Just made Alienware sale.. something seems fishy

Hi guys, last night someone purchased my Alienware laptop.

Then I got this message:
Dear Seller, I have just made a purchase of an item off ebay from you,and would simply want to ask you if you do accept payment via paypal online secure payment. Never bother with sending invoice but you can send money request([email protected])I'll of course get the shipment cost on usps web because the shipping address is not to canada nor to usa,it will be change at payment,so just send me mail to confirm if you accept paypal,Thanks Mrs x xx

X's obviously are me not showing the email just in case.

Does this' seem right.. or someone pulling a fast one? What should I do?

 

Stay far away from that... just delete the email lol

 

I think someone is pulling a fast one brosef, avoid..avoid..avoid.

 

Avoid, Hes trying to move you away from Ebay, which means you aren't fully protected

 

definitely avoid unless you can check the laptop up, the person up and get a couple of character references.

Lots of running around. I did something similar and check the person's laptop, police status of laptop, Dell's warranty department, met the seller in person, had eye witness of transaction etc.

Turned out fine but I won't do that again.

regards

paul

 

i think with the kind of money involved, i would play it safe and avoid. playing it safe is always the way to go.

ebay always says to avoid people who try to move away from the site. if it were me personally, id rather be safe than get screwed over. hope everything works out for the best for you

 

yeah, always send an invoice, and for the love of whatever deity you believe in (if any) do not put that thing in the mail until you have the money already in your account.

that being said, if you respond to that email they can pull your IP address from the source file of the message and if its static you're in some serious trouble. always look for a scam and always be aware that someone is trying to pull one.

a guy from Nigeria was spamming my inbox for 2 months claiming to be interested in buying my M17x R1, well he's not some rich, distant (or close for the matter) relative, and there's no cash up front, so i don't trust it. Never take a money order, and if you're using paypal don't ship it until you have the cash in your account, a legitimate buyer won't have any issue with this if you're an approved seller.

 

Dude.. this person is BUYING it from me. Lol.. police status of laptop????

 

well, if you're 100% positive thats the person who bought it, and you trust it, tbh, i was just warning the kinda crap people should look for in these situations.

 

Yea I get that. I've sent the invoice out.
Next step if nothing is to complain to eBay so they delete their account, and then probably relist it.

 

I'd run from that one. It doesn't sound legit.

 

man jubbing your sig is awesome, how you get 16gb ram.

 

LOL CONGRATS InapproproateName! It was a joke between me and Joker to see who would be the first person to notice that (especially since I had accidentaly put 4gb of RAM twice before). You win! Changing back to 4 now

 

*edit* nvm, already answered my question

 

hahhahaha i was like wow!!! how much did he pay to get that, lol...hahahaha

 

well for a second i thought 8gb SO DIMM chips would do it, but a quick flip through the owners manual fixed my insubordinate thoughts of wanting to have more ram than i could ever use hah

 

Anyways getting back to Fake and Gay *possible* sale, I've sent the invoice. If the money comes in great
If not.. I wouldn't be too shocked.

 

Don't trust the paypal payment either. He could use a stolen credit card, receive the laptop and then the owner reports it stolen or this scammer does. I'd just file a complaint with ebay that this person is trying to lure you outside of ebay to do the transaction and ask for a fee reversal. Man I really despise ebay, wish there was a more secure auction site to do business.

Oh and LOL@Inappropriate noticing our little joke, that was awesome.

 

Yea contacted ebay already on this just in case.

And yes LOL.. but I'm surprised it took that long to notice. (ah about a week)

EDIT: if it is a false scam or *to be scam* how long Do I have to wait to relist?

 

File and relist right away.

 

In short - I'd ask for clarification before jumping the gun.

If it's a buyer whose first language is not English then it may just be issues with trying to overcome the language barrier. Check their feedback scores - while not necessarily accurate, they're sometimes at least indicative of the buyers history.

The grammar isn't great and the message doesn't read clearly so I'm having a bit of trouble understanding exactly what they're asking for. Taken with the benefit of the doubt, the way I'm reading it is that they're possibly asking two things:

• They're asking if they can pay via PayPal which could be a valid question if you haven't specified PayPal as an option. What available payment methods did you have on your e-Bay listing? If you only listed something like direct bank credit as an option and not Paypal it could be inconvenient for international buyers.
  
