[Closed] Ebay - possible scam?

Probably because he doesn't get paid until the 31st, but has a couple o quid in PayPal, I'd guess.

how is cold hard cash a scam?

Possibly just seems an odd way to do business to me. And as I keep hearing about ebay scams and how they are getting more imaginative I am just a bit wary.

whats his feedback like?

He has a lot of feedback and all of it good, maybe I was a little quick to suspect foul play, thanks for putting my mind at ease.

I don't know what it is... However, like you, I suspect some sort of scam going on. As you say, just don't part with your bike until the money is actually received. And do not tolerate any 'stories' . I hope that it all goes well!

And I'd make sure I'd banked the money too. Watch out for a wad of forgeries!

It's called a deposit. and means they probably wont faff you around. and if they do you don't lose out.

Maybe his line of work provides him with a boat load of cash that doesn't exist, in the not declared front rather than forgery front. He might not have much cash in the bank to pay with Paypal but has a load in pictures of the queen.

If that was me however I'd have expected to ask the question before the auction finished, not assumed it was ok. if it arrives, get in banked before releasing the goods.

Banked before sending, make sure all of this is within e-bay mails and logged. Ask for a phone number and address and give them a call to confirm everything and log it in e-bay mails just in case.

Also if he does work in a cash rich, income tax poor non declarable distribution industry I'd suggest at least 2 sets of bombers, preferably 888's before causing trouble.

He gets your address and then calls around nicks your bike and cancels the original Paypal payment because you email him to say you've had to cancel the sale because someone has stolen the bike.

^Oooh, sharp thinking. The man's got a point.

Why would anyone put a large amount of cash in the post? Way too risky (for them) surely?

It possibly gives the buyer less protection I'd imagine

Request that cash is posted by Recorded Delivery, so no-one can claim it's gone missing / been sent but not received!

Also, confirm with your bank that the amount is FULLY cleared and available, and cheque / transfer cannot be bounced / cancelled / withdrawn.

10% for the address of someone with a premium bike.... priceless..

Also... feedback means nothing when the account has been hacked!!

Best way.... settle cash face to face at a 3rd party location.

Maybe his line of work provides him with a boat load of cash that doesn't exist, in the not declared front

Ask him if he can tarmac your drive.

I have done this before.

Buyer paid by deposit, he arrange to pay balance in cash on pick up. Where he arrived I cancelled the sale then refunded his deposit he paid full amount in cash. No problems.

Not everyone is a scammer.....

I've actually done the same via a BikeRadar advert. £100 paypal, then cash on collection so that I hadn't 'bought' the bike fully before inspection, but the seller would be fairly sure I'd show up.
I do of course now know where he lives (OK, I've forgotten now but you know what I mean) and I [i]could[/i] go round and nick his bikes, but they're not really my style!

Am I right in saying you can't hide your address from a winning bidder anyway? So if you give him an address to send the cash it won't be any more risky.

Some people just like to deal in cash.

I had an American cheque Fedex'd to me on an overnight courier service from the USA to pay for a vintage Turbo saddle which only cost about £50. I waited it to clear and sent it off, no problem. The overnight service to send the cheque cost him £30 as the price was on the package. Never understood why he did it that way but it was genuine.

Too much risk and faff from your perspective - it arrives and gets signed for but you really need to take it to the bank to make sure it's not forgery. If it is you then end up in some sort of dispute about if the money he sent was the money you took to the bank etc etc. Gets lost in post or you count it and its short - how do you prove it. And do you really want to deal with someone stupid enough to want to put large amounts of cash through the post?

I'd imagine a boat load of cash through the post was not one of your payment methods on the advert. Tell him to sort a bankers draft, bank transfer, personal cheque and wait to clear or put it all on paypal. i.e. make the hassle his not yours.

I wouldn't want to give out my address. If he has the cash there is no reason why he can't put the money in his own bank account then pay via paypal.

Request that cash is posted by Recorded Delivery, so no-one can claim it's gone missing / been sent but not received!

Yes as a parcel arriving and signed for is proof it was cash he sent and not some bits of newspaper.

Yes cash on collection would be fine but someone saying I'll post the cash out to you if you send me the bike.

I'd not be sending them my address.

If you're concerned about revealing your address, get him to send the cash to your work address?

