When buying an item on-line, how would you know if the seller is a scammer ?

Question

There are scammers posing as legitimate sellers in an on-line market like e-bay.

Assuming that the seller and the potential buyer are both based in the Philippines, how would you know whether the seller of the item posted in an on-line market is legitimate or a scammer ?

Notes :

1. Due to the physical distance, the buyer and the seller cannot meet face to face.

2. Usually the buyer requires payment before the item/s is shipped via a courier.

Thank you.

Answer 1

I agree with YAnswerers 1 and 4.

I would add: put your money in escrow. If the seller does not offer an escrow option, ask directly if they would agree to set it up this way. It's easy to set up an escrow account, and it's the most secure way to do business.

If the seller is in good faith, he/she will agree to set up an escrow account. The extra cost can be shouldered 50/50 between you and the seller.

A few months ago, I wanted to buy a professional video camera on the web, and I found a super bargain deal that was... too incredible to be true (a $10,000+ camera selling for less than $3000). As the selling platform (a platform like eBay) was sort of newly established, I decided to check the Seller's data. I looked at the physical address provided for the Seller, their phone number, and their email address.

I sent them a mail, asking for a meeting on IM -- they agreed to it, and it provided me wth an opportunity to check some of their story. Like for instance: what was the warranty on the camera? Could they provide a serial number which I could check with the manufacturer? Why were they selling at such a low price? Could I meet one of their representatives in my city, and at what address? What was their telephone number in my city, and their telephone number in the city of their headquarters? As I sniffed a rat, I did my due diligence, and I found out that the information they had published on the product was 100% false, and that the product itself was probably a stolen good or, at best, "grey market". I was then able to report the Seller to the platform (which was not very proactive anyway). But at least, I didn't get ripped off, and I avoided others to get ripped off. I checked the Seller a day after my investigation, and the bogus Seller had withdrawn from the platform entirely.

Little details will tick you off. A biaised answer. No answer at all. An answer which takes a long time to come on IM. The Seller tries to filed a question. When you see that, just dig deeper.

Don't shy away from asking pointed questions. This is your money, they are the ones who want it. They have to provide fully satisfactory answers. And the escrow account is always a killer if the deal is bad.

Best of luck to you.

Answer 2

If it's on eBay you can read the seller's feedback.  If they don't have good feedback, don't buy from them!  You can read what other buyers have to say.

Other ways to tell if it's a scammer is if they are using "stock" images (not pictures of the actual item they are selling, but an image that you can get online that looks the same)

I believe with eBay and Paypal you can always send back the item and get your money back, they're usually good with helping you resolve problems but most of all you should be looking at the seller's eBay feedback.

Answer 3

You can't, but you can be careful!

Check to see if they have a secure payment site, like PayPal. If not, don't even think about paying anything up front.

Answer 4

The comments given to the seller by the buyer and the length and frequency of them selling items.. But it can always be a set-up also so my answer is that there's really no way of confirming.. Just work with the factors available..

Only pay through Paypal or Credit Card through the website so that protection will always be there.. You will be refunded by those companies if there is a scam.. Never give/send them cash, check, your credit card number, and your bank information

Answer 5

I'd like to know too,because I just checked a site and it said that you must send the cash for the item first,and then,after 2-3 weeks you receive your stuff.I think that s*cks because they might just steal your money and that's it..