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 Replies: 11 / Views: 1,608 |
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Member
United States
917 Posts |
Hi Kids , lets say I had an item for sale on ebay priced at starting bid of 1750 and buy it now for 2000. No bids but a message asking if ill sell outright now for 1500 and ship overnight priority fed ex using sellers account which was supplied.All I need do is call fed ex and quote his account number and fed ex will collect. A payment shows in Paypal for 1500 and the name and address match the emails,paypals even took a 48buck slice as a fee. What worrys me a little is the overnight priority and shipping address is a business address not a home address. Im worried some kind of scam is being played , I dont know how and the payment showing in paypal is there..just nagging doubts with the shipping. Can anybody tell me please am I open to a scam here or is the money safe as it shows in paypal ? |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3098 Posts |
Sounds like a scam. In this money-transfer-esque style, you have no protection against fraud.
I've had a few of these. They even sent me a very well made fake PayPal email...
But if it DOES show up on the PayPal site and your account, the money IS transferred, but then comes the question of will he say you are lying, etc etc...
PM me if you want to see it (the fake email). *But don't get tricked by it!*
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Member
 United States
917 Posts |
PM sent , thank you , ill be honest I thought something was odd about the mails header , ive had plenty of payments made in the past but this one didnt look like the uniform mails ive had before. Buyer asks for overnight fedex as he said up front he is only there until tuesday evening. With the payment showing in paypal though..im protected ? I went in to paypal on a different computer and not through email , used ebay link to paypal..payments there..still very uneasy about it.Thanks Edited by wetglaswegian
12/28/2008 3:19 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1984 Posts |
I can't say for sure without details--but it it's a dealer, the story is certainly plausible that he would want it before leaving for a show/sale. If you went through ebay and PayPal with a confirmed address or shipping at his risk, there ought not be a problem, but others would be more help with the computer-related specifics. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2661 Posts |
If you are uncomfortable about the transaction don't do it. Trust your gut.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
671 Posts |
Quote:
If you are uncomfortable about the transaction don't do it.  , perfect advice for ebay listings. |
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Member
United States
917 Posts |
Thanks guys , yep the shipping was all arranged via a call to fed ex using his account number he provided.
They will collect it at my door , paypal were quick to take a hefty fee for the transfer and the balance seems correct...no way they can pull the money from under me is there?Its the overnight paid shipping thats un nerving.Yep it was a verified paypal user ,that should be the end of that , thanks again guys
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
I am very, very afraid for you. There's not a snowball's chance in the Sahara that I would have risked this much money on such a transaction.
What kind of record on Paypal does the buyer's account have? If he's a longtime Paypal member, with a large number of transactions, I'd be reassured. If the account is new, or has very few transactions for the length of time in existence, get that money out of Paypal fast.
Although it's possible that you could win a dispute as a seller, Paypal is notorious for messing with the seller first and asking questions later. They'll lock your account. They'll withdraw the money, without your permission, from your bank account, or charge your credit card, again without your permission, if the buyer files a claim. They can do this. You agreed to allow them to do this when you registered.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
5953 Posts |
Sorry I came to this thread late. I have first hand experience of how Paypal protection does not work... I was only out $178 so much for guarantees... I hope everything works out for you..With that kind of money O would be tempted to transfer the funds out of Paypal immediately. Short of closing the account and all credit cards and bank accounts linked to it there is not much you can do to stop paypal from recovering the funds if there is a problem.
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Rest in Peace
United States
2668 Posts |
There are several of warnings here. Am I correct that the buyer walked you into an off ebay deal by just sending the money? STRIKE ONE ********** The buyer had you send via his FedEx account? This is actually two red flags; the first is your losing control control of the shipping in a method utilized by scams in the past, the second is this avoids the US mail and potential felony prosecution. STRIKE TWO ********** You're uncomfortable with the rush deal. STRIKE THREE ********** Withdraw the money immediately from Paypal. Tell the connected bank/credit people not to honor any further ebay transfers. If this is an up-to-snuff transaction I'll be shocked. And, if it is kosher, don't do it again! |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
830 Posts |
Withdraw the money immediately, cancel PayPal use of your bank account. If you need to use PayPal further, open a new small sized bank account and use that in the future. Try not to do any more off-ebay deals like that. You might get shafted by ebay, PayPal, the buyer or all three. I never have more than $50 in my "PayPal" bank account. |
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Member
United States
917 Posts |
Thanks everybody , and having read this I am now going to transfer the whole amount minus 50 bucks into my ladys bank where it cant be touched.
I was extremely paranoid as Yes the buyer did walk in from nowhere to an auction and offer to buy outright thus saving auction fees,happily on this occasion it went well and the moneys been in paypal all week.Ive heard from the buyer who forwarded pics of the item displayed and we are working on a future transaction.Alls well that ends well but as you guys say , I wouldnt recommend it.Being the most expensive time of the year I felt compelled to ease the financial woes..took a chance for sure.I wont be doing it again in any hurry.
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Replies: 11 / Views: 1,608 |
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Posted 12/28/2008 3:13 pm
