Zero feedback new Ebay buyer - scam?

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by Phono Groove, Sep 6, 2019.

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  1. Phono Groove

    Phono Groove Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Montreal, Quebec
    I posted my Audio Technica AT150mlx on ebay this week at a buy it now price. It sold to a Russian ebay member , his account is brand new ( his account was opened the same day he purchased my cartridge ). I live in Montreal and he is asking to ship the cartridge to a local Montreal address. I just have a bad feeling about all this. If he does go ahead with payment via paypal and I ship it out, what can go wrong? I rarely sell on ebay ( I have over 900+ feedback but it's mostly purchases over 19 years ). Any suggestions or comments from more experienced ebay members?
     
  2. eddiel

    eddiel Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    What can go wrong? A lot if his Paypal address does not match the address you actually send it to.

    Buyer sends money, paypal address is in Russia, tells you to send it to Montreal instead. Item arrives, he claims he never received. Your tracking shows it was delivered to an address in Montreal and not the address attached to the Paypal payment so Paypal refund the buyer and you are out the cash and the AT150mlx.

    Tell him you will only send to the Montreal address if that is the address attached to the Paypal payment. When you get the email, log in to your Paypal account, check the payment details and the address listed. You'll also be able to see if the transaction is eligible for Paypal seller protection.

    Also, keep in mind that, the last time I checked anyway, Canada Post does not offer any trackable postal service to Russia so if you wind up sending it to a Russian address it'll be without tracking and without Paypal coverage.
     
  3. Phono Groove

    Phono Groove Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Montreal, Quebec

    That's what I thought ( the part about the Montreal address that needs to be attached to the paypal payment in order to be protected ). What I did not know was that Canada Post does not track parcels to Russia, now that makes it worst! Thanks for the info. Is there any way of verifying his address or should I just accept payment and if it is not the address in Montreal I could simply cancel the transaction?
     
    Matthew Tate likes this.
  4. eddiel

    eddiel Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    Have a look in case Canada Post has changed their options. It's also very expensive to post there anyway even without tracking even for a small package.

    For the address situation, I would tell the buyer that you will only post to verified Paypal address list with the payment. So as long as his Paypal address is the same as the address he is requesting it be posted to, you'll send it there. Some buyers do have local addresses so it's not necessarily a scam but you are right to be wary of the request. It's a common scam. As long as Paypal has that address listed and says it's eligible for seller protection you should be fine. You can always google map it just in case.

    But I would tell him before he sends payment that it must be a verified Paypal address in Montreal.
     
    Matthew Tate and Dave like this.
  5. Phono Groove

    Phono Groove Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Montreal, Quebec

    Therefore, the only way for me to find out if his paypal account is linked to a Montreal address is if I accept payment?
     
  6. eddiel

    eddiel Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    Yeah pretty much. But what you can do is ask him if the address is a verified Paypal address. If he can confirm it is, then you're half way there. You still need to make sure once he sends payment of course. If it isn't a confirmed Paypal address then you'll probably get a song and dance about it. :)
     
    Dave likes this.
  7. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    Old scam.
     
  8. sjsanford

    sjsanford Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    I would cancel the transaction and eat the hit on your feedback vs losing the money and item, especially if it’s high value. This is too suspicious.

    I only sell to N America and Western Europe. Too many scams out there on eBay otherwise. You can set your seller preferences to do this.
     
    Matthew Tate and PhantomStranger like this.
  9. sjsanford

    sjsanford Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
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