Recently, there have been sellers/scammers trying to con people by listing high value electronic items like camcorders, XBox and iPods. I went looking for an 60 GB/80 GB iPod and noticed hundreds of them. In fact so many that I had a hard time figuring out the genuine ones! Such sellers usually do not have any of the items and are only trying to scam potential buyers. All they want is your MONEY - once they have it, you will never hear from them again.

The RED FLAGS:

1. These scammers often have an eBay username that is a random combination of letters and digits - such as wwvxd35fv etc (some even have genuine looking names). Check out user tgiyea
2. Check the date the seller was registered on eBay – it is usually just over a month or two (just after the New User icon disappears)
3. They usually have 10 -19 positive feedback for 1p, 1c (or equivalent in other currencies) e-book auction wins. I found that most of these scammers have feedback from some of the same 1c auction sellers!
4. Some of them have private feedback though it is 100% positive. REMEMBER: If the feedbacks are hidden, don't bid.
5. Check the seller’s other items – they usually have 15-20 listings for the same item at a ludicrously low BIN price
6. Most of these are 1-day or 3-day auctions.
7. The item is listed in EUR or GBP (in most cases, sometimes USD or AUD), the seller is registered in some European country (ex. Sweden, Poland, Netherlands, Italy, France or even UK, sometimes Australia too) but the item is located in China or Japan
8. The seller has not listed any payment methods and does not accept PayPal (they will usually ask you to pay via Western Union or MoneyGram AFTER you win the auction). Some try to tell you there is no PayPal in China - This is NOT TRUE
9. The Auction ad wordings and pictures are usually copied from other genuine sellers or the product’s manufacturer website.

If you have been conned or have won something cheap but have not yet paid and suspect that the listing is fraudulent, please report them to eBay. They usually look into such situations, remove the listings and suspend the seller. Do not worry that non-payment might affect your feedback. If the scammer happens to leave a negative feedback before s\he gets suspended, you can follow up with eBay to get it removed!

If you’ve won any of these scam auctions and are receiving ‘friendly’ emails from the scammer asking for payment – Ignore them!

Some tips on avoiding these scams:

1. Check how long the seller has been on eBay. Also pay attention to his/her user ID and country of registration.
2. Check the seller’s reputation (feedback). Also see what kind of items the feedback was left for. IF the feedback is private – BEWARE!
3. Check the seller’s past purchase/sales history.
4. Check the seller’s payment options - if seller doesn't accept any safe methods like PayPal or Credit Cards - BEWARE.
5. Check the duration of the listing. Scammers want to run away before they get caught. Beware of 1-day and sometimes even 3-day listings.
6. Research about the item on shopping.com or any other shopping website and see what is the most competitive price offered by reputable businesses like Sears, BestBuy, Fry’s etc. Check out the MSRP on the manufacturer’s website if available.
7. Contact previous buyers (if any) to check out the seller.
8. Try contacting the sellers with your question about the item – if you don’t get a response, DO NOT bid.
9. If the seller and auction item seem to be located two continents apart – STAY AWAY! You can always use advanced search options located on the left hand navigation bar to list items located in the US and offering PayPal.
10. REMEMBER: If the price is too good to be true – IT IS!
11. FINALLY – help the eBay community by reporting potentially fraudulent listings

If you want to learn more, VISIT THIS PAGE

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Wish you a safe & happy bidding!