OT-EBay Scenario...HELP!

[rthutchens]

I listed a MacBook Pro on EBay with a auction and buy now price. Surprisingly in less than a day someone purchased it through the Buy Now option. I immediately receive an email from buyer that we would like for it to be shipped out immediately since it was a Bday present and will send me a prepaid label from his corporate account. I noticed he just joined eBay and doesn't have any history. I told him I would have to wait until Paypal verified his payment. He was ok and wanted to be informed immediately. Yesterday morning I receive an email from pay pal stating payment is verified so I email buyer. No reply. So I wait until midday and email again asking if he is sending label...no reply. I email again last night confirming he received emails...no reply. So this morning I check and realize his address is unconfirmed since credit card and shipping address don't match. I email him again telling him until he confirms his address I will not be able to ship.

So my question is am I being paranoid or could this be a eBay scam? It's a high price item, he was pressuring me to ship on purchase day, new eBay buyer, unconfirmed address.....what do you experienced ebayers think?

 

[jrw118]

I listed a MacBook Pro on EBay with a auction and buy now price. Surprisingly in less than a day someone purchased it through the Buy Now option. I immediately receive an email from buyer that we would like for it to be shipped out immediately since it was a Bday present and will send me a prepaid label from his corporate account. I noticed he just joined eBay and doesn't have any history. I told him I would have to wait until Paypal verified his payment. He was ok and wanted to be informed immediately. Yesterday morning I receive an email from pay pal stating payment is verified so I email buyer. No reply. So I wait until midday and email again asking if he is sending label...no reply. I email again last night confirming he received emails...no reply. So this morning I check and realize his address is unconfirmed since credit card and shipping address don't match. I email him again telling him until he confirms his address I will not be able to ship.

So my question is am I being paranoid or could this be a eBay scam? It's a high price item, he was pressuring me to ship on purchase day, new eBay buyer, unconfirmed address.....what do you experienced ebayers think?

YOu are absolutely NOT paranoid! I would NEVER use a shipping label from a buyer. I have been selling high end handbags on ebay for years. You must send to a confirmed address. You also must send to the address listed on paypal as confirmed. You must send it with signature. I would cancel the transaction immediately and be happy that you were sent warning signs. It sounds fishy to me. I hear of these scams all the time. If I were in your shoes I would immediately go to ebay resolution center an fill out to cancel the transaction. I would write the description of the events. I also forgot to add that being verified means nothing. Go to the transaction details page on paypal and on the top it will tell you if it is ok to ship and if you will have seller protection. If you choose to go through with the transaction you must follow all of the steps to guarantee seller protection if this is indeed a scam.
In my opinion this is a huge risk and even if I lost money I would not go through with it.

 

[jaminmd]

That is fishy for sure and I would not follow through with the transaction. One of the main reasons I will no longer sell anything on eBay.

 

[richmond282]

That sends up red flags for me too. I would NOT use that label if it ever comes. Ship only to the address listed on PP. Get signature confirmation and insurance. Take a zillion pics of the Mac before shipping to prove the condition. I doubt you will ever hear from the buyer again, though.

 

[rthutchens]

Thanks everyone for confirming my concerns. Sometimes you just need to listen to your gut. I'm torn now on whether to relist on eBay or try Craigslist. Both have negatives and positives. Any input is appreciated.

 

[jrw118]

Craigslist cash only!!!

 

[ceecee]

Craigslist cash only!!!

In our area there are so many Craigslist scams, no one bothers with it. I tried it once (a portable basketball hoop) and got some real winners!!! A guy asked if I would ship to India??? On the last call which caller id said "new york" I said "you want it shipped to NY right"? He said "Well, actually I go to college here"! He bought it!!!

