'ITEM NEVER RECEIVED' SCAM

What 65 Cents Can Do For You

There are several scams perpatrated on eBay on any given day. To see a good summary of these scams, the eBay guides are a great resource for this subject matter. One of the more popular scams, not regularly talked about is the "Item not Received" scam. It is not often talked about because, generally speaking, this scam revolves around lower priced/valued items. I believe this scam is compounded because if the seller is scammed, not only have they lost their item, but they also end up losing the money that bought the item.

The Scam

This scam is not complex. It does not involve, or require a network of people working together to take your money, and merchandice. It is easily executed, and that makes it that much more of a threat because more people are apt to do it. The quiet fact about this scam is, if you don't protect yourself, there is no way to really know if you have been scammed or not - this provides a great deal of protection for the buyer/scammer, and thus makes the scam that much more attractive and safe for the scammer - a low risk of getting caught, and high probability of success.

These scammers look for highly sought out, low priced items. There are too many to list here, but rest assured, if you are selling an item on eBay that is less than $25.00-$30.00, and not expensive to ship, you are at increased risk. Books, video games, and small collectables, are examples of these items.

Here's the scam. The scammer is looking for a much needed or highly desired item. They also look to see if you ship the item via Parcel Post, 1st. Class, or Media Mail - none of which provide  Delivery Confirmation; not unless you purchase that option. This is the scammer's 'open door'.

They purchase the item, pay for the item, and then wait. After receiving the item, they wait a couple weeks, then send an email to the seller asking if they had yet to send the item. Of course the item was sent, and received. After the seller breaks their back trying to establish the whereabouts of the package, an impossible task if you did not attach Delivery Confirmation to the package, the seller is left with no choice but to refund the money, or risk derrogetory feedback. It really is as simple as that; The negative feeback is the leverage the scammer has on the seller. It is almost a fail-proof scam, if the seller cannot prove that the item was received by the buyer. Paypal offers no protection for the seller in this instance - if a claim is filed by the buyer via Paypal, the seller must submit proof of delivery to paypal or the buyer wins their claim, every time...literally, every single time.

Protect Yourself

Always include delivery confirmation with an item. If the item is worth selling, and the item is worth buying, then it is worth it to pay the extra 65-75 cents for Delivery Confirmation.

Here is a good webpage at www.usps.com that shows a breadown of shipping costs effective 5/17/2007, as well as the low cost of Delivery Confirmation and other services like Signature Confirmation.

http://pe.usps.com/text/dmm100/postage.htm

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Safe Bidding Everyone

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