Sadly, it happens, although ebay is trying to put a stop to it. It used to be a much bigger problem than it is now, until ebay made some changes a few years back.
But, that's not to say that some people still won't try to scam you. Believe me, they will try. And they will know you are new to ebay, or at least presume. A skilled ebayer can pick out the newbies simply by how a listing is written, or, simply by looking at someone's FB (feedback) page. A lower FB score can typify a newbie.
Let me tell you a little story about how a buyer tried to scam me- and how I diffused the situation:
I deal primarily in vintage items that are in exceptional condition. You know the reasons, if you've been reading my blog: it allows me to charge a premium on my items. One such item was a 3-record set of Christmas tunes, I believe. I collect my payment, box up the set, ship them out and all is hunky-dory... or so I thought.
A few days later the buyer emails me to tell me he is deeply disappointed. "Oh boy," I thought, "They got damaged in the mail." Well, the buyer claimed that the records he received were so badly scratched up and ruined that they wouldn't play properly, and how could I write such a misleading listing claiming my records were in pristine condition (which they were as are ALL my records sets)?"
Well, I knew right then that it wasn't an issue of damage in shipment. I had packed them quite well. And if you're as old as I am, you know that some of those older records were nearly as thick as hubcaps, and almost as indestructible. The man was clearly trying to scam me. Clearly he had a set of records just like mine. He wanted to buy my set, swap them out, claim that I had misled him with a deceptive listing, then try to return his set as mine, for a complete refund.
It was as plain as day. Just like a reputable jewelry seller is not going to believe anyone who walks in and claims that the ring he bought last week isn't real gold, I knew the guy was lying. So here's what I did:
I immediately replied back: "Oh, I'm so sorry this happened. I don't know how this happened. Please return them. We'd be happy to return them, inspect them, then offer a full refund."
Well, that was good enough for him. Music to his ears. He shipped them back, and told me that he had done so. So I sent another email: "Again, so sorry. We don't know how this happened. We'll look them over, we'll look for the mark we put on them, and if everything is in order, offer a complete refund. Again, we're so sorry."
Notice what I had italicized, above? I waited until he told me that he had shipped the records back, THEN I told him we will look for the mark we put on the records.
We never put a mark on the records. But he didn't know that. It didn't matter. He knew he was lying, and so did I. I was offering him a face-saving way out. He could still leave me a -FB which would have been worse than being scammed. I was still playing a diplomatic game of cat-and-mouse, and I had the upper hand.
Lying to me was his first mistake. His second was not returning the records with DC (delivery confirmation). Oh, I received the record set, of course.... his record set. There was not a chance in hell these were my records. They were in such deplorable shape. I would have been ashamed to sell such things. That's how bad they were.
After I'd received them, he had the gall to email back, asking if I'd received them, and when he could expect a refund. Of course I received them, but I wasn't about to tell him that. "Nope. Post office must've lost 'em. If you can provide a tracking number, I'd be happy to place a postal trace on them to try to find them." I knew exactly where they were.... in the dumpster behind my garage with the rest of the trash.
His response? "Well, I guess I'll just take the loss, but it's sellers like you who are giving ebay a bad name, selling S#!T and being deceptive about the condition. I'll never buy from you again, <expletive> <expletive>!"
I never heard from him again, not that I want to. I blocked him from ever buying from me under that user id. He never left me any feedback, either. And from that point forward, I'd learned to put some form of insignificant marking somewhere to ID an item as something I sold.
Some ways you can be on the lookout for scammers, and detect their games:
1) If a buyer asks you if you'll accept a Western Union payment.
2) If a buyer asks you to mail an item before a payment has cleared.
3) If a buyer asks you to mail an item, with the buyer submitting payment once the item arrives.
4) An unusually obnoxious buyer, or one desperate to get the item you are selling.
5) A buyer claiming to be an expert, skilled or knowledgeable in the area relating to an item you are selling, and also suggesting that your current asking price is way too high, that your item is definitely worth much less, and would you consider his offer for a considerably lower amount than your list price?
6) A buyer requesting that you ship an item uninsured, without delivery confirmation, or to a country that doesn't offer delivery confirmation or tracking.
7) A buyer willing to trade one of his items "of equal value" to your item.
These are just some of the ones I've heard of. Also be wary of the individuals requesting to pick up an item to save on shipping costs. This in and of itself shouldn't necessarily wave red flags, as local or nearby buyers will contact you from time to time. However, if the item in question is a $2200 ring, for example, I'd set up a meeting spot at the local police station or sheriff dept and do the exchange there.
Another note about meeting to exchange to save on shipping costs: I've made arrangements to meet people for this same very purpose, and always on low-dollar items. I'll always make an attempt to save someone a few dollars if I can, but here's where it becomes a nuisance: The first couple times I tried this, the "buyer" was a no-show. Nothing is worse than a no-show. It's a huge waste of my time and gas. So here was my solution: I'd force the buyer to pay for the item up front, on paypal, including shipping charges, plus a $10 meeting fee. If the buyer showed up on time, he got the complete shipping amount refunded, plus the $10 fee. If he was late by 10 minutes or more, I kept the $10 fee, but refunded the full shipping amount. If he was a no-show, no real tragedy. I pocketed the $10 fee, then simply shipped the item. Seemed to work out great and solved my problem instantly. Plus, I always set up the meeting spot at one of my storage units. I seemed to hit each of my storage units on a daily basis anyways, so I was pretty much killing two birds with one stone. I'd simply load up the car with a box or two of things I needed to take to storage, plus the item I'd sold, and meet the buyer. Worked out well all the way around.
No comments:
Post a Comment