Am I getting scammed on Ebay?

[millertime150]

Am I getting scammed on Ebay?

I just sold an item on ebay for about $200. I just received a message from buyer stating the following:

I would like to pay through paypal, Pls send me a paypal money request for the invoice amount. My paypal account is [email protected]. Thanks

Log into your paypal account
Click on Request Money
Enter my paypal account- [email protected]

Pls refrence ebay item #. Thanks

Why would they just checkout through ebay???

I message them to pay it through ebay checkout.

This was their response.

If my paypal was linked to my paypal, Would I be asking to to send me an EBAY paypal auction request. Pls send me the request so that I can take care of payment. One again, My paypal account is [email protected][/email]. Thanks


I just don't know if it is safe going directly through paypal instead of them paying me using paypal but through ebay

 

[Confuzius]

If you don't do it through ebay you won't have any recourse if it goes sour.
Stick to the normal ebay route.

 

[millertime150]

If you don't do it through ebay you won't have any recourse if it goes sour.
Stick to the normal ebay route.

Wouldn't it be more of a risk for the buyer than the seller?

 

[bradyarz]

If my paypal was linked to my paypal, Would I be asking to to send me an EBAY paypal auction request.

 

[Austin]

I'm sure your listing has paypal only. I would walk away if the buyer does not want to comply. I had a similar situation with a guy in Italy. I passed and relisted.

 

[Wil Dorenbos]

Am I getting scammed on Ebay?

I just sold an item on ebay for about $200. I just received a message from buyer stating the following:

I would like to pay through paypal, Pls send me a paypal money request for the invoice amount. My paypal account is [email protected]. Thanks

Log into your paypal account
Click on Request Money
Enter my paypal account- [email protected]

Pls refrence ebay item #. Thanks

Why would they just checkout through ebay???

I message them to pay it through ebay checkout.

This was their response.

If my paypal was linked to my paypal, Would I be asking to to send me an EBAY paypal auction request. Pls send me the request so that I can take care of payment. One again, My paypal account is [email protected][/email]. Thanks


I just don't know if it is safe going directly through paypal instead of them paying me using paypal but through ebay

Why would you have to give a money request to your paypal account with their paypal address? They should pay your invoice. Looks like some sort of scam to me.

 

[millertime150]

Why would you have to give a money request to your paypal account with their paypal address? They should pay your invoice. Looks like some sort of scam to me.

Thats what is confusing to me also.

 

[Confuzius]

Wouldn't it be more of a risk for the buyer than the seller?

1. You accept payment through paypal, but not through ebay.
2. You ship item.
3. They claim to ebay that you never shipped, ebay has no record of a transaction and assumes this is true.
4. Paypal sides with the buyer and gives them back their money, you're out $200 and the item you sold.

Making paypal trustworthy for buyers means that as a seller you need to exercise a lot of caution, because in the case of a dispute they generally side with the buyer.

 

[Greybeard]

Something's not right. Your paypal account doesn't have to be linked to your eBay account to pay an eBay invoice. He can use his paypal on its own to pay your invoice without going through the eBay invoice system. He logs into paypal, types in the eBay auction number and then pays it. It sounds like he doesn't want eBay to know what paypal account is being used by his eBay id.

1. Maybe he owes paypal money for previous eBay chargebacks.
2. Maybe he's using somebody else's paypal account.
3. Maybe he's trying to perpetrate fraud.
4. Maybe he's exceptionally paranoid or wants to hide this transaction from somebody. That's not your problem.

You can:
a) Send him an email through eBay stating that you use eBay's invoicing system for all your auctions and accept paypal and that's what you're comfortable with. Ask him to please pay for the item within the next 4 days. If he hasn't paid after 4 days, you can report him to eBay under their rules as a non-paying bidder. Ebay will then contact him and ask him to pay. If he doesn't then eBay will contact you and you can relist the item without any negative feedback or eBay seller charges for the first auction.

b) If you feel trusting, send him an email through eBay with the email address linked to your paypal account and a request for the total amount owing. Make sure your paypal password is rock solid if you go this route.

Under no circumstances send a direct request for money to his paypal account just in case he is perpetrating a fraud of some kind. All dealings with paypal should be initiated by him.

It's more time and effort but, personally, I would pick option A.

 

[Stubblefield]

Am I getting scammed on Ebay?

Yes, you are getting scammed.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Yes, he's trying to scam you. Insist on going through eBay. If he does perform, I'd spend the extra buck or two for insurance and signature confirmation. CYA.

