ebay - could this be a scam?

rodgers73

I'm selling something on eBay. A member contacts me to ask how much to end the auction. Apparently he "can't bid" although no reason is given for this. He is based in India. We agree a price plus international postage - one I'm happy with.

I'm about to end this auction but something is nagging at me. Is this some sort of scam? The only angle I can see here is that he will try and renegotiate once the listing is ended. In which I'll happily tell him to do one. Could there be something else??

RideOnTime

sounds dodgy
don't know why
but sounds dodgy

patrickf

If he can't bid I'd stay we'll clear! Likelihood is that you won't see your frame or your money again.

How was he planning on paying?

Sounds dodgy to me.

Barbarossa

It could be that he can't bid because you didn't set up international options when you listed it.

tri-sexual

If it sounds dodgy then it usually is.
Let the auction run and get payment by PayPal to get some legal protection.
If the guy wants it let him bid on it like everyone else,
If he is already making excuses by saying he can't bid think what he would do or say once you have agreed to sell it to him.

turnerjohn

as above....get him to pay paypal....send it recorded and only end the listing when his paid.

having said that I'd only do that for something cheap cos yes it does sound a little suspect !

VTech

If you think it sounds dodgy get him to pay western union. It's the only 100% safe method for you as all other avenues can lead to you losing the money and kit.

chrisaonabike

VTech wrote:

If you think it sounds dodgy get him to pay western union. It's the only 100% safe method for you as all other avenues can lead to you losing the money and kit.

+1

And quite apart from anything else, it's against eBay terms to accept a BIN offer on an auction. Can't bid, my a***.

sungod

there are indian government currency controls which limit the ability of the average person to do international transactions, also credit cards are far less common in india

so it's quite possible that is why they can't bid normally, or it could still be a scam

+1 for the western union payment option, there's a reason fraudsters love it, once you've got the money there's no way it can be clawed back

wheels50

It's probably a scam. Buyer uses stolen/cloned credit card to pay you through paypal.
Gets bike, original owner of the card does a chargeback, you have no bike, no money and paypals
debt collectors are chasing your for the negative balance on your account.
Or uses a stolen paypal account.Do not accept.

RDW

It's a scam. The only question is exactly how you're going to get screwed. If you're intrigued enough to find out which method he's going to use, and have money to burn, go right ahead!

VTech

A company I am on the board of was taken for £7.5k from a woman in leeds, she paid for goods, received them and then did a chargeback as if her own card was stolen pretending that she had in fact not purchased the items but instead had the card used by a thief.

I did some checks on her, found out she had a history and 3 years prior was in court in London for trying to sell a house she didnt own, the police never came to see us to take the information I had found. We lost the money.

pinno

Tell him you'll swap the frame for his sister and her UK citizenship chucked in

Frame on deposit of sister to Mersey Dockyard B, Row 65, Container 546 from Mumbai.

rodgers73

I've asked for payment via Paypal so I'm not worried about being ripped off like that. I'm just imagining him being a pain in the arse. I can't remember if I excluded international bidders - I can imagine doing that as posting abroad does seem like a pain.

rodgers73

I'm not sure where the idea that I'm selling a frame has come from? It's actually a Ferrari waterproof jacket.

capt_slog

ChrisAOnABike wrote:

VTech wrote:

If you think it sounds dodgy get him to pay western union. It's the only 100% safe method for you as all other avenues can lead to you losing the money and kit.

+1

And quite apart from anything else, it's against eBay terms to accept a BIN offer on an auction. Can't bid, my a***.

I'm pretty certain that it's not against ebay rules because there is a facility in ebay for ending the auction early when the buyer accepts a price. I've used it. I was tyring to buy a present before Christmas, the auction finished too late to allow for the postage, so i wrote to the buyer saying "you usually get X for this item, I'll offer you x+1 if you end it now and post it today", The seller ends the auction with your offer.

As long as it goes through ebay you're not breaking their rules, but I too don't understand the "can't bid" thing the buyer is talking about, unless you have some sort of block on biddiers with no previous buys/ low feedback.

RideOnTime

rodgers73 wrote:

I'm not sure where the idea that I'm selling a frame has come from? It's actually a Ferrari waterproof jacket.

So anyway this frame...

rolf_f

rodgers73 wrote:

I've asked for payment via Paypal so I'm not worried about being ripped off like that.

Errrrrrrrrr!!!! I think you need to do a bit of research on this. As per what Vtech said earlier -

VTech wrote:

If you think it sounds dodgy get him to pay western union. It's the only 100% safe method for you as all other avenues can lead to you losing the money and kit.

