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These are my Ebay links. From here you can get to most anywhere you want to go inside the world of Ebay. From the main page to blocking a user from bidding in your auction to reporting a fraud case. They are all here. Also the links come up in another window, so if you are running a program that stops pop-ups you may not be able to use the links without disabling (turning off) the program first. Sorry...
*EXTREMELY IMPORTANT* There are MANY, and I do mean many, FAKE emails (also called spoof emails) being sent out on the internet. They are pretending to be from Ebay, Paypal and others. These can look VERY MUCH (almost exactly) like the real thing because the scammers may copy most of an actual Ebay or Paypal email and just add a link in it. In these email they will say things like:
Your account may be suspended. your account may be closed. You need to update your account information.
We have reason to believe your account my have invalid contact information. Or many other things just like that. The one thing they have in common is that they have a link and ask you to click the link to enter you account info and correct the problem. DO NOT CLICK ON THE LINK OR FILL IN YOUR ACCOUNT INFORMATION!!! These are scams to get your account information and then hack into your Ebay or Paypal account and take it over! Neither Ebay NOR Paypal will ask you for your account information this way. They will ask you to go to their sites and do it there.
Spoofing is the primary deceptive practice used by spammers.
E-mail domain spoofing involves forging a sender's address on e-mail messages. It can be used by malicious individuals to mislead e-mail recipients into reading and responding to deceptive mail. These phony messages can jeopardize the online safety of the user and damage the reputation of the company purported to have sent the message. Spoofed e-mail often contains "phishing" scams. In such ploys, a spammer, posing as a trusted party such as a bank or reputable online vendor, sends millions of e-mail messages directing recipients to websites that appear to be official but are in reality scams. Visitors to these fraudulent websites are asked to disclose personal information, such as credit card numbers, or to purchase counterfeit or pirated products.
The first link in the links section below will open a page where you can learn more.
I have also added ALOT more to my tips section, so if your just looking for the Ebay links they are still here, you just have to scroll farther down - slightly less than 1/2 way down the page. I felt the added tips are well worth the space they have taken up.
Before I begin let me just say that you will read some things below that will make you think ebay is a den of scammers and crooks but that is not so. Yes there are some problems, just like in any part of society, but it is not as bad as all that. It will just seem like it because I am trying to inform you of the pitfalls and traps on ebay. It is my hope that by doing so you will be able to avoid getting into any of these things.
1) Check the Feedback on your sellers and/or bidders. DO NOT just look at the number and go by that. Click on the number next to their user name and that will take you to the user's feedback page where you can read the feedback comments left for that user. At the top of the page you will see how many feedbacks were left for the user, how many are from unique users (these 2 numbers will not match because only 1 comment left per user will count toward the final feedback number. So if a user buys/sells more then 1 item/auction to the same user only 1 of the feedbacks left will count.), how many are positive, how many are neutral and how many are negatives. You can check just the neu. and negs. by downloading a free program called Gutcheck. it can be found and downloaded from teamredline.com with it you can "right click" on a users feedback number and when the box opens you will see "get gutcheck" near the bottom, click that and a box will open with the users feedback and it also has a checkbox that you can use to see just the negative and neutral feedbacks. Check the comments that are negative because in many cases you will find that the person who left it really meant to leave something else and just checked the negative box by mistake. You may also find that the user who left the negative did so just to "get back" at someone who they thought did them wrong. On the other hand you may also see positives that are really negative sounding but the user may have been afraid to leave a negative, and so left a positive but written as a negative feedback would be written. You really can tell a lot from feedback that was left, so do yourself a favor and check. Also make sure the feedback that is being left for the seller is not mostly from what is called "penny" auctions, which are auctions that the seller/bidder has sold/won items at very cheap prices like a dollar or two. The reason for this is because con artists will buy a bunch of items cheap to get the feedback and then sell high priced items to get the money and then never ship the items. The way to check these items is to click the auction number to the right of the feedback that was left, but you can only check the items if they are within around the last 90 days. 2) DO NOT buy high priced items from 0 feedback users from different countries (Canada and the UK are ok for the most part). This is a big no no/red flag! I know the zero feedback users have to start out somewhere but normally the honest ones don't start by selling high priced items. Another red flag is if they only take western union wire transfers. These are some of the biggest scams out there. What can happen is that they (your seller overseas) will tell you to set up the funds with Western Union and get an account number, and for you to also set it up with western union not to release the funds until the person picking them up (your seller) gives them a password or security number. The seller will then tell you to email them the account number (not the password/number) so they can verify that there is an account and that it has the correct funds in it. Your seller will tell you that when they see the funds in the account they will send you your item and when you get your item, email the password/number to them (the seller) and then they will pick it up. Now that sounds great, however western union doesn't always ask the person picking the money up for the password! The seller just gives western union their name and the amount they are supposed to receive and walk out with your hard earned money. If western union does ask for the password then the seller will either forget all about you and your money or say they will have to come back with the password and will finish the auction as planned. But do you want to take that chance? I'm not saying don't deal with users from other countries. I'm saying if the user is from another country AND it's a high priced item AND they only take wire transfers along with low feedback - Just be careful, after all you can't expect to call the police on them - that won't work. 3) Be careful around the holidays. That is the time of year that most scammers come out from the woodworks. DO NOT buy game systems from low feedback sellers who are selling 5,10, 20 or more systems which have just come out and which nobody else can seem to get 1 of. That is one area of Ebay that tends to have a lot of scams. 