eBay scamming

[wildonrio]

Waited in line and got two 6+'s, one for me, and one to sell on eBay to try and offset the cost. I turned on buyer restrictions which prevents those with a score of -1 or less from bidding. I did a one day sale, and the winner was someone with a user rating of 0 who had opened their eBay account 6 days prior. They were unresponsive and their telephone listed was a wrong number. I looked at their bidding history: they were just going around eBay winning all the iPhone 6 auctions with no intention of paying, possibly a competitive seller trying to "win" all the other iPhones ending the same time as his sale to try and up his own sale price.

Begrudgingly, I listed it again, another one day sale. The exact same thing happened. Winner was user rating 0, unresponsive, won't pay, etc.

I am very hesitant to list this thing for the third time. Anyone have success on eBay? How did you block these fake buyers? I'm close to just taking this thing back to the store for a full refund at this point!

 

[Ann P]

Try Swappa or maybe Craig's List first. I would avoid eBay as there are too many scammers, and buyers are almost always favored.

 

[maflynn]

Try swappa.

I hate eBay and found swappa to work well.

 

[famoussasjohn]

there used to be an option to block people from bidding with 0 ratings when you're setting up your listing. I'd recommend trying it on the PC and going through the options before finalizing your listing.

 

[lordofthereef]

Why don't you look under second chance offer? Regardless of who won the auction, someone was bidding against that person. That is the entire reason second chance offer is available (or for sellers who have multiples of an item).

Better yet, is craigslist not an option? After seller fees are considered via eBay I find that most things on CL net the same profit.

 

[Reminisce32]

Write on your listing that it is a requirement that the purchaser or biddwe have at least 10 feedbacks. Also state that not meeting this requirement will void the transaction. If someone keeps doing this, just relist it since you know that the previous transaction will be void.

 

[ToroidalZeus]

What do you expect?

1st of all the supply of iPhones isn't that bad (if it wasn't for scalpers such as yourself) and as a result prices aren't inflated. Sure you can try selling it for even 100 over MSPR but most people won't bite.

So if most regular folks aren't interested in your product then who else will be? Oh scammers of course. If you want to avoid getting scammed then you need to sell it on craigslist for cash; but again have fun trying to even get 100 over MSPR.

The real money is made through exporting the phones to China where they sell for 2k or more.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

That is annoying and eBay generally protects the buyer. I'm surprised you can't block somebody under a certain rating. Remember too that eBay takes 10% and PayPal fees so it might be worth selling the phone privately on a free site instead.

 

[ucfgrad93]

Try Swappa or maybe Craig's List first. I would avoid eBay as there are too many scammers, and buyers are almost always favored.

Agreed. I'd never use ebay for something like the OP is doing.

 

[lordofthereef]

I'm surprised you can't block somebody under a certain rating.

This sounds great, in theory, until you realize everyone could just do this and then new buyers would never have a chance to buy anything good on eBay because everyone with the "good stuff" would be requiring 20+ positive feedbacks (as an example).

The 0 feedback bidder thing has LOOOOONG been a problem on eBay. The biggest issue is one can make an account with bogus information and just keep making accounts all day long once the next one is band (for malicious bidding activity). All you really need to do is clear cookies and reset your router lease.

The thing is, and I mentioned this before, there is boud to be a legitimate bidder in there somewhere, else the bids wouldn't have gone anywhere. Throw out a second chance offer. They might bite.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

This sounds great, in theory, until you realize everyone could just do this and then new buyers would never have a chance to buy anything good on eBay because everyone with the "good stuff" would be requiring 20+ positive feedbacks (as an example).



The 0 feedback bidder thing has LOOOOONG been a problem on eBay. The biggest issue is one can make an account with bogus information and just keep making accounts all day long once the next one is band (for malicious bidding activity). All you really need to do is clear cookies and reset your router lease.



The thing is, and I mentioned this before, there is boud to be a legitimate bidder in there somewhere, else the bids wouldn't have gone anywhere. Throw out a second chance offer. They might bite.

Yeah but scammers can buy 10 screen protectors in 10 different transactions to get instant scores at very little cost. It's a common method for quick credibility, so sometimes it's worth setting the benchmark higher for bidders, especially for expensive items listed. There's no rule and it's down to the sellers discretion obviously.

 

[shortcut3d]

I just purchased a 128GB 6+ from eBay on a one day auction. I had a late Oct pre-order from Apple.com for a Tmo. When I saw the low prices for US shipping only, I was surprised and threw out a bid. I didn't think it even had a chance of winning. The seller will barely make $100 on this transaction after local taxes, eBay and PayPal fees. Thinking about it makes me worried this is a scam. The seller has 100% feedback and a very high feedback score, also printed the shipping shortly after PayPal payment. We'll see.

 

[nilart]

Aside from restrictions you can block certain users, which comes handy in this case.

Also block users that: (My current default config)

Have received 2 unpaid item case(s) within 1 month(s)
Have a primary delivery address in countries that I don't post to
Have 4 policy violation report(s) within 1 month(s)
Have a Feedback score equal to or lower than -1

And, on top of that, you can sell to the next buyer after sale has finished stating that buyer didn't meet your custom requirements (ie. it looked fishy). In this case the worse he can do is start a complaint that you will probably win...

