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Do you vet your buyers?
 

I haven't had many outright scam buyers in the years I've been selling (maybe a handful come to mind), but today I got hit with the "seller sent me something totally different than what I ordered" card. Which of course is nonsense... the item he claims I sent is not one I even stock. And a negative feedback too, which is just absurd to say the least... I'm guessing its just another tool in his extortion toolbox.

I checked his profile, and he very much has a history of this kind of behavior. Tons of negatives left for others, tons of clearly feedback extortions with "seller worked with me to resolve the problem", etc. So this transaction coulda definitely been avoided had I checked his page out.

Do you guys vet for buyers like this? Cancel the transaction ahead of time? As a new account within 90 days, this is particularly damaging.. maybe more on that in another thread.

Re: his return fraud, is it worth filing a police report over this? It's a 25$ loss, annoying, definitely not something to actively pursue, but moreso something I'd do to get him to cut his ****. Since he looks like a professional scammer, I'm not sure it'd move him much. Is it worth it?

Re: Do you vet your buyers?
 

Feels like energy and time would be better spent on other efforts :(

Re: Do you vet your buyers?
 

YOU CAN block buyers who have few positive feedbacks,also you can block some buyers based on their Ebay ID.
If he keeps doing this,Ebay could suspend his buying privilege as he becomes a hazard to the Ebay seller community.
There is a buyer in rural Mexico buying cheap trinklets on Ebay,many are either lost or stolen,since it is low price like under $5,sellers do not use tracking to Mexico so they have to eat the loss,but her buying privilege was suspended

Re: Do you vet your buyers?
 

You cannot block based on feedback alone not even zero.

As you're clearly not talking about the Blocked Bidder List, so how can you block buyers based on their ID?

Re: Do you vet your buyers?
 

Yeah I mean if someone is sending me messages for a discount, or I feel based on what they ask is sketchy I'll check their feedback left for others. If its filled with negatives I defiantly block them. Also, if I don't respond to someone who asks a question and they then send 10 messages or something annoying like that, I'll block them.

Its important to try and prevent bad customers. They can take up a lot of your time which makes the sale itself not worth it. Ive sold long enough where I have a pretty good sense on who might cause me issues. If I feel they will I block.

Re: Do you vet your buyers?
 

There's no way that most would have the time to look at everybody's feedback prior to printing a label if they're selling any real quantities.
EVERY business that is in business today gets scammed. Retailers get shoplifters, excessive returns, etc. It's important to keep this fact in mind when doing business or you'll end up guzzling pesto bismol mixed with vodka or rum just to get through the day.
Realizing that around 2% of revenue is eaten up by scammers and perceptual returners in advance and adjusting your selling prices to offset this will keep your worries away.

Re: Do you vet your buyers?
 

This is true, but it is also important to proactively protect what you built.

What if one person buys 20 items from you and opens up 20 return cases saying what you sold was inauthentic? You know that one single person could trigger your account to go under manual review. I know that won't happen to most people most of the time, but its important to understand it can.

Re: Do you vet your buyers?
 

Anything is possible. This could happen or you could be struck by lightning.
Most loses account for around 2% of revenue when selling on-line. Online sellers that keep records will confirm this, so it's something to prepare for. As for getting scammed 20 times from one buyer, there's no way to prepare for that, it's highly unlikely and not something to worry about, much like a lightning bolt. Sometimes crap happens and it's better to deal with it at the time rather than fret over it as it'll probably never happen to you.

Re: Do you vet your buyers?
 

Haha I'm with you buddy. I'm just saying I do proactively try and do my best to prevent issues if I feel like one is waiting for me. Thats all I was saying. We all sell different items. Different items in cost and the item itself attract different customers. I tend to service young teens and they can be extremely childish.