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Shari Nova Scotia,Canada
Posts: 1,712

I'm so frustrated  bear_angry First,I'm having a terrible time selling my bears but I realize things are slow but now last night someone for Singapore tried to "Fraud " my auction.I already went through this twice a few months ago,I'm ready to give up!No,I will not ever stop making bears but selling,I'm not sure.I think I'll take the suggestion for another post which I thought was hilarious but oh so true and bury them in the back yard. Sorry,just venting here,no need for replies.

Shari.

Winney Winneybears and Friends
White City, Oregon
Posts: 1,103

Oh no Shari..that's terrible...was this on Ebay ? If it is...this is what puts me off..its kinda scary. What does Eaby do about this sort of thing  since it has happened twice already ?

Your bears are too adorable to quit making them, I love your avatar...Winney

psichick78 Flying Fur Studios
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 3,073

Please don't stop making bears!!!!! Then I will never have one of yours!!
How did that scam work?? I've never heard of that before. Please explain.
If you stop selling on ebay, please still sell to me. I must own one of your bears one day. Wish my birthday was closer!!
Keep at it!
Heather

Shari Nova Scotia,Canada
Posts: 1,712

Thanks girls,well I was lucky so far,I received an email from someone who just registered with eBay yesterday.It was a big story about buying my item for a store that needs it and a bunch of stuff(hard to understand because of the wording) about money orders and they would arrange shipping and pick-up.I had a buy-it-now and I had to remove it because that was how I got taken before and then received an email warning me that this may not be a legitimate question but I emailed ebay back for more information but haven't heard a thing.I was "Frauded" before by a non paying bidder and then a second time with the buy-it-now and I have blocks on my auction.I went ahead and blocked this new person but it's very scary and takes my heart out of selling.My auction doesn't end until tomorrow but I'm very nervous now.Well I'll just hope for the best.

Shari.

SueAnn Past Time Bears
Double Oak, Texas
Posts: 21,684

SueAnn Help Advisor, Banner Sponsor

Hi, Shari . . . oh dear, I'm so sorry about the scam!  Every time I get excited about and ready to sell on ebay, something like this pops up to discourage me.  Your bears are SO endearing . . . I don't think the world can do without them!  Yes, I certainly can understand your being dismayed by low sales and anyone would be!  I so hope things will turn around for you and just know that the great people on this board support you in whatever decision you make that is the best for YOU!

shantell Apple Dumpling Designs
Willamette Valley Oregon
Posts: 3,128

Wow...I've bought and sold quite a bit on Ebay and have never had that many problems.  I have run across a couple non-paying bidders before which is very frustrating.  Who did you get email from?

then received an email warning me that this may not be a legitimate question but I emailed ebay back for more information but haven't heard a thing

Did that come directly from Ebay...because if it didn't I wouldn't respond.  There is just alot odd stuff going on.  I recently listed a doll and the buyer never paid...I sent a couple email through the ebay messaging system.  I get this reply finally from the lady saying that she has a multiple personality disorder and it must have been her "other identity" that placed the rather large bid. She went on about how sorry she was yadda yadda...  Part of me was sure I was being conned but then another part of me was...well it could be true...so I just did the non-paying bidder form, she agreed to the terms...and I relisted the doll.  She gave me the sweetest feedback and then closed her ebay account.  It was very strange. 

I also note in my listings that I reserve the right to cancel bids if they do not have so many (I chose 10) positive feedbacks and their account is less then 30 days old and ask them to please email before bidding.  I also read the kind of feedback they leave for others...that says alot...especially if they have negative feedback and how they respond. 

Best of Luck...

Daphne Back Road Bears
Laconia, NH USA
Posts: 6,568

Selling on eBay is a lot of hard work if you do it carefully like Shantell does!! And that's the way to go, Shantell! You have to be so careful to cover your butt! I have yet to have any problems selling on eBay.

