Am I being scammed by a buyer?

[Oleandered]

Hi! I am trying to understand if I’m being a paranoid here, but my sneakers on eBay were just purchased by a new user with zero feedback. His account was created in 2018, his paypal name is different from the shipping name, and the address leads to a huge rug store in New Hampshire. I googled this address, and it was used for scam and hacking - though the scammer’s unit was 7, and mine looks more like a phone number. Can a unit actually be 6 digits long?!

So, the question is, should I ship it with signature, or cancel the sale and refund him? What are his options to scam me in these two situations?

 

[caannie]

I would just make an excuse to cancel the sale, especially if you don't feel confident about it. Are your shoes valuable? It wouldn't seem worth it to try an elaborate scam for something that isn't high $$.

 

[Oleandered]

I would just make an excuse to cancel the sale, especially if you don't feel confident about it. Are your shoes valuable? It wouldn't seem worth it to try an elaborate scam for something that isn't high $$.

They were sold for $350, so they’re not really very expensive, but still I wouldn’t be comfortable just giving them away, for sure.
I asked him about the address, and he almost immediately confirmed it. Which makes me even more suspicious lol

 

[Gblb]

Hi! I am trying to understand if I’m being a paranoid here, but my sneakers on eBay were just purchased by a new user with zero feedback. His account was created in 2018, his paypal name is different from the shipping name, and the address leads to a huge rug store in New Hampshire. I googled this address, and it was used for scam and hacking - though the scammer’s unit was 7, and mine looks more like a phone number. Can a unit actually be 6 digits long?!

So, the question is, should I ship it with signature, or cancel the sale and refund him? What are his options to scam me in these two situations?

When you went to print the label does it show eligible for seller protection? And verified address? It would be found under the buyers shipping address if you bought your label through eBay. Always verify before purchasing the label.

The easiest way to check is to login to your PayPal account and click on the transaction it should say paid by with their eBay ID and then immediately under that information should have the shipping name and address. Under the address it says seller protection in black and then under that would say eligible in blue. If it is not eligible for seller protection you would not be protected for INR or a chargeback if the purchase was made with a fraudulent card.

You can also lock down your buyer requirements tightly. @BeenBurned has put up a template of the tightest settings for your eBay account on tpf and will look for those settings to provide you.

I have canceled sales that the buyer messaged me after purchasing the label to change the address to a different address than the shipping label and therefore losing seller protection or to buyers where on the label shows it is not eligible for seller protection and refunded the buyer their money. I’ve sent the buyer the seller protection guidelines and canceled the sale and relisted once they updated their information with PayPal so it was eligible for seller protection.

I’m by no means an expert as the eBay experts on here and they can advise you better than me but those are the first things i check for.

Here’s some information from the message boards:

https://www.paypal-community.com/t5...qualify-100-for-Seller-Protection/td-p/321104

PayPal Seller Protection (a lot to read through):

https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/security/seller-protection

 

[Oleandered]

When you went to print the label does it show eligible for seller protection? And verified address? It would be found under the buyers shipping address if you bought your label through eBay. Always verify before purchasing the label.

The easiest way to check is to login to your PayPal account and click on the transaction it should say paid by with their eBay ID and then immediately under that information should have the shipping name and address. Under the address it says seller protection in black and then under that would say eligible in blue. If it is not eligible for seller protection you would not be protected for INR or a chargeback if the purchase was made with a fraudulent card.

You can also lock down your buyer requirements tightly. @BeenBurned has put up a template of the tightest settings for your eBay account on tpf and will look for those settings to provide you.

I have canceled sales that the buyer messaged me after purchasing the label to change the address to a different address than the shipping label and therefore losing seller protection or to buyers where on the label shows it is not eligible for seller protection and refunded the buyer there money. I’ve sent the buyer the seller protection guidelines and canceled the sale and relisted once they updated their information with PayPal so it was eligible for seller protection.

I’m by no means an expert as the eBay experts on here and they can advise you better than me but those are the first things i check for.

Here’s some information from the message boards:

https://www.paypal-community.com/t5...qualify-100-for-Seller-Protection/td-p/321104

PayPal Seller Protection (a lot to read through):

https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/security/seller-protection

Thanks for your thorough reply!
The transaction shows that his address is confirmed, and that it’s Seller protection eligible.

I will definitely toughen up the buyers’ requirements, sadly I still have to deal with this one though

 

[BeenBurned]

Hi! I am trying to understand if I’m being a paranoid here, but my sneakers on eBay were just purchased by a new user with zero feedback. His account was created in 2018, his paypal name is different from the shipping name, and the address leads to a huge rug store in New Hampshire. I googled this address, and it was used for scam and hacking - though the scammer’s unit was 7, and mine looks more like a phone number. Can a unit actually be 6 digits long?!

So, the question is, should I ship it with signature, or cancel the sale and refund him? What are his options to scam me in these two situations?

They were sold for $350, so they’re not really very expensive, but still I wouldn’t be comfortable just giving them away, for sure.
I asked him about the address, and he almost immediately confirmed it. Which makes me even more suspicious lol

Thanks for your thorough reply!
The transaction shows that his address is confirmed, and that it’s Seller protection eligible.

