posted on January 4, 2008 05:53:56 AM
Is this strange or am I being paranoid?? I have a buyer that is bidding or has "won" 32 items in the past week. Still bidding on everything I am listing. I have repeat buyers, but this one is unusual. She has 100% feedback. Has been a member since '05 with over 800 +. I do combine shipping so she has already paid me for 9 items. I told her I would not ship ALL of these items together. Not possible, too varied, etc.In the past 30 days she has bid on at least 324 items. Should this raise a red flag or I am I just being overly nervous.
posted on January 4, 2008 07:17:47 AM
Does she sell on Ebay?
Is she using Paypal?
Yes,it does sound strange,324 items!
If she is using a stolen credit card ,she wants to buy as many as she can before the owner gets the statement or the cc issuer calls the cardholder.
If she is using Paypal,you may want to alert Paypal and have them call the credit card issuer.
PS.there is no Paypal seller protection if she used a stolen credit card.
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Lets all stop whining !
posted on January 4, 2008 07:23:09 AM
On Yahoo shopping,Yahoo has software in place which spots buyer going from shop to shop on a buying spree ,within a few hours the buyer can rack up thousands of dollars of purchases and the order the merchant receive from Yahoo will be marked 'this order could be fraudulent'.
It is up to the merchant to exercise judgment .
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Lets all stop whining !
posted on January 4, 2008 07:38:25 AM
I've had this happen, but not often enough. I'm always very nervous until they pay. So far, I haven't got burned.
posted on January 4, 2008 08:13:12 AM
She could be using her own credit card with no intention of paying!
It also works on the sell side with Ebay invoice,a seller will list like mad and hope some will sell and collect the proceeds,by the time Ebay charges their credit card,the card is cancelled/maxed out.
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Lets all stop whining !
posted on January 4, 2008 08:17:50 AM
I think if this happened to me, I would email the buyer and say that you are delighted that they are bidding on so many of your items, and you are just wanting to make sure that no-one has hacked their account.
posted on January 4, 2008 08:28:02 AM
I think your policies have left you open to potentially malicious bidding. Feedback means nothing; a woman with four-digit feedback bounced two checks on me totalling $500, then left 32 negative feedbacks.
If you didn't combine, you could keep a tight rein on this lady by filing for UPI the instant it becomes possible. But since you do, all she has to say is "I'm waiting for my other auctions to end" and keep on bidding. You won't dare block her.
posted on January 4, 2008 08:46:04 AM
Hwahwa, ""a seller will list like mad and hope some will sell and collect the proceeds,by the time Ebay charges their credit card,the card is cancelled/maxed out.""
Is this why in Vintage jewelry the first 40-50 pages (Highest First) have ridiculous starting prices and no bids? I've been wondering about that....couldn't figure it out.
posted on January 4, 2008 10:54:37 AM
Ebay has caught on to this seller list like mad game,for those who do not have credit card on file,their limit has been restricted to $200-$400 a month vs $ 800 a month.
For those who are relatively new in selling,they are told to list so many items and then wait till some are sold or expired before they list more.
But for veteran sellers with high feedback,there is no way to stop them from listing zillions of items.
But if someone hijacked another bidder's paypal and ebay accounts,she would have to change the confirmed address on Paypal to receive the items,how does she do it??Unless she is the housekeeper and the owner is out of town?
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Lets all stop whining !
posted on January 4, 2008 11:08:18 AM
I recently sold over 40 items from my store to to someone who had over 1000 FB in the last 30 days (all positive). All of the items purchased were postcards.
I guess it depends on what you sell. If someone is acquiring a collection and has the resources, he/she could easily purchase many items in a short period of time. If on the other hand you sell items that are not collectible and that a person is likely to only have one or two of, I would be suspicious.
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posted on January 4, 2008 11:45:14 AM
merrie.... if i were you, i would pull their contact info in a heartbeat and give them a call .... might put your mind at ease.
posted on January 4, 2008 11:49:17 AM
The checkbouncer I mentioned above was buying jewelry to resell on eBay. Imagine my annoyance when her checks were returned and I found she had the stolen jewelry up for sale.
Fortunately she was stupid enough to try to cheat eBay, too.
