It's happening again. eBay buyer trying to scam me for $900+

[Ichinisan]

I listed an auction starting at $0.01 and it sold for $950 (item 133657325978), but the first buyer didn't pay. The phone was re-listed again (item 133669390286). This time it sold for $901 to eBay user "mohamedfarwan" on 2021-02-20. With $11.10 for shipping I received payment of $912.10

Immediately I was concerned because the eBay account said "member since 2021." It had a feedback rating of "3" and all feedback was received within the last 30 days.

I often record video as I pack valuable items. This time I recorded video as I tested the phone, removed my accounts, reset the phone, and finally packed-and-sealed everything.

The second line of the buyer's address was a 6-digit number.

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(obscured in this screenshot)

The strange number piqued my curiosity. I looked up the main address on Google Street View. It's a mail-forwarding service called "NYBOX."

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They specialize in forwarding USA purchases to international buyers. They can also buy on behalf of international clients.

The package was delivered and signed-for by "R S" on 2021-02-24. Then I received an eBay message from the buyer claiming the box contained only the accessories and there was no phone inside.

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I sent 5 messages.

sent message 1
sent message 2
sent message 3
sent message 4
sent message 5

Today (2021-02-25) I received some responses to my messages.

received 1
received 2
received 3
received 4
received 5

I sent a couple more replies.

image1
image2

Buyer says he will send pictures of the packaging.

screenshot

NYBOX should unpack the item and take pictures. The buyer still hasn't mentioned that he used a forwarding service and doesn't actually have anything in-hand. Obviously he will not send any pictures that show the phone.

IMGUR album

 

[Torn Mind]

Sometimes trying local classifieds can avoid situations like this.

Ebay can be terrifying if a POS from either side comes and starts messaging you in bad faith.

 

[Pohemi]

Fleabay is full of scammers and they and PayPal will not do anything to help sellers. They will make you jump through hoops to prove your side of the story, and will often toss it all out the window and take the buyer's side anyway.

This is precisely why I haven't used fleabay in over 15 years, and PayPal only when necessary for trading with others online.

FWIW you were wise to make/keep records as you did for this sale. You will obviously need it, and hopefully it won't take months to settle with ebay and/or paypal.

Their "Buyer Protection" in my mind basically equates to: 'fuck the seller'.

 

[Ichinisan]

Sometimes trying local classifieds can avoid situations like this.

Ebay can be terrifying if a POS from either side comes and starts messaging you in bad faith.

There's no way I can get what my phone is worth by selling local

 

[Pohemi]

Sometimes trying local classifieds can avoid situations like this.

There's no way I can get what my phone is worth by selling local

When I lived in a larger city, craigslist worked great for selling PC parts, cycling parts, etc.

Then I moved to a smaller town of 30k people, and the number of people that use this area's CL are a handful that repost the same junk for literally years with nobody buying anything. Any messages I get for my item listings are lowballs, etc.

CL can be a great and effective avenue for trading, but it obviously depends on the area you are in, and how much of the local populace also utilize it.
Unfortunately, I think many people have moved to local facebook groups for trading, which isn't enough reason for me to go back to facebook (not used it in years).

 

[pete6032]

I don't even try to sell mobile phones anymore anywhere other than Craigslist and in person transactions. For some reason mobile phones seem to attract scammers like crazy. Most phones now days I will buy and use for a couple years and then recycle them.

 

[Captante]

Sometimes trying local classifieds can avoid situations like this.

Ebay can be terrifying if a POS from either side comes and starts messaging you in bad faith.

Yep ... Ebay is a decent place to BUY stuff but I have not sold there in many years for exactly this reason.

It's popular to bash Craigslist but all it takes is a smidgeon of common sense and it's easy to sell there safely. I've sold (literally) many 100's of items locally over 20+ years and never been ripped off once.

I don't even try to sell mobile phones anymore anywhere other than Craigslist and in person transactions. For some reason mobile phones seem to attract scammers like crazy. Most phones now days I will buy and use for a couple years and then recycle them.

www.swappa.com

I've bought and sold here multiple times without issue.

