dennugsmello Posted March 17, 2021 Posted March 17, 2021 Question for you guys. I've sold quite a bit on Ebay over the years and had a few weird things happen, but today I've had something strange happen that I need some advice on. In anticipation of all the stimulus money arriving I put a bunch of my high value sets up at inflated prices. Well above current selling prices. Not worried if they sell or not, just have them there if sales boomed. Well one of my Big Bens (10253) sold today for $700. $200 above the normal sell price on eBay right now. The buyer is an eight month old account with one transaction as a buyer. All of these facts together scream red flag in my mind. Anybody know why the buyer would do this? Are they just inept, or is there a more sinister play going on? Quote
KShine Posted March 17, 2021 Posted March 17, 2021 9 minutes ago, dennugsmello said: Anybody know why the buyer would do this? Are they just inept, or is there a more sinister play going on? It happens often - Most people will not look for the best price. It may defy reason, but people tend to overpay for whatever shows up on the page. Are they a foreign account? Quote
dennugsmello Posted March 17, 2021 Posted March 17, 2021 1 minute ago, KShine said: It happens often - Most people will not look for the best price. It may defy reason, but people tend to overpay for whatever shows up on the page. Are they a foreign account? No. Its domestic. Was thinking about messaging him about it, but maybe I send it off and cross my fingers... Quote
fuzzy_bricks Posted March 17, 2021 Posted March 17, 2021 I've done the message thing on questionable accounts but have not received a reply so I end up shipping. Other than trying to contact them you can just wait the maximum amount of time that you have set to ship the item, just to see if a fraud notice comes in. Quote
fourkidsbuilding Posted March 17, 2021 Posted March 17, 2021 I've been selling on ebay since 2001 and I've seen this many times. I still like to do the auction format and I've had items get bid up to stupid amounts when the buyer could have used a BIN on someone's else's item for significantly less...don't try to understand it...just enjoy it when it happens... 1 Quote
marcandre Posted March 17, 2021 Posted March 17, 2021 Be sure to do signature confirmation on the shipping 1 Quote
$20 on joe vs dan Posted March 17, 2021 Posted March 17, 2021 2 hours ago, dennugsmello said: Question for you guys. I've sold quite a bit on Ebay over the years and had a few weird things happen, but today I've had something strange happen that I need some advice on. In anticipation of all the stimulus money arriving I put a bunch of my high value sets up at inflated prices. Well above current selling prices. Not worried if they sell or not, just have them there if sales boomed. Well one of my Big Bens (10253) sold today for $700. $200 above the normal sell price on eBay right now. The buyer is an eight month old account with one transaction as a buyer. All of these facts together scream red flag in my mind. Anybody know why the buyer would do this? Are they just inept, or is there a more sinister play going on? I had something similar happen where the purchase price was clearly way more than the going rate. I messaged the guy to confirm everything...radio silence...then a couple more times...then I cancelled the sale. Not worth it to me. But this was during the "sets >$300 resulting in scams" season. Quote
thelovemachine Posted March 18, 2021 Posted March 18, 2021 Had a buyer buy two large sets and it ships to an oregon address but when I click her ID, it was created today and says Based in Russian Federation.... The address is this... 12540 SW Leveton Dr Apt F0340 Tualatin OR 97062-6070 Hmnnn Thinking of emailing the buyer.. but not a fan of zero feedback. Two 60097 sets for $460. Quote
Lego Lass Posted March 18, 2021 Posted March 18, 2021 29 minutes ago, thelovemachine said: Hmnnn Thinking of emailing the buyer.. but not a fan of zero feedback. Two 60097 sets for $460. I'd be very wary of this one. I had a similar order about a week ago…the address you posted looked familiar. I double checked mine, and a very expensive LEGO set sold to a first time buyer was slated to go to an address right across the street from this one, which happens to be a huge freight forwarding company. Needless to say, the only contact I had with them was a cancellation notice on the order…I absolutely do not ship through freight forwarders. I know others have without difficulty, but I'm small time, and don't have the cushion to deal with scammers. I've had to cancel a few orders like this over the past year…never heard a peep back from any of them. 1 Quote
