How to avoid fake eBay buyers

teamjoyle

Hi. I've currently just started to sell on eBay and was wondering how can I avoid these fake buyers who want their items sent to Nigeria, etc. Does paypal ask for a shipping/tracking number before they deposit money into your account? or is this all fake?

tab10us

I don't get what your trying to say. Try to reword it a little bit.

teamjoyle

okay i had somone buy a item off me, Paypal sent me a email saying when i give them a Item Tracking number they will deposit the money into my account. Is this true? is this how paypal works? or am i being scammed?

dowdy

you being scammed. Once you post the item and give them the tracking number, then how do you know if they're going to pay or not

tab10us

yeah its definately a scam. avoid buyers from places like nigeria and don't do a thing until they pay for the item. report this person to ebay ASAP.

teamjoyle

yes...im more concerned about how paypal works. Does paypal ask for the tracking number before they deposit money into your account?

teamjoyle

I think somthing should be pinned in the forum.

'Avoid people who want items sent to nigeria'.

'recieve money before posting item'.

tab10us

yes...im more concerned about how paypal works. Does paypal ask for the tracking number before they deposit money into your account?

i honestly have no idea what this is talking about. I have never had this come up before. All paypal is, is a way for people to send a secure payment to you. Once your auction has ended, the person sends their money to you through paypal and it goes right into paypal account. It's as simple as that.

teamjoyle

Yes well thats what i thaught happened....until i get this fake email from 'paypal' saying that they have my money and all that they need to complete the transaction is the tracking number for the item sold.

tab10us

hmm this could or could not be fake. if there's no money in your paypal account, but you know the buyer in fact payed already then it might not be fake, but if you know the buyer hasn't payed then it probably is fake.

teamjoyle

But how do i know? does paypal not transfer the money until you have provided them with a tracking number for the item that has been paid for? or does it automatically go into your bank account?

centercorp

My advice is try not to make it complicated. Go with your gut instinct. If something seems elaborate, listen to that lil voice in the back of your head warning you. If you try to push it forward, odds are you will pay the price in the end. I think you are perhaps trying too hard to make a deal that isnt going to work work. Let me ask you this, when you go to ANY online store, do you pay first, or make them give you a tracking number before you pay?

-Benjamin

centercorp

Also, paypal is a merchant, not an escrow service that verifies tracking and such.

-Benjamin

tab10us

yeah definately. took the words out of my mouth.

jhepp7gw2

If your really in doubt that its a scam (believe me it is) just pick up the phone and call Paypal.

Unlike Ebay you can actually talk to a human being live at Paypal. By the way they dont ask for tracking numbers,, ever.

mslilly

okay i had somone buy a item off me, Paypal sent me a email saying when i give them a Item Tracking number they will deposit the money into my account. Is this true? is this how paypal works? or am i being scammed?

You have to log in to your Paypal account to check to see if your money is there - it will have a list of each person who has paid you and a description. Paypal is sorta like a checking account, except you are sending funds electronically ....

Paypal is used for Ebay, and other different means of sending money......

If the sale is through Ebay, Ebay automatically sends your winning customer an invoice, which provides a link, that has them login in to their own paypal account to send you money - and your Paypal email address will be defaulted .... so the funds will be deposited direct to your account - just like a checking account.

If you want to send money to someone you can login to your Paypal account, you have to have the other persons Paypal address, sorta like a checking account # - that's how Paypal knows where to send funds ... or deposit funds...*you'll see many options*

You can even have your Paypal funds sent direct to your own checking account ... there is even a Paypal debit card ... that you can use ... that debits your Paypal funds.

Plus you should get an email that you have money from Paypal. You should never ever send anything or provide any tracking #'s until your items are paid for? Paypal is just an account you can use to send and receive money --- your funds should be sitting in this account after the item is paid.

Not sure if you have figured this out yet or not - if not post or send a pm message.

wwckyd

I've got a question. Could a customer pay through paypal with their credit card, and since you see that, you send the item, but later you find out they have no money on their credit card and it bounced?

mslilly

Well, I haven't had that happen - normally if you are using a credit card, and their isn't enough funds or credit limit, I don't think the card would work?

However, I had something weird happen to me, I paid for an auction through Paypal (that I had won), like 6 weeks ago, and this past week, the money I paid was deposited back into my Paypal account, it said this person was not a registered user? But I did win the auction, and did receive the item. Paypal told me to contact the person I won the auction from, but I didn't do that yet?

I found that wierd.

dreamer148

Theres a lot of scams on Ebay and PayPal and people that will send you emails claiming to have questions on your products or saying that your account will be suspended if you dont update it.

Heres some TIPS:

1.) NEVER login to either site through a link on an email

2.) Do type in the url and login to your account to see if it is actually on your ebay messages/ or paypal account.

3.) Forward the mail that is fake to spam@ebay.com or something like that. This will get ebay to catch them so that other people Don't fall into the same tricks.

Now about PayPal, like stated earlier they will NEVER ask for a tracking number. and my only tip for using Paypal is

1.) NEVER ship the item unless you have received the payment notification through email AND you login to your account and see it on your balance.

Well good luck and I hope some of this was helpful

-Aida

nbabiesmamma

Hi, I am not sure if you were still concerced with the fake paypal email. But this has happened to me several times and it is definitely a scam. Never ship the items without receiving the payment. I have even had fake money orders sent to me and it takes the bank weeks to find out they are not real!

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