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The unfortunate truth is that getting scammed on eBay is just as easy as actually selling something. As easy as selling on eBay is, you can learn some of the most common scams that sellers specifically encounter to avoid losing money when selling.
1Accepting Payment Outside of eBay
Scammers love to ask you to take payment outside of eBay in a DM about the item, or they will otherwise attempt to move the transaction away from eBay. They do this to avoid all of eBay’s built-in protection for sellers. You have no recourse with Venmo or Zelle; once the money is gone, it’s gone. If a scammer does any of those things, block and report immediately.
2The Refund Shakedown
You sell an item, and the buyer receives it, but they claim to be displeased and demand a direct refund outside of eBay’s official refund process. They’ll ask you to use Venmo, Paypal, Zelle, or maybe send a check, and if you don’t, they’ll give you a bad review or otherwise make your eBay life difficult, not unlike the mob extorting small shop owners for “protection.”
This works by scaring you, the seller, into giving them money. It’s a classic shakedown, but the simple answer is, “No, go through eBay’s refund process.” A bad review is no big deal, and you’re able to appeal it. You’ll have the scammer’s communication with you as proof, and then they’re on the hook for trying to shake you down. Chances are, they’ll take the loss here and move on to bother someone else.
3The Switch-Up
This scam is similar to the previous one but more devious. After making a legitimate purchase, the scammer will go through the proper refund process on eBay—they might even provide photos of damaged goods to you and eBay to prove their point—and ship an item back to you that is indeed damaged.
The trick is that what they return is not the item you shipped them. Smarter thieves will send back a damaged identical model item they bought for cheap; however, lesser thieves will simply send back a box with a brick in it. Either way, they get their money, at least at first.
The seller, in this case, is not without recourse, though. If you have documentation or evidence to prove that you didn’t receive the original item you sold, eBay will give you your money back, and the scammer will be permanently banned.
4The Alternate Address
This scam is less devious than the previous one but more clever. Once the scammer pays, they DM you and ask you to ship the item to a different address than the one they listed in the official transaction. You play along to be nice, ship the item to the new address, get paid, and then go on with your life.
A week or so later, you get an email from eBay with a complaint from the buyer that they never received the item and want their money back. You will quickly discover when you appeal with your tracking information that you’re, uh… hosed. If the item wasn’t shipped to thetransaction address, you’re out of your money, and the scammer got a free item.
You have no recourse in this case, as Ilearned a few years ago when I fell prey to this scam.
5How to Avoid Getting Scammed as an eBay Seller
Thankfully, there are a few ways eBay sellers can protect themselves.
Photograph Everything, Including Serial Numbers
Before you ship the item, take several photographs of it next to the shipping label, preferably with the serial number in view. This way, if you get hit with the Switch-Up Return & Refund scam, you can prove that you sent the item and that it was indeed received by the buyer as described. If they return a different but damaged identical item to you, you have proof that the serial numbers are different.
Check the Buyer’s History
If a buyer is messaging you, but the situation feels scammy,look at their eBay profile. How old is it, and what kind of feedback do they have? If the account was recently created or they don’t have much feedback (you won’t see bad feedback because eBay doesn’t display bad reviews), block and report them immediately. Certainly, don’t sell anything to them.
Track All of Your Shipping With Delivery Confirmation
Do yourself a favor and make sure you buy tracking for the item, and use postage that requires a signature for high-priced items. This will protect you and ensure you did everything you were supposed to regarding shipping.
Only Complete Transactions Through eBay
This is listed last because it’s the most important, and we remember most of what we read last. If a buyer asks you to circumvent any part of the official eBay process, block and report them ASAP. While eBay weights its protections towards buyers, its system provides many protections to sellers, and those protections are voided if you do anything outside of eBay’s official processes.
