Is my buyer a scam?

ang926609
Community Member
I recently listed an item for $130 on eBay, it’s my first time selling. I got a bid and they asked me to text them. They sent me this message:
“Alright thanks but I would love to have it mailed to my cousin in Oklahoma as a birthday gift,I want you to include an eBay gift card of 400$ inside the package when shipping because it’s going to the recipient as a gift.I’m a veteran(0311)and not in the right position to have it mailed out myself, I will make an additional $500 to the payment. 400$ for the eBay gift card and i will also add $50 to cover for the shipping cost and extra $50 for gas and inconvenience.are you cool with that ?“
I’m pretty sure this is a scam because of the gift card and the whole shipping to the states thing, so would I just decline the offer? Or is there something I can do to try and detect if this person is legit? Thanks so much for your help everyone!
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Is my buyer a scam?

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Message 2 of 7
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Is my buyer a scam?

i sure hope you reported the ebay user to then be shut down

Message 3 of 7
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Is my buyer a scam?

I got as far as text.

SCAM!

Message 4 of 7
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Is my buyer a scam?

Seriously.

The only part of this that does not scream "SCAM" is that it is properly spelled and grammatical.

 

 

RED Flags.jpg

 

Message 5 of 7
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Is my buyer a scam?

A message that says "I am interested in your item, kindly text me" is generally the start of a scam where the scammer winds up sending a phony PayPal email that makes it look like the seller has received a payment when none has actually been received. Scammers like to target new sellers, particularly those selling expensive items.

 

Similarly, any potential buyer that wants to pay more than your buy-it-now price or asks you to purchase a gift card for any reason is trying to scam you. eBay has no way for a seller to add the extra cost to the transaction, so that should tell you that the buyer has no intention of paying you through eBay (or at all).


Sending contact information (text or email) prior to a transaction is a violation of eBay policy; this policy is designed to protect honest buyers and sellers from this sort of thing, and to prevent off-eBay sales.


Ignore anyone that wants to communicate outside of eBay prior to a transaction payment. eBay will likely close the scammer's account eventually; unfortunately the scammer will simply open another account and continue sending such messages.


As a seller you should always check your PayPal account directly (not following a link in an email) to see if you have actually been paid prior to shipping. If an actual buyer does not send an actual payment, file an unpaid item dispute and go through that process to get your fees back and to give the "buyer" a strike -- and set your buying requirement to reject bids from users with two or more strikes.

Message 6 of 7
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Is my buyer a scam?

99.9% chance of a scammmer.

I wouldn't even reply and just ignore them. Block their number from your phone. Report them to eBay.
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