Hello, I have been an ebay member for about 2 years now and I'd like to talk about an issue that has effected me and alot of the ebay community.  Despite my love for ebay there is one nagging factor that almost everyone must or has delt with on ebay... FRAUD!!!!!  I'd like to give you a few valuable tips for dealing with this issue to hopefully change it from a serious problem to an avoidable nuisance. 

Let me start by saying I've encountered MANY fraudulent people on ebay... 20 to be exact and in my experience with them, I feel that I've delt with them accordingly, although at times some issues where more difficult than others to handle.  In the following paragraphs I have listed some very key helpful hints in capital letters that I wish I had known about when I first started buying and selling on ebay.  Trust me they will prove to be VERY VALUABLE to any ebayer in future dealings on ebay.

HINT #1:  ALWAYS USE PAYPAL!!!!!  IF YOU DON'T, YOU ARE A HUGE TARGET FOR THE FRAUDULENT COMMUNITY!!!!!  BASICALLY YOUR ASKING TO GET SCAMMED!

HINT #2:  ALWAYS PURCHASE INSURANCE ON THE SHIPPING OF ALL ITEMS!  THIS WILL ENSURE THAT YOU WILL:

A) RECIEVE THE ITEM

OR

B) GET YOUR MONEY BACK

I'd like to share my first case of fraud with all of you... I was new to ebay (a member for about 4 months) and was looking to buy a collectible from an international ebay user..... He was from France and had a decent feedback rating so I decided after e-mailing back and forth about a fair price on the item I would purchase it from him using the buy-it-now option.  I purchased it and all was good in the ebay world... A month went by and STILL I had not recieved my item... I didn't know what to do so I e-mailed him and asked him if he'd sent out the collectible.  The seller responded to the e-mail and claimed he had sent out the item and that it just takes a while for items to be shipped to the USA from FRANCE... Needless to say I was a little worried.  I immediately put in a claim with paypal and waited patiently to see the result.  It turns out that this seller was a fraudulent seller and I nailed him.  I was obviously upset that I was no longer going to recieve my collectable, but at least I recieved my money back thanks to the good people at paypal. 

HINT #3: IF YOU DON'T RECIEVE AN ITEM IN 3 WEEKS E-MAIL THE SELLER, IF HE TELLS YOU "IT'S IN THE MAIL, YOU SHOULD HAVE RECIEVED IT" OR GIVES YOU NO RESPONSE, REPORT IT TO PAYPAL!  LET THEM FIND OUT WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THE SHIPPING OF YOUR ITEM.  DO NOT TRUST PEOPLE YOU DON'T KNOW.

HINT #4: WHEN BUYING FROM OVER SEAS, TAKE EXTREME CAUTION!  BE ADVISED AND AWARE THAT IF YOU BUY AN ITEM FOR LETS SAY $10 AND THE SHIPPING IS $30, IF THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE ITEM AND YOU NEED TO RETURN IT, SOMETIMES THE SELLERS WILL ONLY REFUND YOUR PURCHASE PRICE OF $10.  THIS IS ALSO ONLY AFTER YOU SEND IT BACK TO THEM AND PAY HOWEVER MUCH IT IS IN SHIPPING!!!!!

I'd like to share one more case with you all.  I'll make this one short... I had purchased 10 sports jerseys from an ebay member with 99.6% feedback for a REALLY GREAT deal... a deal that I guess you could say was to good to be true.  The sports jerseys were all stained and unauthentic upon arrival...  I immediately called the seller and he said that he can't believe it and would refund my money if I returned them to him... I told him i'd like to report this incident to paypal just incase because of the large amount of money I had purchased the jerseys for.  He then told me he would fight the claim if I reported the jerseys to paypal.  I purchased the jerseys for $400!  I was really in a bind!!!!!  In the midsts of this whole dilemma I decided to check his 99.6% feedback for myself.  I found that sure 99.6% of the people had left him great feedback, BUT he had over 6,000 items that the feedback came from!!!!!  I found many negative feedbacks and neutrals saying how his jerseys were fake and stained just as mine were! 

HINT #5: ALWAYS READ THE FEEDBACK THAT WAS LEFT FOR THE BUYER/SELLER YOU ARE ABOUT TO DEAL WITH, DON'T JUST LOOK AT THE SCORE!  IT MAY BE MISLEADING IN THE END!

I thought about it and figured just incase I should call paypal and report what had happened even though he had threatened me.  Paypal told me that I had done the right thing and that he was WAY out of line for saying that.  To make a long story short, I sent the jerseys back with a tracking # and delivery confirmation number which paypal had asked for.  I then recieve my money back shortly after the jerseys were recieved by the seller.  Who knows if I had returned them on my own if I would have recieved a refund!  I am very thankful that paypal was so helpful.

HINT #6: IF YOU HAVE RECIEVED AN ITEM THAT IS STAINED, UNAUTHENTIC OR DAMAGED THAT HAS NOT OCCURED DURING THE DELIVERY OF THE ITEM (SELLER SENT IT TO YOU IN THAT CONDITION AND DIDN'T MENTION IT IN THE ITEM DESCRIPTION) FILE A CLAIM BEFORE SENDING IT BACK.  DO NOT TAKE A CHANCE OF SENDING IT BACK WITHOUT A CLAIM, THE SELLER MAY NOT REFUND YOUR MONEY!

HINT #7: TRY TO E-MAIL OR CONTACT THE BUYER/SELLER WHILE THE TRANSACTION IS STILL ACTIVE.  IN MY EXPERIENCE A FRAUDULENT SELLER OR BUYER WILL RARELY KEEP GOOD CONTACT WITH YOU.  IF YOU GET ANY FEELING OF FRAUDULENT ACTIVITY REPORT IT IMMEDIATELY. 

HINT #8: IF THE DEAL YOU'RE GETTING LOOKS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT USUALLY IS!  MAKE SURE TO READ THE INTIRE EBAY AUCTIONS ITEM DESCRIPTION WORD FOR WORD.  ALSO, DON'T FORGET TO READ THE SELLERS PAYMENT INSTRUCTIONS AFTER THE ITEM DESCRIPTION AT THE BOTTOM OF THE AUCTION PAGE. 

HINT #9: MAKE SURE IF YOU ARE BUYING FROM AN EBAY SELLER THAT THE SELLER ACCEPTS PAYPAL, I CANNOT STRESS HOW IMPORTANT PAYPAL IS IN EBAY TRANSACTIONS NOW-A-DAYS! 

HINT #10: LAST BUT NOT LEAST, DO NOT BE AFRAID TO REPORT ANY ISSUES YOU HAVE TO PAYPAL.  THEY ARE YOUR ALLIES IN THESE CASES.  I AM VERY SATISFIED WITH THE WAY PAYPAL HAS HELPED ME IN THE PAST AND CONTINUALLY HELPS ME DEAL WITH ISSUES.

Thank you so much for stopping by!  This has been another Madbidder777 Guide, I hope this will help you all in your future activity on ebay! 

If you have found the information helpful in my Guide, please rate it with a yes vote.

HAPPY BIDDING!

-MADBIDDER777