Any time of year is a time when scammers come out to play. A good rule of thumb is that if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. This includes, but is not limited to, dolls that are listed at abnormally low prices. Another good rule of thumb is to ask for additional photos of the doll (or dolly items), and to see what kind of feedback the seller has.

I suppose if I had a million dollars, I could afford to gamble a bit on potentially sour deals…

If they’re on eBay or Etsy, it’s a little easier to see if they have good feedback as a buyer or a seller as it’ll be right there on their profile. If it’s a person on Facebook or Blythe Kingdom, it’s a little bit more difficult as the feedback pages don’t come with alerts to let you know that you can leave feedback for someone, and it’s strictly on a voluntary basis at this time. Make a note of their feedback (positive? neutral? negative?) and read it. Take note of when their account opened. An account opened a week ago with 100% feedback as a buyer and doesn’t respond to messages may not be as reliable as an account that’s been open for a few years, has 100% feedback as a buyer and a seller, and is communicative about any questions you have.

Tips for Buyers:

• If something seems off or you get a vibe about the transaction, don’t go through with it. If it seems off, that’s because it is off. Listen to your gut feeling, why put yourself in the position to potentially lose your hard earned money if you don’t have to?
• Never pay as “gift” for something over PayPal. Not only does it go against the Terms and Conditions of using PayPal, but you will also lose your ability to file a claim as the payment was a “gift”.
• Avoid doing direct deposit or another form of payment that is not PayPal (or Google Wallet – I’ve heard this is fairly reliable as well).
• Avoid paying in installments if possible. Unfortunately, PayPal’s buyer protection does little to offer protection for those who opt to pay in installments. Make one-lump-sum payments whenever possible.
• Consider paying with a credit card through PayPal. This way you can get both buyer protection from PayPal and the option of filing a complaint through your credit card (and doing a chargeback to get your money back). This is an additional option that you don’t have when you pay with funds that are already existing in your PayPal account.

What are your tips for potential Blythe buyers?