eBay is a great place for sellers to find buyers. Most of the time deals go smoothly, and you pocket your money while making a buyer happy. Most of the time, that is.

There are some buyers who are more interested in causing you headaches or even tricking you into violating the law. Some are trying to scam you, some only want to cause you trouble to make themselves feel important or to save themselves a few pennies.

Here are some of the most common traps buyers use to snare sellers.

Under value international shipments – International buyers often request a seller to list an item as a gift when it is not a gift. This is against the law. If customs inspects the package, they may confiscate it. Now who’s headache is it? The seller because he has to issue a refund. What if customs finds an eBay auction number in the packet and decides to file criminal charges. Who do they file charges against? That is right, the seller. The buyer is not at risk because it was the seller who broke the law. Never let an international buyer trick you into listing an item as a Gift if it is a Commercial Sample.

Direct PayPal Payment – Dishonest buyers sometimes ask you to provide your email address, so they can send a PayPal payment directly without using eBay checkout. They do this because they have a personal PayPal account. A personal account cannot be used to pay for auctions. If you are caught participating in this transaction, you could have your account and their account disabled. Your PayPal account means more to you than theirs does to them, otherwise they would not be willing to take the risk. Any honest buyer who pays by PayPal will use eBay checkout and not ask to pay directly.

Buyer Upgrades – Buyer bids on a used camera then complains it is not as advertised and wants to return it. The seller receives a different camera that is scratched up and clearly heavily used. The dishonest buyer has attempted to use eBay to obtain an upgrade. Always record serial numbers or photograph serial numbers of expensive items before shipping.

Buyer Refunds – You receive an email from a buyer claiming the item was slightly damaged or not exactly as advertised, and they want a partial refund. This is always a scam. An honest buyer will want to return the item for a full refund. A dishonest buyer will contact everyone they buy from with the same story, hoping for a partial refund. If they trick a buyer into sending them money, they are ahead, if not, they have lost nothing. If a buyer ever asks for a partial refund, stand firm and give them nothing. It is OK to offer a partial refund as long as the buyer does not suggest it first.

Cheap Shipping – You sell an item on eBay and the buyer wants to pay the least possible for shipping, then demands you ship by first class or media mail. First, the shipping should have been stated in the auction and the buyer is legally bound to honor that shipping amount because by bidding, they agreed to it already. Second, this is a common PayPal scam. The buyer is planning to file for a PayPal reversal and wants to trick you into shipping by a means that has no tracking number. The post office now allows tracking on first class and media mail but few people use it. Never ship a package to anyone without a tracking number.

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