topic Re: How do you avoid scammers on Ebay as a seller. in Selling

How do you avoid scammers on Ebay as a seller.

starvocal — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 14:32:31 GMT

I am having from time to time buyers coming back to me claiming that I have sent them faulty goods.. this is despite that everything I send out is in pristine condition and is well packed and tracked. Hmmm had one the other day who was fairly abusive, threatened negative feedback which she has now posted on my site and I have replied to. She refused to send goods back despite the fact I offered her the return postage and a refund if I thought she had a case. Personally speaking, I packed the item well, it was in good order when it left here. Had a few of these sorts of folk, and I think there are people out there at the moment trying this on and then refusing to send back goods. Not the money here definitely not ,as the item was not worth the effort really. However, the principle of the thing is at stake here and there appear to be more of these people coming through Ebay. I suppose you can't have everything and you have to expect some problems but are any others (sellers) having this trouble out there????? I am a very ethical person and expect people to treat me with respect as I respect them.....am I expecting too much????

Re: How do you avoid scammers on Ebay as a seller.

phorum_junkie* — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 16:11:14 GMT

If a buyer claims an item is damaged I ask for a photo, if they provide one I either give them a full refund without them having to return it or, if I think I can fix it and still sell it for more than the two way postage I will snd them an already addressed prepaid satchel to return it in.

Sometimes if it is somthing minor like a miss sewn seam in a clothing item I will give them a choice of a full refund or a partial rfund and they can keep it.

I would never give in to blackmail and if they threaten a neg I would not refund unless they go through the proper Paypal dispute process so they had to pay the cost of the return which I would not refund if the item was undamaged.

It is almost impossibl to argue that you have packed an item carefully enough to prevent damage, virtually anything other than clothing, soft toys etc needs to be double boxed with suitable buffer packaging between the two boxes. The package needs to be safe if something weighing 20kgs is dropped on it from shoulder height.

I have only ever had one person who tried it on with me and I got my money back through Paypal after a couple of phone calls, I also got the items back and the buyer was kicked off ebay a few weeks later because she tried to scam buyers too so the only negs I have evr received were removed by ebay without me even having to ask.

Never would I choose to be out any money to avoid a silly red dot on my computer screen.

Re: How do you avoid scammers on Ebay as a seller.

springyzone — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 22:29:39 GMT

For what it is worth, if I were a buyer, the negative against your name would not worry me, because you gave such an informative and sensible answer, plus your other feedback is fine. Considering the fact postage & tracking was included in that price, I am not sure what quality a buyer would be expecting. It sounds to me as if you were more than fair.

Some buyers are just ding a lings, but they are in the minority I hope.

Re: How do you avoid scammers on Ebay as a seller.

daniel-online-solutions — Wed, 04 Jun 2014 01:22:03 GMT

Yup, I agree to all of your views, recently I met 2 customers from Israel, first customer claimed he did not receive the item, due to the item was shipped using non registered mail (even i proved photo of item's packed and shipping label) because I can not trace it so refund him the amount, during our communication everything was fine but once I refund, his attitude changed 200% and gave me negative feedback, I tried to request ebay to remove but can not, eBay said it was not falling in their rule to remove.

I learnt from mistake, in future all shipment to Israel i will use registered mail, no matter how chear the item is.

Recently 2nd customers from Israel raised a dispute again, saying his items did not receive in 30 days (no include weekend and holiday) wanted me to foc him the item, I told him because April has a lot of holiday in their country and Israel's custom always delay the item but he just ignored and said his item must receive within 30 days, if not it will be foc. The case has pending in ebay 2 weeks still unsolve. Finally the items received in this monday, this customer claimed the items were no as he bought, he said item has no label, wrong item...... I gave him a solution to mail all the items to someone in his country and willing to pay all the cost to him, he started to give excuse he is not free and threaten me to give negative feedback if no a satisfied answer. What he wants was money all refund and product foc

Anyone has experience to share? I have emailed ebay but still no reply.

cheers

Re: How do you avoid scammers on Ebay as a seller.

