For ebay auctions, Paypal is the way to go. And the most preferred way. Reason is Paypal is now owned by Ebay.
I have dealt with alot of buyers on ebay and outside ebay. Every transaction goes thru Paypal. I did get scammed once or twice, but after I understand what I need to do to prevent the possibilities of getting scammed, I never get scammed again. I am not saying its not possible, I am just saying the chances will be very low.
These are the things that you may like to take note as a seller.
1) Find out his Ebay feedback ratings. You can easily find out on the auction item page. Usually if the person has bought things over the last 1 month and still no negative feedback, then I feel less worried.
2) Make sure the buyer has a VERIFIED paypal account. This is very important because it will give some level of assurance that the CC that is tied to the Paypal acct is verified. Verification of CC in Paypal means Paypal will charge the owner and owner has to refer to his CC statements for verification code.
This is to prevent those CC frauds (CC thieves) from creating new paypal accts and pay you using another victim CC. If this ever happens, the original CC owner can stop the payment to Paypal and the money you received MAY still be reversed after sometimes.
3) Make sure the buyer account HAS a CONFIRMED shipping address. This is typically his/her house address. This is equally important for the same reason as 1) .
But more importantly, why do you need this and also the house number verification? Reason is simple. There are quite alot of Russian hackers using HACKED paypal accounts (and obviously the Ebay accounts too) to buy things and scam every seller. People have traced back the origin of these people and if you follow these simple rules, then you wont be their next victim.
Make your buyer use Confirmed Shipping Address thru Paypal as well as put there Home Phone number in the notes of the Payment. If they claim ANY excuse AT ALL that you cant call them DO NOT and I repeat DO NOT DO THE DEAL. Use sites like www.anywho.com or www.switchboard.com and check them out. Also call 411 and do a reverse check on the phone number and if no listing that way ask the operator to check the City and State from Paypal... give them the last name only and the Street Address. If all else fails check on http://thedirectory.org/pref/ to be sure the phone is at least in the correct city and MAKE THAT CALL to them. The hacker will give you excuses as to why he cant be called and they sound good but DO NOT FALL FOR IT.
If you are or intend to be a BIG time seller on EBay, CALL the buyer (normally they are in US) to verify their identity and information. Overseas call expensive? Not if you are a Starhub mobile user. Even if you arent a Starhub mobile subscribers, you can always subscribe to Starhub 018 service or even get those calling cards . You will really appreciate this small little extra step if you do not intend to become a victim.
Once again, nothing is foolproof. The only thing I have to say is IF you are suspicious of any buyer, email them politely with a reply saying due to whatever reason, you wont be able to deliver this item and you will refund the money back to his/her account.
Thats all I have to say.