Shari, do try other sites like www.bearpile.com etc. to sell your bears on. And keep your website going. Are there any upscale type craft shows where ART is sold (you know, not the ones where everything is $10 or less!) that you could sell your bears at? I know there are a few bear artists in Nova Scotia.... probably some doll artists too. If there aren't any shows one of you ought to put together a Bear & Doll show. You've got nothing to loose!

Don't give up, be creative and inventive to dream up other ways to sell!! Your bears are precious, don't stop!

Hugs,
Daphne

Deb Upstate New York
Posts: 1,650

In the past six months I've had three incidents that appeared to be Ebay related (they had the logo, etc.), but when I followed up w/ Ebay to say hey, what's going on ... they responded that they had NOT contact me.

One time it appeared they were saying something was the matter with my account and asked me to please resubmit all personal information.  Another was the cancellation of a bid (which I hadn't placed) and a request to resubmit the bit and a link to the item.  The third ... a nice guy that was bidding on the motorcycle we were selling emailed to say he had received a notice from Ebay that the bike could be bought for $X, and to contact them.  All hoaxes, not from Ebay, but from ... someone somewhere.

Watch out.  I bring suspicious stuff to Ebay's attention.

Deb

Dilu Posts: 8,574

For those of us who are fairly inexperienced with e-bay, like myself, it is very good to hear the things you are talking about.  I didn't know.

My hubbyhoney is very careful and very suspicious-  watches everything and questions everything.  But I might not think of being as cautious.

Our ISP has a wonderful quarantine feature that pulls out things it believes are hoaxes-  sometimes it pulls out good stuff too so you have to check frequently....

I appreciate the heads up....and I can see I have a lot to learn about selling critters.

Thank you ladies for bringing up this important stuff.  And thank you Shari for being courageous and sharing your frustrations and yet we know you will continue your art.

Art truly is something that gets into your blood and bones and cells and wont let you go.

bear_tongue dily

Delartful Bears Delartful Bears
Australia
Posts: 3,518

Oh Shari, I am so sorry to hear all that.

Please don't give up - yet.  Your bears are amazing works of art, and you were one of the artists that jumped out at me when I first got into bears, and would spend time looking at eBay.

Your work is amazing, believe in yourself..give it time, and perhaps have a break from eBay for a little while?

Danni

Marie_ Kiprie Bears
Yokohama, Japan
Posts: 2,735

Shari, so sorry to hear about the scam!!!! bear_angry
  but please don't stop making your wonderful bears :(

Hugs/Marie

Shari Nova Scotia,Canada
Posts: 1,712

Thanks girls.I will continue to make bears,yes I will,nothing and nobody will stop me (if your listening "frauders",you have been told!) I have bears on bearpile Daphne but no lucK yet.Check the posts about selling bears in Canada and you will know it is very hard to do.
Yes Shantell,I do have some guards in place on my auctions and I think that might have saved me this time(counting my blessings) and your advice is wonderful bear_laugh
Thank-you Daphne,Sue Ann and Dilu for your much appreciated support.Tonight I started a project for "me" .I am making myself a 36" bear,yes she will be a big girl,to big to mail anywhere and she will be a great deal of work but I deserve to own one of my bears.I will pass her own to my family as an heirloom.Hope she turns out bear_rolleyes
Anyway,still no bids on my auction but that's okay,I feel strong right now and will not be bullied by all the not so nice peolpe out there.I am so fortunate to have found you girls and I bask in your warmth and support.




Oh yes Deb,I get emails regularly about my ebay status,don't ever click on anything no matter how official it looks,I forward it all to "spoofs" for ebay to check but I seem to be a target and they keep trying to get me.Well,they won't.
Danni,thank-you so much for your wonderful kindness,you make my heart sing ,wish I could do that cute little music note of Marie's ;)I believe Danni,I believe(I'm saying this while clicking the heels of my ruby slippers together :lol:) Thank-you!

SO THERE!! :P

Shari.

Dilu Posts: 8,574

Maybe someday you ladies could post the safety features you put into place when you go on ebay to sell.  I would be very interested in what to do and how to do it.

Thank you.