If you have to ask "is this a scam" then it probably is.

Could be innocent, of course. But as others have said, there's plenty of ways it could go wrong. Even if it's genuine, sending a large amount of cash in the post is mental.

At the very least I'd demand a postal order rather than cash, but to be honest I'd be very tempted to tell them to jog on and sell to the next-highest bidder. "I'd like to buy this but wish to conduct business in an unusual manner which is outside of eBay / Paypal protection" is enough reason to walk away IMHO.

Get him to go into a branch of the bank and pay the cash into your account directly?

Is a good answer theotherjonv

Best answer yet.

People are so paranoid that even when someone pays cash they think its a scam.

If this scenario was described to me and I was asked to spot potential scams, I would say the most likely scam is that the seller says that the cash never arrived and the buyer loses out.

Tell him not to bother with the deposit, receive cash, bank cash, send bike.

Cash sales are the safest to protect yourself from scams.

Once you have all your cash secured in your account for a week or so send the goods.
Simple.

Who in their right mind would send a load of cash to a stranger and have no come back if they said it didn't arrive?

Pay it into your bank is a good option, or Paypal.

Just be wary of Paypal and its chargeback facility. Essentially a buyer can almost always ask Paypal for the money back and unless there is strong evidence against it, Paypal always finds in their favour. Whether or not you've withdrawn the cash from Paypal into your bank account makes no difference - Paypal can usually get the funds from you without asking.

Cash by post sounds like a stupid idea, but it's hard to see how you can lose out, providing that you wait for the money before sending the bike.

but it's hard to see how you can lose out,

Errrmmm! No really it's not.

but it's hard to see how you can lose out,

Errrmmm! No really it's not.

Cash in an envelope arrives.
Take it to the bank to check its genuine and pay it in.
Send bike.

If its not genuine, report it to the police and don't send the bike.

No chance of any loss as far as I can see.

No chance of any loss as far as I can see.

Not even in the previous posts suggesting how it's a scam?

Not even in the previous posts suggesting how it's a scam?

No.

He already has the address from winning the auction.

He doesn't need to do anything else if he wanted to nick the bike.

Unless I've missed some other reasonable explanation of a possible scam method. I can't see an issue.

Cash in an envelope arrives.
Take it to the bank to check its genuine and pay it in.
Send bike.

If its not genuine, report it to the police and don't send the bike.

No chance of any loss as far as I can see.

But if it turns out to be a scam the scammer has your address and will be a bit unhappy if he/she gets a vista from the police.

Money laundering anyone?

He already has the address from winning the auction.

Does he? I genuinely don't know as I've never noticed seeing the sellers address in private sales.

Money Laundering was my first suspicion, or offloading fake notes.
Pay in 500 fakes and it'll be you that's committed the crime. Even worse is he hands over a wodge of fakes in person, and takes the bike before you can attempt to offload dodgy notes.

If someone wants to pay me cash, and I don't know them, we go to the cash machine and I watch and make sure there's no switch between the machine spitting out the notes and the notes entering my hand, and we do this in full view of cctv.

I know not everyone is a fraudster, but if I don't know them personally, then on eBay etc. I assume they all are (seller or buyer).

[b]Pay in 500 fakes and it'll be you that's committed the crime. [/B]Even worse is he hands over a wodge of fakes in person, and takes the bike before you can attempt to offload dodgy notes.

Is that just a guess/made up ?

Because last year I took £300 to the bank from a customer to pay them in and half of them were fake.

The bank kept them and I walked out after explaining I had been given them by a customer as payment.

No crimes were reported. And I went to the customer straight away who went to the cash point and got the amount owed out and paid me.

Does he? I genuinely don't know as I've never noticed seeing the sellers address in private sales.

I can see the sellers address on eBay for the shoes I bought yesterday.
So I would say that's pretty standard yes.

a bit unhappy if he/she gets a vista

He has replied and said that it is just to save me ebay fees. He also says that he has sent the money (first class recorded) so I guess I just have to wait and see whether anything turns up, and in the mean time get some bombers (big ones 66s at least) just in case!

It will be interesting to hear the outcome of this.

I can see the sellers address on eBay for the shoes I bought yesterday.
So I would say that's pretty standard yes.

Yet I can't for the kids life jacket I bought yesterday or the Oars I bought this am. 😕

It may depend on the seller having an address registered/confirmed with eBay then maybe ?