  
• The statement about the address is strange. Did you say you'd only post to US/Canada? Maybe they're saying that they'll "get" (accept) any changes to shipping prices since it's going to the UK (I assume, based on the e-Mail address) and not US/CA?
  
  
• The point about not worrying about an invoice definitely raises an eyebrow though. Not sure what to say to that one.

As I said, get some clarification on what they're asking first. If it's still suspicious to you get eBay involved before you accept payment/send it and highlight your concerns.

Edit: Whatever the shipping method, be sure it includes insurance and tracking. My understanding is that if they claim non-receipt/non-delivery they have to make the claim with the shipping company rather than try to recoup the costs from you/PayPal? Someone else may be able to provide facts on this process as I'm just making an assumption here.

 

That's why I'm waiting till I get a reply.
First, Paypal is my preferred method of payment, as Paypal Aus doesn't like you to sell items without a Paypal account. So the fact he asked me to 'request' the money rather than send me the money directly via paypal.. is curious.

I said I post worldwide.. to anywhere except Nigeria and Indonesia. Shipping costs are on the USA/UK/Canada eBay sites, as I clarified by checking. Insurance is optional, and tracking should be included (I linked it directly to the AusPost rates) depending on which shipping method they choose.

Now like I said, i'm waiting for a reply. I have also sent of the invoice. Doesn't make sense if Paypal option is given on eBay.. and they wan't ME to request the money. Didn't exactly understand what they were saying. Joker said to relist right away, but I told him I'd wait to fully clarify this issue.

 

Ah, that being the case then I'd agree - something doesn't seem quite right here. Let us know how you go.

 

Be wary,

Paypal is also on the side of the buyer and not the seller. It seems to happen that people report parcels as empty, thus getting the money refunded from Paypal which gets subtracted from you.

 

can you say SCAM??? Yeah, this is a phishing scam, trying to get you to divulge financial information!

 

Be wary, Paypal can be abused, even if the money gets to your account there are ways for the buyer to get your item AND the money back.

 

Well on the small 5% chance their is legit.. there willnever be a way for me to prove it is legit.

 

Over the net, I'm not sure you can. Googling might turn up something, but otherwise its going to be hard to prove - either way. That's why it is usually better to err on the side of caution.

 

About the invoice...

In Europe, if the Custom found an invoice in a pack, you can be charged with local taxes as if the good is new, even if it is "second hand". Methods (to try) to avoid this are
- do not join any invoice in the pack,
- send it as a gift
- do not declare a high value on the pack.

Basically he is just asking that:
- do you accept Paypal ?
- do not send an invoice
He doesn't ask you about any kind of financial information related to you.

If you're afraid of something bad, as you probably state into the sale you're only shipping to USA and as you didn't specify you're are accepting Paypal, you have two good reasons to cancel the deal.

 

He said not to send in invoice when the item ships, or from eBay? (because if its from Ebay.. too late).

I didn't state USA only, as being in Australia.. that wouldn't make sense.
I deffinately specified PAYPAL as the Preffered method of payment at the bottom. Perhaps it was a long post and he might have missed it.. but who buys something without scrolling to the bottom at least.

Like I said. I'm giving time before I re-post it.

I want to dig deeper. I'll post any potential replies. But I'm thinking.. if someone can still fraud pay you.. why does 'she' request me to request the money, why not pay straight from the eBay screen?

Also her feedback? 0.
Date of joining eBay - 20 May.
Date of Purchase - 20 May.

First purchase on ebay without reading anything on the screen? I don't think so.. but I am waiting.

 

I see nothing wrong with what the person said. I own a fabric company and ship all over the world. When I ship to the UK the buyer always requests that I do not include a invoice so the buyer can avoid paying import taxes on the item. In many countries this tax can be very very high.

As for the joining may 20 and buying the same day, I think thats how everyone gets started with ebay. They see something they like so they sign up and buy it... every ebay buyer has to start somewhere, you cant just apear out of nowhere with good feedback, you have to earn it from 0.


That said I would have no problem shipping out to them, Have them send you money via paypal, wait for it to transfer to your bank account then ship them the computer.

 

In the next email he/she will probably ask you to change the shipping address to a "christian mission" in Nigeria as the laptop is a gift for his texan cousin "Father Jack Anderson"

With that kind of money involved you're probably better off limiting the shipping options to exclude any oversea destination.

