Buying Gift Cards and Coupons and how to Avoid Being Scammed

When buying anything on eBay you have to be aware of the scams out there and how to avoid them and protect yourself from the crooks operating them.  Each day you will be able to find any number of coupons to almost anywhere for almost anything you can imagine. In this guide, I will go over some basic rules to shop for coupons and gift cards while avoiding scams. However, you can use this information and apply most of it to buying anything on eBay.

The first thing you want to do when looking at a gift card or coupon is READ the listing. Make sure you look at the entire description of the item. Look at the details so you know what you are getting. A lot of times people will list an item as a $50 coupon and in reality it is 2 $25 coupons that can only be used separately and on purchased of say $100 or more.  The seller will usually type this information in fine print if at all.  If for any reason you are suspicious of this or any other fallacy PLEASE contact the seller with your questions. There is no reason the seller wouldn’t respond if he/she is honest and actually selling a legit item.

If for any reason the listing looks like it might be a scam and you are not confident in trusting the seller, GO TO THE NEXT LISTING. You are almost always guaranteed to be able to find the same item from another seller.  A good place to look if you want to find legit coupons and gift cards from trusted sellers is in store searches. Almost everyone who has a store is a worthy seller. It costs time and money to open a store and while there are still scammers out there who will do this to appear honest you can put more confidence in buying something from an eBayer who has an established reputation with an eBay store.

BEFORE you buy anything on eBay make sure to check the seller’s feedback. Feedback can be compared to your status in society. Like in society where the upper class has more influence than the middle or lower classes, the higher your feedback rating the more trustworthy you become in the eBay community. Now remember to actually look at the different feedback customers leave for the seller as this will help you gauge how honest and reliable the seller is.  Look at what items people have been buying and how often the seller sells a specific item. Beware of people trying to sell an item who don’t sell often or at all and are all of a sudden selling many coupons or gift cards. They might be legitimate, but ask yourself is it worth the risk. You may want to take the opportunity in this situation to contact the seller and ask for more information, like where it came from or why it is being sold. There is your average person who may come across a gift card for a store they don’t like or never go to. So don’t just shut them out because they don’t do much on eBay, investigate a little bit.

Always look at the listing carefully. If the seller provides the card number in the description or includes a picture with the actually card and the numbers are visible LEAVE immediately. Many times all you need to use a gift card are those numbers and anyone can just rip it off and use the value on the card online. If a seller makes this info readily available chances are it’s a scam.

If you have checked the seller out and it looks to be ok make sure to check the expiration date on the coupon or gift card. The seller can list an item that expires in a week after the listing ended or it may have even expired already. That may be enough time for you to use it or the store may accept expired coupons but if it is expired contact the store to make sure they accept it don’t just take the sellers word for it.  The seller may have many of the same coupons listed together and if they expire soon you may not have enough time to use all of them.

Also don’t forget to look for any restrictions that might come with the certificate, for example a Gift Certificate that may only be redeemed at a specific location. Make sure you ask if you aren’t sure. Some coupons are only good in certain states.

More often than not your coupon or gift card is going to be shipped by mail. You may be purchasing a coupon that will be delivered electronically by e-mail.  If it is, there is a possibility that it is a scam or you are paying for no reason. More often than not sellers who are selling a legit coupon that is going to be delivered by email usually means that the item can be found online for free somewhere or it is for an online company that doesn’t operate off the web.

For example, I have online coupons to my store that I sell on eBay. My Coupons come with a code that will be delivered by email to the winner. I keep a written record of everyone who bought the coupon, the item number, the date and their email. If it is ever lost I can simply supply the buyer with their code from my records. I clearly state on my coupons all the details and restrictions that come with my item. 

Never buy any gift card or coupon from a seller who DOES NOT accept PayPal.
If you are a legitimate seller on eBay you have PayPal setup on your account. It is the fastest and safest method available for someone to send and receive payments. If they only accept money orders it is probably because you are getting scammed and won’t see your money or your item ever again.

When paying for a Gift Card or coupon, I recommend that you pay through PayPal and use a credit card. By using a credit card you are protected by not only PayPal but your credit card company as well, as they provide their own coverage where you won’t have to eat the cost on an item you didn’t receive or that was a fake. You can use your bank account through PayPal and still be protected, but in a case where you have paid for the item and it turns out to be a fake or it wasn’t received they will try and get your funds back. If however, that seller has removed his bank account from PayPal already PayPal will not eat the cost and the onus will be on you.

After you have purchased a gift card on eBay make sure it has a value right away.  You can call the 800 number on the back of the card to see if the amount is actually what the listing says is on there. Until then, never post feedback because you can’t go back once it is up there. If there is no value on the card always check back with the seller before posting feedback. If the seller works with you to resolve this issue then you can post feedback accordingly. If the seller doesn’t respond to you then I would recommend a negative feedback on their account.

For security purposes we print the name of the buyer and amount on each and every one of our Diamond Traces Gift Cards we sell. Included on each card is the expiration date and gift certificate id so that we can keep a record of it. On the back of this card we include all limitations and restrictions associated with the card for the buyer.



Diamond Traces Gift Certificates and Coupons

Diamond Traces Available Coupons