Strange Offer

[blanketnook]

I have listed an iPhone 7 with a starting bid of £280.

A buyer sent me a message asking what is the minimum acceptable offer and I replied '£250'.

He has just sent me this strange (to me) message:

'Thanks for getting back to me.I will offer you 390 GBP including the shipping cost of this item via Royal Mail to SL2 5EN . i have a little issue with paying direct from my account you can kindly send your PayPal money request to my email so i can make the payment as soon as possible.'

Any words of advice?

[loveyourimagination49]

It’s a scam!

[lightlily_arts]

Definitely a scam.   A buyer on eBay doesn't need your PayPal information as they are trying to get your info.  Never respond to these requests and report them to eBay.

[nobody*s_perfect]

Probably the first stem in the classic scam where you'd get a fake email from PayPal describing an odd escrow system where the payment won't show up in your PayPal account until you provide proof of shipping.  Just ignore it.

[2many2pickfrom]

overpaying sounds like the classic refund scam. Buyer pays with fraudulent funds, such as overpaying for shipping of a automobile, and the victim ends up refunding with good funds 

[labs118]

@blanketnook 

As all the others have already posted this is a scam
Don't give this person your Paypal email or any other information

Since you are from the UK and this is your 1st post  you should know you are on the .com site & for future due to time difference & other things there is a UK board to post questions located here 

https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Discussion-Boards/ct-p/13

Good Luck 

[luckythewinner]

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@blanketnook wrote:

Any words of advice?

---

First, offering almost 60% over your asking price definitely falls into "too good to be true"  territory.

Second, there is no such thing as "a small problem paying direct" ... and certainly not one that a buyer would know about before he tried to pay.

This scam plays on your greed in an attempt to get you to ship the item to the buyer without being paid.

If you send him your PayPal address, you will get a very convincing email telling you that you have been paid, but when you do to your account (do not click a link in an email to access your PayPal account, EVER) you will find that you have not been paid.

You may also get an email telling you that the payment is pending, and as soon as you provide the tracking number to prove it has been posted, your funds will be released by PayPal. No such mechanism exists in PayPal.

[robot-hands]

Scam.

Play dumb and string them along.

While they are messing around with you they aren't scamming some grandma.

[blanketnook]

Thanks everyone for your kind advice.

It seems I've atracted a second scammer:
'I'm buying it for my cousin who is studying abroad, I have confirmed postage cost and I will add extra £30 for postage to Abroad making total of £280 I'm currently at military camp and there is no way I could handle postage from here. Paypal payment is preferred, let me know if I should proceed with payment, If yes kindly forward or request your Paypal details to my email below:'

[blanketnook]

Hello @labs118 - sorry for my geographical faux pas - I won't repeat the error.

[loveyourimagination49]

Yes, definitely another scam!

[labs118]

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@blanketnook wrote:
Hello @labs118 - sorry for my geographical faux pas - I won't repeat the error.

---

@blanketnook 

Please don't be sorry & wasn't meaning you aren't welcome to post here
We are all more then happy to help any fellow ebay seller/buyer

The boards have had issues with directing UK members to the .com site boards & they are supposed to be checking the issue
The reason I mentioned it is time difference , others on your time zone will be available to help when we may not & there are several differences in some things that are best answered on the UK board.
Example is shipping questions , ebay stores are a bit different for allotments  and prices / fees  & more items so it is nice for you to be able to get answers from those more familiar

So sorry never ever meant for you to feel not welcome here 

[blanketnook]

Thanks very much, comrade.

Really, when selling, I just need to have the money in my Paypal account as the direct result of the person buying via auction end, accepted offer or a buy it now.

Should this not protect sellers from all scams?

[2....1....0....sold!]

@blanketnook 

iPhones are a juicy target for scammers.

You're really running a risk of being ripped off selling such an expensive/desired item. I sold an iphone 3gs years ago...perfect working condition...buyer files "not as described"...phone doesn't work...shipped it back to me...it wasn't the phone I sold them...they kept my good phone, got their money back, and I walked away with a broken phone and a LESSON about selling anything of value...

There are a myriad of ways that phone can be stolen from you via an online sale...I suggest you do some research on scams before you list/ship this item.

If I was you, I wouldn't ship it, I'd list it as local pickup only with cash due at the time of exchange. A lot smaller buyer pool, but that's a desirable item, so you should find a buyer.

[castlemagicmemories]

Any words of advice?  Yes, RUN!

Scam.

Little issue = I want to send you a fake paid notice from Paypal.