How to recognise a potential scammer.

[ryanh2077]

Hi. I've recently put my car up for sale on eBay and I recently received a message from someone who seems interested, they asked for the original licence plate so they can check for insurance quotes (I have a private plate on the car in the pictures which is why they asked for the number even though I mentioned the number in the description), then he asked if there are any faults on the vehicle and then mentioned what day he is available to inspection/test drive the car. I've never sold on eBay so everything seemed pretty normal and genuine so far until I realised he joined eBay the same day he messaged me so he has zero feedback... The fact he just joined and already is interested in buying  a car seems a bit off to me... Any advice?

[red_magpie]

Any advice?

With car sales there is no buyer or seller protection, so both parties need to ensure that they are protected.

The most important point is that your would-be buyer cannot inspect/test the car first. eBay does not allow users to exchange any perspnal contact information until the lisitng has ended. This is to prevent buyers and sellers making private deals to evade paying fees.

Sorry, have to go now - I'm sure other responders will provide further advice.

[tobiasd4]

Inspection is not allowed.

Payment is cash or bank transfer,  NO ebay payments. 

Not unusual for new buyers for cars, they may have joined just to buy it. 

[*vyolla*]

Unless you list a car in Classified A dformat, it's not possible to arrange viewing before the car has been bought.

Your buyer should bring cash (or payment via bank transfer on collection if you prefer) when they come to view and collect. If they're happy they can pay, if they're not you can cancel the order by selecting the 'buyer asked to cancel' reason.

If you do end up cancelling, bear in mind that the cheapest and best format to sell a vehicle on is an eBay Classified Ad. This also cuts out the time wasters and non-payers.

A Classified Ad costs £19.99 and there are no final value fees if you sell your item.

Your listing runs for 30 days, during which you can arrange for potential buyers to view your item, you can then end it once paid. You can accept offers too (you don't accept the offer until the buyer has been to view first).

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/sell/classified.html

If you decide instead to list in auction format or fixed price Buy It Now it will cost £14.99 for your listing, and that fee is payable even if your item doesn't sell or you end up with a non-payer, and if you sell your item, there are final value fees of 1% of the final transaction (min. £25, max. £45)