This guide will help all ebay sellers to protect themselves from fraudulantbuyers who are putting us 's out of pocket.
I, like 1,000's of other ebay sellers, have fallen victim to fraudulant buyers reversing payments and the like... after having posted their item and it being signed for by the buyer (Who then claims it wasnt them!). Paypal does NOTHING to help us, the people who keepebay / paypalrunning, instead looking out only for NUMBER ONE, Themselves. It seems there's people out there making a living off of us decent people, robbingus ofour items and money, which is effectively e-Theft.Paypal prides themselves on being the SAFEST method of online payment there is.... but it most certainly IS NOT. Paypal has the power to TAKE AWAY your money without giving you a seconds thought, JUST BECAUSE THE FRAUDULANT BUYER wants their money back. So.....Avoid paypal where you believe there is a risk. Request cheque / postal order if a buyer is serious about buying but doesnt meet your criteria.
So don't let Paypal, andthe fraudulantbuyers get the upper hand here.... Follow my guidelines and you can't go far wrong.
There's two choices... Boycott paypal altogether (seriously hurting your sales figures) or....be extremely vigilant with new andoverseas buyers.
Following my guidelinesshould help deter/ stop 99% of the bad ones.ENSURE ALL YOUR LISTINGS INCLUDE THIS CRITERIA IF YOU WANT TO PROTECT YOURSELFAnd remember, if an ebayer sends you a payment and theydont meet your criteria.... REFUND theirpayment and explain why. You have EVERY right to protect yourself. WITHBUYERS FROM THE SAME COUNTRY:Offer to acceptpaypal payment onlyfrom buyers withfeedback over 95%, or more than 20Positive feedback At this point, check their feedback for the tell tale signs of them being a dodgy bleeder,what items have they bought previously. Many fraudulant buyersbuy 1p E-Books as a method of getting their feedback upto / over theminimum amount you require. These buyers should NOT be trusted. If you wish to be even more vigilant, change the Postive % to a higher amount, or find out the nature of their negative feedback before accepting a payment. Accept CHEQUE / POSTAL ORDER/ BANK BALANCE TRANSFER only from buyers with under 10 feedback or under 95% Positive feedback. If a buyer refuses to pay for your item via one of these methods, then tough luck for themselves. Perhaps offer the buyer a small discount(since Paypal takes a cut from any transaction anyway) as a way of showing you do want their business but not at your own risk. Ifanygenuinebuyer truly desires positive feedback and the item in question, then they should have no quarrels in paying for your item via one of these payment methods. If your feedback is excellent they should have NO reason not to trust you, and shouldalso understand your reasons for being so cautious.For High Value Orders, ALWAYS check that thebuyersaddress is PAYPAL CONFIRMED, and also that their ebay name / address matches that of their Paypal Payment details.If the addresses dont match up, question the buyer. Explain why you're asking the questions. If they dont respond, refund their money. Dont let down your guard no matter how genuine a sale may look. A hi-jacked ebay account can be extremely dangerous. I myself have been victim to this twice, both times leaving me over 100 out of pocket. This only takes a couple seconds to check and could save you 100s.Communicate with your buyers. If you have the slightest inkling that something may be wrong, dontdispatch the item andcontact your buyer before doing anything.Explain to your buyer why you are contacting them first of all. An explanation from your buyer is all that's needed for whatever problem you may of had needed to clear up. If no response, simply refund the payment,create aNon-Payment dispute for the item in question, stating you disagreed over terms,and claim back your Final Value Fee. Much rather doing this than possibly shipping an item to a buyer who will take back ALL your money at a later date.Show that you mean business... LEAVE NEGATIVE feedback for EVERY Buyer who is a risk to others. Any buyer with a huge NEGATIVE feedback score and a comment typed in capitalssaying the buyer isFRAUDULANT is unlikely to get very far using that account. Make sure your listing states that any dodgy buyer runs the risk of immediate NEGATIVE feedback and being reported to ebay. Do NOT worry about receiving negative feedback on your own account. The majority of cases end where ebay removes Negative feedback left by fraudulant buyers. At the end of the day, YOU are protecting the ebay community by Naming and Shaming them on their own feedback page.WITH OVERSEAS BUYERSPAYPAL VERIFIED ADDRESS? PERFECT FEEDBACK? GOOD COMMUNICATION? Always ensure any overseas buyers address is paypal verified, and that their positive feedback and % is exceptional. Especially if selling expensive items. If you dont trust your gut instinct, DONT POST THE ITEM. Instead contact your buyer and ask whatever questions you feel appropriate to ask. If they don't like your probing behaviour, send them back their money. Always post items using INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR, and ensure you charge accordingly for this in your listings. Make your overseas buying requirements very visible in your listings also...
If you check any of my listings you will find achart which I give you permission to COPY
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