Is this legit? ebay

[shamash]

I got a message from a potential buyer

Hi there!

Im really interested in the Macbook Air you have there. I reside in Singapore, so can you please let me know how much would international shipping cost. I am a verified paypal user with a confirmed address so no worries. Also I would just like to check with you something, the reinstall drive that you stated is a Mac OS X Recovery USB Stick right.

I eagerly look forward to your reply and have a good day.

this is their feedback

http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISA...&seeallfeedback=See All Feedback&myworld=true



I originally wasn't planning on doing any international selling but does this seem legit/safe?

 

[WillEH]

Feedback seems legit, he's bought a lot of expensive stuff..

 

[shamash]

Sounds good. He's willing to pay 1450+100 international shipping, so I'm happy with that. Thank you for the quick response!

 

[Consultant]

Shady. You cannot have a confirmed address with Singapore.

So he wants you to sell outside of ebay? Let me guess, expidited shipping?

Feedback seems legit, he's bought a lot of expensive stuff..

No he didn't buy "expensive stuff." $182 does not count as expensive.

 

[WillEH]

Shady. You cannot have a confirmed address with Singapore.



No he didn't buy "expensive stuff." $182 does not count as expensive.

Depends on your perception of expensive. But nevertheless, the guy has 100% feedback.

But I do subtract my "legit" comment, Consultant is right, after looking around it seems singapore cannot have verified addresses. Sorry. I would think twice about selling it to him after his little lie.

 

[Apple OC]

13 feedback responses? ... IMO not worth taking a chance

 

[WillEH]

In fact, ignore everything I said, 100% feedback or not. As Apple_OC said, not worth the risk.

 

[shamash]

Shady. You cannot have a confirmed address with Singapore.

So he wants you to sell outside of ebay? Let me guess, expidited shipping?



No he didn't buy "expensive stuff." $182 does not count as expensive.

He just purchased it on eBay, and he emailed me from his paypal account. Is it safe enough since he purchased it on eBay?

 

[Consultant]

Sometimes people confuse verified with confirmed. (It's a bit confusing).

Buying through ebay might be ok.

Can you see what other items the buyer also bid / bought? If there are lots of large items buys then that's a red flag. I can't seem to find the buyer bid history.

He just purchased it on eBay, and he emailed me from his paypal account. Is it safe enough since he purchased it on eBay?

Don't click any links from email. Log into paypal.com to see if you received any money.

 

[shamash]

Sometimes people confuse verified with confirmed. (It's a bit confusing).

Buying through ebay might be ok.

Can you see what other items the buyer also bid / bought? If there are lots of large items buys then that's a red flag. I can't seem to find the buyer bid history.



Don't click any links from email. Log into paypal.com to see if you received any money.

It looks like his latest purchase was Feb 26th for 182 bucks for Corsair Dominator 8gb DDR2 1066MHz PC2-8500 4x2gb used.

It kinda seems like he is pretty legit. I'm worried but I feel like I shouldn't be. Ugh.

 

[Apple OC]

International shipping for large ticket items is not wise ... you are better off waiting to sell it closer to home.

Singapore is the first red flag on this

 

[shamash]

International shipping for large ticket items is not wise ... you are better off waiting to sell it closer to home.

Singapore is the first red flag on this

Why is Singapore a red flag? I'm really wanting to sell it lol and selling it faster than slower would be great... but if there is a good chance this is a scam I'll wait.

 

[Consultant]

I meant within the past few days.

Isn't there a 30 day summary for bids?

 

[shamash]

http://myworld.ebay.com/regular_collector

This is the only info I have on them.

 

[WillEH]

http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISA...&seeallfeedback=See All Feedback&myworld=true

 

[Apple OC]

Why is Singapore a red flag? I'm really wanting to sell it lol and selling it faster than slower would be great... but if there is a good chance this is a scam I'll wait.

Here is how you get burned ... buyer sets up account and purchases a few things to build his feedback up (13 purchases) ... his sole purpose of doing this is to get a MBA in the end.

You ship him the computer long distance and he pays you (or you think he pays you) ... he then does a charge back and gets his money back or says computer never came.

like I said ... 13 Feedbacks and none for any large ticket items ... shipping to the other side of the world .... IMO, not worth the risk.

however it is your computer and your risk ... I am just raising doubt (also there will be other offers to buy) ... best of luck.

 

[shamash]

Here is how you get burned ... buyer sets up account and purchases a few things to build his feedback up (13 purchases) ... his sole purpose of doing this is to get a MBA in the end.

