Selling secondhand online is a real income stream, but a small number of bad buyers can wipe out your earnings if you are not prepared. The scams follow predictable patterns. Once you know the playbook, you can block most attempts before they cost you anything. This guide covers the common buyer scams, the red flags to watch for, and the steps that keep platform protection on your side.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. When in doubt, contact your platform’s seller support directly.
The Four Buyer Scams That Cost Resellers the Most
Understanding each scam type is the first step to stopping it.
Empty box or switcheroo return. The buyer receives your item, claims it arrived damaged or not as described, opens a return case, and ships back either an empty box or a cheaper item. You lose the product and the sale. This scam works most often when sellers skip photos during packing or ship without tracking.
Off-platform payment lures. The buyer asks you to complete the sale through Venmo, Zelle, PayPal Friends and Family, Cash App, or a direct bank transfer. The pitch is usually "I’ll pay extra to skip fees" or "I can only pay this way." Once money changes hands off-platform, you lose all seller protection. There is no dispute process, no recourse, and no refund. Every major resale platform explicitly prohibits off-platform transactions.
Fake item not received (INR) claims. The buyer claims the package never arrived even though tracking shows it delivered. Without a tracking number, you have no defense. With one, the platform almost always sides with the seller when delivery is confirmed. Mercari, eBay, and Poshmark all rely on carrier scan data when resolving INR disputes, and so does the seller protection linked from QuickListAI’s homepage.
Chargeback fraud. The buyer pays through a credit card, receives the item, then files a chargeback with their card issuer claiming they never authorized the transaction or never got the item. The payment processor pulls the funds while the dispute is open. This is particularly common on eBay and Depop. Platforms with their own checkout systems (like Poshmark’s Posh Protect) provide sellers with more insulation than those that rely purely on third-party payment processors.
Red Flags to Spot Before You Ship
Catching a bad actor before the package leaves your hands is far easier than recovering losses afterward.
- New account with no feedback and a profile created hours or days ago. Scam accounts are often disposable.
- Requests to move the conversation outside the app via email, text, WhatsApp, or social media. This is almost always a setup for an off-platform payment or phishing attempt.
- Excessive questions about the exact condition, brand authenticity, or return policy before purchase. A genuine buyer typically asks one or two questions. Elaborate pre-purchase interrogation is often groundwork for an INR or not-as-described claim.
- Pressure to ship immediately before the payment has fully cleared. On platforms with pending payment windows, a buyer pushing you to ship on day one is a warning sign.
- An offer to pay extra if you ship to a different address. This is a classic reshipping scam.
- Messages that feel scripted or copy-paste, with odd phrasing or generic greetings. Many scam messages are templates sent to dozens of sellers simultaneously.
If something feels off, trust it. You can always decline to sell to a buyer on most platforms without explanation.
How to Protect Every Sale Before You Ship
Prevention is significantly cheaper than disputing a loss after the fact.
Use tracked shipping every time. Ship with a tracking number on every sale, no exceptions. On eBay, using a platform-provided label is a condition of seller protection. On Mercari, their label is required for coverage. If you ship without tracking and a buyer claims INR, you have no defense. For a practical listing-to-ship workflow, see the reseller daily routine guide.
Record your packing on video. A 30-second phone video showing you placing the correct item in the box and attaching the label gives you concrete evidence if a buyer claims an empty box arrived. Save the video until the return window closes.
Never go off-platform. When a buyer asks you to transact outside the app, decline and report the conversation. Going off-platform voids seller protection on every major marketplace. No exception.
Keep all communication inside the app. On-platform messages are your evidence trail in any dispute. Conversations moved to text or email are invisible to platform moderators.
Describe condition accurately and photograph flaws. Accurate listings close off the not-as-described angle. If there is a stain or tear, show it and call it out. See how to photograph flaws without killing your sale for the technique.
Do not release payment holds early. On Mercari, the buyer has three days to flag an issue after delivery. The hold exists to protect you. Do not ask buyers to release it early.
How Platform Protection Works (and When It Applies)
Each platform has its own seller protection framework, and the details matter.
Poshmark holds payment in escrow until the buyer accepts or the three-day window expires. Sellers are protected only for transactions completed on-platform with Poshmark shipping labels. If a buyer opens a return request, Poshmark reviews the case, so your packing video and accurate condition description are your best evidence. The how to handle a Poshmark return request guide covers the dispute process step by step.
Mercari covers sellers when you use a Mercari shipping label and keep all communication in-app. If a buyer claims INR and you have a scan showing delivery, the resolution center sides with the seller in most tracked cases. The Mercari item not received dispute guide walks through exactly what to submit.
eBay seller protection applies when you ship with tracking to the address on the order and ship within your stated handling time. For return abuse (empty box or switcheroo), document everything immediately and report through eBay’s seller hub. Depop and Grailed require PayPal or their own checkout; peer-to-peer payments outside those systems are not covered. Vinted holds seller funds until the buyer confirms receipt or the automatic release window closes.
The common denominator: stay in the platform ecosystem, ship with tracking, and document your items and packing every time.
What to Do When a Scam Does Happen
If you suspect fraud despite your precautions:
- Keep your tone factual. Platform moderators read the conversation when reviewing disputes. Do not escalate emotionally.
- Open a case immediately. Most platforms have tight time limits for seller cases. Do not wait.
- Upload all evidence before the deadline. Packing video, pre-ship photos, tracking screenshots, and relevant messages.
- Report the buyer’s account. The report helps the platform identify patterns and protects other sellers, even if you do not recover the funds.
- Respond to chargebacks directly. If a chargeback is filed, submit your tracking and packing evidence to the card processor. Platforms like eBay handle this representation on your behalf in many cases.
Act fast. Recovery rates drop sharply once platform deadlines pass.
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Add to Chrome, FreeFrequently asked questions
The empty box return is the most damaging in terms of financial loss per incident. The off-platform payment request is the most frequently seen. In both cases, prevention through tracking, packing video, and staying in-app is more effective than trying to recover after the fact.
On most platforms, yes. Poshmark, Mercari, Depop, and Grailed allow sellers to cancel transactions or decline offers without a detailed reason. eBay has more structured cancellation requirements. Check the specific platform’s seller policies, but declining a suspicious sale before shipment is almost always safer than disputing after.
Tracking with a carrier scan showing the package was delivered to the buyer’s address resolves most INR disputes in the seller’s favor on Poshmark, Mercari, and eBay. It is not a 100% guarantee on every platform in every situation, but it is the strongest single piece of evidence you can have.
Decline and do not send the item. Report the message to the platform using the in-app report function. Off-platform payment requests violate the terms of service on every major resale marketplace, and completing one voids your seller protections entirely.
They are different mechanisms. An INR claim is filed through the platform. A chargeback is filed through the buyer’s credit card company and bypasses the platform’s dispute process entirely. Platforms with their own integrated payment systems generally offer sellers better protection against chargebacks than those relying on third-party processors.