( 
)
If the ONLY payment that a seller accepts is WESTERN UNION, BEWARE!
This is ESPECIALLY TRUE if the Seller claims to be located outside of the United States!
And this is ESPECIALLY TRUE is the price seems too good to be true!
************* WHY? ************
BECAUSE: Recently, many Sellers have pretended to sell expensive items (usually, JEWELRY, COMPUTERS or SPORTS TICKETS) which they DO NOT ACTUALLY HAVE. These Sellers ALMOST ALWAYS are located in Europe (typically ENGLAND or ITALY, but they could be elsewhere, too!) and ALMOST ALWAYS require the high bidder to pay by WESTERN UNION and NO OTHER METHODS OF PAYMENT ARE ACCEPTABLE.
NOTE: WESTERN UNION payments are virtual untraceable, which means that -- if a Seller is a fraud -- there is virtually no chance that a Buyer will be able to get his/her money back.
***** WHAT SHOULD I DO IF A SELLER REQUIRES PAYMENT BY WESTERN UNION?
1. **BEFORE YOU BID**, ALWAYS be suspicious. It's an old saying, but it is true: IF A DEAL SEEMS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, it probably is a scam!
2. **BEFORE YOU BID**, ALWAYS email at least one specific factual question to the Seller about the item (preferably a question that you know the answer to). These Sellers usually know nothing about the items that they are listing, so if they don't PROMPTLY and ACCURATELY answer your factual question, DON'T SEND THEM YOUR MONEY.
3. **BEFORE YOU BID**, ALWAYS email the Seller and ask whether he or she will accept other methods of payment, such as PAYPAL. (If they won't, I personally would NOT bid on the item!)
4. **BEFORE YOU BID**, ALWAYS report the Seller's item to eBay as a possible FRAUDULENT LISTING. From my experience, eBay usually does a very good job of investigating the matter and -- if they determine that an item is a fraud -- they quickly cancel the listing.
5. **BEFORE YOU BID**, ALWAYS spend a few minutes searching eBay for other Sellers of the same item. Comparison shopping for ANY ITEM is a good thing to do, and perhaps you'll find a similarly priced comparable item closer to your home ... and from a Seller who accepts verifiable forms of payment.
Help make eBay a safer environment for all of us.
AND IF YOU FOUND THIS GUIDE HELPFUL, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!
This is ESPECIALLY TRUE if the Seller claims to be located outside of the United States!
And this is ESPECIALLY TRUE is the price seems too good to be true!
************* WHY? ************
BECAUSE: Recently, many Sellers have pretended to sell expensive items (usually, JEWELRY, COMPUTERS or SPORTS TICKETS) which they DO NOT ACTUALLY HAVE. These Sellers ALMOST ALWAYS are located in Europe (typically ENGLAND or ITALY, but they could be elsewhere, too!) and ALMOST ALWAYS require the high bidder to pay by WESTERN UNION and NO OTHER METHODS OF PAYMENT ARE ACCEPTABLE.
NOTE: WESTERN UNION payments are virtual untraceable, which means that -- if a Seller is a fraud -- there is virtually no chance that a Buyer will be able to get his/her money back.
***** WHAT SHOULD I DO IF A SELLER REQUIRES PAYMENT BY WESTERN UNION?
1. **BEFORE YOU BID**, ALWAYS be suspicious. It's an old saying, but it is true: IF A DEAL SEEMS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, it probably is a scam!
2. **BEFORE YOU BID**, ALWAYS email at least one specific factual question to the Seller about the item (preferably a question that you know the answer to). These Sellers usually know nothing about the items that they are listing, so if they don't PROMPTLY and ACCURATELY answer your factual question, DON'T SEND THEM YOUR MONEY.
3. **BEFORE YOU BID**, ALWAYS email the Seller and ask whether he or she will accept other methods of payment, such as PAYPAL. (If they won't, I personally would NOT bid on the item!)
4. **BEFORE YOU BID**, ALWAYS report the Seller's item to eBay as a possible FRAUDULENT LISTING. From my experience, eBay usually does a very good job of investigating the matter and -- if they determine that an item is a fraud -- they quickly cancel the listing.
5. **BEFORE YOU BID**, ALWAYS spend a few minutes searching eBay for other Sellers of the same item. Comparison shopping for ANY ITEM is a good thing to do, and perhaps you'll find a similarly priced comparable item closer to your home ... and from a Seller who accepts verifiable forms of payment.
Help make eBay a safer environment for all of us.
AND IF YOU FOUND THIS GUIDE HELPFUL, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!
Guide created: 11/06/06 (updated 08/14/08)
Thank you for voting. If your vote meets our 
