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This doesn't sound right

The user sent me a messages via eBay which are below. They have an eBay score of 54 100% positive. Even with that I am kind of skeptical about this.

PERSONS QUESTION:

Hello, Hope this item is in good working condition and what is your final asking price for it? 

 

MY REPLY:

Hello and thank you for inquiring on the phone. It is in great condition like the description says. I am trying to get $459.99. The phone cost over $650 from T-Mobile. My daughter only used it for a few months and decided to go with an Android. This is only because her friends have Androids. This made no sense to me since I don t understand the kids with their phones these days. Thanks again for inquiring on the phone. Karl

 

PERSONS REPLY:

LOL, our kinds can be funny are times, any way thanks for the firm price and am so much willing to buy these for my Only SON too in Michigan USA as a surprise birthday gift Urgently. He really did well in Academics Throughout last year and i am so happy. My dream doing these can only come true by accepting my offer and sell to me. am a good buyer and amazing seller like you. Am so much willing to pay 500$ for the item and 70$ for the postage via FedEx over night next-day delivery. if you wiling to take my offer, Kindly send me a PayPal money request to my "Email Below" for instant payment. Don't forget to use your "ITEM NUMBER" as the subject while sending PayPal money request. Await your response and do have a wonderful day ahead. Thanks Mrs Laurie

 

 

MY REPLY:

Hello. Unfortunately I'm out of town and won't be back till Wednesday. Is that still okay?

 

 

PERSONS REPLY:

I will be glad if you can find someone to help me send it overnight once i sent the payment now.. coz his been expecting these.. Let me know if that will be possible so i can quickly send the payment as soon as possible.. Await your soonest response. Thanks Mrs Laurie

 

MY REPLY:

I did not reply to them at this point.

Message 1 of 25
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1 BEST ANSWER

Accepted Solutions

This doesn't sound right

It's a GIGANTIC SCAM!

 

This is a huge red flag:  Kindly send me a PayPal money request to my "Email Below" for instant payment. Don't forget to use your "ITEM NUMBER" as the subject while sending PayPal money request. 

 

Block the buyer and do not respond to any emails which you will get telling you payment has been made. DO NOT sell to this person!

 

Selling phones on Ebay are very high risk!

View Best Answer in original post

Message 2 of 25
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24 REPLIES 24

This doesn't sound right

It's a GIGANTIC SCAM!

 

This is a huge red flag:  Kindly send me a PayPal money request to my "Email Below" for instant payment. Don't forget to use your "ITEM NUMBER" as the subject while sending PayPal money request. 

 

Block the buyer and do not respond to any emails which you will get telling you payment has been made. DO NOT sell to this person!

 

Selling phones on Ebay are very high risk!

Message 2 of 25
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This doesn't sound right

This person is trouble.

Block and ignore.

Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels.
Message 3 of 25
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This doesn't sound right

First off, you're not allowed to mention names and ID's and the mods will take those details out. 

 

You're making a big mistake offering to sell off site and ebay will restrict your account. Message back to the buyer that you don't do off site sales. Then block the buyer, I think this is a scammer. You need to fix this asap. Message the buyer immediately that you don't do off site sales. 

Message 4 of 25
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This doesn't sound right

I'm surprised that that message with her email address in it made it through eBay's filter because they've been very aggressive about blocking messages that have any hint of arranging an off-eBay transaction (an email address in a message is considered a dead giveaway).

 

I think your gut instinct served you well. Her messages have a little too much phoney-baloney to them. I think she (if indeed she is even a she) may have been trying to set you up to ship to a different address than what the transaction info specified so you would lose your Seller Protection.

 

Continue to ignore.

Message 5 of 25
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This doesn't sound right

SCAM!!!!

 

Do not email her back, do not engage in any way.  Block the id that is sending the messages.

When you send the Paypal invoice, you will be sent a very real looking fake Paypal email in hopes that you are naive/ignorant/greedy/stupid enough to not check your Paypal account first to be sure you've been paid.

 

Who offers more than what an item is worth? Someone who isn't going to pay for it in the first place.

Nobody needs a phone that fast, especially one that you can find anywhere.

The easier you are to offend the easier you are to control.


