Selling on Ebay, is it safe?

Dublinstiofán

Not really used to selling on Ebay so i have a question or two for anybody who is experienced in same.

I sold a relatively expensive item on Ebay today and was Paid via Paypal.

My problem is that i stated in my listing that any bidders must have 15 positive feedback in order to bid.
The winning bidder has no feedback and set his account up today just to buy my item which seems highly
suspect to me.

I rang Paypal and they say his address is confirmed, that i have buyer protection provided the item is
sent (with a tracking number) to the confirmed Paypal address provided.

• Is there anyway this can go wrong if i do what paypal say and just send it and hope for the best?
• Would it be better if i waited until the funds cleared into my bank account before sending it?
• Or best just not to take the chance at all?

Thanks for any help

Stiofán

Yamanoto

Where is the buyers address as per paypal?

That should go some way towards flagging the possibility of being scammed.

Tbh, if it were me, given the buyer has already failed to abide by your terms, I'd refund them the cash to save yourself any potential trouble.

If your item is desirable, it'll sell again.

BengaLover

Send the item registered post to cover yourself in the event of a claim, if you dont you are open to an 'item not recieved dispute.'

Dublinstiofán

Yamanoto wrote: »

Where is the buyers address as per paypal?

That should go some way towards flagging the possibility of being scammed.

Tbh, if it were me, given the buyer has already failed to abide by your terms, I'd refund them the cash to save yourself any potential trouble.

If your item is desirable, it'll sell again.

Buyers address is California, google Mapped the address and the houses are worth 3/4 of a million dollars. So it could be all legit but i just don't like the fact that they have no feedback and only opened the account today.

Paypal have confirmed i'm covered. Would it help if i just waited for funds to transfer to my bank account and then send it registered by UPS and just be done with it. Once they sign for it i'm covered as far as i can see.

Theres no way of retracting funds once you've paid by Paypal is there?

Thanks for your input so far

Dublinstiofán

BengaLover wrote: »

Send the item registered post to cover yourself in the event of a claim, if you dont you are open to an 'item not recieved dispute.'

I definitely without question will do this if i do send it.

BengaLover

Dublinstiofán wrote: »

Theres no way of retracting funds once you've paid by Paypal is there?

Thanks for your input so far

Yes, if the buyer doesnt receive the item, or the item isnt as described they can open a dispute and paypal will hold your funds. If you have taken the funds out it will show as a minus balance and if the buyer wins the dispute then you have to pay it all back.

Yamanoto

Dublinstiofán wrote: »

Buyers address is California, google Mapped the address and the houses are worth 3/4 of a million dollars. So it could be all legit but i just don't like the fact that they have no feedback and only opened the account today.

Paypal have confirmed i'm covered. Would it help if i just waited for funds to transfer to my bank account and then send it registered by UPS and just be done with it. Once they sign for it i'm covered as far as i can see.

Theres no way of retracting funds once you've paid by Paypal is there?

Thanks for your input so far

It's difficult to gauge without the full picture tbh.

For instance, if this buyer can access the same product at a similar price from a US seller, why go to the added hassle/expense of awaiting a shipment from an Irish seller?

Moving funds to your account does not preclude PayPal from refunding the buyer (at your expense obviously) under certain circumstances eg, dispute opened for item not as described, item damaged in transit etc.

Given you stated only buyers with FB of 15+ on the listing, I'm not sure whether refunding & cancelling leaves you open to seller non-performance. If that's your intention, ask ebay or perhaps someone else here can answer that for you.

If your item has a serial #, be sure to take note of it & signature on delivery is a must for expensive items. In all probability things will run smoothly, but your apprehension is understandable.

Dublinstiofán

Yamanoto wrote: »

It's difficult to gauge without the full picture tbh.

For instance, if this buyer can access the same product at a similar price from a US seller, why go to the added hassle/expense of awaiting a shipment from an Irish seller?

Moving funds to your account does not preclude PayPal from refunding the buyer (at your expense obviously) under certain circumstances eg, dispute opened for item not as described, item damaged in transit etc.

Given you stated only buyers with FB of 15+ on the listing, I'm not sure whether refunding & cancelling leaves you open to seller non-performance. If that's your intention, ask ebay or perhaps someone else here can answer that for you.

If your item has a serial #, be sure to take note of it & signature on delivery is a must for expensive items. In all probability things will run smoothly, but your apprehension is understandable.

Its all sorted, it was a skam as far as i can see.

Received a message on Ebay from the buyer tonight which requested i send to an unregistered address in Dundalk
(very far away from the half a million property in California).

They told me that they were on holidays here and that there was nobody at the property in the US to accept delivery
and that if i sent the item there the delivery would be refused and it would be sent straight back to me (at my expense)

I took a recording of the phone call to cover my ass.

I asked why they didn't just buy the item with cash in Dublin and they told me they don't have any cash and
just had the paypal.

I suggested we meet in Dublin and we can exchange the iPhone (just to get off the phone) which they
agreed to.

Got a mail soon after saying that they wouldn't be in Dublin as they are heading to Belfast and could i
ship it to them. To which i replied not a chance.

Gonna try sort it out with Paypal and Ebay tomorrow so i don't suffer from any negative feedback
etc.

Thanks for the heads up lads. Should i report this guy to the gards, i have his mobile number.
Probably should have held out for the address.

Yamanoto

Good stuff.

You should certainly speak to PayPal, as this fella could have hijacked someone else's account.

Dublinstiofán

Yamanoto wrote: »

Good stuff.

You should certainly speak to PayPal, as this fella could have hijacked someone else's account.

Rang paypal and told them

Dublinstiofán

Dublinstiofán wrote: »

Rang paypal and told them

Chancer did a chargeback on the Paypal today so my balance is now minus €800,

Thank god i had the good sense not to send the item or i'd be down the item and the money.

What at all is the point of Paypal if you can effectively take back the money three days after you send it? What a joke, i'll never think Paypal is a safe way of sending money again.

allthedoyles

Can you share with us , the explanation from eBay as to how a member with zero feedback managed to bid on your item , and overwrite your eBay settings ?

Yamanoto

Had the OP set up a block on users with low feedback or merely specified it within the body of the listing?