Big Ticket Card: eBay Seller Advice

[robw1959]

The good news is that this Wednesday, 2/10/21, I sold my W516-2-2 Ruth (Pitching Version) card on eBay. The buyer hit the Buy-It-Now option and paid me $2595 for the card. Through eBay's managed payments, the net proceeds are now in my back account.

The bad news is that the buyer has an eBay rating of exactly 1, and has only been a member of the eBay community since last summer. I know we all have to start somewhere, but buying my vintage Ruth strip card seems a bit too ambitious on his part, I think. Moreover, being suspicious of his intentions, I messaged him to call me so I can vet him in a casual phone conversation. So the guy replied on Thursday that he would, but he didn't call. Now Friday is winding down, and again he hasn't called.

This only adds to my suspicion, but as I'm thinking it over, what can eBay really do to me at this point, now that the money is safely in my account? If I ship the card and the buyer files a bogus complaint like, "I received an empty box," they can then place a hold on my future earnings, I suppose, but I don't think they can draw money out of my bank account via PayPal because the money never passed through my PayPal account during the banking transaction in the first place. Or can they? Maybe I'm missing something? At this point, I'm leaning toward shipping the card via USPS registered mail over the weekend, but something told me to seek some advice here first.

Does anyone have any recent experience relevant to my situation that they could share here? Thanks.

[J-Yo]

I just watched a video on this the other day. I think the biggest takeaways is cover all your bases, take pictures of everything and send it with a signature required confirmation. I hope the seller is in the U.S!

https://youtu.be/6hlDkbzObNQ


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[robw1959]

Originally Posted by J-Yo

I just watched a video on this the other day. I think the biggest takeaways is cover all your bases, take pictures of everything and send it with a signature required confirmation. I hope the seller is in the U.S!

https://youtu.be/6hlDkbzObNQ


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Thanks for the video. It really isn't relevant to my situation, since it speaks to the buyer getting scammed, not the seller, and isn't recent enough to cover the eBay managed payments situations that may arise these days. Can you imagine a seller shipping an item to themselves and thinking they are going to fool eBay that way? Just a silly scam.

By the way, the buyer does live in the U.S., but I don't think pictures would be helpful since they don't necessarily portray the truth. For example, I could package my card, buy a tracking label, affix the label to the package, push it halfway through the Postal drop-box, and take pictures of every step of the process. But if I pull the package out and keep the contents, what do the pictures really prove? For that matter, even a signature for the delivery doesn't prove receipt of the item purchased; it only proves that the box got there.

[ullmandds]

I would exercise caution. I have a friend who sold a tag heuer watch on ebay...sent it off. Buyer claimed it was fake which triggered ebay/paypal to get my friend to refund money. Then buyer claimed he never received it and my friend got screwed out of the $$$ and the watch.

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

I would exercise caution. I have a friend who sold a tag heuer watch on ebay...sent it off. Buyer claimed it was fake which triggered ebay/paypal to get my friend to refund money. Then buyer claimed he never received it and my friend got screwed out of the $$$ and the watch.

How could he file a claim it was fake and a claim that he never received it? I know eBay is buyer friendly, but that seems ridiculous.

[ullmandds]

ya sounds bizarro...this is the story my friend relayed...I DO know he lost both the money and the watch.

[J-Yo]

Originally Posted by robw1959

Thanks for the video. It really isn't relevant to my situation, since it speaks to the buyer getting scammed, not the seller, and isn't recent enough to cover the eBay managed payments situations that may arise these days. Can you imagine a seller shipping an item to themselves and thinking they are going to fool eBay that way? Just a silly scam.

By the way, the buyer does live in the U.S., but I don't think pictures would be helpful since they don't necessarily portray the truth. For example, I could package my card, buy a tracking label, affix the label to the package, push it halfway through the Postal drop-box, and take pictures of every step of the process. But if I pull the package out and keep the contents, what do the pictures really prove? For that matter, even a signature for the delivery doesn't prove receipt of the item purchased; it only proves that the box got there.

Sorry Rob I meant this one! My bad, go to 3:55

https://youtu.be/hEeHDCWV_Ps


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[Jim65]

If the buyer pays you are obligated to ship. If you're ok with the possible negative feedback and the strike on your account, then cancel if you're that uncomfortable.

[robw1959]

Originally Posted by Jim65

If the buyer pays you are obligated to ship. If you're ok with the possible negative feedback and the strike on your account, then cancel if you're that uncomfortable.

I think a $2000+ item is worth the neg and the strike. If it happens, it happens.