 

[Torn Mind]

Yep ... Ebay is a decent place to BUY stuff but I have not sold there in many years for exactly this reason.

It's popular to bash Craigslist but all it takes is a smidgeon of common sense and it's easy to sell there safely. I've sold (literally) many 100's of items locally over 20+ years and never been ripped off once.

There are certain listings that are dangerous too. Usually, it's an item with a hot market and the selling price that is way too good to be true. The listing will just have a stock photo. I seen it on iPads, some Dewalt Tools.
Almost got burned buying something for a friend that way. It was an iPad listing and they sent just some postcard to the McDonald's down the street.

I still buy there, but it's a matter of id'ing something fishy.

 

[pmv]

I find selling on Ebay to be an extraordinarily stressful affair. And that's with items way less than $900. Between Ebay and Paypal policies there are so many ways you can get scammed. Postage costs are also horrendous for low-value items. And to add insult to injury you get charged paypal and ebay fees on the postage costs. I've sold quite a bit on there, but every time I feel the stress of worrying about the ways one can be ripped-off makes it not worth it. Wouldn't dare sell something of that sort of value.

Buying on Ebay is fine, but I wish I could sell off my excess stuff via a market stall or something instead.

 

[MrSquished]

I sold just a few things on eBay these last few months. A couple watches and a chef's knife. All went fine but that's a very small sample size. I'll have to document my next sale better to protect myself from wackadoos. I could have easily gotten burned it seems.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

I gave up on ebay looooong time ago. I'll still buy stuff on occasion If I can't get it in stores or if I really want to save money buying used .. but yeah I will NEVER sell there ever again.

They cater to their buyers ridiculously, and fuck over small sellers.


If I ever sell anymore it has to be worth at least 100$ and I'll only sell it in person via Facebook or craigslist.

Last thing I sold was an extra dishwasher we had from upgrading.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

There's no way I can get what my phone is worth by selling local

Then it is not worth what you think it is worth

 

[Captante]

There's no way I can get what my phone is worth by selling local

Then it is not worth what you think it is worth

"Craigslist value-derangement syndrome??"

It's actually quite common.

*(the issue is that what you PAID for an item has very little to do with what you can sell it for used)

 

[Ichinisan]

"Craigslist value-derangement syndrome??"

It's actually quite common.

*(the issue is that what you PAID for an item has very little to do with what you can sell it for used)

My point exactly. An item is only worth what people are willing to pay for it. I only look at sold items. I'm experienced at selling my previous-generation phone after each upgrade and my sales typically out-perform because I know what I am doing. For this item, international buyers consistently pay far more.

A phone like mine routinely sells for over $900 on eBay -- even with cosmetic flaws. Mine is basically perfect. It has Apple Care+ (with theft and loss protection, but that part is not transferable) and an immaculate original box with untouched original accessories.

For items like this, excluding international buyers always drives the price WAY down. Period.

 

[Captante]

My point exactly. An item is only worth what people are willing to pay for it. I only look at sold items. I'm experienced at selling my previous-generation phone after each upgrade and my sales typically out-perform because I know what I am doing. For this item, international buyers consistently pay far more.

A phone like mine routinely sells for over $900 on eBay -- even with cosmetic flaws. Mine is basically perfect. It has Apple Care+ (with theft and loss protection, but that part is not transferable) and an immaculate original box with untouched original accessories.

For items like this, excluding international buyers always drives the price WAY down. Period.

I just find its too easy to get burned selling on Ebay. Fortunately I never had it happen to me personally over more than a few dollars but those still add up plus the way Ebay handled it left a really bad taste in my mouth.

If you've never tried Swappa I suggest checking it out as a far safer alternative for selling at least. (Buyer AND seller are both protected)

 

[Fritzo]

Let's really screw with him. Send me $1000 and I'll show you how we can really screw with him.

 

[Captante]

Let's really screw with him. Send me $1000 and I'll show you how we can really screw with him.

I'll do it for $750!

 

[otho11]

Have you tried calling ebay? I've won a dispute against a scam buyer by repeatedly calling to complain, but it's an uphill battle.

