your next post will be I think I’ve been scammed.
Go with your gut , it’s your item don’t send it
When you relist, maybe stipulate that buyers must have at least 100 feedback etc. Whatever will make you comfortable as a seller.
That’s not how scamming works
I just recently had an inexperienced scammer try his luck. First, he claimed he never received the item. I showed him the delivery note with his signature. After claiming it wasn't his signature, he then tried to open an item, not as described LOL.
eBay sided with me and will likely ban the account. Just be a good seller and do everything 100% by the book and you'll usually be fine.
99.9% of buyers are genuine and just want the item they purchased. The reason you see so many threads about scammers is that people will only post about negative experiences regarding eBay. Why would I come here and say ' buyer paid for his item and left good feedback?
You have to provide evidence what the item cost you and I think they also refund the postage on top. You lose any profit between what the item cost you and what you sold it for.
You may get lucky if you submit your eBay/PayPal invoice as evidence of item value. (edited)
Just refund the postage and chill, you're worrying about this too much.
I think I'm going to cancel this sale.
I've got the Royal mail special delivery where compensation is £500.
After having various communications with the buyer I think he is ok.
He actually sounds decent obviously doesn't use eBay too often when I spoke to Ebay they reassured me that everything would be fine
Thank you to everyone for your concern and advice so far (edited)
You should be able to use the ebay sale as proof of value.
Just looked on my eBay page it does say estimated delivery 24th of march which is this Thursday so if he gets it this Thursday I'm still within the time frame
Payment has cleared.
Just sell it to CEX if it’s something they take, you’ll get a few ££’s less but at least you won’t lose postage if it genuinely gets returned, lose the item if scam or lost or the money and the item if fraud (and not covered by PayPal).
As someone else has elaborated the issue is not each caravan is a separate address, so the likeliness this could be stolen after Fred Bloggs signs for it is higher than the norm, and I would not want to try and fight an item not received case. Royal Mail will not be interested as they delivered it to the right address.
Secondly, best case scenario is the buyer is a worker who is living on site, as that would make sense why he has asked for it to be despatched to this address. If he is not an employee, I wouldn’t of sent it. No Caravan site in the area has 12 month residency, so all the owners of the statics would of had better options for deliveries.
I gather it is a PS5 digital, I don’t understand why this would of been purchased, what is he going to tether it to….his mobile phone?? I am sure he won’t be able to connect it to a sites public wi-fi!!
Lastly, I have just checked within 10 miles on Facebook Market place and there are 4 listings for a PS5 digital all for less money that are available……so if he was so desperate for it, why buy from EBay??
I really hope I am wrong and just being over paranoid, but somehow I don’t think so.
Save the hassle just cancel the sale after getting the item back
I will of course photograph all the details on the back of the box,
Another thing that has me slightly worried eBay are suggesting that his address could be incorrect.
So would I send to the address he's provided or the one that eBay are suggesting.
He has listed berrow in Somerset, they have said it should be Burnham-on-SeaThe address is a holiday park
@ fiestasteve44
My business is half ebay based with over 260k feedback. In recent years ebay has shifted to be more protective of their sellers.
If you deliver the goods to the address on the order and obtain proof of delivery then EBay seller protection will support you against item not received claims.
The grey area is if the buyer opens a return and either returns an empty box, or a different item etc etc. it takes time to sort out, can be stressful and there is no guarantee you won’t be out of pocket. From over 20yrs trading on eBay my rule is simple, sell volume at small prices and nothing at high prices, this way you protect yourself as any loss due to fraudsters is small and you learn to move on swiftly knowing that the majority of your customers are decent people.
From what you have said, you are worried you could be scammed. If you are concerned now before sending the item, then think how you will feel while the goods are in transit and for a few days after receipt until feedback is left or the returns period closes. If I were you I would cancel the sale, you may lose the 30p transaction fee but that’s nothing compared to the stress and worry you will cause yourself if you send the item. Then re advertise as collection and cash only or find an alternative way to sell your item.
I'd take fiestasteve44's advice. (edited)
Quote it for me and tag me
I regularly check sellers or buyers feedback . Never post items till payment cleared.
I always check the address is correct by sending a message for buyer to confirm postal address as listed in buyer details .I have been caught out by old eBay addresses not updated or they have moved and not updated address.
Okay good luck then I've been a private seller on and off for around 18 years and this happened to me once during that time. It has put me off selling anything expensive though now I am making a claim with royal mail as we speak. (edited)
Hope you are successful with Royal mail
Thank you me too
Fair enough, hope it's all goes well. Good luck!
I do feel that everything will be fine.
I sent my item special delivery on the Friday to arrive by 1 the next working day.
Today is Tuesday and my buyer still hasn't got it.
Looking into Royal mail how to claim they want receipts of the item.
To replace this item would cost nearly £400 but I didn't pay £400 for it so it looks like Royal mail would only compensate me for what I paid for it.
When I've sold an item and sent via Royalmail I sent it second class recorded. The buyer said they never received but I had to give rm 10 working days to find the item. I'm guessing you will have to wait less with special delivery. The only thing I showed them was the ebay listing showing how much I sold the item for it took 7 months but I got my money back and the original postage cost. No idea if the guy got the item and was pulling a fast one or if rm messed up I was never told.
Could well be Royal mail there's always problems with Royal mail promising next-day delivery when I pay extra money and they just make excuses.
My item is still stuck in central London this has to go to Burnham-on-Sea he paid me extra to have it delivered the next day posted it Friday afternoon just before the last post he should have had it Saturday morning or Monday morning.
I haven't had any message from my buyer yet he's got the tracking number so he can see it still in Central London.
I will claim for late delivery get a refund hopefully from Royal mail then I can refund my buyer the postage.
But on the plus side, it does give the time for my bank payment to be cleared
Problem is eBay have sent the payment to an old bank account that are no longer with.
I hope the payment finds its way to my new bank account I did the switch thing some months ago so they know the new bank I'm with. (edited)
Could well be Royal mail there's always problems with Royal mail promising next-day delivery when I pay extra money and they just make excuses.
Yeah it's only been a couple of days really so I would still expect Royal mail to deliver.