Selling on eBay for someone else - is it safe

I do that for a friend. I know it is different if you know the person. Write down some ground rules and get him to sign it before you do anything. Make a list of every contingency and what happens in the event of every possibility happening.

It is safe, but always be cautious and smart when dealing with online strangers as many of them are scammers

I've been doing this for at least a year and I personally don't advise you to do it unless you know the person.

If the person sets professional standards and has a spreadsheet of sales and items then you would be safe with that person.

However, if you come across items that are considered counterfeit, it never ends well. What will happen is buyers will start to ask for refunds and the person you work for will just leave you.

If you don't know this guy in real life then avoid it.
You could constantly be getting sales, send him the money while keeping your percentage and then get loads of charge backs.
You can't trust anyone online.

Be careful. You have heard this before.

" if it sounds to good to be true, it usually is "

What ever you do, deal with someone that you know is reputable.

There are legitimate services that do this for a little less than 40%.

For me there would be too much risk. You have no control of what he's shipping but it's your reputation on the line. The stuff could be stolen or counterfeit. If that's the case you get banned forever and could even face criminal charges if something was stolen. I'd pass.

I've done it for close friends and even then only when the item(s) are in my possession because it helps to avoid mistakes with regard to item condition, description, and proper packing. Remember that it is your eBay account and reputation that is ultimately at stake. (and possibly PayPal too).

I think that I would do due diligence and ask for samples of merchandise, seller's true name, address & phone number, etc.

Good luck!

I personally would not do it. Unless I knew the person I was selling for well and could verify where the stock was coming from to ensure it wasn't fake.

No, No and No again!

You say he contacted you? Why, out of the blue would this person with "unlimited" supply of consumer electronics contact you? Are you an Ebay Powerseller??

You state the items are covered by "manufactured warranty".

If the buyer cannot get support from the manufacturer about an item, guess who they are going to come back to for support or refund - and do not just take ebay into account, you have paypal to deal with as well.

He is offering 40% for each sale + ebay fees and 10$ for each item that doesn't sell. (is there that much room for that much profit on consumer electronics? Have you done research into how much these items are currently selling for and what the base price he is offering them to you for??)

You state "The arrangement will work as the following:"
- I sell the items on ebay (auctions only) (WHAT IS YOUR STARTING PRICE - does that price ensure you enough to pay him his bottom line?)
- I receive the payment and keep it (for now). (This is a FLAG - why just for now - if this is legit, why not keep the arrangement forever?)
- He ships the items and provides tracking number. (Yet another FLAG - shipping and handling is equal to or greater time consuming than listing an item)
- If a dispute is open within 40 days, it's on him. (Another FLAG - how is it on him? It is your account, you have to respond and make it right)
- Buyer can ask for a refund within 14 days from delivery. (Does Ebay/Paypal agree to this time constraint on refunds on items that have a greater chance of failure as consumer electronics do??)

The reason he gives for working this way is that he is busy and has no time to sell it himself (SEE FLAG ABOVE), doesn't have an ebay account (WHY? Did he lose his account, why, why, why) and needs someone to take care of his sales (again, WHY - once you have a picture and description made up for an item, it is simple to duplicate, list and wait for sale or no sale and then automatically relist if it does not sell).

He also instructed not to reply to any of the bidders' questions, as I don't know anything about the items. (BIGGEST FLAG OF ALL - see how fast you will lose sales and possibly have your account shut down if you refuse to answer legitimate questions or WAIT, is he going to ask you for access to your account so he can answer them for you and ultimately steal your account/paypal balance??)

It looks skeptic to me. If he claimed to have unlimited stock of products than why is he busy on other task? Just think on it.

There is no way in hell this guy is legit. How on earth is he making a profit with consumer electronics when he is offering you "40% for each sale + ebay fees and 10$ for each item that doesn't sell"...

The margin on consumer electronics is extremely thin when you consider eBay and Paypal between them already take 10% off the top...

Also, Paypals new return policy, buyers can dispute up to 180 days after goods are received and trust me they do...

Anyway if you fall for it please let us know how it turned out for you...

Sounds pretty fishy to me, I would stay way clear of this guy.

Why though? I don't get it, to me I have a bad feeling about this. Do you know this person well?

I would be carefuly here, lots of lawsuites have developed this way.