| Of the millions of transactions that transpire on | | | | examine their products. If you find they're fakes, |
| eBay each day, only an infinitesimally small | | | | you've learned your lesson at a minimal cost. |
| percentage are fraudulent. However, even that | | | | 3. Counterfeit cashier's checks and money orders. |
| small percentage means that fraud does still | | | | Be particularly careful with international buyers |
| occur. How do you, as a seller, avoid becoming | | | | who need you to send an expensive item to an |
| the victim of a scam? By recognizing common | | | | "agent" along with an exorbitant fee. |
| signs of fraud: | | | | Before you send out a buyer's item, or |
| 1. "Phishing" expeditions. According to eBay guru | | | | forward any "agent's fees" from their check, take |
| Skip McGath ( "phishers" send out mass emails, | | | | that check to your bank and have them call the |
| posing as eBay, or any company, and asking the | | | | issuing bank and verify the check is good. If it's |
| recipient to confirm their password, which they | | | | not, you've saved yourself a lot of money. And if |
| use to hijack their account. | | | | they tell you it's good and turn out to be wrong, |
| Advises McGrath, "Any email that's really | | | | you aren't the one taking the loss. |
| from eBay will be on your My eBay page under | | | | 4. Sites or auctions that don't accept PayPal or |
| your My Messages, NOT in your inbox." | | | | credit cards. |
| Always log into eBay - or any password | | | | PayPal performs very thorough background |
| protected site - by going to the site from your | | | | checks and is committed to going after |
| favorites bar, or by typing in the URL yourself. | | | | perpetrators of fraud; and credit cards let you file |
| Never log in on a page you opened through an | | | | charge backs. |
| email link. No matter how authentic the page | | | | If a supplier insists on being paid with a |
| looks, there's a good chance you've been | | | | cashier's check or money order, that may be an |
| redirected to a phony site. | | | | indicator that they're not a good product source. |
| 2. Unauthorized suppliers. You need to verify your | | | | Don't let a few dishonest people scare you off of |
| suppliers - not everyone that claims to be selling | | | | eBay altogether. There are plenty of genuine |
| wholesale products is legitimate. | | | | suppliers there, and not every user is trying to |
| If someone claims to be selling you wholesale | | | | cheat you. You just need to be aware of what's |
| items, but doesn't require your Tax ID number, | | | | out there, and proceed with caution. The vast |
| they're not legitimate. | | | | majority of transactions that happen on eBay are |
| If you see a drop ship site with name brand | | | | completely above-board: it's one of the safest |
| logos plastered everywhere, they're very likely | | | | eCommerce platforms around. Assures McGrath, |
| NOT an authorized dealer - accounts with large | | | | "You can buy $10,000 Breitling watches on eBay |
| brand companies are extremely difficult to | | | | that are perfectly legitimate. Just take those |
| establish, and the logos are copyrighted material. | | | | steps, and make sure you know who you're |
| If you're using a new supplier, start out with | | | | buying from. |
| a very small order to test their service and | | | | |