Payment Issue

[chricar5216]

Hi,

Has anyone dealt with big furniture purchases? I'm selling a Mahogany Corner China Cabinet and a potential buyer is requesting the following:

I really appreciate your response. I'll like to buy this Mahogany Morganton Curved Glass Corner China Cabinet for the exact price of $400, so I will employ you to withdraw it from eBay. I will also like you to know that the payment will be paid via a certified bank check, You'll release the Mahogany Morganton Curved Glass Corner China Cabinet once the check clears at your bank. Kindly provide me with the following information below to facilitate the mailing of the certified check. Your full name to be on the check, Address, City, State Zip code Phone number

Kindly get back to me as soon as possible so the payment can be sent to you.

Regards

Note- Regarding the Shipping, I have a private Movers firm that handle pickups for me so you don't have to worry about that as it will be handled by them, so your price should exclude shipping fee.

Is this normal? 

Thanks

[maxine*j]

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@reallynicestamps wrote:

And you will be asked to pay the "movers" because the scammer's check will "include" their payment.

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Yes.  Or something similar, because no one is going to work a scam in order to acquire a piece of bulky second-hand furniture.

And it's surely a scam.  That overly smooth, soothing message with just a hint of ESL is dead give-away.

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[bearswatching]

Man, these scammers are getting bolder by the week. Good for you for picking up on this. 

[bearswatching]

ETA: and how kind of him/ her to point out that you WILL be giving a $100 price reduction. LOL

[chricar5216]

I did and this was his response 

I'll like to make the payment via $eBay/PayPal but unfortunately i have issues with my online banking so, i can only issue a certified bank check and You'll release the item once the payment clears at your bank. Kindly provide me with the following information to facilitate the mailing of the certified check. Your full name to be on the check, Address, City, State Zip code Phone number

Kindly get back to me.

N:B - You can easily provide a P O box address or any public location address around you since you don't feel comfortable giving out your home address.

[maxine*j]

That second round of correspondence is the final proof that it's a scam, if you still needed one.   I say, stop engaging with this person.

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[byrd69er]

Is it normal for you to think this is legitimate? No.

Full scam radar employed!

Back off and block immediately.

Does it seem normal to you?

If so, consider not selling on eBay.

[fashunu4eeuh]

The reason i hesitated to call this a scam is because i recently had a similar experience. I sold a large vintage gun cabinet on another platform. The buyer first asked me if he could pay by cashier’s check. I told him no. Then he asked if he could pay me electronically. I declined again and asked for cash on pickup, wondering all along if he was a scammer. But set up the appointment for anyway for pick up. Sure enough two guys came, paid in cash, and took the cabinet.

Turns out this was a business that sells vintage furniture. He wanted it for his store. I thought for sure he was a scammer. But he gave me very little info upfront to show his legitimacy.

There are certainly red flags here in your situation. But setting up a pickup would tell you for certain if the sale is authentic. One thing struck me— he asked for the shipping costs to be deducted from the total. That suggests he may be honest. Seems to me s scammer would not haggle. Good luck in whatever you decide.

[a_c_green]

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@chricar5216 wrote:

I did and this was his response

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Just for our own peace of mind:

You do understand that this is utterly and completely a scam, and an old one at that; yes? 😁 Other than perhaps some entertainment value, there is no benefit to continuing to engage them in conversation, and no chance that you will be able to turn a scam purchase into a real one involving real money from this person.

[southern*sweet*tea]

@chricar5216 

Google this phrase -

Kindly provide me with the following information below to facilitate the mailing of the certified check. Your full name to be on the check, Address, City, State Zip code Phone number

Kindly get back to me as soon as possible so the payment can be sent to you.

This comes up.  It's from 2004.  This is a very old scam.

https://www.scamsafe.com/scamsafe/2004/11/cashiers_check_.html

[maxine*j]

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@fashunu4eeuh wrote:

The reason i hesitated to call this a scam is because i recently had a similar experience.,.

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I'll wager, though, that his communication was nothing like the two messagres OP received.  am I right?   Did he communicate in a smooth, soothing way while at the same time telling you what you were going to do and how to do it?    I always think of it as "snake charmer" language, sort of hypnotizing and controlling.

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[chricar5216]

Thank you!!

[wrong66]

Yes, foreigner. 

[rugerskick]

Its a scam.

[fashunu4eeuh]

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@maxine*j wrote:

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@fashunu4eeuh wrote:

The reason i hesitated to call this a scam is because i recently had a similar experience.,.

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I'll wager, though, that his communication was nothing like the two messagres OP received.  am I right?   Did he communicate in a smooth, soothing way while at the same time telling you what you were going to do and how to do it?    I always think of it as "snake charmer" language, sort of hypnotizing and controlling.

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Yes, you are correct. The communications were not suspicious with my buyer.

[chricar5216]

Thank you Everyone for the helpful responses.  I let the person know that I only accept payment through eBay or cash at pick up (eBay approved method). He/She never responded. I've blocked them as well.