We seem to be getting closer and closer to a situation where nobody is responsible for what they did but we are all responsible for what somebody else did. - Thomas Sowell
Message 6 of 25
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This doesn't sound right

 

And the OPs other big mistake

Their second response...

it basically agrees to an off-eBay transaction. (paypal invoice sale)

(or could be viewed as such.}

 

Lynn


Lynn

You love me for everything you hate me for


.
Message 7 of 25
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This doesn't sound right


@thallidguy wrote:

I'm surprised that that message with her email address in it made it through eBay's filter because they've been very aggressive about blocking messages that have any hint of arranging an off-eBay transaction (an email address in a message is considered a dead giveaway).

 

I think your gut instinct served you well. Her messages have a little too much phoney-baloney to them. I think she (if indeed she is even a she) may have been trying to set you up to ship to a different address than what the transaction info specified so you would lose your Seller Protection.

 

Continue to ignore.


I'm not, since it came from a buyer. However, the seller will be the one to get the sanctions.

 

_____________________________
"Nothing is obvious to the oblivious"
Message 8 of 25
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This doesn't sound right


@blue_maxblue wrote:

PERSONS QUESTION:

Hello, Hope this item is in good working condition and what is your final asking price for it?


It's a total scam from a possibly-hijacked account. Many of us here can probably recite that dialogue from memory because we read it here so often. Notice how the scammer calls your phone the "item" instead of referring to it as a phone? It's because they copy-and-paste standard text into as many messages to sellers as possible before they get shut down. Just delete and ignore; there is no real sale here.

 

If you feel you must sell your phone here, list it as a BuyItNow only, with no Make Offer, and with Immediate Payment Required (a checkbox option on the full Sell Your Item menu). That way no one can snatch your item off the market without actually paying you for it first. You would really be better off selling that locally for cash.

Message 9 of 25
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This doesn't sound right

@blue_maxblue, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't.   In this case I am sure it isn't.  Please read these boards FIRST before listing high dollar amount items that you can easily lose.  

Message 10 of 25
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This doesn't sound right

Mrs L*  is trying to trick you out of your phone.

Message 11 of 25
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This doesn't sound right

Sure signs of a scam:

 

Asking for PayPal money request to email.  Once you do that, they have your email and you'll get a fake "You've been paid - now ship" message.  It'll look real good.

 

I need it overnight.  Sure ya do... because the new seller may realize they've been scammed but shipped the item out already and can't get it back.

 

Offering more money than the listing.  Hoping you'll be blinded by the  extra $$.

 

I like the line about a suprise gift for her son but that he's expecting it too.

Don't contact any further and put them on your blocked bidder list.

 

In the future, if you get one of these offers again - either ignore it or stop them dead in their tracks by telling them the transaction must go through eBay - regardless of their check-out issues, trouble with payment account, change of shipping address, their spouses, kids, parents woes, etc.

 

This one at least made themselves sound a bit normal by personalizing it in response to your answer. 

 

Just to placate the eBay potential off-sale bots, I'd respond by telling them, "I cannot accomodate your request.  It is an auction and already has bids and will run the duration.  The sale & payment must go through eBay.   Also, I cannot offer overnight shipping."

 

Normally, I wouldn't even go that far in a response, but the eBay bots scour messages to look for "off site" transactions and they'll sanction your hiney so fast your head will spin.

 

@blue_maxblue

 

 

Message 12 of 25
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This doesn't sound right

There is no son.

Too much info is a pretty good sign of a scammer.

 

If she wants it she can bid or buy. And then eBay and Paypal give her the payment address. Nothing more is required.

 

About feedback. It sounds good, but was the last transaction over a year ago? That's a reasonably good sign of a hacked account, that should be Reported to Help and Contact at the top of this page.

Message 13 of 25
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This doesn't sound right

Send one final reply "Im sorry but I cannot conduct business outside of ebay" then block her
Message 14 of 25
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This doesn't sound right

Notice how the scammer calls your phone the "item" instead of referring to it as a phone? It's because they copy-and-paste standard text into as many messages to sellers as possible before they get shut down.

 

Bingo!  And this bears repeating.  Over and over again.  It's a form letter.

 

"Hello, Hope this item is in good working condition . . ."

 

No need to read further.  That opening is a clear sign that it is a scam.  They are sending out so many of these form letters so fast that they can't be bothered to insert the actual name of the item they are trying to steal.

Message 15 of 25
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