I will definitely toughen up the buyers’ requirements, sadly I still have to deal with this one though

As long as you ship to the "okay to ship" address as shown on the PP transaction and tracking shows delivery, you are fully protected. You do not need (nor do I recommend) signature confirmation and in cases where it's not necessary for seller protection, it can cause more problems than it would help.

Although buyer requirements can limit who can buy from you, you won't be able to block newbies so restrictions wouldn't have prevented this buyer from purchasing.

 

[Oleandered]

As long as you ship to the "okay to ship" address as shown on the PP transaction and tracking shows delivery, you are fully protected. You do not need (nor do I recommend) signature confirmation and in cases where it's not necessary for seller protection, it can cause more problems than it would help.

Although buyer requirements can limit who can buy from you, you won't be able to block newbies so restrictions wouldn't have prevented this buyer from purchasing.

Thank you so much for your response.
I never have thought that signature may be against me, wow. I don’t sell that much, but there is always lots to learn

 

[Pinkie*]

I would cancel it

 

[Notorious Pink]

As long as you ship to the "okay to ship" address as shown on the PP transaction and tracking shows delivery, you are fully protected. You do not need (nor do I recommend) signature confirmation and in cases where it's not necessary for seller protection, it can cause more problems than it would help.

Although buyer requirements can limit who can buy from you, you won't be able to block newbies so restrictions wouldn't have prevented this buyer from purchasing.

BB that's surprising. I have ALWAYS (well, I've been on eBay since 1999, so let's say for as long as I can remember) required a signature no matter the price of the item. What are the disadvantages?

 

[KM7029]

I’m also curious why the signature confirmation is bad to have.

 

[BeenBurned]

BB that's surprising. I have ALWAYS (well, I've been on eBay since 1999, so let's say for as long as I can remember) required a signature no matter the price of the item. What are the disadvantages?

I’m also curious why the signature confirmation is bad to have.

With an item where the total price (including shipping) is under $750, all a seller needs for protection is delivery confirmation.

By requiring s.c., the seller is making it more difficult for the buyer to receive the item. The buyer either has to be home to sign or has to make a trip to the post office to pick up the package.

And therein lies the problem. Although it shouldn't happen, post office pickups are often just hand it over to the customer. While the customer usually has to show an ID, they often neglect to collect the signature. And in forgetting to get the signature, the tracking never updates to "delivered" and a sketchy buyer can claim non-receipt and win an INR dispute.

 

[smallfry]

Hi! I am trying to understand if I’m being a paranoid here, but my sneakers on eBay were just purchased by a new user with zero feedback. His account was created in 2018, his paypal name is different from the shipping name, and the address leads to a huge rug store in New Hampshire. I googled this address, and it was used for scam and hacking - though the scammer’s unit was 7, and mine looks more like a phone number. Can a unit actually be 6 digits long?!

So, the question is, should I ship it with signature, or cancel the sale and refund him? What are his options to scam me in these two situations?

I would cancel it based on your google research, regardless of whether the sale is eligible for seller protection. Good luck!

 

[northerndancer]

Hi! I am trying to understand if I’m being a paranoid here, but my sneakers on eBay were just purchased by a new user with zero feedback. His account was created in 2018, his paypal name is different from the shipping name, and the address leads to a huge rug store in New Hampshire. I googled this address, and it was used for scam and hacking - though the scammer’s unit was 7, and mine looks more like a phone number. Can a unit actually be 6 digits long?!

So, the question is, should I ship it with signature, or cancel the sale and refund him? What are his options to scam me in these two situations?

Is it possible that the address is a forwarding company? Many international buyers use forwarding companies for their shipments. New Hampshire is a popular location for forwarding companies because there is no state sales tax. The forwarding company assigns an "address" to their customers and these unit numbers can certainly be 6 digits long.

 

[whateve]

BB that's surprising. I have ALWAYS (well, I've been on eBay since 1999, so let's say for as long as I can remember) required a signature no matter the price of the item. What are the disadvantages?

I’m also curious why the signature confirmation is bad to have.

With an item where the total price (including shipping) is under $750, all a seller needs for protection is delivery confirmation.

By requiring s.c., the seller is making it more difficult for the buyer to receive the item. The buyer either has to be home to sign or has to make a trip to the post office to pick up the package.

And therein lies the problem. Although it shouldn't happen, post office pickups are often just hand it over to the customer. While the customer usually has to show an ID, they often neglect to collect the signature. And in forgetting to get the signature, the tracking never updates to "delivered" and a sketchy buyer can claim non-receipt and win an INR dispute.

I can attest to this! I shipped an iphone once and the post office neglected to get the signature. The tracking never showed as delivered, since it can't if they don't get the signature. Luckily for me, my buyer was honest and gave me good feedback.

Other problems happened with UPS. Buyers got mad because they didn't want to stay home in order to get their package. One buyer never was available, even when she arranged to have an item delivered at a specific time, and the package was returned to me.

I'll never use signature confirmation again unless it is required by paypal or ebay.

 

[Jennie's Aunt]

The person could have the item shipped to their work address. That wouldn't surprise me, with the number of packages being stolen from peoples' houses.