Buying and selling merchandise on eBay can be a lucrative second income used to bridge a difficult period or add a little more cash to your bank account every month, and many stay-at-home parents resort to using eBay as a way to supplement their income and, one way or another, stay in the workforce.
Last time we talked about purchasing a photograph scam, fake PayPal account scam, and the common car fraud.
Today we are continuing with our 7 ways to instantly spot an eBay scam.
Buckle up.
#4 The Fishy Picture
Oftentimes, it is the picture of the item that tells the whole story. Basically, if the eBay sale is not genuine, the pictures of the product will also be fake.
In these cases, the scammer will:
- Copy the pic from another seller
- Download the photo from the web
- Not even have a picture of the product.
So, what you need to do is right click on the image, chose “copy link address”, cut and paste the address into your browser and review the results.
#5 Not Enough Info On The Product
If the sale is not genuine, the scammer will not bother to input all the necessary info about the item he or she is selling.
In these cases you need to:
- Send the seller a message asking for more info
- Ask for more pictures of the item
- See how they respond.
#6 The Price Is Way Too Low
We all resort to eBay since everything is a bargain there, but if the price looks too good to be true, it’s because it probably is.
#7 Review Seller’s Details
Even though eBay has positive feedback percentage displayed below any seller’s name, you need to be extra careful here.
Scammers tend to buy lots of small items on eBay in order to build up their positive percentage, so don’t be fooled by their feedback.
Here’s what you need to do if you have doubts about certain sellers:
- click on the seller’s name
- review his/her feedback
- if it is all from sellers and not from people who have actually purchased an item from this user, you are probably dealing with a fraudster.