Dilu

Carolyn Green Draffin Bears
Auckland New Zealand
Posts: 5,354
Website

Oh Shari,
I was so sorry to hear that you have had a scam with someone wanting to buy your Bear.
I had a nasty man from Indonesia that did the same thing to me. He wanted to buy two of my Bears.
I checked with the bank re the credit card which they ok'd and then sent them off.
About a week later the address where they were been sent the courier said there was nobody there
at that address, so I said for them to send them back again. I was out of pocket by over $400
because I had to pay the return freight and also the Indonesian govt. had put a tax on them to
leave the country. The guy had used a fradulent credit card from someone in the USA.
So all in all it was an expensive lesson and I do not trust anyone now.

Your Bears are beautiful Shari and keep making them - hopefully the Bear market will pick up soon.

Bear hugs
Carolyn

Delartful Bears Delartful Bears
Australia
Posts: 3,518

With all the talks on Indonesia and Singapore, I Just hope that customers from these areas aren't painted with the same brush.

I just want to remind people that I have had two different customers from Singapore, and they were both very honest and lovely people.  They also seem to be very bear crazy over there!!

Danni

Deb Upstate New York
Posts: 1,650

Carolyn ~

Was that an Ebay sale?  What protection, if any, is there through Paypal?  Could you accept money orders, bank checks and Paypal debit (from checking accounts) only ~ instead of accepting credit cards?  I'm going to double check, but I think those are choices on the Ebay auction.  Well ... I'm pretty sure at least I've read auction descriptions where they say they don't accept credit card payments.

Checking.

Deb

shantell Apple Dumpling Designs
Willamette Valley Oregon
Posts: 3,128

I am by no means an Ebay expert but here's what I do know...oh and a few more things...:) 

With Paypal you don't get credit card information in order to verify the information.  It is all run through their system (whatever that is).  And...Ebay just instituted a policy that if you except Paypal, you have to take all forms of Paypal....not just bank transfers, etc.  You can no longer say "I don't take credit cards." Alot of sellers would accept Paypal but only if it were through a bank transfer...that's where they take money directly from your checking or savings account like a debit card (for those who don't know).  I'm sure that didn't make very many sellers happy.  I personally would not take credit cards over the phone unless I was set up to verify the information and get an authorization code for that particular transaction. 

I'm not sure about this...but I think your transactions are only protected by accounts that are "verified".  Which means that you've gone through the process of having your banking information cross checked with your online information.  When I did that I gave them my banking information and they then deposited a small amount of money into my accounts (like 7 cents total).  They made two deposits and then I had to go back into Paypal and log that information into their verification system.  Sounds complicated but it's really not.  Which...is another good way to protect yourself...not fullproof by any means but another check...and that is to only accept Paypal transactions from individuals who are "verified."  Also, be very careful about taking money orders especially postal money orders because there is a HUGE fraud ring going on with them right now.  I also state that I prefer bank cashier checks...which you can call and verify.  It sounds like a lot of work...but if you are diligent about doing a few simple things I think you can protect yourself.

There is also an Ebay forum not unlike this...you can just go and read some stuff...it's very informative once you get through the trash...there are some folks that are just plain mean spirited.  You can also search specific topics.

In my opinion, you just have to treat Ebay like you would an onsite business.  If someone comes into your store and they make you uncomfortable, you don't do business with them.  You still have that old saying "I reserve right to refuse service to anyone".  It sounds mean but...well...we live in a mean world anymore.

Also, I think we should remember when dealing with international business...just because they say they are from Indonesia or Singapore...doesn't mean they are.  People from those countries in particular are a very soft, gentle and friendly.  I know this from my work in International Admissions & Relations at a college...and my ex-husband travelled extensively to those countries as well as other Asian countries.  Once I got past the language barriers they were some of my favorite students to work with...so sweet.

I'm done...sick of me yet?