4) READ EVERY WORD OF THE AUCTION! I know some are very long but you need to do it to protect yourself. There are cases where a seller will hide an important part about the item in the middle of the description hoping the bidders won't see it. such as shipping is $25 or the item has a small dent or it is good for parts only etc. etc. Also there are users who try to get money for items the buyers thought they were bidding on (such as gaming systems) which are really nothing of the sort, or which is just the box the item came in. A lot of these are actually auctions just for the url (website address) to a website where you can try, if they even sell the item or have any available, and buy the item on your own. The sellers of these kinds of auction try to word it so it seems as if the bidders are bidding on the real item. Ebay has since stopped allowing these kinds of auctions but Ebay also relies on users like you and me to report things that are against the rules as the way to get these things stopped. For awhile it was a big problem but has lessened since. Just be aware and you will be ok. These auctions will normally say in small print or hidden in the middle of the description what they are really for. this is just another reason why you have to read every word. 5) BE WARY of users with private feedback. That's feedback that says private beside their user name and where if you click on it it shows the amount of feedback, but you can not read the feedback itself. If it's in an adult category it may be alright, but if it's not, think real hard on bidding on it. Make sure they have a VERY LOW amount of neutral or negative feedbacks. 6) If you do want to buy a high priced item contact the seller before you bid and ask if they will agree to use escrow as long as you pay for it. It may cost you a little bit more to use the escrow but it's the safest way to go about it. Hey if it's expensive isn't it worth a couple of bucks to make sure you get what you wanted? Just make sure it is a REAL escrow service and one that YOU pick, not one your seller wants you to use - unless you check it out thoroughly - Yes there are a lot of fake escrow sites out there on the web as well. 7) If something you want to know about an item is not in the auction description email the seller and ask BEFORE BIDDING ON IT! If you don't see an amount for shipping cost, ask. If you don't see a warranty, ask. If it doesn't say new, ask. If it doesn't say it works, ask. If it doesn't say they take checks, ask. I think you get the picture, don't wait till the auction is over or after you get the item to ask, that is WAY to late. Once the auction is over you are required to go through with it! 8) After all is said and done leave feedback that the deal calls for! even if by doing so it means you may get a negative in response to what you left - of course if the seller has left feedback first then you don't have to worry about it. That is the only way the feedback system will work! otherwise you have no idea what the other person is really like when looking at their feedback. You can always respond to the feedback a person leaves for you and if you get a negative do so. As long as you respond with just the facts, no swears, no flames, and no threats, 99% of all Ebayers will be able to tell who was right and who was in the wrong. 9) Read the seller's confirmation e-mail. Even experienced buyers are guilty of not doing this one. Do not assume that every confirmation e-mail is alike. Sellers usually include information that is necessary for you to complete the transaction. A lot of times they also ask for some information from you. Don't just send your payment with Paypal and ignore the confirmation e-mail. That's how a lot of problems get started. 10) Buy insurance. Too many buyers spend $100 and up on an item, but won't cough up the extra $2 or $3 to insure it. Believe me, you will kick yourself if something happens. If you're not sure if you want insurance, ask yourself this question. "Will I be upset if this item arrives damaged or doesn't get here at all?" If your answer is yes, BUY insurance. If the seller does not offer it, ask for it. 11) Ask, do not threaten. If you want to check on the status of your order, send a polite e-mail to your seller asking for the information you need. Do not send ten e-mails over a weekend and then get angry when you get no reply. Many people do not work on weekends, so your mail will not be read until Monday. Do not threaten your seller with negative feedback if they do not respond as quickly as you would like them to. 12) If there is a problem stay calm and friendly. Most sellers are not brick and mortar stores, but individual people working from home. They have not been trained to deal with angry customers and will likely become angry themselves and unwilling to work with you. Again, do not threaten negative feedback if things are not worked out 13) Do not harass a seller for feedback. Many sellers are busy and leave feedback in batches. Feedback is optional so bugging your partner in the transaction may get them mad instead of getting them to leave the feedback. The best way to go about it, in my opinion, is to send them an email when you get your item and tell them it arrived and that your happy (if you are) with how the deal went. In the email also say something like "I have left feedback (if you have) and if your also happy with how it went please do the same for me" or "if you are happy with how I handled my part please leave feedback for me and I will do the same, thanks". I have found that to be enough to get the feedback rolling. Remember giving feedback is optional and is not a rule so not every user is going to leave it. 14) One last thing for this section. Sellers CAN NOT change the terms of service (TOS) of the sale after the auction ends. So if after the auction ends you get an email from the seller saying they need extra $'s for shipping or anything else, tell them they can't do that. If they still insist report them to Ebay using the web form. Likewise U.S. sellers (sellers from overseas may be able to charge you for the fees, it depends on their laws) can not ask you for more money if they list a payment service like Paypal or Billpoint and you choose to use it. If they try to get you to pay more or they tell you it`s for the fees Paypal/Billpoint charges them, tell them that is against Ebay's, Paypal's and the credit card companies rules. Maybe even point them to the surcharge rule which You can find more info about in the link below for surcharges.
