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wodom1
02-14-2006, 10:05 AM
I've got a camera up for sale on Ebay and I get the following message from a new user with 0 feedback:

"Hello,I want to know if really this item is in good condition and also i am ready to pay $750 for the item,just for you to know that am serious,i will pay right away and as soon as you have been notified.My payment method is USPS POSTAL MONEY ORDER.If ok by you kindly get back to me with the full name and address of where you want the money order to be mailed out to so i can proceed with payment immediately.I will take all the shipping responsibilities i have an account with fedex and i will like the item to be shipped through my fedex account.So you wont need to pay any shipping cost cos all the shipping cost will be billed to my fedex account.So once the payment has been approved and you have recieved the payment approval confirmation via email from USPS,i will send you all neccessary shipping document for fedex to come and pick it up.plz get back to me with your full name and address with your confirmed email address,so i can proceed to payment immediately.Thanks."

For some reason, this doesn't seem legit to me. First of all, I won't sell it for less than $800 anyways, but as a first-time seller, I'm not sure what to make of the message. USPS money orders are hard to forge, aren't they? It seems fishy... What do you guys think?
heiney9
02-14-2006, 10:19 AM
Is he wanting to end the auction early? Lot's of people try to get sellers to end the auction early. If you sell outside of e-bay (which I think this would be the case) you are not covered for fraud, etc. If what he is offering is below the price you are willing to accept just pass on it. Other than the broken English it doesn't seem to be to sketchy. But, if you get a bad feeling (especially with 0 feedback) just pass.

H9
RuSsMaN
02-14-2006, 10:21 AM
It's all bullshit, forward it to spoof@ebay.com and they can handle it. Put the bidder's ID in your blocked bidder list.
nadams
02-14-2006, 10:22 AM
If it's not what you want to get for the camera, that's an automatic ejection anyway...
heiney9
02-14-2006, 10:26 AM
One way to spot these types of people is to ask for a phone # so you can speak to them directly. If he refuses or just never responds then you know it's BS. Another clue is wordiness, when people get really wordy and say the same thing over and over it smells like tuna.

H9
hoosier21
02-14-2006, 10:29 AM
it's a scammer, run like hell
Early B.
02-14-2006, 10:52 AM
Definitely a scam.
unc2701
02-14-2006, 11:28 AM
Scam- He wants you to send it when you get and EMAIL fro USPS. Emails are stupidly easy to forge.
markmarc
02-14-2006, 11:31 AM
Seen this scam several times. Don't even give it a second thought.

I found out from a fraud investigator how some of this scam works. The fedex account is usually a huge company. Somebody in a mail room creates a fake persons mailbox. In the meantime US Postal money orders are counterfeited all the time. In the end, your bank nails you for a bad deposit, and they get your product.
unc2701
02-14-2006, 11:32 AM
OH shit! dude, you should f*** the scammer over.
1)Agree to his terms
2)When you get the email from "USPS" let him know it's all cool
3)Box up a big fucking cinder block and the heaviest pile of trash you can find. If he wants you to sent it out of the us, put a customs value on it for like $8000.

Fedex bills him to ship all that crap...

edit: good point, it's probably not really his fedex account#. Doh!
wodom1
02-14-2006, 11:49 AM
OH shit! dude, you should f*** the scammer over.
1)Agree to his terms
2)When you get the email from "USPS" let him know it's all cool
3)Box up a big fucking cinder block and the heaviest pile of trash you can find. If he wants you to sent it out of the us, put a customs value on it for like $8000.

Fedex bills him to ship all that crap...

edit: good point, it's probably not really his fedex account#. Doh!

That would be awesome! I just reported his email to Ebay and deleted the message. Thanks for the help guys. This is only the second item that I have ever sold, so I was a little nervous about the entire process. :D