Question about a seller

Bass Barrister · #1 07-01-2010, 09:00 PM

I have a couple of basses for sale. I received an e-mail several weeks ago which read kind of odd but I replied asking that the seller telephone me and giving him my 'phone number. I nver heard from him again until today. He wants the adress to which he should mail a cashier's check, and my pick-up address. His mover will come to pick up my bass. He "assumes" the bass in in good condition and does not have time to check it out.

The guy's initials are TM and he has a gmail acct. Has anyone has a similar experience.

Me smellum rat.

**jmattbassplaya** · #2 07-01-2010, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bass Barrister

I have a couple of basses for sale. I received an e-mail several weeks ago which read kind of odd but I replied asking that the seller telephone me and giving him my 'phone number. I nver heard from him again until today. He wants the adress to which he should mail a cashier's check, and my pick-up address. His mover will come to pick up my bass. He "assumes" the bass in in good condition and does not have time to check it out.

The guy's initials are TM and he has a gmail acct. Has anyone has a similar experience.

Me smellum rat.

Those are scams.

Hqubed · #3 07-01-2010, 09:10 PM

SCAM. I have a bass for sale also. Get these a couple of times a month, usually a gmail address, but sometimes other isps. I respond politely and professionally as I believe an honest person should. Never know, could be someone who is real and just has some struggles, but I do not (and suggest you also do not) provide my phone or physcial addressbut ask them for theirs. As with you a couple of weeks later I received a second email wanting my banking info so they can send payment and arrange pick. At that time I always stipulate PayPal payment in advance of, or cash at the time of pick up. As one might suspect I have yet to receive a payment or further email of a mover, courier, or anyone else showing up with cash to take the bass. This is a scam looking for account and personal information.

fdeck · #4 07-01-2010, 09:33 PM

"Cashiers check" and "my agent will come to pick it up for me" are classic red flags for the Nigerian scam. From what I understand, a fake cashiers check can take a long time after you get your cash, for the bank to find out that the check is counterfeit, and then to come back to you for their money.

Bijoux · #5 07-01-2010, 09:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fdeck

"Cashiers check" and "my agent will come to pick it up for me" are classic red flags for the Nigerian scam. From what I understand, a fake cashiers check can take a long time after you get your cash, for the bank to find out that the check is counterfeit, and then to come back to you for their money.

yes. also he may send a cashier's check for an amount greater than the purchase, and he'll come up with some story just so you have to wire some money back to him or someone else in his family, and he might even offer to kick back a little money in case you help him out.
It happened to me when I tried to sell a car. although I didn't go for it. Instead of depositing the cashier's check in my account, I went to the agency that had issued the cashier's check. And guess what??? the cashier's check was actually legit, but it had been cashed about a month prior to our transaction.

Steve Killingsworth · #6 07-02-2010, 02:45 PM

I had an almost identical message when selling a golf cart over Craigslist last year. They never mentioned "golf cart" instead referring to the "item." It smelled like a rat so I ignored it.

**Staccato** · #7 07-02-2010, 02:49 PM

Tell him to meet you at a bank branch (of your choosing) with CASH-himself-not is agent, and you will bring the amp! And, you will not hear back, go figure!

Muhuahahua...

JMac4strngr · #8 07-02-2010, 02:50 PM

Any broken English? That is also a dead giveaway. I used to get those emails everytime I was trying to sell something on CL, I finally quit getting them when I mentioned "Paypal or cash only sale" in the add.

Phil Smith · #9 07-03-2010, 09:13 AM

It's a scam, but it would be nice to give him some address other than your home i.e. a mail boxes etc so that they can send the phoney cashiers check and then discover who the pickup agent is and then have the police deal with them.

bejoyous · #10 07-03-2010, 01:28 PM

We often get an email saying so-and-so's son/daughter is coming to live here for the summer and wants to take piano/guitar/bass lessons everyday while here. They also say they want our address so they can send a cashiers' cheque, etc.

If you think something is a scam, check out snopes.com it'll probably be mentioned there.

Don Higdon · #11 07-03-2010, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bejoyous

We often get an email saying so-and-so's son/daughter is coming to live here for the summer and wants to take piano/guitar/bass lessons everyday while here. They also say they want our address so they can send a cashiers' cheque, etc.

This exact same scam was tried on Alexander teachers. They were stupid enough to send the same email at the same time to all the teachers in the US.

bejoyous · #12 07-03-2010, 08:47 PM

I think if most scammers put as much effort into a legitimate business as they do their scams, they'd probably be millionaires!

JMac4strngr · #13 07-03-2010, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bejoyous

I think if most scammers put as much effort into a legitimate business as they do their scams, they'd probably be millionaires!

My thoughts exactly, wouldn't it seem a hell of a lot less risky and stressful to get a real job.