This weekend, I got this email on one of my eBay listings:

hey i have some anoying person that allways look at what i sell and buy. so i changed my name from [redacted] to [redacted] . if thery had me a saved seller will i be on there still? i need a 100% right answer to that. thanks you.

This is from a user I’ve never had a single transaction with.

If my eBay ID was in some way related to The Whine Seller or if this question had come through my email (either through this site or my main site), I would have assumed this person just wanted to pick my brain. But my eBay ID is pretty well separated from “me” so it really seems like this person just completely randomly contacted any old user through the eBay site.

I’m immediately suspicious even though I can’t see any way this could be a scam. What would they gain? It’s a legit eBay email so it’s not a phishing spoof scenario.

But why would someone pick a completely random user ID and email them a question that’s clearly for eBay support? Especially when they claim to need a “100% right answer.” I always go to a completely random stranger instead of the source when I want a 100% correct answer, don’t you?

I mean, there’s stupidity and then there’s throwing fishing hooks into the sky randomly because you want trout for dinner.

I emailed the person and told them that they should probably contact eBay support with that question but I have to ask you… what do you think of this?

And if you feel like it, go ahead and answer his question if you have a “100% right answer” on hand. 😉