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Of course all of us have read some horrer stories of being scammed etc. Here is just some short tips about some type of scams and some notes that I hope will help you guys out.

First and foremost do NOT ever deal with anyone online who does not directly reference your item for sale by what it is called or even its description!

If you are selling a Dell XPS 1710 make sure that the potential buyers you are considering reference the item by its name or type. NEVER deal with anyone who responds "I am interested in your ITEM for purchase"... No one ever talks this way in real life when responding to purchasing something in such a vague fashion, and its a clear indication that parties are fishing to scam you.

You will find most 419 scams have this one weakness of not taking the time to accurately reference your item for sale. As well if you only want to ship or do business with someone locally or in your general country, make sure they can actually type and have a conversation in your language. (I know this will generate flames so you might as well stop and not post a response to this sentence an read further.. =) )

It is common if you are in the US to get responses that actually make sense and are in English. Its common to get someone who is trying to tell you they are local but everything is like, "please to be sending me your address and contact information so I may ship to you a certified cheque". AGAIN no one in america talks or writes like this, so its a good indication to skip this type of buyer.

No matter how good the English is, or the grammar, never deal with anyone who A) Offers more than what you are asking out of the gate and B) states they are purchasing anything for someone else and are shipping it to them. Again a common scam.

Never deal with any buyer that requests that YOU send them the request for money via PayPal. The reason behind this, is they are trying to trick you into validating their honesty by having you initiate a request for funds using your valid PayPal account so you will possibly make a mistake and believe a false e-mail from them that is made to look like it came from PayPal mimicing a "You have been paid" e-mail is real. Only because you initiated the request legitimately.

No matter what you do these are key points you have to keep an eye out for.

If you do receive an e-mail from PayPal stating you have been paid, the bare minimum and 1st thing you must do is you log into your account and check for the funds *MINIMUM*. If they are not there, then you know something is not kosher. Go back to the e-mail, check its wording, look for grammar and spelling errors, broken pic links in the HTML, and of course then check the source header information, and most importantly look at the source information in the FROM field. It must have originated and only come from paypal.com If it says anything like paid@paypal.in or anything other than paypal.com its a scam, and just do nothing further.

No matter what never ship anything out EVER till you have cash in hand. This is how you deal with buying and selling in every day life, its not any different online.

THIS is the most important tip I can give anyone when you are selling online. You are the seller, you set the terms of the sale. NEVER diviate from your terms. This will ensure your sales go smoothly. Here are my rules when buying and selling.

Selling:
As the seller I set all the terms.

I Request payment in only two forms if not local; US Postal Service Money order, or PayPal only from a confirmed buyer. If local, only accept US Postal Service Money order or cash. You can write them a bill of sale for a receipt. If out of the country only Paypal.

If this is an online sale, I only ship when payment is received and cleared. So if its a USPS MO, I wait till it clears my bank first, and if paypal, I wait for the funds to actually be transferred to my bank before shipping.

I NEVER ship till the above terms have completed, EVER.
I NEVER cross ship any items without solid proof of shipping via only the approved shippers agreed upon.
If I am selling, I only ship via US Postal service only. They are federally regulated, and while the shipping details are not as good as FEDX or UPS or DHL couriers, its a Federal offense to commit a crime using the USPS especially across state lines. Both parties have some recourse that is easier to get resolved. With other carriers it tends to end up being a package issue only, and harder to prosecute if you are ever out lots of money.

Buying:
As a buyer of an item or trader its the same thing.

Again the seller sets the terms, BUT if the terms are not secure you can offer alternate payment and shipping methods. Either way you have to ensure things are legit.

IF its an ebay sale, always check the feedback. Do not deal with sellers that have large amounts of rep, but when you check the items they use other sellers to boost their numbers purchasing items that sell for a nickel, just to artificially inflate their feedback. Its a bad practice and even good sellers partake in the practice, and it actually hurts the entire online community not helps validate it. (Its like buying your own candy bars for a school charity drive, instead of selling them).

I always require that they show proof of shipping. within 3 days.
I always require a phone number and have a verbal conversation with the seller prior to buying.
On purchases of over $500 I have even asked that the seller if I cannot confirm any heat, or ebay fb fax me a copy of a government id (license or passport)> I know this may sound funny but an honest person even across the country would go to the trouble of confirming who they are, and if you have ever lost more than $500 online before you know this is not so silly.

I only pay using my methods so If I use Paypal I only use a credit card that will offer me protection greater than the standard 3 days for a charge back. Otherwise unless its a trusted seller I do not use instant payments from direct bank accounts. Its harder to recoup your money that way.
If I dont use Paypal I use only USPS MO because again its a Federal crime to use the postal service to commit a scam. And they can directly track the MO. Also depending on the dollar amount its easier to use the US DA to file a complaint than it is your local officials.

