I am currently trying to sell a truck on Ebay. A buyer used the “buy it now” option. Then I noticed that this buyer was no longer an Ebay member. Big red flag right there but I maintained hope and read his email. It was barely legible:
Hello i want you to email me back once you have this message right, and i want you to send me a closer look picture of the item right. bcos you will be having the payment this week in full so keep an eye for the payment soon
Uh-oh.
I did email him back, asking him why he was no longer an Ebay member, and he did respond to me:
still very much interested in buying it , and i have stated that i will be making full payment which you will have before the week runs out ok, so get back with your payment information asap.
This guy is either a scammer or just doesn’t know how to effectively communicate. I’ll sell my truck to a moron, I don’t care, but if it’s a scam then I need to re-list it and this will cost me another 43 dollars. Ebay’s system for customer service is very impersonal and not very helpful - how should I go about getting my money back if this is indeed a scam?
The way this kind of scam normally operates is that they will send you a check over the cost of the item, and ask you to send the refund (the reasons supplied for the overage will vary). You deposit the check, and send the balance back based on your real, available funds. Surprise, surprise, about 10 days later, your bank calls you to tell you that the check was bogus and you are now responsible for at least the amount you sent back to the buyer, if not for the entire amount, if it was withdrawn.
The other way this scam (if it really is) can work is that the buyer will have someone else pick up the truck, with bogus check in hand. They take the check, evaporate off the face of the earth, and you are left with a piece of paper better used for toilet paper.
The way around this is to tell the buyer that the truck will be released to him or his proxy only after 30 days, or unless you can confirm the method of payment with the institution that issued the instrument, and that you have to have it hand before you start to check. Do not take any other suggestion/pleading/threat from the buyer. If they are legit, they will understand the risks and your desire to protect yourself.
I would just ignore him completely - Vlad/Igor neatly explains the two ways this scam works. Here’s also a recent thread on a similar deal.
Basically, even 30 days isn’t enough for bogus payments. Your bank will swear the cheque cleared right up until the moment it bounces, and you’re left with (possibly no truck, depending, ) and a big debt.
I’m not talking to this “buyer” anymore. He’s so obviously a fake I don’t even want to waste my time. I relisted the item. All I want to do is get my seller fee back.
Good decision. Contact e-bay, explain what happend and include the e-mails you received. I would expect them to see the situation and understand your request.
I had a similar situation a few days back when a 0-feedback buyer bought something and then unregistered a day or two later. Fortunately, he mentioned the word “Nigeria” in his email and I never shipped the item.
Anyway, there are two separate but related processes you have to go through:
To put the truck back on the market, DO NOT list the item again using a separate auction. Instead, go to your existing auction and use the “Relist this specific item for sale” link (or similar wording). If the item sells the second time, you’ll get the seller/insertion fees for your first auction refunded. You’ll also get the same exact listing again and you won’t have to re-type everything.
To get your Final Value Fee back, file an Unpaid Item Dispute. Normally, eBay will make you wait as they try to contact the buyer and get him to pay, but if the buyer is no longer registered, select that option during the dispute process and you’ll get an immediate refund.
Even then, you should be careful in a situation like this. There has suggestions recently that employees at financial institutions in Nigeria have been bribed to participate in this scam. Typically they delay the NSF or FORGED notice to your bank, so that it appears to have cleared within the normal time. I wouldn’t be surprised to have them verify forged checks over the phone.
I’ve seen people specify that a car had to be paid for in cash, or with a Postal money order, and a Postal money order only. You both go to the post office, and you can confirm that it is legitimate.