IS this a scam I could get screwed on?

[kingcrowing]

Ok, 6mos-1year ago I posted a 12" powerbook G4/867MHz/128MB/40GB/combo/APe/BT/broken optical drive and a little case warping.(I posted it on powerbookclassifides.com
yesterday I got an e-mail from some 'Dr.' in New Zealand who wanted to buy it for his research, so I said I wanted $2000 for it, he said ok and wanted my address, here are the e-mails
> --- Keen Roberts wrote:
>
> > hello, how are
> > you, i want the powerbook 12" and am glad to have
> > such lovely product of such and i will be glad to
> > have it at affordable price,i need it urgently
> > because i will start a research soon with other
> > profesors and i will have to do a presentation,
> > please write back to me and tell me the price that
> > you are wishing to sell it to me.
> > I will be expecting to read from you soon.
> > Thanks

> Nick Gingrow <xxxxxxxx@yahoo.com> wrote:
> I would like $2000 USD shipped, is this
> acceptable?
> please send money asap so I can send it, thank you
>

--- Keen Roberts <keenrynz@yahoo.co.nz> wrote:

> hello,
> please give me the following details so that i
> can make the payment.
>
> Name:
> Add:
> City
> State
> Zip Code
> As soon as you prove the informations i will make
> the payment.
> THanks
>

I will actually need $2500 USD for this item shipped
to New Zealand, is that where you are located? what is
your address and how will you be paying me?

I havent heard back from the last one yet. but I figured If I get $2500, I can buy a 12" 867 on eBay for like $500-$1000, then send it to him and I get $1500-$2000 free, and I could buy a new 15" powerbook, or sell my iBook and get a 17". and this all sounds good, but I realize its a scam, but how is he scamming me? he sends me $$, I send him laptop... wheres the catch? I really dont want to give him any personal info if It might screw me over... thanks a lot

 

[iGary]

If you have to ask...

 

[Blue Velvet]

> > hello, how are
> > you, i want the powerbook 12" and am glad to have
> > such lovely product of such and i will be glad to
> > have it at affordable price,i need it urgently
> > because i will start a research soon with other
> > profesors and i will have to do a presentation,
> > please write back to me and tell me the price that
> > you are wishing to sell it to me.
> > I will be expecting to read from you soon.
> > Thanks

Ahahahahahahaha!
Sounds exactly like the sort of language a professor would use!

 

[FocusAndEarnIt]

Sounds like a scam on your side and his. I wouldn't get involved in that. It has scam written all over it

 

[edesignuk]

Sounds like you're both trying to well and truly screw each other I'd tell both of you to back away.

 

[kingcrowing]

I understand its a scam, but how would he be scamming me? Like a cashiers check/money order etc. thats fake or something? cause if I got one and my bank took it and put it in my account, then its not really an issue, cause I've done nothing wrong, I assume that my bank would be able to tell if its fake or not, right?

 

[yenko]

Yahoo email addresses are the first sign I look for. The second is the eagerness of the buyer. The third no mention of PayPal.
If you think it's a scam, go with the gut instinct.

Research??.......hahahahaha

Check??.........LOL

Then again....it sounds like you're scammin' too!

 

[zelmo]

Walk away, dude.

Just like people selling Xbox 360's on eBay for $1,200, if you really sell him that computer for $2,500, you know you're taking huge advantage of him. May not technically be scamming him, but you know that just isn't the right thing to do.

And, yes, he certainly writes like the well educated man he promotes himself as. I'd trust him implicitly.

 

[Makosuke]

Indeed, if you have to ask... (Like somebody would pay the same price as a brand new powerbook ordered online from the New Zealand Apple Authorized Reseller for something half the speed and broken.)

...but if you want to know how you're going to get scammed, he's going to send you a nice counterfeit check/money order and hope that your bank tells you its ok and you send the laptop before it gets hung up in the system somewhere and you get debited for the full money after your PB is good and gone. It apparently takes a surprisingly long time for fake stuff to get caught by the bank even after they tell you it's "cleared" and give you access to the money.

Or, better yet, he'll send you a "money oder" for $4000 and say "Oops! Could you send the extra $2000 back to me, I did the wrong amount." At which point you're out a laptop and $2000 in cash once the bank catches the fake.

 

[Blue Velvet]

Besides, for that sort of money you could get a brand-new 15" PowerBook in New Zealand... sounds a lot like you both deserve each other.

 

[kingcrowing]

thank you mako, thats all I needed to hear, I have no Issue scamming a scammer, as Long as I dont get screwed, I didnt know it would take that long to clear, I woulda done just as he wanted :/ thanks a lot

 

[savar]

Walk away, dude.

Just like people selling Xbox 360's on eBay for $1,200, if you really sell him that computer for $2,500, you know you're taking huge advantage of him. May not technically be scamming him, but you know that just isn't the right thing to do

Yeah, because charging market prices to people with deep pockets is "taking advantage" of their economic status.

Good grief, the people here sometimes...

 

[CanadaRAM]

thank you mako, thats all I needed to hear, I have no Issue scamming a scammer, as Long as I dont get screwed, I didnt know it would take that long to clear, I woulda done just as he wanted :/ thanks a lot

You're just who they are looking for... don't start thinking you're smarter than a scammer, they'll getcha.

One I heard about involved payment by Paypal - safer than a money order or certified cheque, right? Except they send a fake PayPal email to you. When you respond by logging in through the link on the email to get your money, the scammers get your PayPal ID and password and clean out your account (and the bank account you attached to PayPal). They weren't interested in the computer for sale in the first place...

 

[adk]

i will start a research soon with other profesors

Professors ususally don't spell professor wrong. On top of that, if they're doing university research they would charge it to a university or at least buy it through the university for at least tax exempt (sp?) status.

If you really want to sell to this guy you'd better be DAMN careful.

 

[generik]

Why not insist on wire transfer?

 

[Veritas&Equitas]

Yeah, no kidding. You are screwing the crap outta the guy. Originally $2,000 USD for that old piece, now upping it to $2,500? Jesus, that's horrible. I got my 15'' Powerbook 1.5 ghz/80 gig/1.5 GB memory/Superdrive for $1,200. Personally, it looks like a scam going both ways.

 

[Veritas&Equitas]

Yeah, because charging market prices

P.S. How about you check eBay for the actual "market price" for that Powerbook...not even remotely CLOSE to the price he is charging...

 

[generik]

Perhaps for some reason his research involves running his software on this particular CPU, and his research is funded by the university?

Not that I can see it happening, but it is a possibility