i-love-my-sheep — Wed, 04 Jun 2014 01:39:56 GMT

I had a fairly new buyer ask me a few months ago how I would package a particular item because she was worried it would get broken en route, as she had had issues with that previously and the seller refused to respond to any of her messages (she wasn't aware of opening cases and that kind of thing at that stage). She even offered to pay extra for postage to ensure I had enough supplies to package it properly. I assured her that I had plenty of packaging material here (I keep good boxes and packaging from things I buy) and no extra payment would be required. I've had enough things broken en route, like 4 plates I bought that were each wrapped in a single sheet of newspaper, then put into a 500g satchel bag with no other packaging - completely smashed on delivery - that I wouldn't knowingly do that to a buyer buying something that could potentially break. I told her in the event that it did arrive broken, take a photo and send it to me and I would give her a full refund of both the item and the postage. After it arrived, I got the loveliest message from her thanking me so much for having common sense and that common sense seems to be lacking these days. She even felt I went overboard with the packaging and I said no, that's how it should be with things that might break. For days, I kept getting messages thanking me.

Unfortunately, in any business, there are people who think they can scam people. In my opinion, no proof, no refund. There are too many keyboard warriors who are big and tough behind their computer screen because it gives them some sense of power and sadly, we will all encounter those people from time to time. My guess is, whatever you sent WASN'T faulty or broken, they were just trying to see how far they could push you and whether they could get their money back, even though it was only a small amount. Most buyers who did receive something broken or faulty would at least have the decency to send a photo or some other kind of proof that there was an issue.

One last thing, threatening to leave negative feedback to essentially blackmail you is against ebay's terms and conditions so I would forward that particular email to ebay. I'm not sure if there is any way to know what these people are up to prior to sale, apart from checking their feedback they have left for other buyers. I cancelled a bid a month or so ago because out of 20 feedbacks left for other sellers, 15 were red and 4 were grey. Only one green. I wasn't risking my reputation for someone I felt could've been a scammer.

Re: How do you avoid scammers on Ebay as a seller.

luxuryrethreads — Wed, 04 Jun 2014 01:43:35 GMT

I know this is off topic...

I wouldnt send items off to certain countries and just blocked these people from these countries.

Ive seen sellers state in their listings they wont send items to these countries, top three being,

Italy

Israel

Russia

Some US sellers also block people from Australia from bidding on their items as well.

Regarding to the real topic at hand, don't worry about it, just add them to your block

list, sometimes buyers like to "push" sellers to see how far they can go. Your negative

feedback will go back to 100 % after a year full of good positive feedback, so maybe

concentrate on getting double the amount of positive feedback.

I've seen sellers from the USA and China have 30 negative feedbacks to their 2000

positive feedback and people are still buying from them. If you sell quality items,

people will still buy from you. But as a buyer, I wouldnt bid on items from sellers who

have 96 % and lower feedback.

Hope that helps!

Re: How do you avoid scammers on Ebay as a seller.

daniel-online-solutions — Wed, 04 Jun 2014 02:09:30 GMT

hahaha, totally agree risking country to ship. Italy and Israel.

Re: How do you avoid scammers on Ebay as a seller.

davewil1964 — Wed, 04 Jun 2014 08:44:02 GMT

Nigeria, of course.

Or any offshore drilling platform.

Re: How do you avoid scammers on Ebay as a seller.

**melonbellies** — Wed, 04 Jun 2014 14:03:41 GMT

What do you do if someone says they have returned an item for an exchange but it never comes back but then the are demanding a refund
?

Re: How do you avoid scammers on Ebay as a seller.

cq_tech — Wed, 04 Jun 2014 16:28:19 GMT

Then it's tough luck for them. That's why it is imperative that all returns should be sent with full tracking and signature on delivery as it protects both parties from loss. You are under absolutely no obligation to refund a buyer until the item has been returned.

Re: How do you avoid scammers on Ebay as a seller.

meimei-09madonna — Fri, 06 Jun 2014 08:32:00 GMT

I have just returned to EBay after a few years and have a buyer who is trying to scam me.
I listed an authentic Chanel No5 Parfume. That my mother gave me as a present from David Jones.
Didn't have the heart to tell her that I have not worn that perfume in years so decided to sell on EBay as I am very well stocked up in perfume.
Placed item on auction and received an EBay message if it was fake or not.
Assured buyer it was bought from Chanel Department at David Jones.
Same buyer placed highest bid. I sent message saying thank you and could he/she let me know when they were going to pay so I could organize posting ASAP. Did not receive any message back. Day 5 sent invoice and a message asking if everything was ok as I still hadn't heard back. Eventually ended up filing a non-payment case and was paid 5 days after filing this.
Eventually received a one line message saying " sorry I was sick"
Have erred on the side of caution and not left feedback. Today received a message saying it was a fake despite being in original box, wrapping and David Jones bag. Have copied serial number prior to sending.
Says scent only last 20 minutes and wants money back.
I have read their feedback and it almost seems faked. That is exactly the same messages with same amount of exclamation marks and all.
Last comment thought says this member bids, doesn't pay and then uses different accounts.
Is anyone aware of such scams?