Personally, I think you'd be absolutely bonkers to touch this with a pole. If you can't find someone to pay what you feel is the going rate for your frame in the UK, what likelihood is there that someone in India is going to pay that much?

Barbarossa

Do a search on "eBay Buyer Requirements Exemption" and add his id. Then either let the auction run, or add a buy it now price. As long a you keep things within eBay/PayPal, you should be safe.

rodgers73

Rolf F wrote:

rodgers73 wrote:

I've asked for payment via Paypal so I'm not worried about being ripped off like that.

Errrrrrrrrr!!!! I think you need to do a bit of research on this. As per what Vtech said earlier -

VTech wrote:

If you think it sounds dodgy get him to pay western union. It's the only 100% safe method for you as all other avenues can lead to you losing the money and kit.

Personally, I think you'd be absolutely bonkers to touch this with a pole. If you can't find someone to pay what you feel is the going rate for your frame in the UK, what likelihood is there that someone in India is going to pay that much?

I'm not selling a frame!!!

napoleond

In that case, even more wary, I definitely wouldn't sell him the full bike.

rodgers73

Well, the funds arrived via PayPal today so I'll be posting frame, er waterproof jacket, off to the guy later.

All seems OK so far...

VTech

Is the address confirmed ?

If I'm unsure I tend to wait a week before posting, what crooks usually do is pay the money through PayPal then immediately claim on the card, this takes 3-5 days but is enough time for the seller to send the goods.
By waiting you have more of a chance to stop fraud BUT..... Just so you know, they can claim for upto 3 MONTHS after purchase if they like.

Not trying to our you off, just wouldn't want you to be conned. As long as the address is confirmed and you have postage receipt you should be fine.

rodgers73

Hmm, I've read the various warnings attached to the email that Paypal has sent me. I'm pondering whether to give this up as a bad job and refund the guy his money or just hold on for a few days like you said. His address is unconfirmed.

VTech

rodgers73 wrote:

Hmm, I've read the various warnings attached to the email that Paypal has sent me. I'm pondering whether to give this up as a bad job and refund the guy his money or just hold on for a few days like you said. His address is unconfirmed.

Therefor you have ZERO assistance from pay-pal or your bank if it is fraudulent.

If you like, send me the link or a copy of the email he has sent you.
Have you traced the I.P to see if it is genuine or bounced ?

rodgers73

VTech wrote:

rodgers73 wrote:

Therefor you have ZERO assistance from pay-pal or your bank if it is fraudulent.

If you like, send me the link or a copy of the email he has sent you.
Have you traced the I.P to see if it is genuine or bounced ?

Yes, I had never heard of Paypal chargebacks before. I had assumed that scams were only likely to occur if they got your card details as part of the transaction somehow. Having read the T&Cs it does look very unlikely that I'd qualify for any protection on this deal.

How would I trace an IP?

rodgers73

All I have is an email from Paypal that says the payment came from "member@paypal.co.uk"

I don't like the sound of that...

VTech

They seem to be using ebay as a protection blanket.
You need a direct email to trace it, the I.P sits within the email source code.
It may well be legit but even for a small amount you need to think of the upset it would cause if its a scam.
I have spent over £1k on a bar bill, not upset.
I have been scammed for £40 and been mega pi55ed that I let someone get one over on me.

Often the upset if far worse than the loss, people dont always realise this.

Ask him for a direct email so you can forward the postage info, then email him and when(if) he replies ill tell you how to view the source code and see if the email has come from the region you were meant to send too.

So many scams now work from countries thousands of miles from the crook, they buy products, get the sent to a handling company who's only purpose is to "fence" stolen goods which are then shipped onto the original buyer and he gets away scott-free.

sungod

if he can manage payment via paypal then his claim that he can't bid on ebay is nonsense

i can hear the vikings singing, "scam scam scam scam..."

click refund

rodgers73

Yes, refund is looking ever more likely.

The guy sent me his email addresses (x2) via ebay messaging. I emailed him my Paypal details so he could pay me but he hasn't emailed me directly.

I'm tempted to tell him the goods have been dispatched and see what happens over the following couple of days.

VTech

rodgers73 wrote:

Yes, refund is looking ever more likely.

The guy sent me his email addresses (x2) via ebay messaging. I emailed him my Paypal details so he could pay me but he hasn't emailed me directly.

I'm tempted to tell him the goods have been dispatched and see what happens over the following couple of days.

Thats what I would do.
To confirm where he is you need him to email you. Its more often than not when cams are happening that the addresses differ, this is the reason most companies only ship to the registered address of the cardholder but in PayPal's case you dont get informed of this unless they confirm the address which in your case, isnt the case.