I think my buyer might be a scammer. How do I protect myself?

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Z

ZoeyZoo

Member
Feb 6, 2007
1,764
2
#1
I had an auction that ended yesterday and the winning bidder came in at the last few seconds. He (yes a man) has had 11 negatives and 1 neutral in the last 6 months but his feedback is private so I can't see the comments or if he was buyer or seller. This seems like he has a pattern of doining something... just am not sure what. What also made me nervous is he's participated in 172 auctions in the last month and over 850 auctions in the last 6 months (based on the feedback I can see).

I did an advanced search to see if he is usually a seller or buyer. It seems he never lists auctions - only buys. I looked at the auctions and this guy buys only handbags (bidded on 268 just this month). Most are Dooneys and Coach.

This buyers seems odd to me and I feel a bit unfomfortable since I can't see what issues others have had with this buyer.

Also, payment will be through Paypal, buyer is in the US, and I ship USPS Priority Mail with insurance and delivery confirmation. Since I'm uneasy I'm gong to demand a PayPal confirmed address.

Any advice on what may be going on here and what I can do as a seller to protect myself?
 
#2
It could be that he has a buying id and a seperate selling id.
Buys cheap and sells high.

Did you request all contact information?

I'd just wait and see if he responds.
 
#3
Wait and see if he responds, but if it makes you uncomfortable, block him as a bidder for future auctions. You can also set your preferences to block bidders who haven't paid in the last 30 days and have overall feedback of -1 or more.
 
#4
He just sent me payment this morning and I'll ship it out today.

I was re-reading PayPal's seller's protection policy so I can make sure I follow everything. I noticed it only covers "verified buyers". Is this a hard and fast rule? Do I have to be verified when the money is sent to me? I haven't hooked it to my bank account so I am still "unverified".
 
#5
Yes, my understanding is that you must be verified to qualify. You can confirm this by checking your PayPal account. Look up the transaction details and there will be a message regarding whether or not the transaction is eligible for seller protection.

Maybe a counterfeiter?
 
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