But there are many reasons for bidding up a storm. Some are honest and aboveboard, some are not.
posted on January 4, 2008 02:03:34 PM
Thanks for all of the input. I have been away from my computer. I am very happy to be selling all of these things, but I am nervous. A large portion of items that have ended in the past week has been bought by this person. At first I was not concerned, they were all the same manufacturer and some people want all of the same color, shape, etc for their collection. Especially holiday collectibles. Now it seems like she is bidding on everything and anything, which if legit, is great, I have sold some items that have been around awhile. But, this seems to make less sense as a buyer, why would you want such a diverse assortment of items?? I told her I could not ship all of these items together, too many and some cannot travel safely together, fragile vs bulky, etc. She has paid for the first 9 items. I invoiced her another 7 and she just paid for them, also.She just won another 17 items and is still bidding. I am really confused. I love the business, but WT*.
She lives in US and is paying via PayPal using a confirmed address, so whats up!!
Am I looking a gift horse in the mouth, whatever that means!!
[ edited by merrie on Jan 4, 2008 02:05 PM ]
posted on January 4, 2008 02:17:44 PM
A lady from Singapore bought 60 postcards from me over several days. No rhyme or reason to her choices - state capitols, Italian art cards,hotels, universities. I was very nervous because eBay showed payment had been sent for the longest time, yet her check didn't arrive in the mail. Finally, I saw that she first paid through Paypal, then marked the items payment sent. This moved them back into the unpaid bin. When I pulled her cards for shipment, I finally realized what they all had in common - buildings with domes.
posted on January 4, 2008 03:20:53 PM
She is still bidding, if I list it, she likes it. Varied items, but not really high cost items, so maybe she is just a bargain hunter. I said she had 800 + feedback, actualy, she had 840 + unique feedback, and 2280+ actual feedbacks. Maybe she just likes to keep buying from a seller that has the terms she is happy with. All buying, no selling.
posted on January 4, 2008 09:06:57 PM
It sounds like it might be a manic episode to me. I don't blame you for being nervous. I'm sorry I have no advice but I hope it ends well for you.
posted on January 5, 2008 05:53:44 AM
mingotree: the normal part is not the method of payment, but the amount of items. They are not all one type of item, like postcards, prints, plates, etc. They run the gamut.
I don't even know how she would keep track of the items she is "winning." I am not the only seller she is buying from.
Perhaps she is intending to resell. Only one item so far she has been outbid on, but I take that as a positive since it means she did not put in an outlandish bid for a relatively inexpensive item.
Thanks for your suggestions. I will keep you posted.
posted on January 5, 2008 08:11:33 AM
Why not give her a call?
Thank her for all the bidding and ask her if she is a reseller,if so,you can give her a quantity discount,what else would she be interested in?just make up some excuse to talk to her and see if she is legit.
If she uses a stolen card,confirmed address means nothing,there is no seller protection on fraudulent transactions,the seller loses.
There is a case of someone who used an AMEX card to buy a plasma tv and it was delivered to an empty house,the buyer has moved out of the house but he hanged around to receive the TV set , then filed chargeback and won.
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Lets all stop whining !
posted on January 5, 2008 08:38:35 AM
Thanks hwahwa, good advice about calling. I did pull her contact info and everything seems to pan out. We have been emailing each other. Guess I should just be smiling instead of getting worry lines.
posted on January 5, 2008 04:07:24 PM
Merrie...I had a buyer do this about a year ago and it was a huge variety of different items, china, collectibles, collectors spoons and more.
When I checked what else she was bidding on there was vintage jewellery, old dolls, miniatures...just a huge variety.
I was a bit worried too when she got up to over 45 items but she paid immediately and I shipped.
She was actually opening a B & M Antique/Collectibles store in a small seaside town in Eastern Canada and was stocking it. It made perfect sense because a lot of the items she had bid on were at very good prices so she did well and so did the Sellers that she was buying from.
She received the parcel and thanked me but never did give any feedback to me or anyone else.
posted on January 5, 2008 04:22:54 PM
otteropp: Thanks for sharing your experience. This person is buying a variety of items, she has done many BINs, but is not trying to outbid others if the price escalates, which I take as a postive, in that she is concerned about getting a good deal. If it were a stolen CC, price would be no object.
She has left feedback for prior transactions, seems to be pleasant in each.
