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Possible scam?

W

whsteve

May 16, 2010
59
5
Washington DC/ N. VA.
#1
I realize I'm an newbie here on TB, but I've been doing online transactions on recording websites and ebay for over a decade +. I listed a bass here for sale and received a reply from an interested buyer (and I sincerely apologize if the buyer is reading this and is completely legit!!), but....

A few red flags popped up immediately:

The buyer is from another country, but is staying here in the states until mid-Sept (yes, I know it sounds bad....). The buyer wants it shipped to the address here in the states before his departure (well..... it could happen).

The buyer signed up for a TB account when I posted my listing, and signed up for a paypal account to make the transaction (ok, 2 more Bright red flags)

But.....

He gave me a contact number and information. I telephoned him and he called back from the same number about a 1/2 hour later. I tried to call BS on him and asked him why he was so interested in my bass. He stated that he was looking for an American bass from that year, as well as a combo amp (which he named) before departing the country.

I told him that, since he is so new to TB and paypal, that I would have to wait for the payment to clear through PP before shipping. He was completely fine with that. He stated that it was linked to his debit card and it would take approx. 7 days for the funds to clear. He was ok for me waiting until funds cleared before shipment.

I'm not trying to sound biased, but I'm sure everyone has received the "I'm interested in your product" type e-mail off of craigslist, ebay, etc., that is obviously fraudulent. It is typically someone from another country, blah, blah, blah. Even though I'm experiencing a few, "Hell NO", moments, some things sound legit. Anyone care to chime if they've had any similar bad experiences on TB?? I guess if the funds clear through paypal, I'm good to go w/out the fear of paypal pulling some BS after the fact if it ends up fraudulent??


Most scammers are so obvious it's disgusting. Are the scammers stepping it up a notch, or am I overly paranoid? If anyone had anything similar on this site, please let me know.

Thanks!
 
#2
My head's still fuzzy from a late night gig but as I read your post, two main things came to mind.

1) I've sold & shipped internationally to TB members without incident several times. I've also sold & shipped to members with a similar "story" of being in the states for a short period and/ or shipping to a "friend" here for them. No problem there either.

2) The TB community is exactly that, a community. Unlike eBay or CraigsList it's members seem to have an honest, sincere bond usually without scam intentions. My sense is the potential buyer would not be going to such great lengths to scam you.

If you wait till the PayPal payment clears it would seem you're in the clear. Just make certain to take all the necessary precautions of packing, insurance, signature requirements, etc. I've been very fortunate to have not encountered a scam or even a difficult transaction on TB over 100 times, whether buying or selling. There's members here who have even more experience with your specific situation but my sense is you're being a wee bit paranoid. Just my 2 cents.

Best of luck with the transaction.
 
#3
You're more the optimist than I am :smug: I have done quite a few transactions internationally, without issue. But the big difference here is it's not someone from the "community", considering he just joined up with TB and Paypal on the same day. Possible? Sure, but a little unlikely.

It got a little more suspect today when he told me that his Paypal account that he just setup carries his European address, and he wants me to ship to this US address.I thought we had clarified that last night during our discussion. I told him that I would only ship to the verified paypal address. No reply, and no payment from my Paypal payment request from last night.

Maybe I am being a bit paranoid, and I hope to be proven wrong. Not so sure that's gonna happen.....
 
#4
If something smells wrong to you chances are you're better off sticking with your initial intuitions. The better safe than sorry argument applies here. Just because many TBers have had successful transactions outside the US doesn't apply here when the guy has only been signed up here from the time you placed your ad.

Run, don't walk . . .
 
#6
Yeah, just about certain it was. That's the scary thing. The guy was somewhat knowledgable about what he was talking about. Usually you can immediatelly tell from the first email or response that it's a scam. This guy was almost believable. He was talking about looking for an Ashdown amp. I felt it was a little suspicious when he didn't ask too many questions about the bass. It wasn't until yesterday that he pm'd me and told me that his prepaid phone minutes had run out, so no way to contact him. Anyways, just keep an eye out if you guys get something similar from a classifieds ad here. I'll post what info he gave me if I don't hear anything back from him by tomorrow so others can watch out for it.
 
#7
Alright....3rdBass is a better person (or less bitter:) person than I. Maybe I was proven wrong. The kid called me tonight and told me that he's a lifeguard over here for the summer from overseas trying to get decent equipment before he heads back overseas. He provided good info and stated that he'd be willing to do a bank transfer instead. I guess I'm a jaded old a$$hole, but wanted to be cautious. The only reason I posted was to see if others had similar experiences. Give me some slack.... still seemed a little suspicious at first glance:smug: I'll be happy to be proven wrong if it all goes through. Thanks for the input.
 
#8
It's like anywhere else, you just have to minimize your risk. I have taken the gamble on some "potentially sketchy" deals, when I was able to get enough satisfactory evidence from the other party that they were truly legit. And I have bailed on some deals where the other party failed to come up with satisfactory cred. Phone calls are a pretty good tool, because you can analyze the other guy's voice to see if you feel like you can trust him.
 
#11
To the OP.

I think you had the right idea by telling him you would wait 7 days before shipping. That alone can save you or some victim, who has yet to learn they are a victim of a compromised card/account/other, alot of trouble. I'm the fraud investigator for the local PD and I can tell you the bad guys want the goods NOW and not 7-12 days from now. They know time is of the essence in purchases like this.
 
#14
Since 05 I've only had one buyer who was...hmmm...not right. I called him on it and he cussed me out in a PM. 4 years later he has not made a single post. Even the mattress police call that a clue.
I think most here on TB are good to go. As the seller it is up to you to check it out and if it dont look right move on. Reasonable people will always understand.
 
#15
I here ya. I lurk too, and join to buy or sell normally. It's not strictly the newbie status, but lack of communication, strange requests, etc. I'd expect a few more questions about the bass too.

He called today, and I thought we were back on track, but he cancelled the paypal request just an hour ago. I guess it isn't worth the headache and my endless postings on this thread! I do appreciate the advice you guys chimed in with.
 

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