Avoid Fraud When Using EBay

eBay is one of the most visited sites on the World Wide Web, so it's no surprise that scammers would try to use this information to commit fraud. Sellers should be careful to avoid fraud when selling products from their business store on eBay. Though eBay is one of the safest sites to use for the buyer and seller because of the protections that are put into place, no online Web site is completely immune from individuals out to swindle and deceive. The following are ways the seller and buyer can protect himself when using eBay:

Review: Before getting in too deep carefully read the User Agreement and Terms and Conditions for both eBay and PayPal since both are probably going to be used at some point in time. Look over both sites FAQs as well, if you do not understand a term seek out more information. The information included here can help you recognize buyers and sellers who are untrustworthy and remind you to be cautious when dealing with online transactions.

If you are a seller on eBay the PayPal protection plan, offers a number of benefits to the buyer, and in some cases an unscrupulous buyer can use this to their advantage, by claming an item in good condition was not received as described, or even claiming an item was not received, when it was. To avoid this problem, sellers can choose to ship packages through verifiable shipping methods, if the buyer has to sign for the package, they cannot later claim nothing was received.

Start slow: Before investing in a big-ticket purchase, feel out the site, buying or listing an item that only costs a few dollars, can help you understand how the process works from bidding, to shipping and providing ratings. Once you have a better, understanding of the process you can make bigger purchases.

Check ratings: Before purchasing from a seller, check their ratings, if a seller has negative feedback look at the dates mentioned. Some sellers may start great, but as time goes by, they could stop fulfilling orders but still keep your money. Sellers who have a lot of recent feedback and most of its negative are probably defrauding individuals out of their money. Review the sellers ratings for items they have bought as well, this can help you get an overall picture of a sellers history and can help you decide on whether or not you should place a bid when a seller has mixed feedback.

Use a little common sense: Some items listed on eBay auctions are so unbelievable, their is no way they are real. For example, a seller lists a pair of 24kt, diamond rings for a buck. No seller would list a valuable item such as this at prices way below market value. In instances like this, the seller is running a scam and the merchandise if it exists is probably fake. There is no such thing as being too cautious when it comes to safe guarding your money, if you are unsure or nervous about making a bid, then hold off, your instincts are probably trying to tell you something.