Shantell

Jellybelly Bears Jellybelly Bears
Australia
Posts: 4,066

sorry shari...ebay is hard sometimes, and goes through stages.. sometimes it comes down to one person not looking one week, the next it sells...
i haven't had any problems with buyers yet, so it is really good to hear all your experiences...so i'm prepared.  i have had heaps of spoofs tho.  i never respond.  once it was genuine and my account was de-activated...yikes...makes it tricky
i get lots of emails from nigeria wanting bears...weird...
hugs sarah

Acipenser Bine-Teddies
Stockholm
Posts: 862

Hi! As an international ebay buyer (of supplies, not bears so far) I'd like to deliver some input with another perspective. Don't get me wrong, I realize how difficult it is for you to avoid bad buyers and that you can lose a lot of money, but from my point of view it seems the advantage is on the seller's side. You should be able to wait until you got the payment in your pocket before sending the item off, while the buyer has to pay in advance which is quite a leap of faith. There are lots of fraudulent or otherwise bad sellers on ebay and the internet. To me paypal offers some protection against losing money if the item never turns up. I live in Sweden where bear making is all but unknown and hardly any supplies can be found. So I buy most of my stuff on ebay or from the international supply shops. I avoid all ebay sellers who do not accept paypal and usually also those who don't take credit cards through paypal. I can do bank transfers worldwide without cost (great bank eh?), but ebay  discourages that because there is no insurance if the item gets lost (is never sent). Checks are almost unknown here and cost an arm and a leg for international payments so that´s out of the question. My card works as debit card at home, but abroad it turns into a credit card. I am not sure if there is a debit system for international payments at all. As to verifying my paypal account, I did that and there was a small fee deducted from my bank account, I entered a verno. into paypal etc. and my card is verified. However, European banks never ever confirm the address of a cardholder. That's just the way it is and out of my control. So my address is unconfirmed on paypal. I've never had a problem with that and now my feedback record is high enough and on 100% to reassure any seller.
Just my personal view for you to think about when you decide on safety measures, which may turn into restrictions for buyers and in the end your business. I hope, I am not offending anyone.

Hugs

Sabine

shantell Apple Dumpling Designs
Willamette Valley Oregon
Posts: 3,128

Sabine,

I completely understand and agree with your perspective.  It's a two way street.  I recently made a purchase that took nearly a month to get...and it was from the US.  I got all kinds of excuses as to why it hadn't arrived.   Very frustrating indeed.

I personally have never had any problems with international buyers or sellers.  I think can feedback speaks for itself...and it is important that kind of feedback you leave for others...I check that just as much.

Thanks for adding your view...it's important to remember...

Shantell

bearlyart Canna Bear Paint
NY
Posts: 749

A couple of thoughts from a long-time eBay veteran.  I've been on eBay forever.  Well, it seems like forever, but since very near the beginning of their site.  (And to think I was offered the option to buy their stock when it first came out for a great price, and didn't buy any... ARGH!)  After thousands of transactions (obviously, my bear ID is newer and was not my original eBay ID) I really have rarely had anything but smooth sailing in every transaction.  Even minor headaches were just that, minor.  I hope I am not jinxing myself.  Anyway, here's some advice from someone who has 'been there, done that' on eBay and lived to tell about it.

Shari, your bears are lovely!  Don't worry that you are being personally targeted, though, that is definitely not the case.  I think you tend to run your auctions as Featured items though, scammers aim for featured items as they are easy to find and tend to run for more money than other auctions.  When I feature something, I know that I'm at a much higher risk for getting the same kind of garbage and fraudulent offers. 

For anyone who has had problems receiving a questionable 'Ask Seller A Question' email through eBay, step one is to use your head to see if it looks even remotely legitimate.  An incredibly bad grasp of the English language combined with an unusual request (something like 'can you ship this C.O.D. to Nigeria?') is a red flag for fraud.  Don't even respond.  Do NOT respond.  Seriously.  Delete it and forget about it.  Some people will go through and use 'Ask Seller A Question' to harvest email addresses for spam when you reply to their question.  A red flag for this is someone that asks about what you have for sale in a very generic way.  'I am interested in your item, please send more information'  How many serious bear collectors are going to refer to your darling bear as 'the item'?  If it looks like such a generic question that you can imagine someone copying and pasting that same text into 5,000 'Ask Seller A Question' emails that day, ranging from teddy bears to Ford trucks to ball bearings, ignore it.  Do NOT respond.  If you are ever in doubt as to whether something is a legitimate question or not, make sure to reply through eBay NOT just hit reply in your email program.  Replying through eBay means you can hide your true email address from the person until you figure out if they're on the level.

