Hi all. As some of you know I am in the market for new equipment. I am at the point where I am selling what I currently own and completely overhauling my entire kit.

 

I have sold several items on ebay in the past and every single one has gone without a hitch. it's the easiest way to get decent money for my stuff.

 

Now I have hit a bump in the road.

 

Here it is: Selling two lenses on Ebay with resonable auction starting price. Unfortunately I only get one bid on each and think to myself, oh well at least I got the minimum price I wanted to sell for. Then I look, it's the same buyer for both lenses (separate sales). But don't think anything of it, maybe the guy is getting a new kit as well and wants some options for shooting. So typically people choose to pay right away and I see the money pending in my paypal. This time, no money in my paypal and the guy marked it on ebay "payment sent" (the little hour glass)...RED FLAG. Payment sent was an option ebay created when they had money orders and checks as a method of payment to tell the seller that the buyers money was en route. They did not remove the payment sent selection when they removed the check and money order options. So this has become a popular option for scammers (google it, I am not the first). They mark it as payment sent and the naive seller will think oh ok I will send the package out and the money will process eventually. Well eventually doesn't come. From here it can go a few ways but in my case I messaged the buyer several times with no response. I look at his account, looks like a fake. A lot of positive reviews from what look like bogus accounts all giving very similar if not exactly the same "Great buyer!! A+++++ Would do business again!". another red flag. then I look up his address, it's a warehouse in Deleware. Then I see his phone number and look it up. California # for a paper shredding company...?? So this is getting a little weird. Last night I send him an invoice with both items on it. I forgot to do this step earlier and thought maybe he was waiting for that. Finally this morning he gets back to me. Keep in mind I had already messaged him with my suspicions. I'm thinking, well if he's legit he will get back to me and apologize saying he made a mistake. if he's a scam account, he will try to get my product without sending the money. guess what happened? here is his response:

 

"payment sent, my credit card was charged, it will be pending balance till the

item is shipped and delivered. it my shipping address, hope do deal with you again

 

(provided address again)"

 

Now can someone explain to me how in the hell that makes sense? Conveniently the money will not be processed until the item is shipped and delivered!! BS! Then he will message me and tell me he sent the payment and his card was charged while I wont get a cent.

 

So I replied back to him. angry. very angry. and told him he has 24 hours to either actually send the money or cancel the order or I report him.

 

So my questions are, do you agree that this guy is trying to get away with my product without paying? If so, what is the next step? I think I do have to report him to Ebay but what can they do, will they do anything? Can I completely cancel the order even though he won the bid and not get myself into trouble? I feel a little trapped.

 

Do you use ebay and has this every happened to you? How can I avoid this in the future?

 

**Edit: I also have another buyer on a third item who is completely un-responsive and has not done anything since winning the bid. I don't think he is a scammer but new to ebay and maybe has not come back since. What do I do in this case as well?

 

So many questions...

 

Sorry for the long read. Thanks everyone.

 

Sincerely,

Ben

If you didn't get the money then its a scam 99.9% of the time.

 

Money being processed BS, or waiting for shipment till it gets cleared are red flags as you noted.

 

Email Ebay about the potential scam too.

Hi Ben - I agree with you that this appears to be a scam and you should report him and not send the items. I had a transaction on ebay years ago where I paid for something and the item never arrived. When I tried to get my money back paypal agreed with me that a refund was due to me but the seller had removed all money from that paypal account and they had no way of locating him or the funds so I paid for something that I never received. They told me that it is common for people to put a small amount in a new bank account, attach paypal to it and then close out the account. Paypal is not as secure a method as people think it is.

 

I would never ship anything until the funds are secure in your account and the buyer, as the "amazing" buyer he is, should be well aware of the rules. If he pays by credit card wouldn't he then have an option of cancelling the transaction, doing a charge back? and you get left with nothing? I would consult ebay for sure.

 

I don't use ebay any more and this is just my 2 cents so I could be wrong but I think you are right to be concerned.

 

Paula

Thanks Abdul and Paula. I will contact Ebay.

 

The other thing that scares me with Paypal, as you were getting at Paula, is that someone could set up a fake paypal and "send the money" it could even be pending in your paypal...but paypal holds the funds for up to 21 days! so you wont know until then if they buyer quickly closed up shop and retracted the funds and they are gone forever and so is your item. I do not not like that one bit. The only solution I can think is to not send the item until the$ are in your bank account but no buyer would ever go for that, not only would you have to wait 3 weeks for your item you purchased but you also don't get it until your money is in someone elses account. that couldn't possibly work. This all seems far too easy for thieves.

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/unpaid-items.html

 

This should help, Ben. You still have your item, so not to sweat. If you relist, this should help.

 

http://pages.ebay.com/services/buyandsell/biddermanagement.html

 

Unfortunately, these things do happen and every eBayer has to be cautious. For a more limited market, but much safer you can use Nikonian's forum.

 

 

Tank you, Jon. Looks like I have to wait a few more days to open an official case.

 

just an update, the other buyer who bid on my camera body and was unresponsive has responded and says he had paypal issues and needs 48 hours to resolve it. He sounded more honest but i am being extremely cautious at the moment. no update on the lens scammer.

Good luck, Ben. I probably don't have to mention this, but all communication should be through eBay messaging so that there is a definitive paper trail. Scammers so often try to communicate through private email.

Hi Ben, e-bay is extremely sensitive to scam cases. I agree with previous comments that anything on this should go through e-bay messaging, not private. Open a case and you will be safe. Do not send anything until you see the money. Don't forget that he has a buyer's protection, so use a tracking number for posting the equipment after you see a clear payment.

Good luck

Gianni