Protect Yourself from Auction Scams

If you buy or sell on big name auction sites you should protect yourself from lots of online scams. Every day people lose thousands of dollars due to online scams on auction sites. Here are some ways to protect yourself.

Online scams are very prevalent on Ebay and other auction sites. If you buy an item make sure that the buyer has a positive rating and has some history, usually ten or more purchases or sales. Most of the time, a scammer will have a brand new account with no history.

If you buy an item on Ebay prefer to pay with Paypal. Paypal has excellent buyer coverage and doesn't give the seller any credit card information. If you never receive your item you can contact Paypal and request your money back. Usually if there is no proof that an item was delivered you will receive your money fast and easily.

If you are a seller it is important to state your return and exchange policy clearly. Most people fall into trouble when they do not state a return and exchange policy or the policy is not clear. Also make sure that your packages if expensive have tracking numbers. On very expensive orders make sure an item is insured by you or the buyer purchasing the item.

If you sell specific merchandise such as DVD's or CD's make sure that an exchange can only be given for defective merchandise, you don't want a person buying your product, copying it and returning it.