Any Danger in Selling Golden Giveaway Codes on eBay??

[calculusdork]

Hey folks, likely a quick question/answer but I want to make sure I cover myself. I am selling Golden Giveaway codes on eBay, and (like many other sellers) I said in the auction description that I will only email the codes and not ship them.

My concern is -- couldn't somebody buy a lot of codes, redeem them, then file a claim with eBay saying they were all invalid? I don't see how I would win that argument.

I just had a buyer with zero feedback purchase a lot of 10, and I'm a little nervous about that. Advice needed. Thanks!

(PS - As Brent pointed out, you also take a hit on your TRS status if you don't ship the codes but list them as "free shipping". Does listing them as "local pickup only" take care of this?)

[friarbolt]

What you explained above is exactly why you should avoid doing this. Not worth the risk.

[hotbox]

I actually have been selling them cheaper on here than on eBay, because on here, you know who you're dealing with.

[premium1981]

I email the codes if they want them AS WELL AS mail them the actual card as well. I do this to protect myself through ebay/paypal and to get the cards into their hands just in case I typed one wrong or something. I have emailed almost 100 codes so far.

[alsjunk2002]

I have emailed codes to Ebayers with less than 10 feedback, never had a problem with them. I have transposed numbers or misread them and just resent the correct ones, once again no problems.

I did lose my top rated seller status, I don't know if that was codes or pre selling sets though, perhaps a combo of the two.

[calculusdork]

Originally Posted by premium1981

I email the codes if they want them AS WELL AS mail them the actual card as well. I do this to protect myself through ebay/paypal and to get the cards into their hands just in case I typed one wrong or something. I have emailed almost 100 codes so far.

Ah, OK. So looks like I need to change my auction description and up the price a little to account for shipping. I've sold 60 or so on here, but this is my first eBay sale.

[premium1981]

Originally Posted by alsjunk2002

I did lose my top rated seller status, I don't know if that was codes or pre selling sets though, perhaps a combo of the two.

The preselling sets can kill you. Before I took a break from selling I had been a powerseller for a long time. I opened a bunch of a product and ended up getting killed on shipping time because of it. The bad part was that I was extremely fast with shipping the sets after release too. Some people do not care and will ding your rating regardless. I had one guy ask me where his set was right after release stating that he thought it would have been there on the release day. I guess it all comes with the territory.

[calculusdork]

Originally Posted by premium1981

The preselling sets can kill you. Before I took a break from selling I had been a powerseller for a long time. I opened a bunch of a product and ended up getting killed on shipping time because of it. The bad part was that I was extremely fast with shipping the sets after release too. Some people do not care and will ding your rating regardless. I had one guy ask me where his set was right after release stating that he thought it would have been there on the release day. I guess it all comes with the territory.

On the flip side of this ... my sale prices for most stuff have been great, TRS or not. Maybe it doesn't matter!

[calculusdork]

Originally Posted by alsjunk2002

I have emailed codes to Ebayers with less than 10 feedback, never had a problem with them. I have transposed numbers or misread them and just resent the correct ones, once again no problems.

I did lose my top rated seller status, I don't know if that was codes or pre selling sets though, perhaps a combo of the two.

Thanks for the input Al. My concern is there is a big difference (to me at least) between even a 0 and a 1 feedback.

So nobody has ever had a bad experience doing this?

[wesnilevirus]

I emailed codes once and got a credit chargeback 3 months later. Out 200 bucks. Will not qualify for seller protection if you do not mail a physical item.

[calculusdork]

Originally Posted by wesnilevirus

I emailed codes once and got a credit chargeback 3 months later. Out 200 bucks. Will not qualify for seller protection if you do not mail a physical item.

Ouch! I'm only selling 10 at a time ... not nearly as much risk there.

So when you say you got a "chargeback" ... basically you emailed the codes, then 3 months later $200 is just removed from your PayPal account and refunded to the buyer without your say? Pardon my ignorance, never been through that before.

As for seller protection ... am I then equally unprotected for "local pickup only" listings?

[Amberkow]

I sold 50 codes on eBay without a problem.

[wesnilevirus]

Originally Posted by calculusdork

Ouch! I'm only selling 10 at a time ... not nearly as much risk there.

So when you say you got a "chargeback" ... basically you emailed the codes, then 3 months later $200 is just removed from your PayPal account and refunded to the buyer without your say? Pardon my ignorance, never been through that before.

As for seller protection ... am I then equally unprotected for "local pickup only" listings?

