Help me work out the scam here…

[sburrell]

I've had my Denon amp on Gumtree for some time now, and out of the blue (after a couple of red herrings) a guy gets in touch and tells me he's interested:

I`m interested in buying your Denon amp, is this ad still actual and first of all how much would you like to get for this stuff.

Arek Bujacz
So, I reply thus, in line with my policy:

The amp is still available. Please email me your telephone number and a time to call so we can arrange a viewing etc. Asking price is £45.
I bounced his reply so no longer have access to it, but the gist was, "I'm in Poland, I'll buy the amp if you'll list it on eBay, and that way I can pay by PayPal. Postage is not a problem; the price is fine as it is. Well?"
Clearly a scam in the making, but my bounce didn't discourage him, and I've had two email since:

Will you send it to Poland?

Will you send it to Poland? Can we finish the deal by ebay? My mobile +48507******- you can call or send a sms (asterisks mine)
Like I say, clearly a scam. But how does it work? Is PayPal an easy mark, refunding cash easily to the detriment of the seller? Is there any way I can turn the tables on this wee manny, preventing him from following through on his scam yet still selling & sending him the amp and keeping the cash?

[Will]

Maybe he wants some protection against a bad seller
by using Paypal.

You will need to email him proof of postage with insurance.


.

[The Grand Wazoo]

You're the seller. You set the terms of the sale (as long as they're within the law). You're not obliged to sell to anyone. If you feel uncomfortable tell him you don't want to sell it anymore.

[Rare Bird]

Not worth the arse ache for £45.00 to be honest.I'd personally leave it.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Not worth the arse ache for £45.00 to be honest.I'd personally leave it.

bang on! £45 .. wait for a more local buyer..

[Marc B]

I reckon he just wants the buyer protection from ebay/paypal. I've asked people to put their stuff on ebay before and paid the fees. I think you can do private listings espeically for this.

As for Poland, this last month I've sent 2 items there with no problems. Their courier rates are dirt cheep and it's worth it for them to import things from here.

(40+kg amp - UK to UK postage was £110, UK to Poland postage £53.. go figure)

[Rare Bird]

(40+kg amp - UK to UK postage was £110, UK to Poland postage £53.. go figure)

It will probably get to Poland quicker than UK A-B aswell. £110.00 a bit extortionate for UK tho :scratch:

[Marc B]

I called quite a few places and most wouldn't touch it.

The ones who did want to take it said that due to the weight it would need to be on a pallet.

the downside to it being posted to poland was that it got collected at 00:30 hours, I got a call about 10:30pm off the driver saying he was a bit late (no shit) and could I wait up for him.

[sburrell]

I've decided that, as both Hamish and André have said, it's all a bit much hassle. I've told him that if he gets someone here to collect and pay in cash, that's the only way I'll do it.

The reason I'm so averse to using eBay and Paypal is: listing/PayPal fees; and rumours I've heard that PayPal can be a little over-zealous in recuperating cash for buyers under certain circumstances. All said and done, sellers can be quite easily ripped off by an unscrupulous buyer properly clued-in to the apparent weaknesses in the system. Didn't someone on this forum have eBay issues in that regard recently, to do with Hong Kong or some such? Anyway, this amp also doesn't appear to be worth much, and I'm not sure it's worth the hassle this guy seems to be prepared to go to.

I'm going to send a email to PayPal with my concerns and find out exactly how to protect myself in the event I go through with the eBay-based sale. If I'm not convinced I'll be adequately covered, I'll consider the matter dead.

Marc B: What are these private listings your referring to? Is it a way of conducting a one-to-one sale? That would be interesting.

EDIT: Turns out PayPal Seller Protection is only available to those with Verified Premier or Business accounts. This is the only protection I would have against fraudulent claims, from the looks of things. As things stand, I have nada.

[Rare Bird]

You really don't wanna know the shit i had yesterday with someone who bought my deck. cos i posted it out a day late, he was gonna refuse it, take me to small claims court & of course opened a paypal dispute in which he did.As well as give a negative feedback to destroy a perfect 600+ which he did all because of one day! The laughable thing was i opted for the faster next day service at my own expence insted af the 24-48 hour he paid for to make the day up...That sale alone sealed my decision to close my account.