Trying to sell a PS3 - possible (very likely) scam buyer

DirtyDirtyVagrant

I had a guy email me that he wants the console shipped to his son (in Nigeria, of course), and that he wants to pay $100 extra for shipping, which actually just about covers it according to the USPS website.

He's asked me whether I want to use paypal or a bank transfer.

This is screaming scam, but beyond some kind of chargeback scheme, I just don't see the angle.

Deusfaux

scam. I wouldn't ever bother shipping something outside of CAN/US unless something quite rare - and even then only to trusted nations like western Euro nations or Japan or something.

The scam idea is that by the time you ship the item, the money hasn't fully cleared and gets yanked back out from you.but what I don't fully understand is how one cannot, in these cases, wait until the money is absolutely cleared and safe within their hands. Or does it simply never get that far?

skeldare

You know what they say, if you have to ask if something's a scam it definitely is.

Gilbert0

Always sell in person is the best bet.

For the scam, there is a couple options.

1) They reverse the funds before they are yours.
2) They are using a stolen account so it was never their money to begin with. They get a PS3 for spending none of their $$.

Esh

This is obviously a scam. It doesn't matter if you can't see the angle. Don't get greedy.

iRevert

You could always do this...

http://www.zug.com/pranks/powerbook/

Gaslight

You would think they would at least use a country other than Nigeria. I mean, really?

fightinfilipino

Paypal is pretty notorious for shafting sellers. there's no safety net if the buyer even remotely claims that the item was defective or not delivered.

basically, don't bother, sell your PS3 to someone IN PERSON or to a used game store.

Marie August

fightinfilipino wrote: »

Paypal is pretty notorious for shafting sellers. there's no safety net if the buyer even remotely claims that the item was defective or not delivered.

basically, don't bother, sell your PS3 to someone IN PERSON or to a used game store.

^ This is very true. Even if the money goes through, if the buyer complains to paypal, paypal will take the money back from you. Selling on the internet makes you a lot more vulnerable to being screwed than buying.

eBay can be really awful as well. You can't even leave negative feedback if your buyer is awful to warn a future seller.

Bartholamue

Alternatively, you could go on Kijiji or Craigslist and say, "I am selling my PS3." and write in capital letters and bold: CASH ONLY, IN-PERSON PICKUP ONLY. If you receive any more of those emails, just ignore them.

I found this article to be quite interesting on the subject.