Why I No Longer Sell High-Value Gear on eBay (and You Shouldn’t Either)
eBay can seem like a great place to sell equipment you no longer need. Over the years, I’ve sold well over $100,000 worth of cameras, lenses, and other gear I had outgrown or no longer wanted. When everything goes right, when you get an honest buyer eBay works as expected, and the process is smooth.
But the real test comes when you encounter a scammer. That’s when the entire system breaks down and in my experience, eBay doesn’t have the seller’s back.
Scam Me Once...Can't Get Scammed Again: 30 Common Scams...30 Tips to help you avoid them
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The Illusion of Seller Protection
eBay claims to offer Seller Protection and Buyer Protection. On paper, this sounds fair protections for both sides of the transaction. But in reality, if a buyer decides to scam you, eBay almost always sides with the buyer, no matter how obvious the fraud. And scammers know this. They exploit eBay’s policies repeatedly.
When that happens, you risk losing both your item and your money. It’s like sanctioned theft, with eBay enabling the scammer to separate you from your equipment and your cash.
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My Experience: The “Free Rental” Scam
Here’s how it played out for me:
I listed a perfectly working Sony 4K camcorder. The auction ended at $570, and I promptly shipped the camera to the buyer. It arrived two days later. For the next 15 days, I heard nothing — no complaints, no messages.
Then, on day 16, I got an email from eBay:
The buyer claims the item is defective and wants to return it.
This was my first red flag. Instead of contacting me directly, the buyer went straight to eBay. That’s a tactic scammers use to get eBay involved quickly so they can push through a refund without having to negotiate or explain themselves.
Also, no one waits 15 days to report a defective item — unless they were using it for something (say, an event) and decided to return it afterward. In other words, a free rental.
I sent a return shipping label. The buyer shipped the item back, and I got a UPS tracking number notification that it was on the way back. A day later the scammer messages me again:
I forgot to include the box. I’m sending that separately.
Strange, right? How do you forget to pack the box the camera came in? But I went along with it.
The Return Arrives — And It’s Empty
When the first package arrived, my fears were confirmed. Instead of a camera, the box contained a block of paper. The second package? Also empty — just a decoy to buy the scammer time.
I contacted eBay immediately. But as I had suspected, they sided with the buyer. Their reasoning?
There’s no way to know who removed the item from the box.
So the scammer kept both my camera and my money — and eBay helped them do it.
The Takeaway
If you’re selling low-value items, eBay might still be a decent option. But when it comes to high-ticket gear, the platform is riddled with scammers — and eBay’s so-called Seller Protection won’t protect you when it really matters.
If you want to avoid sleepless nights and sanctioned theft, I recommend steering clear of eBay for expensive equipment. There are safer ways to sell, even if they take a bit more effort.
The Scammer on this story was:
Hoang Vo from 4862 Saddlehorn Cv Memphis TN 38125-3687 and eBay selling id vo.vo89 so if you are selling on eBay I advise you to block this scammer.
And since eBay do not allow you to leave anything but positive feedback for buyers no one never know who is the scammer on the other side of the transaction.
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