thelovemachine Posted March 18, 2021 Posted March 18, 2021 5 minutes ago, Lego Lass said: I'd be very wary of this one. I had a similar order about a week ago…the address you posted looked familiar. I double checked mine, and a very expensive LEGO set sold to a first time buyer was slated to go to an address right across the street from this one, which happens to be a huge freight forwarding company. Needless to say, the only contact I had with them was a cancellation notice on the order…I absolutely do not ship through freight forwarders. I know others have without difficulty, but I'm small time, and don't have the cushion to deal with scammers. I've had to cancel a few orders like this over the past year…never heard a peep back from any of them. Thx... what's the downside of the cancel? Do u cite issue with address as the reason? Quote
Lego Lass Posted March 18, 2021 Posted March 18, 2021 16 minutes ago, thelovemachine said: Thx... what's the downside of the cancel? Do u cite issue with address as the reason? Yup, and I always email the buyer to let them know they're cancelled and why. It's very clearly stated in all of my listings that I only ship to select countries using eBay's Global Shipping Program. Any attempt to circumvent that will result in cancellation, as I prefer what little seller protection I get from eBay to the Wild Wild West potential of freight forwarders. I use something like "violating our terms of service" in my email, and that usually does the trick. Have yet to get a negative feedback, or any grief from eBay as a result. 2 Quote
thelovemachine Posted March 18, 2021 Posted March 18, 2021 2 minutes ago, Lego Lass said: Yup, and I always email the buyer to let them know they're cancelled and why. It's very clearly stated in all of my listings that I only ship to select countries using eBay's Global Shipping Program. Any attempt to circumvent that will result in cancellation, as I prefer what little seller protection I get from eBay to the Wild Wild West potential of freight forwarders. I use something like "violating our terms of service" in my email, and that usually does the trick. Have yet to get a negative feedback, or any grief from eBay as a result. Yeah.. not going to ship to Oregon with a new account such a large item and also zero feedback and based in russian federation. not worth it. 2 Quote
Aib84e Posted March 25, 2021 Posted March 25, 2021 I have had several international buyers who use freight forwarders, even though I stipulated using the Global Shipping Program. I did reading and then made phone calls. The end result is as long as I setup tracking and shipping, it's logged into the eBay listing it transfers automatically to PayPal listing. PayPal also put a note that this was going via a freight forward service. They protect the buyer up until it arrives at the address on the package (which shows its a freight forwarding company). There would be no recourse for the buyer for damages etc as the onus would now be on the buyer to have the freight forwarding company check over the product. Damage will be with the freight forwarding service to pay out, not PayPal. Long as short, you are protected as the seller as long as item was as described in listing. And ensure you have photo and video documentation of packaging up the item. Knock on wood, I haven't had an issue yet using freight forwarding or the global shipping program. Quote
brickvoyeur Posted March 25, 2021 Posted March 25, 2021 4 minutes ago, Aib84e said: Long as short, you are protected as the seller as long as item was as described in listing. And ensure you have photo and video documentation of packaging up the item. Oh you poor dear for believing that. If you get scammed by the person buying from the freight forwarder you're in for a fight. They'll return garbage to you and as long as the tracking says it was delivered to you, it will auto refund. BP had to band together and collect data for the mass of scams last year. https://www.brickpicker.com/forums/topic/21401-concerns-about-scammers-using-freight-forwarders-to-do-their-deeds 1 Quote
KShine Posted March 25, 2021 Posted March 25, 2021 11 minutes ago, brickvoyeur said: Oh you poor dear for believing that. If you get scammed by the person buying from the freight forwarder you're in for a fight. They'll return garbage to you and as long as the tracking says it was delivered to you, it will auto refund. Not fair - That logic applies to all transactions, not just to freight forwarders (plus most of them would not be involved in such things, as it would ruin their business). So unless someone wants to live a life in total fear - you simply have to live your life (while taking the proper precautions). 2 Quote
