Ebay buyer scammers are mostly kids or drug addicts

This is a case I've made on the board a few times.

And one which has been pulled at least once, so I post it here instead. I have no idea why one would find it offensive.

Out and out buyer scams are rare, but not necessarily if one sells a particular kind of stuff. The kinds of stuff which are most attractive to scammers:

1. hot electronics, including the latest gaming software
2. expensive shoes and clothing attractive to teenagers
3. stuff which can readily be converted to cash

I suggest being very careful when selling such items. I don't sell them myself.

The reason is that they attract a deliberate scam. A buyer who has bought with the intention of ripping a seller off.

Out and out buyer scams all have one weakness: the stuff gets shipped to an address. Ship too much scammed stuff to the same address, and eventually someone will knock on the door. It takes a lot, but will eventually happen.

Thus, buyer scams are attractive to two classes of people: kids who have no money but want expensive stuff, and drug addicts looking for something to convert into drugs (and a bit of food). Neither class of person has a rational view of the longer term consequences of the behavior, or they wouldn't be doing it in the first place.

Kids tend to be testing the system. Why this won't work is less than obvious, and preliminary tests frequently pay off. Eventually, they gain a bit of skill and realize that the police consider this kind of crime to be low priority. But eventually, they either stop or they get busted.

Drug addicts are almost always involved in theft of one kind or another, because it's by far the easiest path to the kind of cash required to sustain an addicted lifestyle.

I do suggest that a letter to the local police where a scam has occurred might be useful. Something along the lines of "Dear police, I thought you might find this information useful. I was victimized by a fraud committed by a person living at 123 Some St, in your town. [two lines of detail]". Who knows, it might add to other stuff which results in a search warrant. Don't expect your money back.

Send a copy to the scammer.