1) Ok so you followed the advice above but your seller will not return your emails after you paid and you haven't received your item. First thing to do is to pull their contact info from Ebay, there is a link for that below in the links section, and give them a call. If the phone number is not in service or is incorrect notify Ebay using the web form, again the link is below. Click member problems > contact information / identity offenses > a user is registered with false or missing contact information, click continue. Then go to the bottom of that page and click contact support. There you will be able to write to Ebay about the sellers info and if they find that the sellers information is wrong they will suspend them. 2) After 30 days is up (from the end of the auction) file the fraud form with Ebay and if you qualify, file the insurance claim, THESE ARE NOT THE SAME THING. To qualify for the insurance your purchase needs to be over $25. Why is that? It's because Ebay has a $200 limit minus a $25 deductible. So with the deductible it has to be over $25 for you to receive any funds back. File the fraud report either way so that it will be in the users file. 3) If you paid using an online site such as Paypal or with ebay's Billpoint you can also file with them to get your money back. If you used your credit card to pay on these sites you can also contact the credit card company to have them do a charge back. Now here is where it gets tricky! Ebay wants you to try to get it from your credit card (if you used one) company first, Paypal wants you to try and get it from Ebay first BUT they also want you to contact them (Paypal) BEFORE you contact the credit card company. So my advice is: If you used a credit card, contact Paypal (even if they want you to go through Ebay first) within 30 days from the time you made the payment, 30 days is the limit for filing with Paypal, not sure about Billpoints time frame. If you haven't heard from your seller since you made payment and it has been a couple of weeks then don't wait for the 30 days. If they turn you down contact your credit card company and if they are no help file with Ebay, but remember you can't file with Ebay until 30 days has passed from the end of the auction and no later then 60 days. If you do contact your credit card company make sure to find out their time frames for filing and empty your Paypal account of any funds you may have sitting in there. The reason is that Paypal, once they hear from your credit card company about a charge back, likes to put a hold on your account until the credit card company is done. If you used one of the above payment sites but used money that was in your account or with money from a bank account: File with both Ebay (as long as it has been at least 30 days from the auctions end but not longer then 60) and paypal within 30 days from payment being made. There is a link below for Ebay's fraud/insurance information/forms. 4) If you sent a check or money order: File with the USPS, either online or at any post office. There is a link for it below. They take online fraud VERY SERIOUS!! They will send the seller a letter informing them that someone has filed a fraud form with them and in most cases this is enough to make the seller either send your item or refund your money. If not, they will continue to go after the seller. However it takes a lot of time because they seem to be getting backlogged with many complaints. You can also file with the FBI's internet fraud site (there is a link for this below as well) but I would only do this for large dollar amounts or big time scammers otherwise it just ties up the system on little things and frankly after 9/11 they have more important thing to do then go after someone for $100.
Another thing to look out for is shilling. Shilling is when you have a seller who, by using another id of his own or a friends/family's id, bid on their own auctions trying to make a bidder bid higher, thereby making more money for themselves. This is against ebays rules and in a lot of states it is against the law! Things to look for are: 1) A user with low feedback or 0 feedback who just bids up a little at a time till they just outbid you, then cancels the bid and bids again just under your top $ amount. 2) A user who just bids up a little at a time, however, my not be shilling. A lot of new users do this until they learn how to use a proxy bid (where you bid the most you would pay for an item and then the system will place bids for you based on the amount you entered) so if you think this may be happening go Here and enter the other bidders user name and choose yes for the "include completed items" and yes for "even if not the high bidder". By doing this you will be able to tell if the bidder just bids on one sellers auctions and no one else's or if they bid on a lot of sellers auctions. If they are only bidding on only one sellers auctions and it is more then say 10 or so items, then I would look elsewhere for the item. There is more to it than that but it is something to make you think twice - be careful in such cases. PLEASE NOTE There are a lot of users who buy a lot of things from 1 seller, I have done so myself, So that in and of itself doesn't mean the seller is doing the bidding (shilling). However if they are only bidding on ONE sellers items and no one else's that's a big clue, doesn't make a case but is one part of it. Also please understand that there could be legit cases that may look like shilling but are not. One such example could be that a user who has just joined ebay, found a seller who has a lot of items they like - such as sports cards. problem is it could also be the seller has just made up a brand new id. So just check things out and go with you gut feeling if it's a brand new user. If the user has been on ebay for awhile and only bids on one sellers items I would pass just to be safe.