 

[Neuromancer]

It's unlikely you're getting scammed...for starters you're the seller...yes, he could go to the auction on ebay and click "pay now" and be directed to his paypal account...ebay owns paypal now for quite a while...or you could just log on to your paypal account and send him a "money request" including the auction number...it sounds more like he doesn't understand the interaction between ebay and paypal...furthermore if you ship the item with delivery confirmation, which I strongly suggest, you'll have that as proof of shipment of the item, however, in a dispute over alleged non-delivery, ebay/paypal usually sides with the buyer, so check his feedback, as that would provide a clue for you...if it's all positive or close to it it's unlikely he is suddenly going rogue...it would be easier for the experienced ebay/paypal users here to help you, if you posted a link to the auction or it's auction number, so we can take a look at it and see what's going on...one more thing...you can also ship the item with a return receipt request/signature required attached...that way you'll surely know he got the item...on your end you don't really care if he does the "pay now" through ebay, or you send him a money request...all you should care about is getting paid and making sure he receives the item...since your paypal account is your email address, only having that doesn't do anyone any good...they can't get into your account if you have a strong password (a mix of numbers, letters, capital letters, etc.)...

 

[Aussieshaver]

I agree with Neuromancer - I dont think the buyer is trying to scam, but just doesnt understand how ebay/paypal works.

 

[kcgmn]

I use money request all the time so it's a legitimate way to transact business.

That said, the others are right that you would lose any protection eBay offers (which in my experience hasn't been much) if things go bad. But that said (2): the risk is always greater for the buyer than the seller outside of eBay assuming you don't ship until you have the cash.

 

[Walker]

You swag, your rules. Don't back down.

 

[Neuromancer]

You swag, your rules. Don't back down.

That doesn't quite work anymore...ebay/paypal have made lots of changes in recent years...if you put an item up for auction then refuse to sell it you will receive negative feedback from the buyer, especially if the buyer is trying to pay you with paypal...in this case for some weird reason the buyer has requested a paypal "money request"...it's an easy thing to send them...they get an email with a button to click that leads them to THEIR paypal account not yours, and then they pay you...why they're requesting this is unknown...perhaps they don't understand the interconnection between ebay and paypal (ebay owns paypal now)...perhaps someone else is paying for the purchase for them...perhaps they used a different email address for their ebay account and their paypal account as many do...it doesn't matter...send them a money request...hit the "request money" tab...put in their email address that they want the request to go to...click in the "goods" radio button and hit continue...the next page will allow you to add a subject and a message...reference the ebay auction number as the subject line...reference the auction number (again) and the auction title in the message area, and hit the button for "request money"...when they pay you you can go back to the auction on your ebay summary page and mark it as paid...when you ship it you can go back to the auction on your ebay summary page and mark it as shipped...make sure you send it in a manner that gives you a USPS delivery confirmation number and you can check at usps.com for tracking to see it's been delivered...if anything goes wrong you'll have this entire paper (email) trail to provide as proof of shipment...you guys are making it much harder than it has to be...in ten years on the ebay and paypal systems I have about 1500+ transactions...all the new rules really do is protect the honest buyers and sellers...the scammers are quickly weeded out today, and it's not like the wild west like it was years ago...yes, you can get scammed...a seller can misrepresent an item or not ship it altogether...ebay/paypal will get you your money back...you can ship the item and the buyer can claim it wasn't received...you have the email trail to provide as proof to the dispute center...that may go against you unless you ship with delivery confirmation so you have some sort of tracking...however, if you check the buyers feedback you can see if they've pulled this kind of stunt before, and you can register a fraud complaint against them with ebay/paypal, and with the USPS, and a postal inspector will start checking things out...the whole system has gotten better since ebay bought out paypal as they have much tighter control of everything, which tends, in most cases, to keep things moving effieciently and safely for the users...

 

[millertime150]

Thanks for the advice everyone. Great points Neuromancer .


I received a reply from buyer that they think for some reason it is safer to pay through paypal than through ebay/paypal???

So I just sent the money request and received the money already. I shipped it today with delivery confirmation and insurance.

 

[millertime150]

Oh Oh! Big problems!

Somehow they reversed the payment. Now paypal shows that I owe them money. I transferred the money into my checking account.

How could they reverse paypment?

The item is in the mail already being shipped

 

[Greybeard]

Oh Oh! Big problems!

Somehow they reversed the payment. Now paypal shows that I owe them money. I transferred the money into my checking account.

How could they reverse paypment?

The item is in the mail already being shipped

Paypal has discovered a problem with the account. Did they give you a reason why it was reversed?

 

[RF1963]

Oh Oh! Big problems!

Somehow they reversed the payment. Now paypal shows that I owe them money. I transferred the money into my checking account.

How could they reverse paypment?

The item is in the mail already being shipped

Ah mate what can I say?

Sorry you were scammed. I think maybe things are too late for any instant recovery. I don't know what sort of security there is on PayPal but maybe you should approach them. As to EBay, I guess all you can do is get major negative comments against this person so others don't trade with him.

Reading his approach to you was like reading the usual Nigerian email scams - it was the poor use of English that I disliked.

I guess there is a lesson to us all in this. If it don't feel right, don't do it.