Opinion on Whether Im about to be taken . . .

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Posted By: Josh K.

Thanks for providing your opinion on this, here I go:

On Sunday, I won the following auction for a 1956 Ted Williams BVG 5.5.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=5111712739&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT

The sellers feedback was 97.9%, but I decided to bid because all but one of his negatives came from sellers and the 1 negative from a buyer arose over the sale of a computer. All of his card sales appear to have been without incident.

I received two invoices almost immediately (not that unusual). Then today (one day after the auction), I get the following email:

"Please tell me rigfht [sic] away how you will be paying for this item! pat"

I responded as follows: "I intend to pay via paypal. Why the need for such an email one day after the auction has ended?"

Tonight, I get the following reply: "Usually, PayPal bidders usually pay at auction end, that is why I asked how were you going to pay. Now maybe you will let me know when you will pay? pat"
In addition, I received another invoice.

I have 100% positive feedback and there is no reason for this seller to think I was not going to pay (particularly so soon after the auction). Ordinarily, emails asking how I intend to pay, etc. would not strike me as unusual. The seller in this case, however, seems overly anxious to get his paid and the tone reflected in the emails makes me a little hesitant to send him my money.

Any opinions would be appreciated. Thanks.

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Posted By: kenny cole

My suggestion would be to use paypal (and, as a second line of defense, a credit card). As several disgruntled sellers who have sold items to POS buyers will probably attest, disgruntled buyers, even pieces of s**t, are generally treated more favorably by paypal than are sellers if a dispute arises.

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Posted By: jay behrens

certainly does sound odd. Even as protective as PayPal is of buyers, if this guy is scamming, he is most likely bleeding his account dry as soon as the money gets there so there is nothing for PayPal to take back when the buyer files a complaint.

The only suggestion I could think of is ask him to send it COD insured.

Jay

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Posted By: petecld

Can't say the guy is running a scam or not but regarding his attitude I'm not surprised. I've received emails like that before. I had one (bleep) send me a eBay payment reminder email less then 48 hours after the auction had ended. Not everyone is professional on eBay becasue quite honestly you don't have to be a professional to use eBay. There are no personality requirement for using eBay.

Just wait until you receive your item and then email the guy and tell him that maybe he could use an attitude adjustment.

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Posted By: Josh K.

I guess most scammers would try to be as accommodating as possible until they get your money. Maybe he is a bit tight for cash. Thanks for the opinions thus far.

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Posted By: Julie Vognar

he was probably just taking it out on you.


"And some walk in darkness and some walk in light, and we see those in the light, but those in darkness we don't see."--Bert Brecht, "Mack the Knife," Threepenny Opera.

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Posted By: GDP

That you want to look very closely at the different emails that are being sent to you. I have noticed a recently-renewed surge of fraudulent "eBay" payment reminder emails, where the sender and links do not correspond with the actual seller. For that reason I NEVER use any emailed checkout procedure but stay solely with the eBay one.

Not sure if the rest of you are seeing it, but in the last 30 days there has been a definite rise in the number of scams.

GDP

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Posted By: Josh K.

GDP -

What specifically have you noticed regarding the invoices and what is the best way to spot a fraudulent invoice? Thanks.

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Posted By: bcornell

http://www.antiphishing.org/consumer_recs.html - explains how to protect yourself from potential online fraud. eBay also has tons of info on privacy and account protection.

There are many 3rd party companies (Andale, Vendio, etc.) that are used by sellers to do their fulfillment. None of them should ever ask for your eBay password.

This seller sounds like he's merely obnoxious, not a scammer.

Bill

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Posted By: warshawlaw

The seller was all over me w/in 24 hours of the close, in violation of ebay's own rules, which specify a 3 day window to close the deal. It became a real nightmare. I sent paypal payment, he sent multiple really hostile emails, so I panicked and had paypal freeze my payment. He reported me to the police, he called me and threatened me with violence (he claimed he had flown into the airport near my office and was on the way over) so I had to call the police and I spent an unpleasant half day with my loaded pistol at my desk, just in case he wasn't bluffing. I nearly gave up ebay over it.

Given how few buyers go to the bother of taking negative retaliatory hits for the sake of dinging a bad seller, I take negative feedbacks seriously when it comes to sellers. I especially look at their responses to the criticisms. If the criticism is rational and not rude but the response is over the top, you know you are dealing with a volatile personality.

I'd echo the others here: if you still feel comfortable in closing the deal, use paypal to pay and flip the tables on him--get all over his @$$ every day until the item ships and get tracking and other info on it.

