SafeBay Community Blacklist

Report a bad eBay buyer. Warn every seller.

Report buyers involved in return fraud, false “item not received” claims, chargeback abuse and feedback extortion to the SafeBay Community Blacklist. Once approved, your report is shared with every SafeBay member, and any order that buyer places with them is flagged.

Free to report
Reviewed before it's shared
AI-powered analysis

New report Order attached

t***y Empty box returned

Opened a return for “not working”. The box came back with a dead unit from another model, serial doesn’t match my photo.

AI severity: High In review

Two minutes

Why eBay sellers need a buyer blacklist

“As a seller, you can only leave positive feedback for buyers.”

eBay Help: Leaving feedback for buyers. eBay made the change in 2008, according to Ars Technica.

eBay’s feedback system has a fundamental flaw: sellers cannot leave negative feedback for buyers. A buyer with 100% positive feedback can be a serial scam artist, and there’s no way to know from eBay alone. Repeat offenders exploit that blind spot, moving from store to store with the same return fraud, the same false claims and the same undeserved refunds.

The SafeBay Community Blacklist fills the gap. When a seller reports a problematic buyer and a moderator approves the report, it reaches every member, and any order that buyer places with them is flagged in SafeBay. Each report carries the scam type, an AI-assessed severity, the seller’s comments and optional photo evidence: real context, not just a name on a list.

Common eBay buyer scams that cost sellers money.

Scam buyers run the same tricks on store after store. Here’s what to watch for, and what to attach when you report it.

eBay Return Fraud

The #1 scam reported on SafeBay. Buyers purchase genuine items, swap them with broken or counterfeit versions, and return the fake for a full refund. eBay’s automated return system often sides with the buyer, leaving sellers holding a worthless item, and the Money Back Guarantee makes it nearly impossible to fight.

Attach: Photos before shipping Photos of the return Weights

False “Item Not Received” Claims

Dishonest buyers claim packages never arrived despite tracking showing delivery, and open eBay cases to force refunds while keeping the item. Without a signature on delivery, eBay may rule against the seller. INR fraud is especially common with high-value electronics and collectibles.

Attach: Tracking page The eBay case

PayPal & Credit Card Chargebacks

Buyers pay, receive the item, then file a chargeback claiming the transaction was unauthorized. The seller loses the item and the payment, plus a chargeback fee. Repeat abusers work their way through store after store.

Attach: The order Chargeback notice

Negative Feedback Extortion

Buyers threaten negative feedback unless the seller sends a partial refund, a free item or another concession. It breaks eBay’s feedback extortion policy, but enforcement is inconsistent, so sellers often pay rather than risk their rating and search placement.

Attach: Message screenshots

What happens after you report

One seller learns the hard way. Every other seller hears about it in time.

You report the scammer

Enter the buyer’s username and describe the scam. AI analyzes your report and assigns a severity.
Report on t***y Severity: High
- Return fraud
- 3 photos attached
A moderator reviews it

Nothing is shown to anyone until it’s approved. Then the buyer joins the community blacklist.

Report on t***y Approved

Risk level by sellers reporting

Low1 Medium2–3 High4+
Every member is warned, and can block them

Their orders are flagged in SafeBay, and the free Chrome extension adds them to members’ eBay Block lists.

eBay · Blocked buyers Synced

k***9, m***s, d***x, t***y

Checkout says no

How the Community Blacklist works Our review methodology

How to protect your eBay store from buyer fraud

Four habits, most of them automatic once the Companion is installed.

Add the Companion to Chrome

Check every buyer before you ship

The single most effective step against fraud is checking a buyer before shipping. SafeBay’s Chrome extension makes this automatic: it shows buyer risk levels right on eBay order pages, message threads and buyer profiles.
Document everything for eBay disputes

Photograph and weigh items before shipping, keep packaging receipts, and save every eBay message. SafeBay lets you attach evidence images to reports, building a documented history that strengthens the community’s case against repeat offenders.
Use eBay’s Buyer Block list before you need it

Most sellers add buyers to the block list after they’ve been scammed. SafeBay flips this: the community blacklist feeds your eBay Block list through the Chrome extension, so reported buyers are blocked before they can place an order.
Report fraud so the next seller is warned

Every report makes the network stronger. A buyer's risk level rises with every seller who reports them and with the severity the AI assigns each report. Members choose which levels the Chrome extension blocks on their eBay accounts, so your report can be the one that gets a buyer blocked.

eBay seller fraud prevention resources

Understanding eBay buyer protection abuse

eBay’s Money Back Guarantee is designed to protect buyers, but dishonest buyers weaponize it against sellers. When a buyer files a “significantly not as described” claim, eBay often refunds automatically without verifying it. Scam buyers know this and use it to get free items. The best defense is prevention: check every buyer against the SafeBay blacklist before shipping.

eBay seller defect rate and buyer scams

False claims and fraudulent returns count against your eBay defect rate. Too many defects can bring selling restrictions, loss of Top Rated Seller status and lower search visibility. Blocking known scam buyers before they purchase protects your inventory and your seller metrics.

The true cost of eBay buyer fraud

Buyer fraud costs more than the refund. Sellers lose the original item, pay return shipping, absorb eBay’s final value fees on the transaction, and spend hours on disputes. A single bad buyer can cost a high-volume seller hundreds of dollars plus the time. The blacklist turns one seller’s loss into every seller’s warning.

eBay buyer reporting questions

Short answers here. The full FAQ has the rest.

Read the full FAQ

How do I report an eBay buyer for fraud?

Enter the buyer’s eBay username in the form at the top of this page and choose Start report. You’ll be guided through a detailed form to describe the scam: return fraud, a false INR claim, chargeback abuse, feedback extortion or another issue. SafeBay’s AI analyzes your report and assigns a danger level, and after moderator review the buyer is added to the community blacklist.

Can I block eBay scam buyers automatically?

Yes. The SafeBay Chrome extension syncs the community blacklist to your eBay Buyer Block list. When a reported buyer is at a risk level you chose to block (High and Medium by default), the extension adds them to your block list so they can’t buy from your store. You can change which risk levels it blocks and keep a personal whitelist for trusted buyers.

What is an eBay buyer blacklist?

An eBay buyer blacklist is a shared database of problematic buyers kept by the seller community. Since eBay doesn’t let sellers leave negative feedback for buyers, scam artists can keep perfect feedback while defrauding store after store. SafeBay shares each approved report with every member and flags any order the reported buyer places with them, giving sellers the information eBay’s own system doesn’t provide.

How do I protect myself from eBay return fraud?

Photograph and weigh every item before shipping. Check every buyer against the SafeBay blacklist: the Chrome extension does this automatically on eBay order pages. Block high-risk buyers automatically. When return fraud happens, report the buyer on SafeBay with evidence so other sellers are warned, and document everything for eBay case escalations.

Is buyer reporting on SafeBay free?

Yes, reporting is free. A free SafeBay account is required to submit a report. The same account gives you the Chrome extension for buyer alerts and automatic blocking.

What happens to eBay buyers who get reported?

Reports are reviewed by moderators before they are added to the community blacklist. The buyer’s profile page shows their risk level, report history and issue categories, and sellers using the Chrome extension see them flagged. Buyers can appeal a report they believe is inaccurate; every appeal is reviewed.

Stop the next store learning it the hard way.

Once approved, every report you submit reaches every SafeBay member. It takes less than two minutes.

Report a buyer now How the Community Blacklist works