the_josher

I don't know if this topic fits in this discussion, but I have been very doubtful of the deals that I have been getting for some of my parts that I'm trying to sell. Some guy in Ukraine wants them and another in Europe.

They all sound legit and willing to pay and their communication is great, but are there any hints or signs of scams happening and if some of you guys had any experiences with them.

Thanks

8 Maniac

iTrader: (1)

depends a lot on form of payment and such... if you use paypal, then just dont ship till you receive payment. besides that I cant think of anything special to recommend for sellers. You will have their address though... so that might be of use lol

DOMINION

Vlad? as in Vlad the impaler? lol yeah check out what kind of scams are going on at CRAIGLIST

Myardor

iTrader: (7)

And don't ship item until check/money order, etc clears. Some are fake checks/money orders. Make sure all monies are in your hand. Checks, money orders, cashier checks, etc don't count are monies. Those can be faked.

Tell them nothing will be shipped until the cashier check. etc clears ( not just is cashed) Talk to your bank.
Scam goes like this.
They make deal with you.
You get cashier check. etc
You cash said check
You send them the item
AND THEN
Bank informs you check bounced. fake cashiers check
So bank wants monies back..charges your account
SO MAKE SURE THE CHECK. MO, CC CLEARS BEFORE YOU MAIL ITEM. ( not just cashed)

DOMINION

^Yup or just paypal right? That works yeah?

77mjd

PayPal would be the safest way. If you're dealing international, I wouldn't even accept money orders, only paypal.

jones75254

iTrader: (2)

+1

No matter what, just be sure the $ is cleared and in your hands prior to sending anything. Have them send $ paypal, once it hits your paypal account transfer it to your bank account. When it shows in your bank account, then you are good to go. I always wait till it hits my personal bank account before sending anything.

the_josher

Do you know this vlad? Cuz i think you are on to something

Mazurfer

Absolutely............that last part is important.
Once it gets out of Paypal and into your own personal bank account. Your bank will have a hard time giving it back to paypal in the event of any trouble.

the_josher

yea i just want to avoid anything before I get too deep and waste time. Anyone get scammed ever?

sportrider24

I haven't but a friend of mine has. He was selling his motorcycle and had a person inquired from somewhere in Europe. When He told me how much the guy was willing to pay for the bike, I told him it was a scam. He went ahead with it anyway figuring he has nothing to loose. The guy sent him some kind of cashers check which he deposited. Just as he was getting ready to ship the bike, the guy calls back and says he changed his mind and would like his money back. Before my friend had the chance to refund him, the bank calls and lets him know that the check was fake. It actually took the bank a week to figure it out. Fortunatly for my friend he didn't loose his bike but he had managed to already spend about $1000 dollars that he never actually had.

Not saying that your sale is a scam but beware that someone is not offering an amount of money that is to good to be true.

ken-x8

From stories in the news, it can take several weeks for the bank to figure it out and news to get back to the victim. Just depends how far down the system the check gets before it turns up bad.

I would think that you could require that the buyer pay via Western Union. Once money arrives that way, it's in your pocket. That works for crooked sellers: why not for an honest seller.

Ken

the_josher

so the best way is western union or paypal? I heard about some scams with these third party sites including craigslist, so I am very doubtful

voodootrip

no, don't even western union, my buddy got taken for 3k on that. they filed it under a fake name, picked up the money and never gave him the car. i know the roles are reversed here in your situation but i would still be cautious.

ken-x8

Right - never pay via Western Union. That's why I think it would be safe if you're the seller and receive the money that way.

It seems there are ways you can get ripped off no matter what you do. I also hang out on a couple of photography forums, and those folks are always e-baying stuff. Most transactions go OK. But there are some where the seller ships a box with a rock instead of a camera (and thus has proof of delivery), or a buyer claims the stuff he got is defective and paypal charges back.

Ken

Mazurfer

I guess cashiers check, cashed at your bank is the only way to really be sure........before you ship.
And even then............(after let's say the bank has cashed it), they could still discover it's fake, but by then I think they'd have to let you keep the money and go back the other way? Any bankers out there?

springax

I sold my motorcycle through eBay and Cragislist, had a guy from craigslist interested. The price was $3200, which he readily agreed to, and then he sent me a certified bank check for $6800. He claimed the extra was for shipping costs, and that I should wire the extra money back - he "trusted I would handle the situation honestly." I took the check to the bank, and the teller took one look at it and threw it away - it had been printed upside down!

Make sure you get the exact amount of money - this is apparently a popular scam. Then again, the whole thing looked a bit fishy from the start - the guy never gave me a name or an address, claiming that I would get all of those after he sent the check. Ah, and horrible grammar (although it happens to each of us every so often) is a huge tip-off.

ken-x8

Don't need a banker to answer that. You don't keep the money. There is no "other way" to go back - the check is counterfeit. Counterfitters don't give their real addresses.

Counterfeit checks are at the core of the "Here's too big a check; send me the change" e-bay scams. Also at the core of "We need an agent in the US to cash checks for us - you keep 20%" scams.

Ken

DOMINION

No but right when I looked at where he was from I was like no way am I shipping out of the US.

valpac

iTrader: (2)

sounds like you have sufficient doubt to pass. Go with your gut.

the_josher

yea but the guy I'm talking to seems really legit. He gave me a website of where he works and everything seems to be in order as in he keeps talking to me, asking for pictures, doesn't really want to raise the price (more like wants to lower the price). He is also a member in the forum, no post cuz just joined, but he says that he sells rims to other people in Ukraine and it's really hard to come by there. He wants to do it through some meest thing, and says i can do the payment anyway possible, He will even ask his friend in Canada to wire me the money. Sounds good right now, but i'm afraid I might be missing something

ken-x8

If they wire the money, and you walk out of the Western Union office with cash in your pocket, and your bank or credit card isn't in the loop, it's hard to think of what the catch could be.

Being a member with no posts doesn't count. There are a lot of spammers who even have one post.

Ken

the_josher

those scammers... make my life miserable

Ericok

Some banks give themselves ONE YEAR of withdraw a cashier's check. The only foolproof payment Western Union money transfer. Even PAYPAL can dispute a payment.

kersh4w

iTrader: (3)

yeah, but i think the safest way is through paypal. they send the money to you, you then put the money in the bank. (electronically of course.)

then. you ship the part out. paypal makes scamming a lot harder since they would have to risk losing XX amount of money to begin with.

in the end, go with your gut. our intuition has an amazing sense of knowing when something is wrong. if something is wrong, get out. (applies to all situatons in life.) if you feel it is ok, then by all means, go for it.

i bought my car off craigslist. but it was also within 40 miles so i saw the car before i bought it.