eBay - Dodgy Buyer?

aaarrrggghhh

I've just checked a buyer's feedback for an item that finished this morning. He has a score of 14, yet ALL of them are the 1p-for-positive-feedback ratings. I've never encountered one of these before, believing them to be a part of eBay folklore, but of the kind I'll never meet.

Any advice, other than send recorded (even though that's no use)?

EDIT - 10 of the 14 feedbacks left are by 'no longer registered' users.

fridayschild_2

Not really a lot you can do, I don't think.

What's his 'left for others' feedback like? I find that's often telling about a person.

I assume he has paid? You can, as you say, send recorded which would at least let you know if the item has arrived but I'm guessing you didn't charge for that. If you feel uncomfortable it might be worth forking out the 75p yourself.

Why do you say recorded is no use? Is the item worth more than £39 or tickets, glass etc.? Obviously it wouldn't be any use for that but for most things if it does go missing it will be easier to claim back from the Royal Mail.

cyberbob

Its someone building feedback up. There are lots of 1p dodgy sales out there. If its a cheap item I would just send it recorded (over £39 I assume you would have priced SD anyway). Even though recorded has a high failure rate of getting the signature. Just the fact that you've used it can stop problems with inexperienced buyers

fridayschild wrote: »

Why do you say recorded is no use? Is the item worth more than £39 or tickets, glass etc.? Obviously it wouldn't be any use for that but for most things if it does go missing it will be easier to claim back from the Royal Mail.

You can claim £39 back with normal proof of posting it doesn't need to be recorded it will be no easier just because its recorded. All recorded is is normal mail with proof of delivery (Which in my experience isn't always obtained so makes it a waste of money on most sales)

POSSETTE

what is it you have sold? Tickets you need to log all serial numbers and mobiles the imei number and other marks etc.

aaarrrggghhh

POSSETTE wrote: »

what is it you have sold? Tickets you need to log all serial numbers and mobiles the imei number and other marks etc.

It's a sealed Blu-ray boxset. The value is under £39.

cyberbob wrote: »

Its someone building feedback up. There are lots of 1p dodgy sales out there. If its a cheap item I would just send it recorded (over £39 I assume you would have priced SD anyway). Even though recorded has a high failure rate of getting the signature. Just the fact that you've used it can stop problems with inexperienced buyers




You can claim £39 back with normal proof of posting it doesn't need to be recorded it will be no easier just because its recorded. All recorded is is normal mail with proof of delivery (Which in my experience isn't always obtained so makes it a waste of money on most sales)

I'll use Recorded, even though I tend to shy away from it due to the exact reasons you have stated.

fridayschild wrote: »

Not really a lot you can do, I don't think.

What's his 'left for others' feedback like? I find that's often telling about a person.

I assume he has paid? You can, as you say, send recorded which would at least let you know if the item has arrived but I'm guessing you didn't charge for that. If you feel uncomfortable it might be worth forking out the 75p yourself.

Why do you say recorded is no use? Is the item worth more than £39 or tickets, glass etc.? Obviously it wouldn't be any use for that but for most things if it does go missing it will be easier to claim back from the Royal Mail.

His feedback for others is weird - aside from the usual '5*, great seller' for the 1p stuff, there's the occasional 'fast payment, highly recommended' when he's the buyer. How has he received a 'fast payment' then?

He has yet to pay, although it's only been a few hours since auction end. He bid right at the last minute, possibly using a sniper, as I'd been monitoring bidders for the auction's entire run.

arriva

What's all this fuss about...?
if his 14 feedbacks were all for flatscreen TVs at £1000 a pop you would have been much more concerned, right?

he is building his feedback to be able to sell better like everybody else and I bet he is not building it up for you, for a £20 blueray boxset, don't worry...