maestro Posted September 4, 2021 Posted September 4, 2021 So I'm gradually parting with most of my sets (well might keep my Star Wars ones 🙂). I've just started selling on eBay. Some smallish items, I believe I have to make 8 sales before I can sell internationally. I have read some eBay info on here which has been very helpful. Where I live there doesn't seem to be high demand for big valuable retired sets. So, when selling a retired set on eBay does anyone have any advice. Let's say for example Pet Shop or Red 5 X-Wing type set. Do most on here end up selling at Buy It Now? Does anyone have any guide percentages re pricing? Thanks for any advice. Quote
Mgip21 Posted September 4, 2021 Posted September 4, 2021 I always use but it now and look at sold items to determine my price. Good luck! Quote
maestro Posted September 4, 2021 Posted September 4, 2021 30 minutes ago, Mgip21 said: I always use but it now and look at sold items to determine my price. Good luck! Yes I am doing that thanks. You're making plenty of sense as whatever the eBay and PayPal fees are you just got to pay them and you probably can't go over the standard pricing. Thanks Quote
KShine Posted September 4, 2021 Posted September 4, 2021 (edited) 50 minutes ago, maestro said: Yes I am doing that thanks. You're making plenty of sense as whatever the eBay and PayPal fees are you just got to pay them and you probably can't go over the standard pricing. Thanks Use buy it now, with the best offer option (unless you are already pricing it at the lowest price available on ebay). As far as pricing - as a new seller, it would be best to stick with the going prices. Edited September 4, 2021 by KShine 1 Quote
Graphicski Posted September 4, 2021 Posted September 4, 2021 I pretty much just resell used sets on ebay. Personally I find listing for bidding and start at 10p no matter the set size has proven much better than listing as buy it now - just seemed comparatively little interest when pricing competitively against others on ebay. Whereas (and its an initially scary gamble on a set worth £100+) starting a listing at 10p attracts a lot more attention and bidders. UK seller. Quote
I Pitty da Foo Posted September 4, 2021 Posted September 4, 2021 51 minutes ago, Graphicski said: I pretty much just resell used sets on ebay. Personally I find listing for bidding and start at 10p no matter the set size has proven much better than listing as buy it now - just seemed comparatively little interest when pricing competitively against others on ebay. Whereas (and its an initially scary gamble on a set worth £100+) starting a listing at 10p attracts a lot more attention and bidders. UK seller. 2 hours ago, maestro said: Yes I am doing that thanks. You're making plenty of sense as whatever the eBay and PayPal fees are you just got to pay them and you probably can't go over the standard pricing. Thanks From my experience auctions have been my biggest individual gains and also my biggest losses when selling. Great for a guaranteed sale but I think it depends mostly on market saturation and starting price if you will make reasonable returns. I'm not a whale by any means, so sometimes if you don't have eyes on your listing BIN accepting offers puts you in control of what you make (and you can see the buyer's address before you commit to mail it). 1 Quote
keymomachine Posted September 4, 2021 Posted September 4, 2021 1 hour ago, Graphicski said: Personally I find listing for bidding and start at 10p Thought this was 10pm for a second and was very confused. I've always gone for BIN, eBay will automatically add Best Offer after a couple weeks and usually I won't turn it off. Quote
Graphicski Posted September 4, 2021 Posted September 4, 2021 Ha yes 10p as in £0.10 I get fed up with stupid buy it now offers too. And sometimes the item I list as bid only sells for stupid money over buy it now options. Sometimes I don't get (but not complaining!) how people bid on an item when there's 'buy it nows' for cheaper 🤷🏻♂️ 2 1 Quote
maestro Posted September 4, 2021 Posted September 4, 2021 3 hours ago, KShine said: Use buy it now, with the best offer option (unless you are already pricing it at the lowest price available on ebay). As far as pricing - as a new seller, it would be best to stick with the going prices. I have included buy it now but didn’t notice best offer option. Perhaps I don’t qualify for that yet? Re the pricing I would be very happy to receive going prices Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.