Yep got scammed. Thing that sucks is that I planned this auction to finance my gas usage going to SD this weekend. Check it out and tell me what you think:

Hello Seller

We are indeed happy to win the auction, the item that
we bided for is one of the item that we have been
looking for,and wish to let you know also that the
price of US $405.00 is okay by us.

I am the representative of my company that exports raw
materials to United States, Canada and the United
Kingdom,we use money owed us by our client to finance
items that we need in other to improve on our
productions and we instruct our clients to issue
checks on the items we sold to them.

To this end a check worth of US $1950.40 will be
issued to you by one of our clients that is based in
United States, this check will carry the amount of the
item we bought from you, plus the shipping charges
that our shipping company will take for the shippment
of the item.

It is your responsibility to cash the check from your
local bank, then you deduct the cost of the item
ALPINE LIVING AIR PURIFIER XL-15 CLASSIC you are
selling to us after which you forward the remaining
balance which will be the shipping charges to our
shipping company via western union money transfer.
They will be preparing all necessary documents to sign
after getting their charges then before coming for the
pick-up at your end.

So also in other to show appreciation for your effort,
it is our company policy to give an additional
US$55.00 as gift to you and this you should deduct
from our outstanding balance after you might have
deducted the cost of the item, we bought from you.

If you agree by this terms, we will appreciate it if
you can forward your contact details to us i.e. your
full name, contact address, phone number both home and
mobile, so that a check can be issued to you
immediately.

Thanks.
Mike Hip

What can I do to let ebay know I was scammed so I don't have to pay their cut, and how do I block guys like this in the future? I'm so pissed I would love to get a hold of a guy like this and ............ahhhhh I'm feeling better already. I'm really a nice guy....really.

Decline his terms... leave bad feedback... report the guy... declare him a Non-Paying Bidder.

You could contact any other bidder and see if he or she is interested. I think its called second chance offer.

QUOTE (Lawrence @ May 28 2005, 12:04 PM)

Decline his terms... leave bad feedback... report the guy... declare him a Non-Paying Bidder.

Yes. THEN get in touch with EBAY and *demand* that they waive the fees, and put a stop to this nonsense. I am getting tired of ebay real fast because of this shit.

Another thing you can do when you list your auction is to ONLY ship to the continental US only, and ONLY accept money orders or paypal. Refuse to sell to anyone with a feedback less than 5, etc.

Those few criteria will usually weed out these idiot nigerians.

QUOTE (Cabasa @ May 28 2005, 10:02 AM)

What can I do to let ebay know I was scammed so I don't have to pay their cut, and how do I block guys like this in the future? I'm so pissed I would love to get a hold of a guy like this and ............ahhhhh I'm feeling better already. I'm really a nice guy....really.

you are the seller and you set the terms. if they don't want to pay by your terms then report them to Ebay and offer the item to the next in line at the bid they placed.

or you could screw with the guy by giving him your FBI office address to send the client check too

Well thanks guys for your help. I'm hitting the road to SD/Chulawana. Anything exciting going on down there this weekend? I may try Qualcom and see if I can catch some racing or something like that. I just had to get this off my chest before I drove, road rage is a bad thing. LOL

QUOTE (joe buckle @ May 28 2005, 10:25 AM)

or you could screw with the guy by giving him your FBI office address to send the client check too

When I got to the part where he claimed to be an importer I lost it and hit reply. It went something like this.. F....... F........... F........ and F.......I save that sort of thing for extreme measures and even then it takes alot to push me that far. I just can't stand a thief and a liar

I buy and sell a lot of stuff on eBay. Had I been you, Cabasa, I would have sent a message to the scamer, "As seller, I dictate the terms of my sales and auctions, should you wish to complete your obligation to purchase, please send my payment and shipping charge via Papal within 24 hours. Thank you." Then I would immediately file a complaint with eBay. The following morning, I would relist the item with eBay. Don't get upset, these kind of cheaters have always been with us. Just let it roll off your back.

Phil

I am curious, what is this buyer Ebay ID ? Any feedback ?

When I sell something, I always indicate that I only accept Paypal for payment.

Good luck

I had a similar experience on the SF Bay Craig's list. Believe or not a guy with poor grammar offered $2000 via cashier's check for a set of four 165/15 Kumhos I was selling. I couldn't fu**in believe it! He (she?) was very insistant but when I responded saying cash only he/she quickly went away.

Word to the wise, don't accept cashier's checks (especially from overseas) as many of them are phonies and the bank doesn't notify you until they bounce and then you are liable for the funds!

BTW - the Kumhos are still available!

You have to watch out for fake USPS money orders now. Certain places won't accept them. Story Here

With that avatar....your deserve it....

One of the guys at work received a 2 similar responses when he was selling his truck.

Our anti-fraud guy told him to go along with it for fun to see where they could take it. He eventually did receive the fraudulent checks from the 'buyers,' then he responded to them that he received the checks and was able to cash them, but now he was in jail and had the money stashed somewhere. He asked them to send him some more money so that he could get out of jail and send back the rest of the cash. We are still waiting to hear back from them.

Here is the link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...item=5777338164
Sorry Mike

QUOTE (serge914 @ May 28 2005, 07:57 PM)

I am curious, what is this buyer Ebay ID ? Any feedback ?

0 feedback. Registered user since May 27 2005. ...and already 'no longer a registered user' according to eBay.

Set up your pay pal account and have buyers pay through them. Honest eBay'er use pay pal because it weeds out the flakes. Plus be sure to report this guy to eBay so the next guy does not get screwed too. Eddy

That looser bidded on 50 differents items on the same day:

Bids by Mekehipper

I would say dont accept bids from buyers with privates feedback

This is the oldest scam in the book. And it happens outside of ebay as well.

Did you send stuff already or did you just lose a sale? If you sent it by a commercial carrier let the carrier know about the scam and have them return the shipment to you.

I reported a similar scam to ebay on a set of wheels I was buying. However I never let my money out of my hands I just kept stringing the scammer along with stupid emails. I reported the person to Ebay and the FBI and kept him going for almost two weeks saying I was excited and that I had sent the money via Western Union. He was stupid enough to continue responding to me.

QUOTE (Verruckt @ May 28 2005, 10:09 AM)

QUOTE (Lawrence @ May 28 2005, 12:04 PM) Decline his terms... leave bad feedback... report the guy... declare him a Non-Paying Bidder. Yes. THEN get in touch with EBAY and *demand* that they waive the fees, and put a stop to this nonsense. I am getting tired of ebay real fast because of this shit. Another thing you can do when you list your auction is to ONLY ship to the continental US only, and ONLY accept money orders or paypal. Refuse to sell to anyone with a feedback less than 5, etc. Those few criteria will usually weed out these idiot nigerians.

Not only happening on Ebay, they are also working on craig list etc.

mike

I see it's happening every where. My son had his '93 Camary for sell online & got a reply from a guy saying he was buying the car for someone else. He had the money coming from a equity line & he HAD to request money in increments of $10000.00 only. He my son the same thing, go to the bank & take his $3500 for the car & any shipping charges, then return the balance. When deposited the B of A cashiers check the bank called my son & told him the FBI was on the line also. So my son told him exactly what was suppose to happen & they told him to e-mail this back & get a phone # & address to mail him back a cashier check instead of Western Union. He refused and we never heard back from him again. The FBI said they were on to this guy. I hope they canned his ass. Ya think folks would put their energy into a job instead of scamming people.

QUOTE

You have to watch out for fake USPS money orders now. Certain places won't accept them.

There's a certain "teener" on the list here who's handing out those fake USPS money orders. Beware, beware!!

(sorry... couldn't pass it up)