George666

Hi some scammers use 1p auctions to build a high feedback rating but they buy the odd real item so as not to ring alarm bells with ebay I would not worry to much as if this is a scammer you are sending your stuff to an address they probably do not live at and the person who recieves it will probably just keep it as a freebie.
As for the scammer they will just leave you positive feedback in the next seven days or so giving you time to send your stuff so it looks real to you and again does not set off and alarm bells at ebay.
The reason for the backward feedback leaving a feedback like fast payment when they are a buyer is because by default when you look at a feedback profile on ebay you see all feedback buying and selling together and most buyers will not separate this so it looks like they have sold more than they have actually sold.
They will probably start selling cheap or 1p auctions themselves soon then build up their feedback to between 50 and 100 but sometimes more then they will allow the account to go dormant for 90 or more so that no one can see what they have bought or sold just the feedback.
Then it will be time for the sting this is why they will go to all this trouble and effort, they will then sell dodgy knock off copy or nonexistant iPhones or whatever else sells for a lot at the time for half the market price.
And before you ask yes people will buy and some may even post their experiance here as this type of scam hits people where they are weakest in their greed center.
My view when buying on ebay is if it looks to good to be true it probably is to good to be true but not everyone thinks that way so these scams will continue on ebay untill everybody thinks and buys the same way as I do by using my common sence.

Dr.Shoe_2

Sorry... I don't understand the problem here.

Do you mean to say that you are/are considering sending the goods out before he's paid for them? Has he asked you to?

Whenever I've sold anything I have always kept the item until the buyer has paid. I have then sent it off and posted positive feedback.

So if you are operating this way I would have thought that his feedback and how he's got it would be irrelevant. Sending by recorded should reduce the chances that he'll try to reclaim via paypal.

arriva

George666 wrote: »

is because by default when you look at a feedback profile on ebay you see all feedback buying and selling together.

yes, but only RECEIVED feedback, not LEFT. You don't see what feedback they left unless you tab "Feedback left for others".

Also, if I want to buy an expensive item like an iPhone I'd buy from someone who has already sold some and received postive rating (I will double-check who rates who, of course).

I think your post makes sense especially what you said about the "dormant accounts" but not all who build feedback by 1p purchases are to be crooks.

George666

arriva wrote: »

Also, if I want to buy an expensive item like an iPhone I'd buy from someone who has already sold some and received postive rating (I will double-check who rates who, of course).

Yes my point exactly but then Arriva you buy things off ebay with your common sense mode switched on like I do.
Some people unlike you and me buy things off ebay with their greedy glasses on and their common sense mode switched off then start crying when they have been ripped off.
Personally I would just go to the shops for expensive items that means anything over £100 you can always take them back and get replacements if they don't work you normally get a 12 month garauntee and the little matter of you walking away the with what you have bought at the same time as parting with your cash makes me choose this option over any ebay seller regardless of the bargain to be had or the sellers feedback.:D

arriva

George666 wrote: »

Yes my point exactly but then Arriva you buy things off ebay with your common sense mode switched on like I do.
Some people unlike you and me buy things off ebay with their greedy glasses on and their common sense mode switched off then start crying when they have been ripped off.
Personally I would just go to the shops for expensive items that means anything over £100 you can always take them back and get replacements if they don't work you normally get a 12 month garauntee and the little matter of you walking away the with what you have bought at the same time as parting with your cash makes me choose this option over any ebay seller regardless of the bargain to be had or the sellers feedback.:D

100% agree with you, after almost 10 years of eBay I still buy my expensive electronics from shops like eBuyer or dabs.com. Also eBay is getting too expensive for these things (high fees I suppose).

Regarding the "common sense mode" as I said in a post a couple of weeks ago it's a kind of "natural selection" or "survial of the fittest", not just on ebay but in the whole internet.
The common sense in this case mainly comes from experience, I have a friend who will click on any popup saying "you got a message" or "you won whatever click and claim your prize"... what can you do? From his little experience these messages look genuine, and why not? if you tell him "don't click when it sais -click- or -open-" he better stay off the internet completely as he wouldn't even trust his own email.
The other day I noticed my 5 weeks old cat trying to sniff the flame of a candle and I wasn't sure whether to let it burn itself and learn a lesson or push it away, at the end I pushed it away and made sure the candle is not within its reach anymore if you know what I mean but you can't police the whole internet or babysit its users shutting down everything vaguely suspicious otherwise:
1- newbies will never learn
2- no more fun
3- boring internet
Personally i liked the internet (its attitude, I mean) like when it was around year 1999-2000 when it still was like the wild west...