Please help - strange request from bidder...doesn't seem on the up and up...

[4orm]

I received this 'ask the seller' question from a potential bidder and it seems kind of shifty. What do you think? Am I paranoid, or should I not even respond so they don't get my direct email?

Question from eBay Member: LUSH ~ Karma soap ~ large 114g piece NEW (Item # XXXXX)


Dear ,

Hi, my best friends are having a wedding in 10 days and I would like to make a present for them. I want it to be something special. For example your item in a gift wrap with a card inside for a bride. Also I want to send $850 via Western Union to a bridegroom as an additional part of my present. The only problem is I want to make them surprised and doesn't want them to know that the present is from me I have nice way how make surprise for them! I am looking for a seller who could help me with that. I will pay for your item, packaging, express shipping, WU and PayPal fees of course via PayPal. I'm live in USA but they live in Ukraine, not in the USA. Please let me know if you could help me with that! I want you to ship everything to him directly and to send the money present via Western Union either. I could even pay you for a trouble let's say $200 ($100 before and $100 after I receive WU and tracking info) - please understand it's very important for me! I hope to hear from you soon! Have a nice day!!!_ _

To view the item, go to:

Thank you,
spun_beXXXXX

 

[Cyndiu]

My mother always told me, "If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

It sounds like BS to me.

 

[Cinders]

Do not respond to their request. In fact, block them from bidding on your auctions. Forward the email to EBay also. On Friday's at work I take our deposit in and last week they had a sign up that you must tell them if any item you are depositing has anything to do with a person online, Western Union or from an auction. Seems its a scam where they are getting people to cash bad checks and take the cash and Western Union it back to themselves.

 

[4orm]

Thats what I think too. A great big load, but I wanted to check with others first or see if anyone else has gotten this type of strange request before. I'll be blocking his email I think.
Thanks!

 

[pilgrimage]

This is becoming a frequent scam attempt. A colleague is selling a musical instrument on another board and was contacted by a "buyer" offering her extra money for her trouble if she sent him his commission out of her extra large check--drawn on a bogus bank.There are some stinky operations out there. You're wise to be cautious.

 

[mtblujeans]

Hey, forward that email to eBay! That is messed up!!

 

[canwegosoon]

Scam-ola sounds like a variation of the Nigerian Money scam. You could also report it to your state's Consumer Protection Board.

 

[fam4jc]

There's some wierd stuff going on with ebay! I guess the crooks and swindlers have finally found ebay and are going to town. I got a bid withdrawn by ebay administration b/c this person was placing super high bids on multiple items at a time. (with no intension of purchasing) Just trying to have some fun I guess. I'm glad you told us about this. I sell a little on ebay and try to please my bidders. I would have thought, "Oh how sweet" Iguess I'll toughen up or go broke.

 

[vhoffman]

I guess I just don't get it--the scam, that is, Let's see--he wanted to buy some soap, have it sent to his friend in the Ukraine, and send $850 cash. You are supposed to cash the $850 and the $200 check "for your trouble" then send what? to the people in the Ukraine? The soap? The $850 (surely not in cash!) Or do you buy another $850 WU traveler's check to enclose with the present, after depositing the buyer's $850 and $200, only to find out later that the checks from the buyer bounced? Am I getting it? I guess with those sums of money I'd be leary, too.

 

[ceecee]

Do people really fall for that????? It screams scam...report to Ebay immediately, do not response and block them from your auctions.

 

[psupple]

I had a friend get scammed out of a large sum of money on a website similar to ebay. What happened to her sounds a lot like this.

Don't do it...you'll be sorry you did, I'm sure.

 

[inkkognito]

BIG TIME NIGERIAN SCAM!!! (And spreading to other parts of the world.)
For info. on this sort of thing, as well as some very amusing examples of how the scams get turned on the scammers, check out www.scamorama.com
Barb

 

[etwinchester]

Who would really trust a seller to do this anyway? If it was legit, you could keep the $$$ for yourself. For that reason alone, it sounds like a scam.

PS - Nothing against you personally and I mean that. I would NEVER trust a seller with $850 to send to a friend, unless I knew the seller personally....

 

[kilee]

Wow-- if it's not 1 thing it's another. Ironically I was at the bank the other day trying to have a check traced (that I sent to the IRS of all places). Anyhow, there was a lot of comotion going on over some counterfeit Western Union checks that had been passed through the bank the day previous.

 

[jgates]

NO WAY!!!!

This is a definite scam. Locally there was one with vehicle purchase and asking to have the xtra money sent back because they couldn't get to their bank etc. Well, you got it - the customer was out the $$$.

 

[DMRick]

Tell him to go to the bank, buy some US dollars, mail them to you, and then you'll mail them to his friend. Yeah, like you'll ever hear from him again LOL