Either way, I can't see a problem with it.

He's sending cash. He can't do a chargeback or cancel a cheque or send a fake bank draft or whatever.

Once it arrives you bank it and send the bike.

If it doesn't arrive then you don't send the bike.

Sorted.

Assuming they are genuine yes then nothing can go wrong but that can be said for any payment method. I remain sceptical it's an odd tactic to use, "Oh I'll pay cash for you to avoid the charges".

So as the OP asked yes it's possibly a scam and not one I'd risk.

Overdrawn at the bank but cash in hand and no common sense.
or paid in cash and doesn't want to declare it to the tax man.

Lots of reasons why he may want to do it that way.

Other than knowing your address nobody has out forward a decent explanation of how this supposed "scam" might work.

And if he called and said "I'll come for it tomorrow and pay cash" you would all happily give him your address anyway 😐

Yeah there is many reasons why it could be genuine.

And if he called and said "I'll come for it tomorrow and pay cash" you would all happily give him your address anyway

Errr no I wouldn't he could meet me at work or a busy public place.

You are in the minority then I would suspect.

I have collected loads of times from people houses.
And had had stuff collected from mine a fair few too.

I've never been robbed or murdered either.

Are you sure you've never been murdered?

A lot of people 'say' they've never been murdered. Who do you believe?

I'm pretty sure it was manslaughter but I didn't attend the trial, for obvious reasons 🙂

Ah that makes sense.

In which case is assume that Drac was selling a nicked bike....

Forgot to mention that the buyer already knew my address. Possibly because I checked the buyer can collect box? I'm not sure but I will update this thread with the outcome.

In which case is assume that Drac was selling a nicked bike....

Say whaaaaat?

[quote=burnie ]He has replied and said that it is just to save me ebay fees. He also says that he has sent the money (first class recorded) so I guess I just have to wait and see whether anything turns up, and in the mean time get some bombers (big ones 66s at least) just in case!

You have to pay ebay fees on the amount you sold it for regardless of what he actually paid you. It may save you some PP fees.

Make sure the cash is banked before doing anything.

It may not be a scam but it's not 100% safe either way, especially with the way some posties handle signed for mail (I used to get the signature scan to try and work out which neighbour to ask first) or it was just signed for by the postie and dropped in the mail box.

Just thought of another possibility. After cash is received and banked as genuine, the seller ships the frame and all seems good. Then the buyer disputes the transaction value and recalls the deposit, but by now you have 90% of the value banked anyway so you just go along with it for an easy life, and he gets a 10% discount that you wouldn't have agreed to at the start.

If you really want to make sure, you could video yourself unwrapping the envelope and counting the cash.

I just had a guy send me cash, it was all straight up, he just preffered to deal that way.

I did an ebay scam thread a while back, its the people who want to deal outside of ebay but pay by payapal (then call it back) that are the scammers.

In which case is assume that Drac was selling a nicked bike....

I never trusted that Drac. Shifty looking bugger.

Just thought of another possibility. After cash is received and banked as genuine, the seller ships the frame and all seems good. Then the buyer disputes the transaction value and recalls the deposit, but by now you have 90% of the value banked anyway so you just go along with it for an easy life, and he gets a 10% discount that you wouldn't have agreed to at the start.

So cash in an envelope is far safer than dealing through PayPal then ?

Otherwise he could get 100% back rather than just 10%

No. Because if he disputed for 100% of the value you'd counter it. By pulling back a smaller % under the pretence that the goods weren't as described / not worth what you claimed, you're more likely to write that off as after all, you've still got 90% of the value.

You have to pay ebay fees on the amount you sold it for regardless of what he actually paid you. It may save you some PP fees.

There is a way round this actually if you are being paid in cash and/or the buyer is collecting.

When the transaction has been completed, make the buyer aware that you are going to cancel the transaction through eBay (this is totally legit, you can do it). Provided that the buyer agrees to this and replies to the message which eBay sends them to this effect, then eBay cancel the transaction and refund all your listing and final valuation fees.

I've done this several times with cars, bikes and motorbikes which I've sold privately on eBay and never had a problem.

rickt - Member
Best way.... settle cash face to face at a 3rd party location.

Another common legend is that's a nice way to mug someone and have off with the goods/cash.

