Was this a scam?

[chrihol-1014]

I have a listing for a Hammond organ and a buyer had me contact him by giving me his phone number (just found out that's a no-no).  We settled on the price and then he says he is emailing (asked for my email) me an echeck  to be deposited by my mobile banking app. He then says he will include the movers fee. I informed him I would rather use paypal and that he must not include the movers fee (super low amount for moving a 500lb organ with 2 speakers halfway across the county!). I messaged him that was unacceptable to include movers fee. He got mad and said no deal. Thank goodness for that. I had a really bad feeling about this setup. After he said he would buy it I got a notice from another man but couldn't reply due to taking the item down. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. 

[jonathankirkland]

Yes 100% scam.

Anyone who asks to contact you outside of ebay should be blocked immediately. End of story.

[jonathankirkland]

There are other venues that might be more appropriate for something like that which is to be sold locally. I guess ebay could get you some hits but I would think FB marketplace or Craiglist or one of the others specifically tailored to local sales might be better.

Good luck

[katzrul15]

@chrihol-1014 

Yes, it is a scam.  They will email you a fake email showing an e-check pending, etc.

Put this person on your Blocked Buyers List and report your Buyer's ID.

 As suggested UP-thread....sell it locally or if on here using local pickup only and collect cash at time of pickup. 

Good luck!

[duffy4444]

   You bet it's a scam! With very few feedbacks and just joining Ebay last year, you are a perfect target for scams such as this. They're licking their chops for prospective victims like you, who seem to want to list very expensive items right at the beginning.

   Begin your Ebay selling career with very inexpensive items, and start purchasing items to get your feedback rating as far from 0 as you can.

   Never, Ever  sell and ship a high-value item such as this on Ebay, until Ebay gets their act together and provides adequate seller protections, unless your business model is prepared to accept the loss of your item AND perhaps your money on a forced refund.

    Instead, sell it with Local Pickup, where you can require cash payment, and NO shipping. Or use a venue like FB Marketplace or CraigsList.

   Immediately put this scammer on your Blocked Buyer List and report him to Ebay. I'm so glad you stopped the scam dead in its tracks.

Cheers, Duffy

[candd205]

If they actually bought it and didn't pay, be sure to cancel based on problems with the address or buyer requested, so that you get your ebay seller fees refunded.

[chrihol-1014]

Thank you very much for your input. I had that gut feeling it was not legit. It was listed as local pickup only. Anyone who knows about moving pianos or organs hires a professional piano mover to ship it across country. I may be an old lady but still sharp as a tack.

[postingid7659]

Yeah, no.  Not everyone who wants to communicate directly is a scammer.   On something like this a buyer may want to pick it up directly and it's much easier to talk on the phone than set up a meet by email. 

However if one sells an item that is not going to be shipped by a trackable method then one should only accept cash in person, or if they're unwilling to carry the cash USPS money orders work.  Once you start opening up to E-checks and cashiers' checks and so on, it takes a long time for them to turn out to be fake, and the scam is the shipper fee goes back to them in a dummy account, or to someone they know.  Or they demand a refund and get it and you end up out the money later when the check turns out to be bogus.  

[postingid7659]

On local pickup only items only accept payment in person.   Anything else opens you up to being scammed. 

[luckythewinner]

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@chrihol-1014 wrote:

I have a listing for a Hammond organ and a buyer had me contact him by giving me his phone number (just found out that's a no-no).  We settled on the price and then he says he is emailing (asked for my email) me an echeck  to be deposited by my mobile banking app. He then says he will include the movers fee. I informed him I would rather use paypal and that he must not include the movers fee (super low amount for moving a 500lb organ with 2 speakers halfway across the county!). I messaged him that was unacceptable to include movers fee. He got mad and said no deal. Thank goodness for that. I had a really bad feeling about this setup. After he said he would buy it I got a notice from another man but couldn't reply due to taking the item down. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. 

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Yes it was a scam.

A seller posted a message about this same a couple weeks ago. 

That seller lost $9800 to the scammer. 

[d-k_treasures]

"but couldn't reply due to taking the item down"

That you should NOT have done after someone emailed you their phone number. I'm surprised you didn't get a nastygram about taking a sale off-site.