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  3. 177820-44316

Is this a scam?

I would appreciate some help with this, which has happened to me in the last few days.  I listed an item on a site, not Audiogon but another one, and got an offer within a few days.  The offer was lower than asking price, but reasonable, so I accepted.  All of this happened with an exchange of emails.  The buyer wanted to send me a deposit which was about 1/4th of the total sales price, and that amounted to a few thousand dollars.  He said he would send the rest when the item was shipped.  I thought this was a little strange, but agreed to it -- today I received his deposit via Paypal Friends and Family.  Somehow I wish now that the money transfer hadn't happened.  But the good news is, I have not yet sent him the items.

The guy has very little purchase history on the site that was used to contact me.

He says he has a Freight Forwarder and and will have someone pick up the items.  All of this seems suspicious to me.  I fear that perhaps I have been paid with a stolen credit card number, for example.  Of maybe there is another angle here that I cannot perceive.  Has anyone else been through a process like this?  I think he is a scammer but don't know for sure.

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carlsbad's avatar
carlsbad
1,551 posts
 

It may be a scam, and it may not.  I have sent thousands of $ friends and family after I convinced myself the seller was up and up.  But if I am even a little bit unsure, I take actions to protect myself.

I suggest telling him the truth:
 "I am uncomfortable shipping this item until I have been fully paid.  If you don't want to do the deal, that is ok.  I will refund your deposit.  But I can not ship until I have full payment."

He will probably argue. Stick to your guns.  Be ready to walk away.  If he suggests something even more convoluted, refuse.  The more complicated it gets, the more likely it is a scam.

There is no problem refunding the paypal payment.   Paypal works by reversing the payment,  It isn't a way to launder money.  Now if you initiate a new payment to him instead of refunding his, that is a different story.

--Jerry

 

 

bjesien
1,305 posts
 

Never dealt with that one. Tell him you will send his deposit and your items to me. I will be the escrow agent.

fpomposo
86 posts
 

It’s 1000% a scam, they do this on craigslist all the time. They want your item and they will have their people arrange shipping or pickup or whatever, it’s a fraud scam to rip you off for sure... They run these operations out of India and other places

sababin's avatar
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sababin
3 posts
 

SCAM!  And I agree 100% with @carlsbad.  Have PayPal reverse the payment. DON'T initiate a new payment back.

carlsbad's avatar
carlsbad
1,551 posts
 

Just to be clear, you don't need help from paypal to refund a payment.  Open it up and there will be a refund button. 

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