Received message to send items, notifying authorities and Ebay. What should I do?

[mozartbach1971]

I received a message from a person who asked where I obtained their fathers personal letters. I sent a message back saying I bought them from another dealer. They then said they were part of the family estate and not to be sold and they are notifying the authorities and Ebay because their dad's social security number is on the return address for the world to see and to please send all the letters to them for  safe keeping, and they bid on two separate ones to keep them from going to strangers and will pay $15 each for my troubles, and if I can give them the name of the dealer I bought them from it would be helpful.   Does anyone know what I should do regarding this situation.  I have more of the letters listed right now, do I need to take them down?  

[slippinjimmy]

Unless this person can PROVE that the letters were stolen there is absolutely nothing they can do.

If their father is deceased there really is no danger in revealing the SSN.

If it was me and I wanted to be nice I would bundle any of these letters and cut them a nice deal. If I was in  a not so nice mood I would offer to sell them all at "standard" price (I know you are doing all auction with low starting bids so there really isn't a standard price).

If I was in a grumpy mood I'd just tell them to bid and bid high enough to win (which for your listings could be anywhere from 1 cent to $1000).

If none of these work then I would cease any communication, block them and move on.

[a_c_green]

Well, I agree that it would have been a good idea to obscure the Social Security Numbers in the military return addresses, but that ship has sailed now, because you cannot replace photos after bids have been received.

If the complaining party is the lead bidder at this moment anyway, I would suggest ending the auction with them as the winner. Ship as soon as they've paid (and I'm sure they will).

You can ignore all that huffing and puffing about "reporting" you and they have no right to info about where you got them from. I would respond by saying that they are welcome to buy them once you end the auction, but don't go debating the merits of their other demands.

I would suggest obscuring personal data like SSNs regardless of the age of the documents.

[richard1rst]

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@mozartbach1971 wrote:

I received a message from a person who asked where I obtained their fathers personal letters. I sent a message back saying I bought them from another dealer. They then said they were part of the family estate and not to be sold and they are notifying the authorities and Ebay because their dad's social security number is on the return address for the world to see and to please send all the letters to them for  safe keeping, and they bid on two separate ones to keep them from going to strangers and will pay $15 each for my troubles, and if I can give them the name of the dealer I bought them from it would be helpful.   Does anyone know what I should do regarding this situation.  I have more of the letters listed right now, do I need to take them down?  

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Are you/they sure it is his social security number? When I was in the service we were assigned a "serial" number (8 digits) that had no relationship to our SS number (9 digits) . And in any event, that number was never part of our mailing or return address.

[bonanza125]

What I would do is call the dealer who you purchased them from and explain the situation and ask how they obtained these letters. If these letters were purchased by a reputable person then there is nothing that this person can do other than purchase them back from you. Them notifying the authorities will get them nowhere unless they can prove than the letters were stolen. Which you are then dealing with something legal. 

[inhawaii]

As long as you didn't steal them or know they were stolen, I wouldn't worry about it.

I would handle this sale like any other.  I wouldn't do anything different.

[mozartbach1971]

If their father is deceased there really is no danger in revealing the SSN.

Just to make sure if they are deceased it is OK to have the social security number shown?  They said their brother passed away and this was part of the family estate and they were not to be sold and they are notifying Ebay and the authorities because their dad's social security number is on the return address. I have 3 lots listed right now.  

[chapeau-noir]

I don't see this person getting anywhere 'notifying' eBay and the 'authorities' - without physical proof they have nothing. I see nothing accomplished by asking the dealer where they got them. 

Agree with @slippinjimmy as to options, probably plumping a little on the side of this so-called family member just because it seems to be an issue and what would it hurt. But this is just another sale with some drama thrown in. 

[mozartbach1971]

In that case if there is no concern about this person reporting this I can just allow the auction to continue.

[buyselljack2016]

9 digits shown  xxx-xx-xxxx

[albertabrightalberta]

Geez, @mozartbach1971 

You seem to get a lot of messages telling you your listings are stolen items! 

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Buyer-wins-item-then-asks-to-cancel-saying-it-may-have-been/td...

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Person-says-their-a-reporter-wants-to-know-why-I-won-t-help-wi...

[mozartbach1971]

Unless I'm mistaken this person who contacted me didn't mention anything about the items being stolen.  

[albertabrightalberta]

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@mozartbach1971 wrote:

Unless I'm mistaken this person who contacted me didn't mention anything about the items being stolen.  

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Okay. I misspoke.....items that belong to family members. 

[ednkarens]

I would tell them that that your attorney would like them to forward to you a copy of a filed will or other legal document for the estate that states who is entitled to what.  This is very important because the person contacting you might not be the relative that gets specifically what they are asking for.  They will also have to send you a clear photocopy of their driver's license to prove who they are.

[mozartbach1971]

I actually went to my purchased item section and found the item.  The seller wrote in the description that they are examined estate sale material.  So would I assume they bought them in a legal sale?