Example 1: How to REALLY Make Money on eBay

Here is a real sleazy way to make money on eBay as an unscrupulous seller. This is based upon something I read recently on an eBay message board.

DISCLAIMER: I am not suggesting that you do this, nor would I do this in a million years – I am just pointing out the hypocrisy of eBay and their protection programs.

Here it is:

Sell an item (make it pricey) and ship it yourself via the US Postal Service with delivery confirmation. (Do not create a label with PayPal).

Here’s the trick – send a rock in a box, and send it to the WRONG ADDRESS. Do not put a return address on the package.

The unlucky buyer will eventually file a non-receipt complaint to eBay or PayPal, and all you have to do is show the delivery confirmation from the Post Office. Case closed. It seems once they file an item not received complaint, they can’t file a SNAD complaint.

There are plenty of eBay horror stories like this on various message boards. There are also bad people doing bad things in eBay. Bad people come in both flavors – both buyers and sellers.

The point is, no matter what eBay or PayPal tries to do to ‘address’ these issues, these bad people will find another way to scam. All of these extra layers of bureaucracy do is make it more difficult for the honest people to do business there. Everyday, honest sellers are unfairly snafued by eBay business practices.

Enay and PayPal’s security measures remind me of the toddler on the beach holding a handful of wet sand, trying to keep the water from running out. The tighter that they squeeze, the faster the water disappears until it’s all gone.

Relax your grip, eBay. You’re just making things worse – not better. If you don’t, your going to let your customers (your sellers, the ones that actually pay you money) slip through your fingers like the water in the sand.