The danger signs stack up. Don't ship until you've protected yourself - here's how.
Is your buyer legit?
Get a clear verdict on a suspicious buyer before you ship - in about a minute.
What you'll get
The check asks about the patterns sellers can actually see: account age, payment behavior, address changes, forwarding addresses, and whether the story feels too clean.
Something's off. Here's exactly what to verify before you decide.
No major red flags. Here's why you can likely go ahead.
Real scam stories - and how to read them
Every story here is a real case with the red flags marked and what the seller could have done differently. The thing the forums never give you: an ending.
Freight forwarder Protected
When eBay seller protection saved me
Seller protection can work on risky-looking eBay orders when the shipment matches the order, tracking is clean, and signature is added.
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Returns / chargeback Scammed
Why I now accept every return - even the unreasonable ones
Refusing a buyer-remorse return can turn a policy win into a bank chargeback where the seller loses the money, the item, and a fee.
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Address / location mismatch Avoided risk
When the address or location signals don't add up
Non-residential addresses, impossible addresses, and mismatched location signals are usually stop-and-verify triggers, not proof by themselves.
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Off-platform payment Scammed
When a buyer wants to take it off-platform
Off-platform payment requests mean different things on eBay and local marketplaces, but both can put the seller outside normal protection.
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Buyer identity / name mismatch (eBay) declined; fraud unproven
When a buyer's name doesn't match on eBay
A name or recipient mismatch on an eBay order can be innocent; the real danger is a post-payment address change.
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Buyer identity / billing-vs-shipping mismatch (direct card payment) Chargeback risk
Name mismatch when YOU take the card: the chargeback trap
On an independent store, billing-vs-shipping mismatch can become a real chargeback risk because there is no marketplace seller protection.
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Item-not-received / empty box Scammed
The $500 empty-box case
A zero-feedback eBay buyer made an above-market offer, then claimed the delivered package was empty.
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Zero-feedback account pattern Avoided loss
Two same-day zero-feedback buyers on high-value collectibles
Two expensive collectibles sold back-to-back to brand-new accounts with matching username patterns.
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Zero-feedback account pattern Avoided loss
Zero-feedback shoe buyer with a tricky username
A designer-shoe order almost shipped before the seller noticed the account was brand new.
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Name mismatch / burner account Avoided loss
Generated username and mismatched shipping name
A new account placed a high-value order with a username, recipient name, phone area code, and address that did not line up.
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Triangulation / stolen card Scammed
The retail-store invoice that exposed a triangulation scam
A package arrived from a real retailer with someone else's card on the invoice.
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Fake name / commercial address Avoided loss
Fake recipient name on a high-value GPU order
A zero-feedback buyer used a fake recipient name and a commercial shipping address on a valuable electronics order.
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Built from 5 years and 1,000+ deals selling on eBay.