1) The most important thing is to make sure you have proof of shipping! You will need this when a buyer says they didn't receive the items, this way you can show them that it was indeed sent. You will also need it if a buyer files fraud or other reports against you. 2) Insure ALL ITEMS you ship out! believe it or not insurance is intended for the shipper NOT the buyer. The shipper is the one to file the reports on a broken item and is also the one to get the funds. Then you refund the buyer. 3) DO NOT sell to users from other countries, like Romania, who also want to pay with a credit card through a payment service like paypal or billpoint and want you to ship overnight, without first checking to see if the credit card is stolen. In order to check the card you will need to get the card number and call the card company. The reason for doing this is because many times the credit card is stolen. 4) Don't leave feeback till the buyer lets you know they have received the item! This way they will be more willing to contact you in the event the item was broken in shipping or what have you. If you have left feedback before then they may just leave you negative feedback without trying to work it out. 5) Make sure you package the item properly! Most items that arrive broken arrive that way because they were not packed properly. If you don't take the time and materials to do it right it will cost you more in the end. If items are not packed right you will not get paid from the shipping company even if you did insure the item. Also if you receive contact from a buyer that an item was received broken make sure the buyer saves the box and ALL packaging materials, they will need them when the shipper picks up the item to inspect how the item was packed. 6) If you have a tracking number send it to your buyer. By doing this you ease their mind, it lets them look to see where their item is without having to email you for info on it and makes you look more professional. 7) If a buyer doesn't contact you right away don't assume they are deadbeats right away. Sometimes the buyers and sellers email servers don't jive together. So try emailing them from the auction page with the "email this to a friend" link if that doesn't work pull their contact info and give them a call. 8) Just because you have to wait 10 days from the time you file the NPB (non paying bidder) report to file to get your FVF's (final value fees) back, it doesn't mean you can't relist your item. You can relist it at any time because you will still be able to get your FVF's back for the auction where the bidder didn't pay. The only drawback would be if the buyer did contact you after the NPB was filed and wants to complete the deal. Then you could still tell them that you no longer want to complete the deal because of all the trouble they put you through, in which case you may not be able to get the final value fees back because they did want to complete the deal. If you have more then one of the item that is not a problem. 9) If you do get a NPB, ALWAYS file the NPB alert reminder AND the FVF's it's the only way to help get these users off Ebay, even if it only makes them take the time to get another id it's still worth it. 3 filings for FVF's on the same user will get them suspended. 10) I realize this was already said by me above but I feel very strongly that it needs to be remembered. Don't be afraid to take a retaliatory negative for giving a bad user the negative they deserve. It's the ONLY way we as ebay members can help stop the bad users from winning!! If you get a negative you can always respond to it and when you do, just give the facts, no emotions, just facts. By doing so 99% of ebay users will be able to see just who was right and who was wrong. Feedback is OUR only way to judge other members and if everyone is afraid to leave a negative when the deal calls for it, then the system is no good!! We could all be dealing with users who, if they received the negatives they deserved, should have been suspended.
1) Try emailing them through the auction page so that it goes through Ebay's servers. A lot of times email servers just don't work well together AOL is one that seems to have a lot of problems due to their anti-spam software. 2) If your so inclined pull the bidders contact information using the link below in the links section. If the phone number is not in service or is incorrect notify ebay using the web form, the link is below under 'report'. Click 'Report problems with other Ebay members' > 'Contact information problems' > 'User has false or missing contact information' , click continue. Then click 'Email'. there you will be able to write to ebay about the sellers info and if they find that the sellers information is wrong they will suspend them. 3) If the above has not worked after say around 2 weeks to about a month of emails and such then file the NPB (non paying bidder) form. It has to be done after 7 days but no later then 45 days from the auctions end. That will send a payment reminder to the buyer and give them 10 day to pay. If after the 10 days they still have not paid file the FVF (final value fees) form. This step is the most important because it does 2 things. 1st this step is what will get you the refund from ebay for any final value fees you had to pay as a result of the auction ending with a winner, and 2nd it will give the buyer a non-paying bidder warning mark on their record, 3 of these and the buyer will get suspended.
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Dex - to look up phone numbers.
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Iship - will give you a quote from several carriers
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