For information about gift card fraud, see our article on protecting yourself against gift card scams
Seller fraud is any attempt by sellers to misrepresent themselves, or the products they're selling.
Signs of seller fraud
Here are some warning signs to look out for:
- Short duration listings: Fraudulent sellers often want to close a deal quickly. The longer their listing is on eBay, the greater their chances of being caught – so be cautious when you see one-day listings. However, there are valid exceptions to this, such as tickets to an event happening soon
- Heavily discounted or sold-out items: Be wary if a seller has lots of high-value items at suspiciously low prices, or a stock of hard-to-find goods that are sold out everywhere else. If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is
- Off-eBay contact or payment: eBay Messages is the safest way to contact other members. Always be careful if a seller asks for your personal contact details, such as an email address or phone number. They may be trying to get you to complete a purchase off eBay, for example by paying cash or transferring money to an overseas account. This is against our policy, and your purchase wouldn't be covered by eBay Money Back Guarantee
- Unsafe payment methods: We don't allow some payment methods on eBay because the payment can't be traced or recovered if there's a problem. This may include a request for wire transfers to overseas accounts, the purchase of prepaid cards, or cryptocurrency. You shouldn't go ahead with a transaction if a seller asks you to pay using a method that's not included in our Accepted payments policy
Tip
Be wary if you see a listing from an account that was previously only used for buying, but is now selling a large number of high-value items.
How to report a seller you suspect is fraudulent
If you think you're dealing with a fraudulent seller, report it to us as soon as possible. We'll look into it.