Speaking of emails, never NEVER be caught off guard by those fake emails (phishing) that go around that your eBay or PayPal account 'is suspended' or some such garbage.  One excellent initial check to find out if this is fraudulent is just to look at who it is addressed to.  eBay and PayPal KNOW your name if you are a registered user.  If they were going to send you a very important email like 'your account is suspended', it would be addressed to YOU, YOUR name.  Fraudulent emails start with 'Dear customer' or other generic titles.  Regardless of anything else though, NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER (I could go on with this forever, it is that important) NEVER NEVER click on a link in an email like that.  Regardless of how legitimate you think it is or is not.  DO NOT CLICK ON ANY LINKS IN THIS TYPE OF EMAIL.  If you are concerned that there is a problem with your account, go to your browser and manually type in the address for the site in question to access your account.  Go to eBay at http://www.ebay.com/ or go to PayPal at http://www.paypal.com/  Once you've logged in, look around.  I think you'll find nothing is wrong with your account.  DELETE the offending email, or there are safety groups at both eBay and PayPal that the email can be forwarded to so they can try to catch the bad guys.  The problem with clicking on a link in a fraudulent email is that scammers try very hard to make the link look legitimate.  They make sure it looks like you're really going to click on a link to eBay.  What actually happens is that when you click on their link, you are rerouted to a fraudulent site.  They even make the site look like it's really eBay.  They ask you to log in.  When you do that, they have your user ID and password.  People that fall for this get their accounts hijacked, suddenly you find someone listing fraudulent items under your account and you're hit for thousands of dollars in fees.  They may ask you to verify credit card or bank account information by typing it in.  Now they can steal anything they'd like from you.  I don't think I need to go into the damage that could be caused once someone knows your banking information.  You can avoid ALL of these possibilities by NEVER CLICKING ON A LINK in an email like those described above.

By the way, there used to be a list of countries that eBay and PayPal both discouraged trading with, due to the high level of fraud in those countries.  I just tried to find it, and it looks like the list is either very well hidden these days, or not published like it used to be.  What I can tell you is to never deal with Indonesia.  Indonesia was always at the top of the old list for countries that shouldn't be dealt with, and probably still is.

Now that I have thoroughly scared everyone.  Look, what I wrote above was the ugly underbelly of dealing with eBay.  It is 'need to know' information, but I didn't intend for it to be so scary that people would stay away.  The bad stuff is also an amazingly small percentage of dealing with eBay.  I like eBay.  The bear market is tough there right now and is really only being kind to the handful of artists with a long-standing 'eBay following', but I still like eBay.  As far as my mother's and my own bears go, I'm planning on listing bears there more consistently than we ever have before, in the hopes of building up our own 'eBay following' over time.  We will not be listing bargain bears, however.  eBay is a finicky market, but we are solidly in the mindset that our prices are our prices regardless of the venue, and we will not undersell ourselves in any one location.  We have a set price range and with those prices we make good sales at shows, good sales off our web site, good sales through magazines and as for eBay... well... so far we do so-so on eBay.  It is a funny market.  Of the last six bears we listed, 3 sold and 3 did not.  I don't think that means we should give up though, I think it means we need to hang in there and keep putting up good work at our set prices.  We'll see in the long run if demand increases with increased exposure.  That is my current theory, anyway.