3rd party location in a safe well observed place.

Maybe with a police officer to supervise it, or a judge (make sure they're wearing the wig) 😀

Have to admit though I'm extremely wary of people coming to my house to collect things. I stopped using Freecycle for that very reason, especially when chucking out old gadgets "for free" and seeing the right dodgy looking characters that turn up to collect. Yeah, next thing they could come round looking for the replacement they can pick up for free 😉

i was trying to sell my bike last week and after finding out ebay take 10% + paypal fee i ended the auction as it was for a 8-900 quid bike ..

if someone had said ill give you cash now id have taken it and avoided any fees?

how ive sold many motorbikes and avoids ebay sting..

cash is king still and yes you can still bank it to keep hmrc happy

I never trusted that Drac. Shifty looking bugger.

Cor blimey Iz been propa rumbled I az.

No. Because if he disputed for 100% of the value you'd counter it. By pulling back a smaller % under the pretence that the goods weren't as described / not worth what you claimed, you're more likely to write that off as after all, you've still got 90% of the value.

Exactly my point.

Cash is safer than PayPal.

He can't dispute anything or get anything back if he pays 100% in cash.

Makes no odds whatsoever if he brings it in person, sends it in a Jiffy bag or fires it into your garden out of a cannon.

Cash is totally safe proving you bank it before sending the goods to check its genuine currency.

To me cash is just a nause. I have hardly any need for actual cash in my life save a few quid in my pocket to buy a pint or a coffee once in a while and even then you can put it on a card most of the time.

For me cash, or a cheque for that matter means a 15mile drive each way to a bank to pay it in and only when they are open as the nearest one dosn't have a deposit facility. And I'm at work when they are open.

Irrespective of the safety issues I would rather the buyer had the faff and I got the money in cold hard electonic nothingness!

Exactly my point.

Cash is safer than PayPal.

He can't dispute anything or get anything back if he pays 100% in cash.

Agreed. But the thread is whether offering to pay 10% by PayPal as deposit and the rest by cash, sent by post, could be a scam. And I've offered up a way in which it could be. He hasn't offered to pay it all in cash, therefore in this situation, it's largely irrelevant whether it's better or not.

Cash by post, tell him to get lost. The next thing will be that he asks you to send after he has done the "token" paypal payment and will send the cash after goods received which he never will. Some people would actually fall for this

Cash by post, tell him to get lost. [B]The next thing will be [/b]that he asks you to send after he has done the "token" paypal payment and will send the cash after goods received which he never will. Some people would actually fall for this

So your judgement is based on something that the buyer hasn't asked the seller to do then ?

Its pretty easy to protect yourself against this sort of "scam"

Firstly - Dont send the bike till the cash is banked

Secondly - He hasnt asked him to send before Payment anyway so no real need to worry too much.

Say whaaaaat?

That wasn't very clear.What I meant was if I wanted to check a bike over then pay cash, then I'd be very wary of meeting someone anywhere other than there house if the only reason was 'I don't want you to know where I live'. Why? What is there to hide? Is it nicked?

Why? What is there to hide? Is it nicked?

Not nicked no but now you know where I live you might nick it.

And I think this is why you'll never sell a bike to me 🙂

I agree with Tinybits. If I arranged to buy a bike, and the seller wanted to meet at the local park, I would think it's a bit off. Wouldn't totally dissuade me, depending on the bike/price, but still. I would wonder why.

....plus it means I couldn't case their joint, so I could burgle it later.

That wasn't very clear.What I meant was if I wanted to check a bike over then pay cash, then I'd be very wary of meeting someone anywhere other than there house if the only reason was 'I don't want you to know where I live'. Why? What is there to hide? Is it nicked?

Kind of agree - if buying a car 2nd hand I'm always very suspicious if the seller wants to meet in a public car park/ service station etc. And I think that would follow on to other valuable goods too. I understand Drac's point though - it's a miserable mistrusting world isn't it!

The more I think about it, the more I believe there is a gap in the market for a service that offer an intermediary location for people to meet up and sell stuff. This way, [s]Drac[/s] the seller, won't think he is being targeted for a robbing, the buyer is confident he won't get hit in the head with a brick and his money taken, and the intermediary can take 2-5% of the sale.

...maybe the police could do it to make up their funds.