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Posted By: Gilbert Maines

Just a minute. A 1956 Williams is a nice card, but it would take a lot more than that, a way lot more, before I would subject myself to a continuance of this relationship with the seller. There is no reason to suspect that things will suddenly get better with this guy.

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Posted By: GDP

In response to your inquiry about the fake emails I have been receiving, I have had at least ten instances in the last 30 days of one of the following:

FAKE SECOND OFFERS: "Authentic" looking emails ostensibly from eBay's "second offer" program, where the seller can offer you (as underbidder) a chance to buy through eBay if the winning buyer does not perform or if there is a duplicate item for sale. The scary part about this is that the senders have PERFECTLY cloned the authentic eBay message, but if you click through to the eBay site you will be taken instead to a fake eBay site to consummate the purchase. Sometimes it is easy to tell that it is a fake, but many times it is not. SOLUTION: I never accept a "second offer" until I go back to the original listing and email the Seller (through eBay's "Contact Seller" feature on the original listing) in order to have him confirm that he has sent the offer, etc. (P.S., I am purposely ignoring the greater question of whether to trust "second offers" generally, since often they reflect improper shill bidding on the underlying auction - but if the price is right I have been known to pay nonetheless.)

FAKE PAYMENT INSTRUCTIONS: I have also received equally-authentic-looking "eBay confirmation" notices after winning an auction, specifying either money order or PayPal payments to be made to an addressee which (after checking against the authentic eBay checkout site) turn out to be different from the information listed on eBay. SOLUTION: I do not reply on any eBay email confirmations without first going through eBay's own checkout site to confirm addresses, emails, etc. In a few instances the Seller legitimately wanted me to use a different address or checkout system - but in each instance I required that they send me an email through eBay confirming all details and including my own message for verification.

BTW, watch the email return addresses very carefully. I have had a few instances where I received emails from Sellers where - upon close inspection - I would find a single letter different from the authentic seller (the number "1" instead of the letter "l" was the most common. If you were to cut-and-paste, or click-through, you would be most unhappy with the result.

It really is quite frustrating. And quite a change from the era some of us remember (1997-98) when the internet was full of enthusiast-crazies instead of crooks.

Hope this helps. I continue to compile my lists of do's and don't's on eBay, but it gets quite depressing after awhile.

Gil Porter

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Posted By: Josh K.

Im still mulling this over, but will probably go through with the deal. In answer to a comment by warshawlaw, he has responded rather nicely to his negative feedback. One seller called him a moron and he responded without taking the bait, in another (Dec. 02) a seller left a negative b/c this guy didnt pay and he simply admitted it and stated he got over extended.

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Posted By: Josh K.

So, Im going to make the purchase and Ive emailed the seller to explain to him that his email was unnecessary. Ive also taken Warshawlaw's advice and have requested tracking and notification when sent. Just thought some might get a laugh from his response (in particular the part about his "handling fee") . . .

"Joshua:
Thx so much for your quick reply.

I do ship Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation but that does not give a tracking number. It only tells the sender when the package has been received.

Also, insurance with the USPS does not provide a tracking number either.

In order to provide a tracking number, I would have to send it Express Overnight mail (Express Mail Flat Rate Envelope $13.65, regardless of weight or destination, for matter sent in a flat rate envelope provided by the Postal Service).

The total then would be:
Card $149.01
$17.65 for s&h& $150.00 ins.
_______________________________
Total $166.66

or if you just want the free $100. insurance that comes with Express Overnight mail, the total cost is $164.66.

Yes, I do charge a $2.00 handling fee especially for having to go to the PO to get the insurance, something I cannot do at home, online.

$2.00 certainly does not pay for my time, gas, oil, auto repairs, and tire ware, all incidental expenses to running my business, but I can offset some of that with the IRS' gas allowance for mileage.

Your choice: either $166.66 for Express Mail with $50. additional insurance
or $164.66 for Express Mail Flat Rate with $100. FREE insurance.

Again, I'm sorry my 1st email sounded unpleasant to you, I just was wondering how & when you would pay since you did not pay immediately with PayPal, which I used to require but have learned that doing so cost too much in loss of business for those who do not want to or cannot use PayPal (there's some class action suit going on with them now).

Thx so much for your bidding and winning and the time you have spent replying to my emails. I will just sit back and let time take care of the rest.

Pat"

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Posted By: jay behrens

Ok, this guy is an idiot. Delivery Confirmation has a tracking number and you can even go on the USPS website and see the status of the package. I use DC's on everything I ship and track them all the time.

Jay

I like to sit outside, drink beer and yell at people. If I did this at home I would be arrested, so I go to baseball games and fit right in.