How to Avoid eBay Scams and Fraud
Many people have been scammed and defrauded on eBay. If you are scammed, there are some measures you can take to correct the situation ' but in many cases, the scammer does indeed get away! The best option is to avoid being scammed.
An easy way to avoid many scams is with the payment method that you use ' whether you are a buyer or a seller. eBay owns PayPal, and in most cases, PayPal is the payment method that most buyers and sellers use. If you as a buyer are scammed or less than satisfied with the item when it arrives, you can file a dispute on PayPal and demand a refund. The seller must reply and show proof that the item was shipped, and that it arrived in the condition that you expected, or PayPal will return your funds to your account.
As a seller, you can protect yourself by only accepting PayPal. This will eliminate the chances of receiving a bad check or having the buyer dispute a credit card charge. However you cannot, prove that the product arrived in the condition that was expected and you should demand that the product be returned to you before the refund is issued.
Some buyers use a scam that it is called the bidding scam. To run this scam you need two separate eBay accounts ' with one person in control of both of them, or with two friends with separate eBay accounts. From one account they place a very small bid on your item and from another account they place a very high bid. Right before the bidding ends, the high bid is cancelled or withdrawn, leaving the low bid as the winning bid.
You can avoid this thing from happen by setting a reserve price ' the lowest bid that will win the auction is the same as the reserve price that you set. If you are an eBay seller, you can protect your auctions by placing a notice on your auctions page, declaring that you have the right to back out of the sale if you suspect potential fraud.
If you are a seller, you may want to protect yourself from buyers that will try to scam you. In order to do that you can use the drop shippers from Worldwide Brands . They have a database of over 8000 wholesalers and drop shippers, from which you can choose from. All successful sellers use them to source their products.
About the Author:
Tudor Ciurescu is a eBay enthusiast. He owns and maintains eBay Triangulation Method - a resource for eBay hobbyists.