Not sure if a scam or not

AntiRip

hi

I'm after selling an item on ebay. The buyer has 0 feedback and paid by credit card (no paypal account). I forgot to list it with this conditions. Payment has been sent to my paypal account but not sure whether to refund this and relist the item as it may be a scam. What do you guys think?

Vikings

It's not necessarily a scam, everyone has to start out somewhere on eBay. I know up until last year I had 0 feedback, only up to around 5 now so feedback, while important, isn't the be all and end all.

What kind of value is the item? Contact the buyer and ask him to confirm his address and what postal method he wants, try push registered/insured/tracked mail on them and see what they say.

Theres every possibility he is genuine.

AntiRip

Vikings wrote: »

It's not necessarily a scam, everyone has to start out somewhere on eBay. I know up until last year I had 0 feedback, only up to around 5 now so feedback, while important, isn't the be all and end all.

What kind of value is the item? Contact the buyer and ask him to confirm his address and what postal method he wants, try push registered/insured/tracked mail on them and see what they say.

Theres every possibility he is genuine.

Why didn't he pay through Paypal if he has a credit card though. He's non verified and could easily get a chargeback?

item is e60

AntiRip

there is insurance included in postage also

Vikings

AntiRip wrote: »

Why didn't he pay through Paypal if he has a credit card though. He's non verified and could easily get a chargeback?

item is e60

Could be any number of reasons to be fair, I still think you are better off contacting him to confirm the postal address for example and see what he writes back. Have you had any direct contact with him or did he just buy it and pay for it without contacting you?

There's just as much danger of a chargeback from a verified member, I know it doesn't exactly look the best of situations but its not necessarily a scam.

See if the buyer gets back to you, even hold off a couple of days before sending the item to see if PayPal contact you about the transaction.

AntiRip

Vikings wrote: »

Could be any number of reasons to be fair, I still think you are better off contacting him to confirm the postal address for example and see what he writes back. Have you had any direct contact with him or did he just buy it and pay for it without contacting you?

There's just as much danger of a chargeback from a verified member, I know it doesn't exactly look the best of situations but its not necessarily a scam.

See if the buyer gets back to you, even hold off a couple of days before sending the item to see if PayPal contact you about the transaction.

Had no contact with him he just "buy it now" without contact. I will ask him to confirm his postal address although I don't think it will satisfy my skepticism. Will let you know what happens. Thanks

AntiRip

He emailed me back confirming his address. I'm going to post it on I think sure it's not the end of the world. I suppose we all had to start with zero feedback :-)

Passenger

AntiRip wrote: »

He emailed me back confirming his address. I'm going to post it on I think sure it's not the end of the world. I suppose we all had to start with zero feedback :-)

True.

jor el

I'd ask him to verify his card with Paypal first, before accepting the payment. If he's genuine, he'll be able to do this and it'll prove to you that he at least has access to the credit card details in a statement or online banking. That's a good way to show it's not stolen.

If the card is stolen, he shouldn't be able to verify his account.

Also, if the card is stolen, you'll end up out of pocket. Perhaps you should mail him and ask if he can verify, and if not, why not. If he won't do it, reverse the payment.

Him verifying his address with you was a little pointless, as he just told you the address he used to make the payment with. This could be any address, not necessarily the actual cardholder's address.

A Dub in Glasgo

I am confused; did the buyer pay you through paypal? If he did, is his address confirmed?

Vikings

jor el wrote: »

Him verifying his address with you was a little pointless, as he just told you the address he used to make the payment with. This could be any address, not necessarily the actual cardholder's address.

Not exactly pointless, you get to see at least a little bit more whether he is genuine or not - if it was someone using a stolen credit card for example making purchases left right and centre (after all, why only make one if it is stolen?) then they probably won't take the time to respond to confirm the address.

Anti, i've sent you a pm there might be able to help you decide whether or not to send it.

nava

Vikings wrote: »

Not exactly pointless, you get to see at least a little bit more whether he is genuine or not - if it was someone using a stolen credit card for example making purchases left right and centre (after all, why only make one if it is stolen?) then they probably won't take the time to respond to confirm the address.

Anti, i've sent you a pm there might be able to help you decide whether or not to send it.

Why don't you ask him to send you a copy of a bill on his name and address and the front of the CC and cover the numbers except last 4 to confirm that the name is the same in both.

jor el

Vikings wrote: »

if it was someone using a stolen credit card for example making purchases left right and centre (after all, why only make one if it is stolen?) then they probably won't take the time to respond to confirm the address.

True, a scammer may not bother to reply as they're too busy making as many purchases as possible before the card is canceled. However, if the think they're getting something out of it then they might. I've had plenty of conversations with Nigerian scammers who keep on replying to daft requests from me when they believe it'll eventually pay off.