 

[erincon23]

You said you received an email from PayPal saying payment was verified -- go to your own PayPal account and see if there's actually payment there. I tried to sell an item on Craigslist and (long story short), got an email from "PayPal" -- not really PayPal, it turned out -- saying payment was being held until shipment was confirmed! When I went to my own PayPal account, there was, of course, no payment. If you do actually have a payment, that's something different. Maybe the guy just wants it shipped to his company because he's traveling, or never home. The fact that he didn't respond to you immediately doesn't mean much -- maybe he doesn't check email every 10 minutes like I do . But I agree, be cautious about the whole transaction. VERIFY THE PAYMENT YOURSELF!

 

[princessluvsapirate]

Does sound like a scam to me .

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

It does sound a bit suspicious for sure.


Is it possible to refuse the sale and it not cause a dent in your feedback?

 

[rthutchens]

I received an email from him last night stating he had been dealing with a family emergency that's why he hadn't been in contact. Of course this was a reply to my last email stating I was canceling transaction. He says he still wants computer and is sending a prepaid label ASAP. I had already opened a case with eBay to cancel transaction. He hasn't replied to eBay yet. I still don't feel comfortable proceeding with sale. Can he prevent the cancellation of sale? Does that mean I'll still have to pay eBay fees?

 

[ellone]

I received an email from him last night stating he had been dealing with a family emergency that's why he hadn't been in contact. Of course this was a reply to my last email stating I was canceling transaction. He says he still wants computer and is sending a prepaid label ASAP. I had already opened a case with eBay to cancel transaction. He hasn't replied to eBay yet. I still don't feel comfortable proceeding with sale. Can he prevent the cancellation of sale? Does that mean I'll still have to pay eBay fees?

I wouldn't use any pre-paid label from this guy.
1 - You don't know if it's actually his account he's charging the label to. If it's not, the company will come after YOU for the shipping charges.
2 - He may be able to re-route the shipment. And then you lose ebay seller protection since it will show delivery in a different zip code than the address you are supposed to ship to.
3 - With the value of this item, you need a signature at delivery - if you aren't creating the label, you don't know if it's going to be required at delivery.

He can decline the cancellation of the sale. I've had a situation where a buyer was in a country I didn't ship to and declined the cancellation. In that situation I called ebay up and they refunded the fees - you may have to call them if he declines.

 

[bpesch]

There are a lot of red flags with this issue but you are also getting some incorrect information from other posters. Confirmed addresses mean nothing on PayPal anymore. That's an old issue and a buyer can be totally legit and not have a confirmed address. What is important is that you always ship to the PayPal address on file. If you change your ship to address in any way it voids your PayPal protections.

You also need to be aware that there are a lot of scams out there where the buyer sends a fake PayPal payment confirmation email out themselves. Always check your PayPal account directly to make sure the payment is actually showing up. If it's not, odds are you were phished by a fake payment email.

If your item is over $250 be sure to ship with signature confirmation. If it's under $250 use delivery confirmation. Any seller that ships without these protections is just asking to be scammed. The item you sold is a high fraud item. If you have a low feedback number on your selling account you are also a fraud magnet.

Never, never, never use a buyers method to ship. You have no way of insuring the necessary confirmations you need to protect yourself.

Yes, if he declines the cancellation you will lost your Final Value Fees. You should not have gone that route unless you were absolutely sure the buyer was going to agree.

Go to the Ebay Discussion Boards-Seller Central and post your concerns. There are a lot of long time sellers there that can help you. If you make just one mistake here you run the risk of losing not only your item, but your money as well.

Ebay has become a mecca for scams. Never sell anything on Ebay you can't afford to lose. Sad but totally true. Good luck!

 

[jrw118]

I received an email from him last night stating he had been dealing with a family emergency that's why he hadn't been in contact. Of course this was a reply to my last email stating I was canceling transaction. He says he still wants computer and is sending a prepaid label ASAP. I had already opened a case with eBay to cancel transaction. He hasn't replied to eBay yet. I still don't feel comfortable proceeding with sale. Can he prevent the cancellation of sale? Does that mean I'll still have to pay eBay fees?

You do not have to send the item! If the payment has been made you can easily refund through PayPal. Do not use his label!!!!