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Another eBay Scam?

74.15.22.193
Posted on October 31, 2009 at 16:36:54
vetmedrobert@gmail.com
Audiophile

Posts: 145
Location: Ontario
Joined: September 20, 2007
 Sold a pair of JBL compression drivers to a buyer in France. I'm in Canada. Send him an invoice with the cheapest rate to France. He gets back to me asking me to send to a friend in Montreal which of course is considerably less expensive. I say I will do so if he pays me directly rather than using the eBay invoice I have sent him. Why? Because if I change the invoice to reflect the expense of shipping and he pays there is nothing to prevent him from insisting that I send it to him in France at a considerable loss to myself. Sure enough I get a request from him through eBay asking me to send him a new invoice reflecting the cost of sending to Montreal. This person has 100% favorable feedback even though only 30 transactions. So do I, but with nearly 400 favorable transactions. I have already sent him an email explaining the situation. Am I being paranoid?

If the address the buyer has in Montreal, posted on November 1, 2009 at 07:04:36
DaveInVA
Audiophile

Posts: 1464
Location: Danville VA
Joined: June 21, 2001
 isn't one of his verified PayPal addresses you will have no recourse through Fleabay/PayNoPal if something goes amiss.

Dave

RE: Another eBay Scam?, posted on November 1, 2009 at 02:21:15
chris.redmond2@bushinternet.com
Reviewer

Posts: 10208
Location: Lancashire.
Joined: January 21, 2001
 "Why? Because if I change the invoice to reflect the expense of shipping and he pays there is nothing to prevent him from insisting that I send it to him in France at a considerable loss to myself."


He could insist all he wanted - doesn't mean you'd have to do it, and you'd have the original invoice as proof of what the original agreement was.

I'd imagine you also still have the correspondence in your Ebay messages where he requests to change the desination, so there's no way you will find yourself in the position of having to lose money on shipping or face any action from Ebay themselves such as suspension of your account.

Go along with his request, and if he does try to pull a fast one you're fully covered.

Today is a gift - that's why it's called the Present.

Best Regards,
Chris Redmond.
Worst case scenario..., posted on November 1, 2009 at 03:51:12
Door Nail
Audiophile

Posts: 700
Joined: August 27, 2005
 I've shipped this way several times without a problem. Have him enter his shipping instructions and the terms in the "note" box when making Paypal payment so it is documented with Paypal. If there should be any problem you could issue a refund and state the item is no longer available, lost or broken.

I have done this before, posted on November 1, 2009 at 01:43:27
Frihed89
Audiophile

Posts: 8445
Location: Copenhagen
Joined: March 21, 2005
 As a buyer a number of times. Every time the seller agreed. It's not so unusual. The easiest thing is for the buyer to have multiple shipping addresses on his E-bay and Paypal accounts, but only one of them tied to the credit card or bank account. This way you can ship stuff to family and friends in the US, even though you live in Europe. US goods are very cheap in Euro terms these days.

I usually get the seller's email and contact them directly about this if I sense any amount of risk aversion in their add.
"What did the Romans ever do for us?"
if you keep the transaction within the eBay ecosystem . . ., posted on October 31, 2009 at 23:37:44
troporobo
Audiophile

Posts: 1386
Location: Manila
Joined: June 6, 2003
 . . . by sending a new invoice and getting paid through PayPal, aren't you protected? I would guess that might be the buyer's motivation by using their messaging and payment system. (Remember, he's dealing with a foreigner too). That's my understanding anyway, based on what the sites claim. I have never had a dispute so don't know if it really works the way they claim.

I'm in interested in the outcome, as I regularly do the same thing as a buyer. I live outside the US, but have purchases shipped to my US address (which is one of two addresses in both my PayPal and eBay verified profiles) for consolidation. That way I control the shipping to its final destination through safer means than would be available to most sellers. I have always explained this very carefully to sellers, and never had a problem.

RE: Another eBay Scam?, posted on October 31, 2009 at 18:31:18
shallow pockets
Audiophile

Posts: 108
Location: SC MI.
Joined: June 27, 2009
Contributor
  Since: June 27, 2009
 Somewhere recently "agree to terms" has lost it's meaning. No, you are not paranoid.

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