To anyone that is curious about selling bears on eBay, but has never actually been on eBay as a buyer or seller before, here is my advice.  First start watching eBay auctions, poke around the categories, get familiar with how it all works.  Get yourself an eBay account.  Don't think you need to register your bear business name as an eBay ID right away either.  You always have the freedom to change the name later.  Start buying small value items for yourself so you get an understanding for how the eBay sales process works.   Look at the feedback for any seller you're considering buying from, only stick with people with very good overall feedback and NO recent neutrals or negatives.  These good, established sellers will help guide you through your first purchases smoothly.  I would recommend building up at least 10 feedbacks (so buy from at least 10 unique sellers) on your new account before even considering selling something.  More than that is even safer.  People that come in with a brand new 0 feedback account will be met with suspicion if they try to sell something.  Potential buyers won't be very interested in buying something (especially a pricey teddy bear) if they have to sit there and wonder whether you're fraudulent, whether your products are any good or whether you have any idea what you're doing.  Build up good solid feedback as a first step.  As an interesting side note... even if you are considering putting bears on eBay in the distant future, it wouldn't hurt to start your account now and build up your feedback ahead of time.  People can click through on feedback on your account and see what you have bought for up to 90 days.  After 90 days however, it's nobody's business what you bought so don't even worry if what you're buying on your future bear-selling account isn't bear-related.

Well, that was long-winded.  Hope this helps somebody!
Kelly

Shari Nova Scotia,Canada
Posts: 1,712

Well,I just want to say that I posted this topic as a way of venting and out of frustration but I am very pleased that there has been a great deal of very useful information posted (thank-you to Deb,Carolyn,Shantell,Sabine and Kelly )especially for telling us all the things we should know and be aware of.
I really never meant to imply that it was a scam because it was from Singapore,that is not what I thought,it was the whole nature of the email.I believe that what I have learned from previous experiences has saved me this time as I did not reply but contacted eBay and to their credit,they were already on top of the problem. I think that this posting has served its purpose well by educating about both the positive and negative aspects of selling on eBay and how to be prepared.
Thank-you my friends both for your awesome support and the willingness to share your views and knowledge.A good bear artist is an educated bear artist.

Blessings to all,Shari.

Dilu Posts: 8,574

SABINE Love your avatar-sorry I haven't met you yet....I don't know how I miss so much being on this thing as much as I am.  Thank you for the info.
Kelly thanks for yours too.

I do have a question?  Doesn't everyone have a separate account for paypal?  I didn't like them having accsess so I opened a totally separate account and have a small amt of money.  That's the debit card I use for supplies etc. 

[color#FF0000] Shari [/color]  We love you and you can come vent anytime- however I AM glad your venting benefited all of us with your info.

[color=green] By the way, I did have a large golly go to Nigeria.....totally above board though-to a missionary family whose little girl didn't have a doll to play with with her Nigerian friends.  Sounds like I got lucky.....'/color]

Shelli SHELLI MAKES
Chico, California
Posts: 9,939
Website

Shelli Retired Help Advisor, Banner Sponsor

There's a lot of terrific information here.   Kelly, an especially hearty THANK YOU to you, for that extensive and very clear wrap-up of what to watch for in terms of fraudulent email "from eBay" -- ha! -- which many of us (me included) have received.

I'd like to add to Kelly's information by advising you not to PANIC if you get an email "from eBay" (not!) that reads, "You have been outbid on this item", with actual auction listing number and photo attached.  And don't get UPSET if you get an email "from eBay" (not!) which says, "You have won the following item.  Payment is due now."  Unless you remember bidding on/buying something, obviously these are spoof emails, sent with the intent to defraud you by stealing your eBay username and password. 

These two scams -- "You've been outbid!" and "Payment due NOW"  seem to be the newest ones being run by internet criminals targeting eBay buyers and sellers.  The older scams were, "Your account has been suspended due to suspicious activity; log in to re-verify information so we can re-institute your account" and "We need to confirm your personal information."

Ugh.

The best defense against these kinds of manipulative, info-seeking emails is to immediately FORWARD any suspicious email "from eBay" to eBay's very diligent and concerned debunking department. 
And then, as Kelly wrote, to immediately DELETE it from your account.  Don't bother to look any further into the validity of what's being said there.  If there's a valid concern, eBay's spoof department will be more than happy to resend any appropriate information.  Their address is spoof@ebay.com. 

