Selling expensive Ebay item with best offer.......zero feedback buyer interested

frankhardy

I need some advice. I have an Ebay listing that is over $5,000 with a best offer. I have had a few strong offers, but nothing that I wanted to take and nothing in a while. Now, I have a potential buyer that is messaging me asking me what my lowest price is. Then, he asks me if I would take $3,800 for it. That is not too far off from what I will take, but I told him that I couldn't go that low. I told him to feel free to make an official offer.

Ok......what would you do? I am very, very worried that this zero feedback buyer will try to buy and then try to rip me off through a Paypal chargeback or something like that. What should I do? How can I protect myself? I looked into limiting buyers with low feedback score, but the best I could do was a minus 1 buyer.

I am an experienced Ebay seller, but I haven't sold something that expensive before.

frankhardy

Here is the recent dialogue

dylandore:

I am really interested in this jersey would you possibly do 3,800?

Your previous message

Sorry. Can't do it. Thanks.

dylandore:

Alright whats the lowest you willing to go?

Your previous message

I'm not in a rush to sell. Feel free to make an offer.

dylandore:

Alright I will keep thinking about it and get back to you on it.

miwlvrn

Does their user ID have a North American location? Or is it China? Newly registered the same day he wrote you, or open before your listing was posted?

frankhardy

Based in the United States.

This is weird.......has been a member since December 24, 2015.

grote15

@frankhardy said:
Based in the United States.

This is weird.......has been a member since December 24, 2015.

With no feedback? That is a bit curious.

Listen to your gut. Both problems I've had in past year were with zero feedback buyers (one was a chargeback).

For that kind of coin, I'd rather take less from a more established or reliable buyer. JMHO.

frankhardy

I agree....but how do I stop it?

frankhardy

He is now blocked!

slum22

Yes, run as fast as you can.

frankhardy

Now then.......what happens if a zero feedback buyer simply hits the buy it now button and pays? How do sellers protect themselves?

MrHockey

You can always cancel the order.

stevek

@frankhardy said:
Now then.......what happens if a zero feedback buyer simply hits the buy it now button and pays? How do sellers protect themselves?

Google the shipping address and look at the house. If it's a nice house in a nice neighborhood, I wouldn't worry much about it. If the buyer is living in a bad part of town in a run down apartment, I'd worry.

You can also google and usually find some personal info on the buyer, or you can buy online a credit report to see if the buyer has a history of being a stiff artist. If there is no info on the buyer online, or little or no credit history, I'd worry.

You're being very wise asking these questions. Good luck!

erikthredd

I would just either wait till you land the "right" buyer through the Best Offer option or try selling it thru PWCC or Probstein. I recently had a potential buyer on a Tom Brady auto i was selling who had 100% feedback on 200+ transactions but i kept declining his best offers because in those 200+ ebay transactions he had,he left over 30 negative feedback. I ended up taking less money to not have to deal with that type of headache. Zero feedback or Perfect feedback you really don't know who're dealing with until its too late.

By the way,that is a gorgeous MJ rookie auto display you have listed in the B/S/T section.

hdunk

I would find the potential buyer's info and check him out online. I have sold $4000+ cards in EBAY to zero feedback buyers before. I checked the address before shipping and checked the person out via Google and was fine each time.

One was an attorney who bought a low grade 1952 Topps Mantle, one turned out to be a criminal investigator for a sheriffs office who bought a higher dollar Cobb.