ComplainerMan

eBay is scammer central. There are many sellers who know the system well and can fool you into trusting them. They know all the tricks, and if you are an infrequent eBayer, it’s easy for them to get the best of you. Here are some warning signs that the eBay seller you are considering making a purchase from wants to scam you.

1. The seller is relatively new, but has an apparently sophisticated system going with many auctions or sales. This could indicate the were banned, or got a large amount of negative feedback with a previous account or accounts, and are starting fresh
2. They have a low number of feedback comments, but frequent sales.  Again, if they are selling at a good pace for a number of weeks, it could mean they are new and getting a strong start. More likely they are an experienced seller and just started a new account because they were banned or got too much negative feedback.
3. Their positive feedback is for low priced items. They do have some negative feedback, especially regarding misrepresentation or poor communication. People on eBay generally don’t give negative feedback lightly, so no matter how plausible the reply, multiple negative feedback in a short amount of time is a red flag. 
4. The deals look too good to be true. They usually are.
5. The shipping is too high.  Shipping is now posted prominently in auctions, so it’s harder to pull this now, but scam sellers will try to get away with jacking it up as much as they think they can get away with. They will often quote a premium shipping service and actually ship with a cheaper carrier, and pocket the difference. 

Even after  you know you’ve been scammed, and confront the scam seller, they will try to fool you into thinking you have no recourse. You do! Immediately post negative feedback and warn others. Go to the resolution center. If you paid with Paypal (which you should ALWAYS do on eBay)  visit the PayPal Resolution Center to open your case. Then you can file a claim under PayPal’s Buyer Protection program.