Hello,
Please note that while there is a lot of fraud on ebay, there are also a lot of transactions that go smoothly (you never hear about those).
As for the Nigerian scammers, the target mainly new sellers or sellers of popular electronic items such as laptops, cell phones, mp3 players and computer games such as Play Station. On the same day they register, they bid on several items during the last seconds of the auction or they use Buy It Now.
You may not be able to stop all fraudulent bidding but you can do a few things to protection yourself as much as possible.
You can block bidders that are not registered in India by going to My Ebay > Preferences then locate Buyer Requirements and on “Show” next to it. Then click on Edit. There will be a list of options for you to choose. Select the option to block buyers who are registered in countries to which you do not ship to and any other options you want to add.
In your auction description in big bright red letters, you can add WILL NOT SEND TO NIGERIA. This will not prevent them from bidding but it will let them know you will not send the item to Nigeria.
Some of the Nigerian scammers will register in India so they will not be automatically blocked but if a Nigerian does bid on your listing, please immediately file an Unpaid Item Dispute.
http://pages.ebay.in/help/tp/unpaid-item-process.html
Do not select the Mutual Agreement option when filing the dispute. I believe if the buyer is no longer registered, you will immediately get a refund on your final value fee. Make sure you file a dispute on all your auctions where the buyer did not pay for whatever reason whether they were Nigerian scammers or not.
Also on the Nigerian scammers, you can file an Unwelcome Bidder report against them:
Another thing I should add, buyers are not allowed to just bid without paying. Ever bid is a legally binding contract to follow an auction to the end. Any buyer that has bid, won and not pay on any of your auctions, add them to your blocked bidders list by going to the Site Map at the top of your screen. Then under Selling Activities, click on Block Bidder/Buyer list and add each non-payer to your list. They will automatically be blocked from bidding on your future auctions. You should also file the Unpaid Item Dispute 7 days after the auction has ended on each non-payer.
You might want to consider having pre-approved bidding:
http://pages.ebay.in/help/sell/manage_bidders_ov.html#preapprove
http://pages.ebay.in/help/policies/unwelcome-buying.html
Please be aware that the Nigerians are not going unregistered voluntarily. They are reported as fraudulent and ebay closes their account.
As far as purchasing items that are fraudulent, it is up to each buyer to research and know the value of the item and the seller’s reputation. If an item is selling for a really cheap price, it is most likely a fraud but no matter how many warnings are posted, there still will be a lot of people who will fall for the fraudulent listing.