They will send you an autoresponse immediately upon receipt of your email, and will send a situation-specific response re: your particular forwarded mail within mere hours, usually letting you know for certain that YES, you were the recipient of email which was NOT from eBay but an outside party attempting to defraud.

I've probably forwarded info-seeking, fradulent "from eBay" mail to spoof@ebay.com about a hundred or more times in my 1.5 year eBay selling career.  Just in case you're curious about numbers.  Somebody is watching, and wants IN.  That's a scary prospect.

eBay as a business entity, in this case, though, is not the faulty party, but is the target and victim.  Don't let these kinds of hacking scams put you off selling on eBay.  The folks who send these emails are the same kinds of  folks who send viruses, attach spyware to your computer to gather personal information, and hack business systems.  Something other than eBay, entirely.

There are, however, cases where eBay -- or, rather, the sellers and bidders there -- at the "faulty" parties.  I think this all comes down to individual differences in integrity, fairness, and morality.  When you're dealing with a stranger, sight unseen, you're taking chances.  That's the nature of the beast.  Mostly, you'll have a positive experience.  But there are occasions when things go wrong.  I had one particularly difficult experience with a bidder who -- after some investigating -- turned out to be a person with something like 20 bid retractions in a six month period (eBay suggests NONE as a good number of bid retractions to aim for!)  She was simultaneously bidding on very high priced bears across many, many sellers, and then months later, after stringing them all along, would choose which bear she ultimately wanted to pay for, and then let the other sellers know that, Sorry, but she just didn't have the money after all.  This is a case of someone with a compulsive bidding problem -- something akin to mental illness -- which led to massive financial and time losses for sellers, but who was not malicious, or ill-meaning.  Just... not able to control her impulses, and irresponsible and immature.

When I was selling off some of my sons electronic equipment (Play Station and accessories), I came across several bidders who won my auctions, then up and vanished without a trace, never to be heard from again.  I think the electronics area is especially prone to this kind of activity;  that, and trading cards.  And I"m sure others, with which I'm not personally familiar.

I think you can be fairly certain that for the most part, one-of-a-kind teddy bear auctions are NOT the ones targeted by flaky, ill-meaning, scam artists.  As a general rule, I mean.  There will always be exceptions.  Back to that human nature/individual difference thing again.

Like anything in life, using eBay requires a learning curve, and a willingness to take a small risk.  Having said that, I have to admit that -- as someone who began on eBay and has used it consistently throughout my career -- when I went to Nevada City and other artists told me they, "write down the customer's credit card number and then run it later when they get home" scared the bejeebers out of me.  What an incredible opportunity to get ripped off THAT kind of business practice seems to be!  Run the credit card LATER... and what if it gets declined, or is shown to be stolen?  At that point, the merchandise is long gone and totally out of reach.  Scary indeed.  But seasoned artists swore by this method, since cell phone reception in the foundry building was impossible, and computer access unavailable.  What are you gonna do???  There's a risk anywhere you look.

Anyway, obviously no definitive answers here.  It's like anything in life, I guess.  You can stay inside all the time for fear of being hit by lightning.  But then, your roof might collapse and kill you anyway, or a homicidal maniac,  or choking on tonight's dinner.  So nothing is ENTIRELY, 100% "safe."

Be smart and careful; read what Kelly wrote very closely, as she gives wonderful and extensive advice; and then allow yourself to take a chance.  In all liklinood you will come out just fine, and with a new experience, and possibly a sale, to boot.

Hope this is at least a little helpful (as opposed to totally confusing.)  Laughing here,

SueAnn Past Time Bears
Double Oak, Texas
Posts: 21,684

SueAnn Help Advisor, Banner Sponsor

Great, great information about ebay, ladies . . . thanks SO much!!  I did become a member several months ago, just so I could get some notion of how it works.  As Kelly has suggested, I've made a few purchases and have started building my feedback info.  I'm finally up to 8 now, and want to get more experience before I put up any bears for sale.  So, this thread has been invaluable to me and I appreciate the candor with which all of you are posting.  Maybe some day I will get a Past Time Bear up there!!

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