eBay

jakefranklinjake · ‎02-04-2024

Hi there

I have an old band shirt up for sale that is slowly gaining interest. I initially got an offer of a Martin who lived in Thailand but the delivery address was in Portsmouth. After searching the address it's a storage unit in Portsmouth. They have a lot of positive feedback but all of the feedback is borderline identical in wording and content.

I rejected a couple of offers from this account. I now have another account offering on my item, with no feedback, but the shipping address and name on the account is the same as the first account. Indicating it's the same person buying.

If I record packaging the item and posting the item special delivery, is it possible for me to be scammed?

ile136yz · ‎03-04-2024

The eBayer/s from Thailand are probably sending via an UK Export company (as you suspect), & will pay for the UK to Thailand part of the journey themselves.

As you say the eBayer has now made an offer from another account, as he/she is only able to make 3 offers on their accounts.

If you do not want to sell or take Offers from this eBayer, Block first, the decline Offer, but be prepared for more Offers from this eBayer on different account.

As you are not set up for International sales, if an International Buyer Wins the Auction & gives an UK Export Shipping address, you can cancel the sale stating problem with the address to get your fees back.

At the moment I have 2 International Buyers using different export Shipping companies, but these are low value items only.

*vyolla* · ‎03-04-2024

Old band t-shirts are really popular right now, it's an Instagram and TikTok thing.

Lots of international buyers use freight forwarders, they buy numerous items from various online sites and have them sent there, the packages are then sent on to them in one bigger package.

You'll be protected from an eBay or PayPal item not received claim or a not received chargeback by your tracking number showing delivery to the UK freight hub.

If your buyer decides that their item is not as described or it arrives damaged they can't pursue this via eBay - if a buyer has their item forwarded on to them from a third party freight forwarder they are not covered by eBay's Money Back Guarantee.

rjwilmsi · ‎03-04-2024

Freight forwarder.

Could well be perfectly legitimate e.g. UK Expat living in Thailand with some money to spend, will put together an order of several items from several sellers and have a freight forwarder send them on in one package.

As ever, you need to use a tracked service to prove delivery to the UK address given. E.g. use Royal Mail Tracked 48 (or Special Delivery if you like, but that isn't necessary for a T-shirt unless value over £150).

In theory you are better protected as a seller when selling to a freight forwarder, because using such a service void's the buyer's rights under eBay money back guarantee. However, from what we see on these boards about eBay disputes between buyers and sellers, there is no certainty that eBay will always apply their own policies correctly. So as ever, a sale online is never risk free.

In this case I don't think there is any more risk than a standard UK sale. I have sold to various freight forwarders and not had issues (or no more issues than regular UK sales).

m25jet · ‎03-04-2024

So long as you were to send the item via a fully tracked means of postage showing that the item has been successfully delivered to the address given at Checkout by eBay's estimated date of delivery, the buyer wouldn't be able to hold you responsible for any delays that occurred after the item left the UK export company for Thailand, and eBay would more than likely decide the case in your favour should the buyer open an Item Not Received case against you.

Should you decide that you do not wish to sell to this buyer add his User ID to your Blocked Bidders List, as well as the other User ID that the buyer is using. Should he persist in sending you offers via other eBay accounts you could consider reporting the buyer to eBay for attempting to bypass your Blocked Bidder List by using different accounts so as to make them aware of the problem.

Finally, if you do decide to add the buyer's User ID's to your Blocked Bidders List make sure that you have the "Don't Allow Blocked Buyers To Contact Me" option activated in your Seller Preferences. If you do that then the buyer in question will not be able to send you unwanted messages via any of the accounts that you have added to your Blocked Bidders List, at which point he will probably give up and bother somebody else instead.

jakefranklinjake · ‎03-04-2024

Thanks for all of your advice. Honestly, it's appreciated.

I guess the combination of address being a storage facility, their location being abroad and the feedback being identical for each review just gave me a concoction of red flags. Admittedly, I'm not a very experienced seller on eBay so just wanted to make sure I didn't get stung.

For the record the t-shirt sold for £150 and I did advertise I would pay for the special delivery. I messed up when I reduced the price, I was supposed to put buyer pays for shipping. But that ship has sailed now.

*vyolla* · ‎03-04-2024

@jakefranklinjake wrote:

Hi there

They have a lot of positive feedback but all of the feedback is borderline identical in wording and content.

That's not a red flag - business sellers leave automated feedback and tend to use the same feedback comment, so you'll see the exact same comment left by different sellers.