Yes, you are unprotected for local pickup by the letter of the seller protection policy, although theoretically you could submit evidence of the buyer getting the product (video?)

With a credit card chargeback, paypal users can claim through their credit card company that a charge from paypal was fradulent. Ebay/paypal will only be on your side if you have delivery confirmation. So emailing codes will put you at risk.

I sold close to 1500 worth of codes this way, I'm lucky I didn't lose more than 200.

[XL5]

Originally Posted by calculusdork

Thanks for the input Al. My concern is there is a big difference (to me at least) between even a 0 and a 1 feedback.

So nobody has ever had a bad experience doing this?

I got lucky with the 2011 codes, sold a lot with no scammers. I scanned in every card and sent the scan along with typing the code in an email. I gave every buyer the option of mail delivery instead but no one took mail delivery.

But IIRC, there were quite a few on here who got scammed on codes. There was one guy on eBay who made a living out of stealing the codes. It's probably easy to do, technically I think it's against eBay rules to sell digital goods.


EDIT: Don't know if this is the guy I'm thinking of, sounds like it though:

Block this ebayer, scammed out of Topps codes

[calculusdork]

Originally Posted by XL5

I got lucky with the 2011 codes, sold a lot with no scammers. I scanned in every card and sent the scan along with typing the code in an email. I gave every buyer the option of mail delivery instead but no one took mail delivery.

But IIRC, there were quite a few on here who got scammed on codes. There was one guy on eBay who made a living out of stealing the codes. It's probably easy to do, technically I think it's against eBay rules to sell digital goods.


EDIT: Don't know if this is the guy I'm thinking of, sounds like it though:

Block this ebayer, scammed out of Topps codes

Thanks man, very helpful.

I only sold two sets of 10 yesterday, and went ahead and prepared them for shipping this morning. Had to subsequently raise my sale price to cover shipping, so I'm not selling many at the moment.

The zero-feedback buyer emailed me this morning to tell me that he made an error entering his address into eBay, and to ship to a slightly different address. (I think to myself, here we go ...) But I looked up the buyer on White Pages and he was telling the truth ... just the numeric portion of the address is off by a digit.

I guess I can change the address on my printed label? The guy at my PO is very helpful, he should hopefully know. I know we're just talking about $14 here, but it still concerns me that if I change the address on the label I won't be covered by seller protection.

Dang I am getting paranoid.

[wesnilevirus]

Originally Posted by calculusdork

Thanks man, very helpful.

I only sold two sets of 10 yesterday, and went ahead and prepared them for shipping this morning. Had to subsequently raise my sale price to cover shipping, so I'm not selling many at the moment.

The zero-feedback buyer emailed me this morning to tell me that he made an error entering his address into eBay, and to ship to a slightly different address. (I think to myself, here we go ...) But I looked up the buyer on White Pages and he was telling the truth ... just the numeric portion of the address is off by a digit.

I guess I can change the address on my printed label? The guy at my PO is very helpful, he should hopefully know. I know we're just talking about $14 here, but it still concerns me that if I change the address on the label I won't be covered by seller protection.

Dang I am getting paranoid.

Paranoia is good

[calculusdork]

Originally Posted by wesnilevirus

Paranoia is good

There's definitely a balance there ... but I always like to err on the side of caution when it comes to stuff like this, even if it means selling for a little less. Sucks what happened to you, at least it was just a $200 lesson and not more. Appreciate you sharing.

[XL5]

Originally Posted by calculusdork

I guess I can change the address on my printed label? The guy at my PO is very helpful, he should hopefully know. I know we're just talking about $14 here, but it still concerns me that if I change the address on the label I won't be covered by seller protection.

Dang I am getting paranoid.

Void the label and print a new one. You'll get a refund for the one you voided. Don't just change the printed label because they use the barcode.

[calculusdork]

Originally Posted by XL5

Void the label and print a new one. You'll get a refund for the one you voided. Don't just change the printed label because they use the barcode.

I figured they just used the bar code to get "close" (i.e. to the right town). But I'm sure they probably use the bar code to sort the mail in the mail truck as well. Good point.

[dthimesch]

i state in my auctions that all code cards MUST be sent to the buyer. That I can not email any codes.

If there is no tracking number showing a package being delivered to the buyer you are just opening yourself up to a case from the buyer saying he never received the cards.

If they claim the codes are no good the best you can really do is dispute the claim when you get them back by stating the cards are no long in the condition they were in when you sent them to the buyer.