Re: How do you avoid scammers on Ebay as a seller.

davewil1964 — Fri, 06 Jun 2014 11:24:36 GMT

You should have closed the case after the minimum FOUR days.

The onus is on the buyer to prove it's a fake. Which requires getting a third party, competent person to state it in writing. Otherwise they will be required to return it, trackable, at their expense.

Which could be a bit hard as perfume is classed as a dangerous good. I assume you have a dangerous goods licence, otherwise you wouldn't have posted it in the first place.

Re: How do you avoid scammers on Ebay as a seller.

meimei-09madonna — Fri, 06 Jun 2014 18:36:45 GMT

Yes, registered as Dangerous Goods.
I did respond to message saying I copied serial number on box and photographed same.
As I know this number can be used to authenticate such.

Re: How do you avoid scammers on Ebay as a seller.

lousbloomingarden — Fri, 06 Jun 2014 22:10:18 GMT

Yes I pop in a note with all my plants explaining that I pack the best way possible to avoid damage but on occasions something can arrive not 100% due to some rough handling that can occur with Aus post. I always ask for a photo and i replace immediatly when I judge that it is destroyed or un salvageable. Very rarley happens so i just do it. But your items are easily returned and you did the best thing for that customer so I wouldnt worry about the feedback as it shows your a fair person. I know , Neg feed back is a **bleep** if you havent had one before.....

Re: How do you avoid scammers on Ebay as a seller.

starvocal — Wed, 11 Jun 2014 09:33:00 GMT

Thanks for you reply. What I did was simply to reply to the negative feedback quite simply and with a bit on the end which said 'reported to Ebay'. Had a reply from Ebay, and this buyer is now under investigation. When you look at all the feedback she has left for others it is quite obvious that she is a scammer. Lots and lots of 'non deliveries' and refunds. Anyway most of my buyers are really good and so it is not an issue really.

However, the other little trick I actually came across this week was a buyer saying she could not pay through Pay Pal. She indicated at the checkout that she was paying through bank transfer. Has anyone ever noticed that this actually looks in your Ebay account as if the customer has paid????? No go with me. She went into resolution and I relisted the item when I closed the case. Thanks for your reply it is good to know you are all out there.......LOL

Cheers

Jenn (Starvocal)

Re: How do you avoid scammers on Ebay as a seller.

haolove13 — Wed, 11 Jun 2014 10:04:35 GMT

Sell somewhere else LOL !!!!

Re: How do you avoid scammers on Ebay as a seller.

i-love-my-sheep — Wed, 11 Jun 2014 12:54:06 GMT

On the rare occasion someone pays me via bank deposit, they usually click checkout complete which highlights the shopping cart icon next to the sold listing. I will check my account soon after, because very occasionally it goes in pretty quick, especially if they paid over the counter. If not, I check again the next day and as soon as I see the money in there, I click the payment received button, which then highlights the $ sing and shows it as paid. I then normally send the buyer a message saying payment has been received and I'll post their item. I've never seen the $ sign highlight with bank deposit until I select payment received. That said, if they don't hit the 'complete checkout' option when paying, you don't know if they have actually paid or not unless you keep checking your account.

I'm not sure why people say they can't pay via PayPal. Most people have a credit card these days and you don't need a PayPal account to pay via credit card. If they don't have a credit card, you can still pay via PayPal using your bank account. My PayPal payments come from my bank account when there is nothing left in the PayPal kitty. I think people just use it as an excuse to be difficult.

Sounds like you've got it all sorted.

Jane

Re: How do you avoid scammers on Ebay as a seller.

haolove13 — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 07:03:15 GMT

I know of at least six people who can not pay by paypal. Half have been refused paypal accounts and the other three went out in sympathy, and they all hate the excessive costs of paypal.

Re: How do you avoid scammers on Ebay as a seller.

cq_tech — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 08:47:09 GMT

If they're only buyers, why the hell would they be concerned about Paypal's fees (which they don't pay)?