"its-now-completely-impossible-to-sell-a-laptop-on-ebay"
Story of multiples back to back Nigerian scam attempts on the same laptop.
http://consumerist.com/2008/05/its-now-completely-impossible-to-sell-a-laptop-on-ebay.html

 

Nothing wrong?
How about this then.. apparently payment has been confirmed (through a routing code on paypal?)
Here's the message from our "dear Betty":

The Prince of Nigeria bought my Laptop? WOW I must be so lucky.. real life royalty bought my laptop

It's been nice knowing everyone here.. but since I am now doing transactions with royalty, I can't be seen handing around NBR.

... Seriously.. the fk man. The Fk.

Either way I don't:
1. See ANY money in my account (even if I do I am NOT touching that ).
2. In my posting exclusions it is stated that I will NOT be sending the laptop to Nigeria or Indonesia.

 

I see potential for another great P-P-P-Powerbook!! episode

 

ok, nevermind, since its now going to Nigeria its a scam. Send him a box of broken computer parts and declare a high value on them. That way to get the box of broken computer parts he has to pay the taxes.

 

And at the same time declare the value at $15,000.. that'll teach him.

 

i would ship this guy a sealed plastic bag that contains a $1 bill and my best fart in it.

 

Ya.. This is definitely a trick. This happened to me, and I actually lost the first m15x I bought because of something like this. Definitely don't sell it.

 

Actually freight charges will often be directly dependant of the weight so you might want to throw a few concrete blocs in there to weight it up.

That way he'll have to pay high taxes and freight charges.

If you do end up doing it, remember to take pictures and post them on the scam baiter forum.
ScamBaiting at it's finest - Scam Baiting for Fun and Justice theScamBaiter.com

 

hehe I felt in my gut something was very wrong. I was off about the type of scam, but still right on this being a scam.

 

You won't see money. He'll make you assume its there when it ain't or he'll pull the "PayPal is holding the money till i get the laptop trick" Some Nigeria guy did it to me, but it failed.

 

Lol.. not exactly how it works for non-business postages into Australia. Everything over 1000 is chargedd 10%.

 

hahaha that's good!


+1

 

Hey jubbings.... just had a look at ur graphics card listed on ebay... Ur shader clock says 1375... Its should be 1350 just change it before any buyer creates a case for wong info after buyin.. Hope that helps...

 

I know I come in late in the discussion but just don't do it. Forget this guy, you will never see any money and your PC will be gone.

 

Oh really? I got my info from notebookcheck.com!
Thanks for the heads up, but it doesn't let me change the item listing info once bids have been put in. (What were you doing looking at my ebay for )

Lol yea, I've already filed a complaint with eBay AND Paypal.
I'll relist it.. but I might not do it on ebay.

 

as soon as the buyer emailed you to complete the transaction outside of ebay, that's an immediate red flag and 100% scam.

dont even think 'well if guy pays and the money comes in my account.. maybe this is real'

you are just kidding yourself and being foolish/reckless

you ship the laptop out, and several days/weeks later paypal tells you they are removing the funds since they were sourced illegaly (ie. stolen credit card, etc)

"Do not respond to the sender if this message requests that you complete the transaction outside of eBay. This type of offer is against eBay policy, may be fraudulent, and is not covered by buyer protection programs. Learn More."

source: ebay.com

 

was thinking of selling my GTX260m since i have updated mine with ati 5870.. And was looking how much these cards go for... they wer only 2-3 listed on ebay and one of them turned out to be a user named jubbings... so i guessed it might be you because i had seen u on the threads and even on benchmarks... but when i came accross this thread i was sure that it was you....

Good luck for ur sale... Am selling my 5870 because need to get OCZ vertex 2 200gb ssd.. Need the cash man and GTX260m do not sell that high so will have to sell my 5870... Thats an awesome card man... huge performance gains but need the ssd... The games i play seem to be good with gtx260m only bfbc2 is a bit choppy but that goes away if i turn down the AA and OC.

 

That's true. That's why he should wait until the money is unfrozen, thus available to him, before shipping the laptop. Most of the time, Paypal will freeze the money for a few days. So, wait until it's "unfrozen" before sending the laptop. Then, transfer that money outside Paypal quickly. That way, Paypal won't be able to reverse the transaction if the buyer ever claimed that refund.

 

No matter how the transaction turns out, as a good practice, no one should leave "dormant" funds into a Paypal account. There's no point doing taking the risk of reversed charges.