Buyer claims he is buying laptop for his son who happens to work at a freight forwarding service.

[revsteven]

Just sold a laptop to a buyer who accepted an offer that I sent to watchers. Buyer has 400+ feedback spanning a few years back (10 or so in the last month). His ebay profile says Nigeria. I sent him a message saying I didn't ship to Nigeria. He claims he is buying it for his son who works in Delaware. 

When the buyer paid, I noticed that the address came up as a freight forwarder. I asked him to confirm that he is using a freight forwarder but he just says that is where is son is working. The freight forwarder is an air logistics company that just so happens to specialize in shipping from the US to Africa.

Should I be concerned or am I just being paranoid? What options do I have? Would you as a seller, go through with the transaction?

Thank you for your time.

[buzzapparel]

Of course you should be worried, especially since he’s already lying to you. 

[jameshen1]

I think you only have 2 options.  Cancel as problem with buyer's address, or go ahead with the sale and ship to the Delaware address.

I personally would just ship to the Delaware address.  

[bonjourami]

I would be very hesitant about this sale, and cancel with problem with buyers address. If his son really does work at a ff,and if he files a snad claim,you will lose seller protection since the item wasnt forwarded to Nigeria.

[gone.c-33]

The “buying for a son/wife/brother in another country” line is an old Nigerian scam. They usually used hijacked accounts. While purchases shipped to a freight forwarder are usually valid, I would cancel this one.

[fern*wood]

Sounds like word has gotten out that this ploy will win cases.  

[bonjourami]

yes thats what I think too.

[fern*wood]

I learned about it from your post on another thread.  Thanks for sharing what you knew with everyone.

[marnotom!]

Are you able to find out from the buyer's feedback what they've been purchasing lately?  Does a laptop seem to be in keeping with those recent purchases?

Personally, "Nigeria" is a big red flag for me.  It was a hotbed of internet fraud a couple of decades ago and I don't think things have changed that much.  It sounds to me as though this user may be trying to circumvent the conditions attached to sales where a freight forwarder is used.  There's a bit of discussion about this on this recent thread:

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/SCAM-BUYER-CHANGES-ADDRESS-NOW-CLAIMS-BROKEN-PHONE/td-p/341302...

I'm in the "cancel due to problem with address" camp.

[bonjourami]

oh sure,welcome...seems word is getting around now to these scammers..

[buzzapparel]

Not a chance, this is 100% a scam. I’ve shipped to Delaware dozens of times without problem, however this is a completely different scenario one that you SHOULD be familiar with. If he ships that item, it’s as good as stolen.

When an item is shipped to a company, that address has the company’s NAME and the employee’s name. These FF hide their company name, use the name of the card account holder followed by a series of nomenclatures which is the rerouting code for the international shipment.

Who in their right mind working in Delaware would have their fathers from Nigeria send them a computer from the USA to their workplace yet exclude all that info instead have a rerouting code for international reshipment?

[luckythewinner]

---

@bonjourami wrote:

If his son really does work at a ff,and if he files a snad claim,you will lose seller protection since the item wasnt forwarded to Nigeria.

---

I am not sure I follow.

Seller Protection only requires delivery confirmation to DE.

Why would the forwarding from there to anywhere else have any effect on seller protection?

Seller protection does not know where it should be forwarded.

[revsteven]

It seems like the buyer has their feedback set to only show the feedback message, seller, and time period - even for purchases in the last month. I'm not sure if that's a specific setting on eBay? That's odd because on other people's feedback, it shows the title of the action for at least the more recent purchases.

[gone.c-33]

Because in SNAD cases, seller is only protected for forwarded items when the fact that it was forwarded outside the country can be proven. The blues often used the “can be an employee of the FF having their purchase mailed to their place of work” as a reason not to unilaterally not cover SNADs delivered to a FF address.

This “buyer” seems to have caught on and is preparing for an unwinnable SNAD case for the seller…

[luckythewinner]

---

@gone.c-33 wrote:

Because in SNAD cases, seller is only protected for forwarded items when the fact that it was forwarded outside the country can be proven. 

---

eBay policy says buyers are not covered for SNAD cases that are forwarded:

Exclusions and special coverage when the item doesn't match the listing

Not covered:

• The buyer used third-party freight forwarding or mail redirection

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy...

Are you saying there are Blues stating publicly that even when they know a third-party forwarder was used, this policy is ignored? And how does a seller prove that a third-party forwarder forwarded the package?