Nervous about first sale. Something seems fishy

josippy19
Community Member

Over the last month or so I have had many offers for broken video game console that I am selling for over $200 CAD but nobody bought it for the asking price until yesterday.

I got the email from ebay saying the item sold but pending payment. Then I got an email from paypal that says the payment is received but is on hold til the buyer receives the item as I am a new seller on paypal. Checked my paypal account and the funds are indeed on hold so all looks well.

However, the buyer has an account from 2014 with 0 feedback score and kind of a weird name with quite a few random digits. I contacted the buyer and they stated their intention of sending this out of warranty console in for repair at a cost, but after the ebay sale and repair cost the buyer would be better off just buying the console new at the same cost or less. I am not sure if I am in the process of being scammed somehow or if I should just ship and take my chances. Any help is appreciated.

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Nervous about first sale. Something seems fishy

tyler@ebay
Community Member

Hi @josippy19 - congrats on your first sale!  

 

I'm sure you're going to hear from some great folks throughout the day, but I wanted to get you my two cents from an eBay perspective. 🙂

 

Member ids can be a string of letters and numbers (especially if they were originally created as a guest account that they then made official). It could also be something that is significant for them, but not immediately visible. 

 

Depending on your specific concern, you could consider sending it with a tracking number. While that is a bit more expensive to ship, it does provide you with protection in the event they claim they never received it (as long as the item scans as attempted delivery or actual delivery). 

 

If they paid and you can see the funds in your PayPal that's a good sign! If your spidey-sense is tingling you could consider contacting PayPal and asking them to review the transaction for any warning flags. 

 

 

Tyler,
eBay
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Nervous about first sale. Something seems fishy

Thanks for the response. I ended up shipping the item with tracking and did everything I could to cover my butt. Now I can just wait and see.
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Nervous about first sale. Something seems fishy

Concerning the hold on your funds, this is normal for all new sellers. You have to prove you are trustworthy (too many new sellers were scamming buyers and then disappearing with the money). Your funds will be on hold until delivery is confirmed or if 21 days have passed. So sending it with tracking was a good call.

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