You ship him the computer long distance and he pays you (or you think he pays you) ... he then does a charge back and gets his money back or says computer never came.

like I said ... 13 Feedbacks and none for any large ticket items ... shipping to the other side of the world .... IMO, not worth the risk.

however it is your computer and your risk ... I am just raising doubt (also there will be other offers to buy) ... best of luck.

Alright, I've taken off international shipping for now. I thought it would be okay since he's been a member since Aug 2009, but if so many people here are adamant against it, I will be patient.

 

[Consultant]

http://myworld.ebay.com/regular_collector

This is the only info I have on them.

http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISA...&seeallfeedback=See All Feedback&myworld=true

Just remembered that you look it up under advanced searches.

I can't tell but personally for large item products I would only send it to countries with paypal confirmed addresses. (used to be US, canada, UK, not sure now)

 

[Trius]

Alright, I've taken off international shipping for now. I thought it would be okay since he's been a member since Aug 2009, but if so many people here are adamant against it, I will be patient.

After being burned on both ends of eBay.... When I look at this, the first thing I think of is "scam".

Save yourself the time, energy, money, and frustration and don't do it.... trust me.

 

[shamash]

Good call guys! When I was looking for a way with him to make it safer, he responded with

Hey there Shamash,

When I wanted to pay for the item, I was informed that the price Im paying for it is indeed a very good price, but for another $100, I could get one for brand-new here in my country. They are currently having some kind of undergraduate spring student promotion.

I am so very sorry to trouble you shamash. I really do appreciate your response and all youve done. Once again Im very sorry shamash.

Have a good day man!

Definitely sounds like a scam now

 

[shamash]

Sorry for bumping this, but what about a person who lives in the US asking to buy it off of eBay to get a lower price by having me avoid eBay fees? They have thousands of feedback and seem pretty legit, but the fact that they're asking for it to be removed from eBay kinda sketched me. I asked them about doing it as a gift, to not get Paypal taxes, and they said it takes away their buyer protection but I seem like a good guy so they will be willing if they decide to go for it.

Are they still able to screw me over? I mean, I guess anyone on the internet is capable of it, but would this worry anyone else?

 

[jenzjen]

Sorry for bumping this, but what about a person who lives in the US asking to buy it off of eBay to get a lower price by having me avoid eBay fees? They have thousands of feedback and seem pretty legit, but the fact that they're asking for it to be removed from eBay kinda sketched me. I asked them about doing it as a gift, to not get Paypal taxes, and they said it takes away their buyer protection but I seem like a good guy so they will be willing if they decide to go for it.

Are they still able to screw me over? I mean, I guess anyone on the internet is capable of it, but would this worry anyone else?

You have a lot of posts here on MR, so not sure why you keep going in circles here. Let's try to boil this down to the basics.

Whether selling internationally, selling off eBay, etc you probably get an extra 10% but your risk is (a) spending LOTS of hours trying to prove you were scammed and (b) ultimately losing the laptop to a scam. Is this tradeoff worth it?

Either sell via CL or domestically on eBay.

 

[Phil A.]

Sorry for bumping this, but what about a person who lives in the US asking to buy it off of eBay to get a lower price by having me avoid eBay fees? They have thousands of feedback and seem pretty legit, but the fact that they're asking for it to be removed from eBay kinda sketched me. I asked them about doing it as a gift, to not get Paypal taxes, and they said it takes away their buyer protection but I seem like a good guy so they will be willing if they decide to go for it.

Are they still able to screw me over? I mean, I guess anyone on the internet is capable of it, but would this worry anyone else?

Never, ever sell off eBay: The minute you do that you lose your seller protection. If they have thousands of feedback they should know that what they are asking you to do is against eBay's terms and conditions (obviously because they lose money) and they are risking their account by asking you to sell off eBay. Personally, I'd report them to eBay and I definitely wouldn't sell to them

 

[Cerano]

for some reason alot of people in the US think Singapore is a part of China

and is undeveloped and poor and rural. That is not the case and fraud cases here are mostly unheard of.

 

[pcshrink]

I sell all of my expensive items on craigslist. This way you can monitor it and avoid the outrageous eBay/Paypal fees. The average fee for selling a $1000 mac is around $50 + a double that charge if the user pays via paypal, which they all do. eBay does not accept Money Orders anymore because of all the scams, but I think it is because they ultimately lose money on the auction because of the payment fees. I am fed up with all of this so I sell on Craigslist. Just sold a 13" MacBook Pro (2 years old) for $850 cash. No fees. No hassles. No shipping. No negative feedback. Sure it will take you longer to sell something. You will have tire kickers, and you may have scammers BUT just be smart, know the scam emails, and always deliver your item in a neutral place like a Mall or store. Never send Internationally - this is the biggest scam ever! and Never invite someone to your home to sell the item. Hope this helps!!