NO NEGS DOESN'T MEAN OK SELLER:
- because the buyer is still in a transaction or believes he's still in transaction with the scammer when the scammer keeps him on a string delaying weeks to months after the auction
- the seller settled later on after the buyer complained loudly or
- from what the buyer understands about ebay, he thinks it's too late to leave feedback
- the item breaks down shortly AFTER the buyer leaves feedback
- because the buyer just was sick of it all & didn't post feedback or
- because the buyer was afraid to leave negative feedback in fear of retaliatory negative feedback
- the buyer is unknowingly being involved in stolen goods, fencing, fraud or triangulation by the scam seller, leaves good feedback, and doesn't realize that he's "been screwed" until days or weeks or months later when the police and other involved business(that supplied the scammer's "items") arrive
- there are many instances of "legitimate" businesses with correct/verified/researched "contact info" with paperwork for paying taxes/business license. They'll even hire real employees stuff boxes at the "company warehouse." The "company warehouse" may even be filled with a ceiling's worth of "boxes of supplies." You may even get chauffered by the "company" to their main site. All of these are COVERS to pretend to be a legitimate site TO FOOL buyers and investors. Once it gets too hot with the police, the "company" disappears overnite.
Finally, there is the risk of VIOLENCE. You can check all the feedback and Contact Info and go to the Seller's home to see the item, but YOU DON'T KNOW THAT PERSON. That "seller scammer" can scam you during or even after you get to his house OR WORSE ROB, TORTURE AND KILL YOU TO GET YOUR MONEY, (another reason to keep your bid as incredibly low as possible.) (Look at "Violence" Section on the website.)
Even if you manage to "buy" and bring home the item, the scam seller can burglarize your house or neighborhood for the item to "resell."
14. After the auction, if ANYTHING changes in his email like the email itself or his location or name, form of payment, etc., SCAM!! If he's saying he only accepts WU or paypal when his ad says he accepts other forms of payment, report him to ebay as changing the terms of the auction. If he said in his TOS he accepts money orders and then in the email won't accept it for whatever valid, semi-valid or pathetic reason, report him to ebay as changing the TOS after the auction ended. If he wants you to send payment to Spain, UK, Southeast Asia, Africa, Russia or Romania or other location that is DIFFERENT from the auction ad's location, SCAM!! Don't send any money. He may say he's travelling thru Europe, Asia, or Africa or give any number of valid reasons, but NEVER SEND MONEY to a possible scammer!!
15. KEEP CHECKING THE SELLER'S FEEDBACK. The seller could be o.k. but SUDDENLY run up negs and/or neutrals during or right after your auction is over. If anywhere on his user pages it's stated he's NARU OR his latest FEEDBACKS are suddenly becoming PRIVATE when you click on the username and/or auction item numbers, Beware!! The seller is proving to be a scam seller OR a bad seller OR a seller being scammed by a scammer to "sell" non-existent goods OR a seller out of his league with customer orders.
PAYING THE SELLER:
16. NEVER PAY FOR ANYTHING BY GIVING YOUR CC NUMBER TO THE MERCHANT OR HIS WEBSITE OR HIS EMAIL LINKS since it could just be a way for him to steal your CC info. If you use CC, use paypal's pay-by CC service. (Now sometimes I'll break this rule but only if paypal is not used and I've DEFINITELY VERIFIED the seller has an HONEST, LEGITIMATE, WITH A STATE'S LICENSE BUSINESS. But i will definitely not pay this way if it's an individual seller. AND I will definitely not pay this way if it's a "business" I can not verify 110%!!)
16.1 NEVER PAY BY THE SELLER'S SUGGESTED ESCROW SERVICE EXCEPT ESCROW.COM SINCE MOST ESCROW SITES ARE FAKE. If he won't accept escrow.com on a high priced item, there's something wrong and you should take your money somewhere else!!
16.2 NEVER PAY BY MONEY WIRE TRANSFER SERVICES (WU, MONEYGRAM, EGOLD, etc.) OR DIRECT BANK ACCOUNT TRANSFER DEPOSIT
17. Your payment is your proof of payment and contract. If payment is by Money Order, Cashier's Check, or Personal Check, make sure to WRITE ON the FRONT of the money order or check:
- seller's address
- seller's phone number
- "ebay auction# xxxxxxxxxxxx"
- ebay auction title and/or description
Have someone else look at it to verify that it's correct as far as all letters and numbers and details being correct.
18. PRINT OUT THE ACTUAL AUCTION AD + ALL AD PICTURES AND PRINT OUT ALL EMAIL LETTERS BETWEEN YOU, THE SELLER, AND ANY 3RD PARTY LIKE PAYPAL OR BIDPAY, ETC. FOR YOUR REFERENCES LATER ON IN CASE THERE'S A DISPUTE. THE PICTURE IN THE AD WILL BE DELETED LATER, SO MAKE SURE YOU PRINT OUT THE WHOLE AD. MAKE PRINT OUT COPIES OF ANY PAYMENT DETAILS, OR COPIES OF MONEY ORDERS/CASHIER'S CHECKS/PERSONAL CHECKS ALSO FOR YOUR REFERENCE LATER. STORE THESE IN A LARGE MANILA ENVELOPE IN A SAFE PLACE. ANY FURTHER EMAILS, LETTERS, TRANSACTION CORRESPONDENCE FROM THIS AUCTION SHOULD BE ADDED TO THIS ENVELOPE.
WAITING TO RECEIVE THE ITEM:
19. THIS IS ASSUMING YOUR SELLER IS INSIDE THE UNITED STATES(it will take longer if the seller is outside the U.S.): If you mail payment to him, it takes 7 days to get to him. It takes 2 weeks more for him to send you the item. Max amount of time to wait for item should only be 2 weeks if you paid by Paypal and 3 weeks if you mailed payment. It may take longer if seller is "sitting" on a personal check or non-postal money order to wait for it to clear. If after 2 or 3 weeks you don't get the item, email him again. If he emails back and delays FOR ANY REASON, file with paypal BEFORE 30 days if he doesn't send it.(Paypal won't help you after 30 days). File your complaints and buyer protection plan as soon as possible with ebay. If you sent payment by mail, contact the Postal Inspector.
***** And Remember, just because you did business with the seller before doesn't mean you can just trust him next time on a high priced item. Keep looking at the risks on Step 12 to see why!! ALWAYS TREAT EVERY SELLER IN EVERY AUCTION YOU DEAL WITH (EVEN IF YOU'VE DEALT WITH THEM BEFORE) AS A NEW TRANSACTION.
*****Also, now you may be on a few ebay lists and sometimes, scammers will pick up these email lists thru honest and dishonest ebayers thru various means. Hopefully, your ebay/paypal email address is TOTALLY DIFFERENT from your other usual email. For your ebay/paypal emails, make sure you never just click on an email because there are too many trojans, keyloggers, worms, viruses, phishing emails, phishing websites, etc. out there.
abbreviations for many ebay terms
Index page
Updates page-contains any major updates after 6/8/04