eBay

Anonymous · ‎04-18-2023

Happened to me today. I was selling an adidas sweater for $54.00. Got a message from a buyer saying he/she is interested about it. So I said okay. Then he said to text him (he lives in the US) so I texted him. At first I thought he was going to ask more about the item I was selling… but then he said it was actually a surprise gift for his cousin who lives in Canada(Ontario). So I was okay with it… and he said to send it there and he will be paying shipping and handling that will cost him around $100.00. So I was thinking really.. for a $54.00 sweater. You are willing to pay for shipping cost more than the sweater for a cousin? He asked me wrapped it nicely cause it’s a gift. Then, He proceeded asking me to buy a $400.00 worth of gift card (Vanilla - Mastercard) especially to include with the item he was buying. He sent me a photo of it.. what kind should I buy. So I sent him a text back saying, okay I will buy him the gift card. Then he asked for my e-mail address (red flag!) I didn’t think much of it until later on, so I gave him my email address. He said So he can pay me, and eBay will send me a confirmation that he paid ($500.00) and the e-mail included the address of his cousin to where I have to send the item, before I get the money I will have to respond eBay, send a photo that I purchased the gift card with the receipt as a proof. Then I said okay no problem. He then said let me know when you are at the store and take a pic of the gift card and send to him. He literally asking me every 5 minutes.. texting me if I am already at the store and if I’ve already purchased the ($400.00) gift card. He then told me to send him message through WhatsApp. He kept texting if I am already on my way to buy the gift card. I was like dude relax! we just spoke not even for an hour and he’s already expecting me to be at the store buying the gift card, it’s not like I have to run to the store at 9:00 am to buy it right away. He was so annoying and keeps asking me every 10-15 minutes for the last two hours, he called me as well! Cause I gave him my number (I made a huge mistake giving him my cell number). I was so annoyed that I cancelled the transaction.. and blocked him. I mean why and what’s the rushed? I felt so harassed at that point. Anyway, he stopped after I cancelled the item. Guys! Don’t give your e-mail address, personal phone number or even your WhatsApp number! A buyer shouldn’t be like that… if they ask you to communicate with them through text or they asked for your e-mail address to pay you… cancel them right away. No buyer will pay $100 shipping for a $54.00 item. That’s stupid… and sending the item to a different address that is a huge red flag! I have his text messages, I have not deleted it and his e-mails to me.

marnotom! · ‎04-18-2023

Thanks for sharing this with us.

Your tale has most of the red flags for a scam, starting with the request to take communication off the eBay system and text instead, following it up with the willingness to pay far too much in shipping the item, the email address, and then the gift card request. I'm glad you cancelled the transaction. I hope you're able to block this person's emails, text messages and phone calls.

Fortunately, scams aren't plentiful on eBay but they do get posted about a lot. Thanks for posting your experience here for others. You may want to hang around the discussion boards for a while to get a sense of what other tricks some users have up their sleeve.

ricarmic · ‎04-18-2023

@Anonymous This is a very common scam aimed at new sellers like yourself.

At least it appears you stopped before it cost you $$$.

IMO the best thing to come from this is you've come here to this discussion board. You will be very well served if you browse what is going on here from time to time, you would have INSTANTLY recognized this as a scam as this is regularly discussed by folks affected here, along with many other potential pitfalls.

I've been selling on eBay for 24 years now and I still learn something new quite regularly on this board. Keep coming back, it will be worth your while!

brettjet38 · ‎04-18-2023

SCAM ALERT - RULE No 1

Never, ever, ever take your "communication" with ANY BUYER off the eBay messaging system, that is the first sure sign of a scam...

SCAM ALERT - RULE No 2

Also, never ever ship to an address other than the one provided by the transaction/sales record of the item purchased...

femmefan1946 · ‎04-18-2023

Thank you for the step by step detailing of the scam.

It will be a useful reference when the next person asks.

And there will be a next person.

As you say, there is no need to go off-eBay with a transaction.

brettjet38 · ‎04-18-2023

https://www.ebay.ca/help/policies/payment-policies/offers-buy-sell-outside-ebay-policy?id=4272

If you receive an offer from a buyer to transact outside of eBay, please report it.

https://www.ebay.ca/help/selling/resolving-buyer-issues/reporting-issue-buyer?id=4084

rocketscollectibles · ‎04-19-2023

It's a very common and known scam. You almost got caught.

Then he asked for my e-mail address (red flag!)

It was a red flag 10 steps before, right when they asked to text.

ilikehockeyjerseys · ‎04-19-2023

The reason he texted you so much was because it was a scam, and he wanted to close the deal before you caught on. He knew that he was really close to scamming you, and he didn't want you to have time to figure it out. Even something like you casually mentioning to a family member or roommate that you are going to the grocery store to buy a gift card because someone online asked you to include it.

Everything is a learning experience, but this is a very blatant scam with online classified orders. They were going to execute a chargeback and keep the gift card. They may not have even needed you to send the physical card, depending on what info is included on the photos.

Most eBay scams start with people taking messages off of eBay. Especially if you are a newer seller. You should keep messages on eBay, if only to weed out these scams.

The other common scam is that they come up with an excuse for you to send it to a different address. If you send an item to a different address than the one provided at checkout, you have no seller protection, even with tracking. I have had genuine customers make an error with their address and ask me to fix it, which is fine for a $10 DVD that will be shipped untracked regardless. So it doesn't always mean it's a scam, but if it's a pair of shoes, a graphics card, a PS5....yeah, it's a scam. You can ask the buyer to cancel due to a problem with address, and rebuy it, which they likely won't do.

markhockey1992 · ‎04-22-2023

Glad you posted. These people will do anything and scam so many people. They are some of the lowest people on earth that take advantage of good people.

markhockey1992 · ‎04-22-2023

Well said.

38e_avenue · ‎04-22-2023

@Anonymous wrote:
No buyer will pay $100 shipping for a $54.00 item.

A typical scam since the beginning to the end, especially the part with the gift card. I am glad it ended well.

Concerning the 100$ shipping for a 50$ item - not really true, because it happened at least 3 times to me.

All legit transactions 😄 The buyers simply needed my items "as soon as possible" and paid for very expensive express delivery services.

marnotom! · ‎04-22-2023

@38e_avenue wrote:
Concerning the 100$ shipping for a 50$ item - not really true, because it happened at least 3 times to me.

All legit transactions 😄 The buyers simply needed my items "as soon as possible" and paid for very expensive express delivery services.

It would have been fishy if they wanted their items shipped to a different address than the one in the transaction details, though.

38e_avenue · ‎04-22-2023

@marnotom! wrote:
It would have been fishy if they wanted their items shipped to a different address than the one in the transaction details, though.

Not according to my exprience. Happened at least 10 times last year (buyers forget to update their address after moving, ask to send the item to their cottage or to their friends as xmas gifts). All were legit transactions and ended well.

marnotom! · ‎04-22-2023

Sorry, I wasn't very clear. What I meant was it would have been fishy if those buyers who wanted to pay extra for shipping also wanted to have the item sent to a different address than the one in the transaction details.