Ebay (Is this a scam)

[shingle]

Am selling PSP bundle on behalf of shingle junior, when I received this email

Dear seagull5900,

Great Seller,
My name is Miles Hamblen a business tycoon that travels round the world and am new on Ebay market. i want to buy this item as a gift for my son who is currently working on his project in Africa.
I want you to use Royal mail International (RI) For Delivery. due to the matter of urgency as i want the package to get there very fast and reliable
I'll offer you £220.00 GBP for the item plus the shipping cost. Regarding payment:I'll be paying you via paypal, as it is very fast,the only secured and preferred payment method.
I will appreciate if you can kindly end the auction and get back to me with your paypal email address and your full name so I can make the payment immediately. May the joy of this season be our portion.(Amen)

Thanks.
Regards,
'name deleted'

below is the Shipping Information

'name deleted'
xxxxxxxx etc
Lagos xxxx.
Nigeria

Question is 'WHERE'S THE SCAM'?. There has to be. There's a glut of PSP's and he's offering way more than it's worth. But he's also offering to make immediate payment via paypal, and he has 6 previous transactions on ebay that seem to have gone smoothly. Anyway highly suspicious, and I've told him in the nicest possible way to piss off.

Any Comments chaps

 

[Wardy]

Seems okay on the surface. I am not sure you can get PSP's in Nigeria and if it is his son's birthday soon may be willing to pay more to make sure he gets it. End of the day he is paying via pay pal so you can get the money take it out before sending it.

 

[Beach Hut]

Get offers quite often to buy immediately and I always say bid

 

[Springal]

Dont do it! Avoid ANYTHING That involves selling to someones nan/dad/brother/sister/dog in Nigeria, or any African country!

Just stick it on auction/Buy It Now and let it run and state will only ship to UK address's.

 

[Bozza]

I imagine what will happen is the money will turn up in your Paypal account fine and you'll send the package off. It will probably arrive at the other end.

The buyer will then make a claim to Paypal claiming the good never arrived. You will not be able to prove it as I'm assuming that delivery method and destination will not permit electronic proof of delivery to be obtained.

Paypal will give the money straight back to the buyer, meaning you'll have no cash to show for the goods.

 

[readingstockport]

There is some kind of scam on ebay and patpal using false credit card details and the like. I can't recall the details but I seem to remember reading something on The Register about it a few months ago.

 

[Titanic]

If he 'travels round the world' why hasn't he just bough one at the airport?

I wouldn't knowingly give my email / paypal details to anyone in Nigeria... it is asking for trouble.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Hold on a minute!

I think this guy in Nigeria might be my new found friend who made contact with me a few weeks back. He has all my bank account details, so I'm sure that his offer to pay for stuff on eBay through paypal will be backed up with secure funding.

And his son really does deserve the stuff. The family has been through a terrible time in recent years and the lad deserves a bit of a lift.

Don't let them down, shingle.

 

[Jesus Gul]

Never deal with anyone named Miles. Simple really.

 

[eastlondonseagull]

Big scam. Ignore him, Shingle.

.

 

[Peppermint Tea]

Business tycoon? Shops on ebay? Now it makes sense why my bids for the poker table top got gazumped by SirAlan23, DickieVirgin and TheTrumpster in quick succession.

 

[Herne Hill Seagull]

I imagine what will happen is the money will turn up in your Paypal account fine and you'll send the package off. It will probably arrive at the other end.

The buyer will then make a claim to Paypal claiming the good never arrived. You will not be able to prove it as I'm assuming that delivery method and destination will not permit electronic proof of delivery to be obtained.

Paypal will give the money straight back to the buyer, meaning you'll have no cash to show for the goods.

This exact thing happened to a mate who sold a posh mobile to an overseas buyer. If they're abroad, don't accep Paypal as payment for anything more than you're prepared to risk losing. Also, anybody who describes themselves as a 'tycoon' is to be taken as extremely dodgy!

 

[Barry Izbak]

Get offers quite often to buy immediately and I always say bid

Spot on. Tell them to bid

 

[NMH]

You can offer to advertise the same item in a 'Buy It Now', without closing or ending your other auction ...until after payment has been made. Stipulate 'Payment Required Immediately' on your second auction.

If no 'Seller Protection' is given by Paypal, then the buyer could pay with a credit card (dodgy or otherwise) and then retract payment afterwards - but I think you can actually pay an amount to insure the transaction too.

One thing though - why aren't you asking eBay and Paypal these questions?
They have a 'live-help' chat window, or you can even phone them on 08707 307 191, and follow the prompts.

If anyone knows the correct answers, it must be them.

 

[Wozza]

Obvious scam. Next!

 

[East Staffs Gull]

Definitely a scam, but not as suggested above. No way is the scammer going to transfer £220 legimately to you and then claim it back, just to get a 'free' PSP bundle.

 

[shingle]

One thing though - why aren't you asking eBay and Paypal these questions?
They have a 'live-help' chat window, or you can even phone them on 08707 307 191, and follow the prompts.

If anyone knows the correct answers, it must be them.[/QUOTE]

Because everytime I've emailed ebay with questions, whether its about faulty links or ebay fees etc they've taken an age to respond, sometimes up to 2 days later. Its much easier to use NSC, somebody on here is bound to have had a similar problem.

 

[East Staffs Gull]

Definitely a scam, but not as suggested above. No way is the scammer going to transfer £220 legimately to you and then claim it back, just to get a 'free' PSP bundle.

Forgot to add that the person who emailed you may well not actually be the person who has made six smooth transactions. You might like to try contacting that person via ebay.

 

[Gully]

Send him an e-mail and tell him that you regularly do business in Lagos and will be visiting next week, offer to bring the item with you and suggest that you meet up and conduct business for cash and face to face...then see how quickly he goes cold on you.

 

[champion7]

Dont do it! Avoid ANYTHING That involves selling to someones nan/dad/brother/sister/dog in Nigeria, or any African country!

Just stick it on auction/Buy It Now and let it run and state will only ship to UK address's.

i totally back springal on this one,it's all a big con.