is it a scam?

[liamam_594]

I justreceived a text from the buyer from USA who says she's getting the item for a cousin in Ontario and wants to talk to me before proceeding with the payment. She also wants me to text her my username and price of the item... Is this a attempt of a scam?

Thank you for your input.

[marnotom!]

How was this person able to text you? Communication between buyers and sellers is normally done with eBay’s message system.

But, yes, you’re right to be suspicious about this.

[liamam_594]

She gave me her number on ebay chats and I texted her through that.

Thanks for your feedback I will be cautious.

[reallynicestamps]

Text= Scam.

Prove me wrong.

[reallynicestamps]

Message each other only through eBay Messages.

You an also attach photos to those.

They can also change the address temporarily on the invoice if (note IF) they buy and pay for the Thing.

[mrdutch1001]

if this potential "buyer"  is texting you regarding a high value item, that is a red flag and as you are a new/inexperienced seller listing a high priced item you are a target for scammers. Do everything by the eBay rules- that means everything! including messages >and that means NO texts!....ebay cannot protect you if things go wrong, when you are conducting conversations outside of eBay.

[recped]

@liamam_594 

Of course it's a scam attempt!

I figured it might be an expensive phone but instead it's expensive shoes.

ANY attempt by anyone to contact an eBay seller off eBay prior to a sale is definitely a scam, an attempt after the sale but before the (real via eBay) payment is almost certainly a scam.

As long as you have Best Offer on that listing you will continue to get scam attempts.

[byto253]

Yup, scam.  Just say no to texts and storylines.   Keep it all in ebay messages in order to keep your seller protection.  

[brettjet38]

[needsmorerobots]

This scam couldn't be more suttle if it stripped naked, painted on it's body "SCAM" in big red letters and sang "Happy Scam Days are Here Again". (Credit to Blackadder)

In other words, it's a scam. 

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

Scammers look for less experienced accounts that sell high value items like shoes, phones, or graphics cards. The way they tell you are less experienced is through your feedback number beside your name. Anything in the single or double digit, and they will bank on you not knowing about eBay's policies. 

I would strongly advise you to look into if there are any types of eBay cosigners for shoes (there are for sports cards and other hobbies). Everybody has to start somewhere, and eBay's Authenticity program makes it a good platform for things like shoes, but the risk is very high for someone who is not well versed in selling on eBay, and whose account will also attract scammers due to having a low feedback number. 

If you insist on continuing to sell shoes worth hundreds of dollars on an inexperienced looking account, you have to understand that you're going to be pestered by scammers. At the very least, I would spend some time reading about eBay's buyer and seller protection so that you know all the loopholes that scammers might try to use. 

[fergua3]

smart of you to come here asking for advice.  Sadly, too many new users are taken for lots of $$ due to inexperience.

Tell the 'buyer' that because of Ebay policy, all further communication must take place through Ebay messages, not text messages and watch how fast the buyer disappears...

[Anonymous]

I think that’s the same person who texted me today. He was interested on one of my items I was selling. So he gave me his number and asked me to text him.. with my username and the price of the item I was selling. He was saying he lives in the US and he has a cousin in Canada, he wants to send me the item to his cousin as a surprise gift. He then requested me to buy a gift card ($400 worth) to send along with the item.