 

[lordofthereef]

Yeah but scammers can buy 10 screen protectors in 10 different transactions to get instant scores at very little cost. It's a common method for quick credibility, so sometimes it's worth setting the benchmark higher for bidders, especially for expensive items listed. There's no rule and it's down to the sellers discretion obviously.

I'm assuming you misread my post... I wasn't speaking anything about scammers. I was saying why eBay doesn't allow you to set a minimum number of positive feedbacks; it would be unfair and difficult for a new legitimate buyer to obtain the feedbacks just to be able to buy what they want.

 

[unagimiyagi]

Got a situation: a 0 feedback bidder has a confirmed address
and now I actually have the money inside my paypal account...
am I covered?

It seems legit but the guy's email is bouncing.

Yet I have the money inside my paypal account and transferred it to my bank.

Ship the phone?

 

[Rocko1]

Dont use ebay to sell cell phones. You have a high risk of this happening.

You sell and ship the phone. You get a notification saying the buyer received the box empty. They keep the phone and paypal gives them their money back.

Nothing you can do about it.

Sell in person.

 

[SpecialJ]

I've dealt with this on ebay before. Like you said, it's competitive buyers trying to either inflate the market prices, and/or funnel buyers to their items. The only way to really combat this is to sell it at a Buy It Now price which gives you the option to require instant Paypal payment. If they don't pay immediately, the item stays up for sale. Figure out the going price for your model and set the Buy It Now price at or just below that price. It will likely sell quickly and you'll get paid right away. Don't ship internationally. Ship only to confirmed Paypal addresses. Require insurance, and require a direct (in-person) signature for delivery. State all this in your auction and the scammers will move on to an easier target.

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Got a situation: a 0 feedback bidder has a confirmed address
and now I actually have the money inside my paypal account...
am I covered?

It seems legit but the guy's email is bouncing.

Yet I have the money inside my paypal account and transferred it to my bank.

Ship the phone?

If the address is confirmed with Paypal, and he has paid, ship the phone. Make sure you buy insurance for the full value of the phone, and require a direct signature. You should be covered. If he claims it is damaged, you have insurance. If he claims he didn't get it, you have a signature.

 

[unagimiyagi]

I've dealt with this on ebay before. Like you said, it's competitive buyers trying to either inflate the market prices, and/or funnel buyers to their items. The only way to really combat this is to sell it at a Buy It Now price which gives you the option to require instant Paypal payment. If they don't pay immediately, the item stays up for sale. Figure out the going price for your model and set the Buy It Now price at or just below that price. It will likely sell quickly and you'll get paid right away. Don't ship internationally. Ship only to confirmed Paypal addresses. Require insurance, and require a direct (in-person) signature for delivery. State all this in your auction and the scammers will move on to an easier target.

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If the address is confirmed with Paypal, and he has paid, ship the phone. Make sure you buy insurance for the full value of the phone, and require a direct signature. You should be covered. If he claims it is damaged, you have insurance. If he claims he didn't get it, you have a signature.

OK; if he claims that I sent an empty box like the poster above you stated? This possibility I never accounted for.

 

[wildonrio]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I decided to list it locally to see what happens. eBay has really gone downhill these days...

 

[Applejuiced]

I gave up selling on ebay a long time ago.
Everyone was trying to scam me and having to fight and prove each time your case becomes a real pain. Bidders that dont pay, buyers that claim you send them an empty box, others that claim your device is not as described in order to get it for cheaper than the original price, people claiming it got lost in the mail and all kinds of scams.
Avoid the drama.
I had good results with Amazons market and I might also try swappa this year.

 

[famoussasjohn]

I gave up selling on ebay a long time ago.
Everyone was trying to scam me and having to fight and prove each time your case becomes a real pain. Bidders that dont pay, buyers that claim you send them an empty box, others that claim your device is not as described in order to get it for cheaper than the original price, people claiming it got lost in the mail and all kinds of scams.
Avoid the drama.
I had good results with Amazons market and I might also try swappa this year.

How was the resale value on Amazon? I haven't been screwed on eBay yet, may not want to take that risk. I did see Swappa and was considering that.

 

[bevsb2]

Got a situation: a 0 feedback bidder has a confirmed address
and now I actually have the money inside my paypal account...
am I covered?

It seems legit but the guy's email is bouncing.

Yet I have the money inside my paypal account and transferred it to my bank.

Ship the phone?

I wouldn't unless you can establish contact with the buyer. Once the buyer receives the phone he/she can claim damage and eBay can take the money out of your account or in your case charge the credit card you have listed with them. eBay generally sides with the buyer. Any problem with getting the money from you and eBay can freeze your account. You can also end up with negative feedback which you can only respond to, but can't leave any for the buyer.

 

[Applejuiced]

How was the resale value on Amazon? I haven't been screwed on eBay yet, may not want to take that risk. I did see Swappa and was considering that.

The amazon prices are pretty good and amazon doesn't take that much money commision out of your sale. About half of what ebay and paypal charges you for an auction.
You can list it for whatever price you want.

 

[Pochi Hanaki]

Wow all these threads and people slamming Asian scalpers and no one is ranting about what you did. I am kind of not surprised.

 

[Prissy]

u need to sell them to Asia, people are dying there to paying $3500+ USD for a 6+. It's on the asian news.