(eBay Selling Tips) Learn how to protect yourself.
Selling on e-Bay?, learn how to protect yourself.
Most people know someone or have heard of someone being ripped off on eBay. Perhaps they bought something and never received the item, or received a product that was damaged or not up to their expectations.
Conversely, if you sell on online auctions you need to be aware of some things you can do to protect yourself against buyer fraud.
In some ways buyers have much more control over the whole transaction than sellers. A buyer can pick & choose which items to bid on according to feedback and other information posted about the seller of the item. Sellers however, have very little control over who bids on, and wins their auction.
Here are some bad outcomes that can happen to sellers and ways to deal with, and help prevent them.
Non-Paying buyers is probably the most common problem that sellers on eBay face. When listing your item for auction, eBay now has the option to let you block bidders with a (net) negative feedback. This helps weed out a few bad apples and clueless newbie bidders. Also, if you know of certain eBay members you wish to exclude from bidding, you can add them to your blocked list. This list can hold up to 1000 members. If you are dealing with a nonpaying and nonresponsive auction winner, you can file an unpaid item dispute. eBay then attempts to get the winning bidder to pay. If payment is not received after 8 days, the item can be relisted for free.
Chargebacks, chargeback fraud, and credit-card fraud are some of the worst things that can happen to sellers. Since credit card #s are often stolen, sold, and used overseas —plus offenders there are much harder to prosecute–, you way wish to block buyers from other countries..
Sellers accepting payment from paypal are vulnerable to chargebacks. Paypal does have a sort of seller protection policy, but certain conditions must apply in order to be eligible.
In short… you, the seller must ship to buyers with a paypal ‘confimed/or verified address’, and you must ship to that address in order to qualify for protection. The email that includes the buyers payment information will let you know if the address is confirmed. Keep in mind that paypal itself states “it is important to note that you can still receive a chargeback for reasons unrelated to fraud.”
Other restrictions may also apply, so be sure to contact Paypal and eBay for more information and always be sure to include any special terms and conditions for bidding in your ebay listing.
Bad payments can take the form of bounced checks, forged or stolen cashiers checks, personal checks, or money orders. Before shipping, it’s important to always allow sufficient time (7-10 days) for personal checks to clear, and always authenticate any check or money order with your bank. Don’t be afraid to take a few extra days before shipping your item, just let your buyers know upfront about your payment and shipping policy.
A variation of Bad Payment is the ‘overpayment scam’. The seller receives a money order or check (from the buyer) for well over the amount of the final auction price. Shortly thereafter he gets a frantic email from the buyer admitting his ‘mistake’ and asking for immediate transfer of the overpayment amount. Fine…only after transmitting the ‘overpayment’ back to the buyer, the duped seller days later realizes the original payment was a worthless check or forged money-order.
Getting delivery insurance is good idea, especially on more valuable items. The cost is relatively low, and can be paid by either the buyer or seller, depending on the shipping terms you set in your auction. The USPS also offers delivery confirmation, with fees starting at .55.