When I saw PS5's going for crazy prices, I sold mine locally for hundreds less than ebay to avoid the aggravation.

Cash in hand is worth the price difference to me.

 

[brianmanahan]

i gave up selling on ebay like 17 years ago after getting fleeced by a buyer who claimed there was no CD in the box i sent him

 

[Captante]

 

[pmv]

My point exactly. An item is only worth what people are willing to pay for it. I only look at sold items. I'm experienced at selling my previous-generation phone after each upgrade and my sales typically out-perform because I know what I am doing. For this item, international buyers consistently pay far more.

A phone like mine routinely sells for over $900 on eBay -- even with cosmetic flaws. Mine is basically perfect. It has Apple Care+ (with theft and loss protection, but that part is not transferable) and an immaculate original box with untouched original accessories.

For items like this, excluding international buyers always drives the price WAY down. Period.

It seems complicated, though, because you are estimating what it's "worth" by considering what it can go for _if_ you use the very sales medium that leaves you with the risk of fraud. I honestly can't decide what that says about what the item is "worth" in some objective sense. If you factor in that fraud risk then the amount it sells for on Ebay internationally should logically be reduced by some factor. I don't know how one decides "worth" in such a context, but I agree it's frustrating that Ebay is so unsafe for sellers, probably more so on international sales.

 

[pmv]

The thing about it that most irks me is that paypal allow a buyer to wait up to 6 months before opening an "item not as described" or "item not received" case. Maybe actual fraudulent buyers are rare, but that means you aren't free from worrying about it for 6 months after the sale, even if you've gotten good 'feedback'. Paypal justify this becuase it matches the credit-card companies time-limits on charge-backs, so they are just passing the risk of that on to the seller. But those credit card transactions are mostly dealt with by large corporations who have the resources to handle them and deal with potential fraud. For an individual selling a modest-value item it seems absurd that a buyer can potentially suddenly decide they didn't receive it, or that it was 'broken', 6 months after the sale was completed (which is also long after the time limit for applying for compensation for items lost or broken by couriers)

 

[Captante]

The thing about it that most irks me is that paypal allow a buyer to wait up to 6 months before opening an "item not as described" or "item not received" case. Maybe actual fraudulent buyers are rare, but that means you aren't free from worrying about it for 6 months after the sale, even if you've gotten good 'feedback'. Paypal justify this becuase it matches the credit-card companies time-limits on charge-backs, so they are just passing the risk of that on to the seller. But those credit card transactions are mostly dealt with by large corporations who have the resources to handle them and deal with potential fraud. For an individual selling a modest-value item it seems absurd that a buyer can potentially suddenly decide they didn't receive it, or that it was 'broken', 6 months after the sale was completed (which is also long after the time limit for applying for compensation for items lost or broken by couriers)

Exactly ... If you have a problem with a major banks credit/debit card directly they'll have somebody to help you & usually 24/7 when its fraud-related.

With Paypal your on your own far as reaching a live human that can actually do anything to help.

 

[pmv]

While I'm on the topic (I pretty much stopped selling anything on Ebay when the pandemic started but have all this pent-up stress about it from before!). Yet another source of stress I ran into as a seller - having an item bought by someone whose entire history of feedlback-left-for-others consisted of him complaining items hadn't been recieved or were broken and asking for refunds. It seemed like every single item the guy had ever bought they'd complained about. But as a seller I was obliged to go through with the sale, because he hadn't _recieved_ any negative feedback (as sellers can't leave negs for buyers any more).

Felt obliged to use the most costly registered post, for fear he'd claim he hadn't received it, that pretty much wiped out the cost of the item.

 

[CZroe]

LOL! I remember that pic but it aged poorly. A good DMG Game Boy is easily worth more than a PSP-1001. Heck, a good condition DMG is worth more than an boxed PSP-1001 Value Pack.

Also, the premise that eBay is cheaper than other P2P sales seems backwards from reality.

Edit:
Never would’ve got prices like these on Facebook or Craigslist...

https://imgur.com/jrQEC0G