ebay

[Peter Ward]

So what would you do?

Sold an item on eBay....buyer seems to be in the USA.

Buyer says he tried to pay through PayPal, but it didn't work.

Wants me to contact him outside the eBay messaging system for payment with my PayPal details.

Also the address he wants it shipped to, is a military base PO box in the UK.

I sense "scam". Am I being paranoid??

[acropolite (Phil)]

Looks like a scam, if he has trouble paying wuth paypal he should contact paypal for resolution.

[Kunama]

Sounds fishy fishy to me .....

[mental4astro (Alexander)]

Where's the scam? You are being paid, not paying.

If you send the item without having received the funds, then you know what that means... If the address is all over the shop, again it is not your problem if you get the funds.

As Phil says, PayPal needs to resolve this.

[pfitzgerald (Paul)]

+1 To what Alex said. Paypal is the safest way to go on eBay.

Paul

[Dealy (Kev)]

Be aware though that Paypal always favours the buyer.

If the buyer says the item did not arrive you have to prove it did, which may be hard to prove. Or if they say it's damaged, you have to prove it's not.

I know people who have boasted about getting away with not paying for ebay purchases.

I believe there is always more risk in selling than buying.

[Peter Ward]

Originally Posted by mental4astro

Where's the scam? You are being paid, not paying.

If you send the item without having received the funds, then you know what that means... If the address is all over the shop, again it is not your problem if you get the funds.

As Phil says, PayPal needs to resolve this.

A little homework showed me scammers send a payment advice, while also (later) claiming the item was never received as the tracking becomes incomplete in some countries. They then keep the item and then claim back the payment due non-receipt.

That said.... eBay just emailed me....seems this person is doing the same to many sellers and will be blocked in future.

[multiweb (Marc)]

No issues paying with Paypal. Ever. For anybody. So, yes, anyone saying they have problems paying with it and try to arrange payments or fund transfers outside of the system are scammers.

[Kunama]

Don't count on Paypal looking after you at all.
I sold an item and had proof of delivery by Australia Post but the buyer claimed he never got it.
Paypal froze the money in my account and then later paid the thief his money back from my account regardless of the fact that Aust Post tracking proved delivery.
Paypal will take the side of the buyer !!!

If you transfer the money from your Paypal account to your bank account then Paypal will send a debit to your bank or credit card.

[xelasnave]

Send the scammer a parcel full of dirty socks

[GrahamL]

I try not to use it, scammers know the licks and tricks to try and win out the day, great stuff you sounded this one out Peter.

It is a bank as such but sets its own rules when it goes wrong .

[Regulus (Trevor)]

I think this is one of the reasons Paypal and eBay are seperating their business. I expect to find that Paypal will no longer be so ready to do this refund once it is separate.
eBay. I bought a wifi range extender and when it still hadn't arrived after 6 weeks I messaged the seller and got no answer.
I did it again with the same result at the 8 week mark.
I am now approaching them for a refund through Paypal, but the seller isn't responding, but here is the weird thing: The sale doesn't show up on my eBay Purchase list anymore! All mu purchases, even those returned as faulty show up, so I haven't any clue why this one doesn't. The money trail is clear via my bank and Paypal so it'll be interesting to see how it goes.

Trev

[rally]

I agree with Matt

We sold $600 worth of product to a buyer in the US, signed FedEx courier delivery.
Buyer advises PayPal the items dont fit and automatically the money is deducted from our account and ultimately the scammer gets a refund.
We complain, argue and prove delivery (which wasnt denied anyway), show the buyer never made any attempt to contact us, tell us what was wrong etc or return the items and ignored all requests to arrange the return or replacement of the items.
We lodged disputes and yet PayPal will not refund us or do anything about it.

So do not think for one instant that PayPal will automatically accept your legitimate claim.
They do seem to favour the buyer in some cases (but not always) and I suspect if its a scammer, as the evidence was pretty damning, then as far as we could see - they want to wash their hands of it as they have no chance of recovery themselves.

The other scam that gets used is where an item is purchased and the scammer asks for you to pay their expensive freight bill by one of the untraceable money transfer systems - eg Western Union etc

You get "advised by PayPal" that the money is received and if not vigilent, think its OK and then pay the freight - only to discover that the PayPal advice to you is in fact a fraud and there is no chance of getting your money back.

They win - not by getting the goods (which is what most people are concerned about) but by you having send them or their agent the amount of money for freight !

So - Let the Seller Beware !

[speach (Simon)]

forget that buyer and relist the item and tell ebay the facts.

[julianh72 (Julian)]

Originally Posted by mental4astro

Where's the scam? You are being paid, not paying.

The Scam when people try to pay outside the PayPal system is that they will offer Western Union, or claim to have overpaid into your bank account and ask for a partial refund, or some such.

No point in playing along - just tell the buyer to resolve the issue with PayPal.

[mental4astro (Alexander)]

I am just too naive. Pulling such stunts is just not in my nature, and being such a prick does not cross my mind.

Lesson learned.

[gary]

Originally Posted by mental4astro

I am just too naive.

Hi Alex,

It seems these scams are small potatoes compared to what PayPal manages
to pull off itself in Australia.

Originally Posted by Michael West, Sydney Morning Herald, 1 July 2015, Article : Australia is getting played for a mug with tax dodging

PayPal is no pal of the Australian Tax Office. Like its sister company eBay, the electronic payments provider seems hell bent on making as little in the way of profit in this country as it possibly can.

After all, if you make a profit, you have to pay tax on it. So it is that an investigation by Fairfax Media and University of NSW accounting academic Jeff Knapp found PayPal rakes out 86 per cent of its revenue to an associate in Singapore, and countervailing its duties under the Corporations law, fails to disclose sufficient details of the arrangements.

Over the past nine years, the electronic payments firm has paid more than $1 billion of its $1.2 billion in revenues to its parent and associates in Singapore leaving very little to be taxed in Australia. PayPal claims that these payments, the bulk of which are made to PayPal Private Limited, its immediate parent company, are for "services provided in accordance with Service Provider Agreements for the processing of, and supporting the online payments business".

...

PayPal was approached for comment but nobody was available to answer questions by the time this story went into production. Like its tax-dodging peers, here is yet another multinational without even the integrity to answer a question about its own statutory documents.

Article here : http://www.smh.com.au/business/comme...30-gi1qpt.html

[04Stefan07 (Stefan)]

If anyone wants to contact outside eBay's and PayPal's jurisdiction that should raise red flags.

A few simple rules.

1) Check feedback of buyer/seller (I generally do not buy from buyers who have less than a 99.9% rating but do make exceptions depending on how many feedbacks they have compared with the percentage).
2) Any buyer/seller that want to contact through other communication channels ignore them and report them directly to eBay!

Also stay away from Gumtree. I used to sell and buy off there a while ago but now do not as it is so unreliable and contain many scammers!

[gbeal]

I'm a recidivist offender with both e bay and PayPal, I dislike them both, but always seem to gravitate back.
One day I'll wean myself off, and just be happy with what we have here.
PayPal I loathe, it is weighted severely in the buyers favor, and out of e bay will only make it worse.
Gary

[AussieTrooper (Ben)]

Scammers are a PItA.
They know the chances of actually getting caught and punished are near zero. The worst that ever seems to happen to them is a cancelled account. So what.