Again never cross ship till you have confirmation of shipping from the seller (or buyer in a trade situation). This will of course cause a delay on one end or the other by following this rule, but its for both parties protection. This may sound sneaky but honest people will not disagree to some terms, especially if you went to the lengths to protect both parties.

I had one guy once ask me why I am asking for his drivers license to be faxed to me, and I told him I am sending you $1400 and I wanted to make sure both of us are protected. In that case the guy did just that, and the transaction went smoothly. I even offered to pay for the fax if he had to pay for it... Its worth the extra work.

If you follow many of the tips I stated here, you will find that you do not need to worry about what e-mail they use such as yahoo accounts etc. While many scammers use anonymous free e-mail accounts so do alot of real people.

In the end if the sale seems fishy from the start, take a pass immediately, and do not be afraid to tell the buyer or seller so. IF they are truly honest they will jump through hoops to make the sale or buy the item, and will not mind waiting 3 or 4 days longer to complete the transaction for safety.

I work corporate security and have a lot of years experience with online sales, and have bought and sold everything online from Craigslist, and Ebay from cars to computers, following your own guidelines to the letter are key.

ADDITION: I meant to add this but for some reason forgot it... Cross shipping on trades. It is never a good idea to EVER cross ship unless you know the person you are dealing with and have had many good trades or sales with that person. If you are in a trade situation make sure that if you are the person offering the trade item that you treat the other parties trade exactly like they were sending you cash. You have only two options. Tell them when you receive their trade item that you will then ship out yours insured with proof of insurance, or if they will only do an actual cross trade only that you both agree on the shipper which again I would stick to USPS and require proof. Then just wait for them to provide verifiable proof and then ship. If you are the person going into a trade (buyer) for someone else who has an item up for trade (seller) you should follow the normal procedures as described above. Make absolutely sure that you have enough info about the trader before entering into the trade. You will be essentially shipping out hundreds of dollars.

Also a note about some shipping even with USPS. When someone gives you a a tracking number actually confirm it. That means two things. Check online first and if you do not remember anything from this rediculously long post remember this. If the tracking information states that "we have received the shipping information" or any variation of that, it does not mean they have picked up, or received the item yet. If you cannot 100% determine from the online tracking, CALL THEM and confirm over the phone the item was actually in the USPS posession to be delivered. Do not take the fact that their system shows that the shipping information has been received and they are waiting for the package. I can easily generate a shipping label through paypal or even the USPS online, and it would generate a shipping number that can be verified, but not actually ship the item.... DO NOT FALL FOR THIS. =)

-D

Good tips wish someone would I have told some people I know this. The first time I sold on eBay it was about $3,000+ for a XPS (the very first one) and I almost got scammed. Even though I ended up getting an good buyer and the transaction went smoothly, I almost got caught up in Lagos (Nigeria) scam that was going around heavy then. Some people really should take these tips to heart.

I have dealt with scammers for about 5 years now and one time I was on the loosing end of not really pro scammer just a dead beat person. There are some things to consider on your end always. Thats the phrase cost of replacement. The replacement value of everything you own is higher than the actual value of the item you are selling or trading. Keep that in mind when entering into any deal.

There is nothing worse than hitting the "continue with payment" button, or dropping off your package at the post office then realizing 5 days later you are in trouble. NEVER wait longer than 2 days for confirmation. IT NEVER TAKES THAT LONG. With the exception of a Weekend or Holiday issue.

You also have to weigh in procrastination. Always point out firmly in the process of your deal a specific date the Buyer or Seller is to provide proof. Be realistic, but firm. I must have confirmation of shipping by 24 hours, 48 hours or I am cancelling my payment, trade, etc. Set those limits. Ebay and Paypal both have specific binding agreements with all the users stating they are to immediately to provide verifiable electronic proof of payment/tracking within x number of days.

I never wait longer as I said before than 2 days for proof of shipping if I pay by paypal because on their end its instant payment. IF I send a payment via USPS mo I also send that payment with full tracking to confirm receipt.

Its all common sense but the phrase for new buyers/sellers "Common sense is not always common" is unfortunately more true than people would like to admit.

I have deal with dead beat people a couple of times and I had to put some fire under their butt to get the transaction done. I understand people work and procrastination kicks in sometimes, but at least give confirmation as you stated. That doesn't take much to do. I think common sense is a rarity to me. I don't know why they call it common...

i've yet to deal with a scammer.......unsure why lol

normally i say pay up or you get no item

i did get a niggerian scam via craigslist once tho.....was fun