seller asks for payment thru private Paypal invoice... voiding guarantee and protection.

[macivor]

seller seems to be scamming buyer....avoids paypal payment thru eBay page, and sends private invoice to my PayPal account, not even listing the item (a camera) ...asking for $3,000 plus payment for 'merchandise'.  He also used three DIFFERENT e-mail addresses and refuses to identify himself, or location. When questioned about it, he said he would be willing to ship the camera before receiving payment (I usually have PayPal make payment AFTER inspecting the purchase, but he avoided that).

It was a 24 hour listing , set up so I became 2nd Chance buyer, after bid brought bidding up to just over my maximum bid in the last minute of auction.  On top of that several bids were removed just prior to closing.

[theafkgamer]

"When questioned about it, he said he would be willing to ship the camera before receiving payment"

That one line should give you your answer. NO.

What legit seller would be willing to ship a $3000 camera without payment first?

[femmefan1946]

(I usually have PayPal make payment AFTER inspecting the purchase, but he avoided that).

That's a very limited programme, which most sellers dislike and do not use. As I understand it, the buyer has to pass inspection by Paypal since PP actually pays the seller, and accepts the risk.

But all in all, this does sound like a scam. Don't pay. Ignore him. A 24 hour auction for a high price/high fraud item, offered to the second chance buyer , and off-eBay billing? Nuh- uh.

The worst that can happen is that you get an Unpaid Item Dispute. Unlikely since these crooks don't like to draw attention to themselves. If you do lose a UID, your general good buying practices will make it unimportant. (But if you get a second Strike, you will find it very difficult to buy on eBay at all).