Need some help on Ebay?

[Surya]

Ok I've recently placed an item on sale (PS3) and put it on auction starting at 200$. Yesterday a member, who seems to have very good feedback (29 points) and also seems to be be out of country (South Africa) is offering me 450$ payment. So I'm not really sure wether to trust this guy as he does seem to have good feedback. Is there a way he can scam me? because aren't you suppossed to first pay for the item and then recieve it? Any help is appreciated.

[Foolishheart998]

Sounds like a scam to me. Just don't do anything outside of ebay itself. It's quite easy to get scammed through paypal if just doing the "send/receive payment" type deals.

[Kittysue]

He has to pay you through Ebay. If he asks for your Paypal account, he's scamming you. That's an offsite transaction and is not protected by Ebay or Paypal. In fact it will result in Ebay closing your account
There is also no way I would ever sell anything electronic to anyone overseas as 90% of scam attempts are from overseas buyers. Besides, unless you are sending through FedEx, DHL, UPS, etc which are going to cost you over $100 to South Africa, you cannot track the package once it leaves the US. And you have NO protection from Paypal if you do not have signed proof of delivery to the buyer's verified address - and you won't get signature confirmation from an overseas shipment because once the package leaves the US it is no longer tracked by USPS

And why would anyone offer you $450 for an item that they could bid on and get for $250 max? There are over 500 PS3s listed on Ebay right now for under $250 and those are Buy It Now prices, so why would anyone pay $200 more?
This sounds like a real person's account has been hacked and scammers are trying to steal your item

Tell him you are sorry but if he wants it, he has to complete the bidding process as you are not ending the auction early, and that he has to pay through Ebay's checkout page. Also say that you ONLY ship to Paypal verified addresses, and you will be calling Paypal to check the address on the account before you mail it out.
If he does not agree, then report him to Ebay

[na]

It's a scam.

1. It's South Africa. NEVER ship electronics to a foreign country. Especially not that one.
2. Bidders bid. They don't try to set up off-eBay deals.
3. In all likelihood, this is a stolen account or by not actually buying on eBay, it never gets him kicked off.

4. The scam, if you were to agree, is that he will ask for you Paypal ID (your email address) and then send you an elaborate, but FAKE email saying he's paid, but Paypal is holding the money until you provide proof of shipment. The problem is, he's not Paypal and there is no money.