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Profile of an eBay Scammer
prostoalex writes "FastCompany is running an article about Jay Nelson, whose primary income source for about 5 years included selling goods on eBay. Considering that he chose to skip the delivery, the profit margins were at an all time high. Under the names of biggerthanu, harddrives4sale, diamondsoft, yoshiinc and susancutey Nelson would collect five-digit PayPal payments from the buyers on eBay and Yahoo Auctions."
Considering all the horror stories I've read on paypalsucks.com, this story somehow isn't as shocking as it should be. How is it that people like this continue to operate, when legitimate merchants are getting screwed out of their cash?
how easy is it to have multiple logins and create a "false reputation" for yourself as a seller?
you can have an ebay id for every email address you have. however, the biggest scam currently on ebay involves stealing other people's good reputations by gaining access to their account and then posting high dollar auctions - laptops, digital cameras, etc. a huge majority of these will ask for payment via western union to a foreign nation. people who are only checking feedback are continually scammed by these people.
your best protection (as a buyer) is to pay for any auction with a credit card via paypal. ask your seller a question before you bid. their answer will help reveal if they are the kind of person you want to deal with. check their history. did they sell 100 widgets for $1 and then suddenly list a plasma tv?
i would also suggest any buyer check out the trust and safety forum in the community section. a quick read of the latest messages will alert you to the current scams and help you avoid them.
In my experience as a long time sellar on eBay, since 1996, there are certain categories which attract "scum." Computer hardware/software, video games, jewelry/watches, toys (especially Transformers) and worst of all consumer electronics.
When I do get a non-paying bidder, I follow the eBay guidelines, eventually get a refund on my fees and relist the item. I require the buyer pay postal insurance on all items over $ 20 to guard against the "item never arrived" excuse.
As I see it eBay has no incentive for guarding against non-paying bidder fraud. Most sellers won't complain so eBay makes double when the item is relisted.