Buying and selling on eBay can be one of the most rewarding experiences on the Internet. However you need to be aware of scam artists who will try to exploit you with various forms of fraud. If you find fraud on eBay there are ways you can get your money back. However, it is very difficult to catch a fraud artist and it is much easier if you can detect and avoid the initial fraud.
One of the most common scams today is fake emails appearing from eBay or PayPal or your bank. Keep in mind that anyone can delete any email address and send an email that appears to be from someone else. It is also possible to mislead an email from the president of the United States. So if you see any email in your inbox from eBay or PayPal and ask you to log in to verify your password chances are this is a scam. Emails you receive of this type will contain eBay letterheads or PayPal letterheads and will direct you to a link that appears as eBay or PayPal. However, if you look at the bottom of your browser you will often see that the domain these links point to is not an eBay or PayPal domain. It looks just like the eBay website, but it's actually a scam site asking you to verify your password. Once you have entered your username and password the fraudster has it. One of the most popular tricks now is to send a fake payment notice from PayPal suggesting you pay for something you never bought. The email also includes a link to the “deny this charge” area, and once you click on that link you are taken to a page that looks like PayPal but is actually a fraudulent site designed to enter your username and password.
One of the easiest ways to protect yourself on eBay is to use PayPal for every transaction. PayPal is a fully owned eBay company, so PayPal paid transactions can be easily contested. As it is eBay's desire to keep the store safe, they are often quick to resolve disputes from PayPal. If you buy something and are not satisfied with it and you feel like the seller did not do what he promised, it is very easy to dispute that PayPal transaction because eBay can defer the money itself. If you make a purchase by cash order or credit card or other payment method, eBay does not have the option to defer charges without going overboard.
Whether you buy or sell things is a good idea to stick to PayPal. If you sell items it is only a good idea without PayPal as a payment option. The last thing you need is to get a bad check, or have your consumer dispute his or her credit card payment. If you have completed the end of your merchant transaction, then all you will need to do is prove it on PayPal and eBay without involving a third party. Generally, if the consumer is unhappy with the product you are selling and does not think that the product is in the advertised condition, then you should demand that the product be returned before you can refund.
In order to sell well on eBay you need to learn how to use the booking price. One of the most common schemes on eBay is the one that uses multiple accounts to place a low bidder and a high bid at the same time under different aliases. This binds your auction to a higher bid price and allows for fraud to be made when the high bid buyer refuses to pay and faces a second lower bid. This scam works because the seller feels obligated to sell the item to the second-largest buyer if the auction falls on the top buyer. Placement is important to avoid this type of scam so make sure you set a set price where you would not sell the product for less.
It is appropriate to comment directly on your auction page that you have the right to go back to selling an item if you suspect fraud. While it is easy to cheat as a consumer it is easy to even be cheated as a seller. Retailers usually have a lot of experience and can spot these scams, but you should be aware of the pitfalls of marketing before you start selling items on eBay.
EBay is a safe and secure way to buy if you use it properly and always know how fraud occurs. It is important to always report suspicious activities directly on eBay or PayPal. Since they are interested in ensuring that honest transactions take place without fraud you can be sure that they will do everything in their power to prevent fraudulent activities.
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