Am I being paranoid about the item i'm selling on eBay?

[Cyder]

I have a Pug 106 bonnet for sale on eBay currently and have received the following message from a potential bidder...

bidder said:

Hello, cant believe my luck, i have the same car, had an accident just before christmas and need a new bonnet as mine is absolutely smashed. I have been looking for one the same colour as i couldnt afford to get one resprayed because i am a student and repsraying costs!! As the colour is very rare, its so hard to get hold of one. I am desperate to win this bonnet. Is there anyway I could buy the bonnet off you? or do you have to continue selling it through bidding? Please get back to me,

I replied to say I'd consider selling it for £50 and cancelling the auction just to get it off my hands and got the following reply...

bidder said:

oh my gosh yes please!
That's brilliant!
Its the same colour, so i can just pay and it's mine? and the biddig will be stopped? So you want £50 for it?

Now, maybe it's the dodgy english being used (bidder has female commonly used first name) or the way the emails are so excitable, but I'm wondering if this is some kind of weird scam?

If I got her to transfer the money by Paypal outside of eBay is there any recourse/can the person claim the money back from me somehow and leave me out of pocket?

I may be having a tinfoil hat moment, but you never know!

[Biker's Nemesis]

Yeah, tin foil hat time.

[Mikeyplum]

I have heard of a scam where once you supply your email address, providing they have the know how and equipment, can hack your paypal account, stop any pending transaction and use it to sypher money out...

But I await correction...

ETA - it doesn't really shout SCAM to me mind...

[Pork]

Sound like an excitable young woman more than a scammer to me.

[Cyder]

Spending too much time on these bloody forums has caused me to trust nobody.

Thanks for the feedback guys, I'll proceed with caution and report back about how I got scammed!

[trickywoo]

Sounds OK to me.

I'm guessing you won't be posting it? Just ask for cash on collection.

[zaphod42]

Go old school... ask him for a landline phone number, call him and talk... offer cash on collection.

[HereBeMonsters]

Why don't you just end the auction early to sell to the high bidder (him)?

[55allgold]

Cyder said:

If I got her to transfer the money by Paypal outside of eBay is there any recourse/can the person claim the money back from me somehow and leave me out of pocket?

Yes. Plenty of threads hereabouts.

But I agree that's she just sounds happy! As she's coming to collect, tell her to send £5 deposit by PayPal, then you cancel the auction, then she brings the balance as cash.

[Cyder]

I was going to send Parcelforce if they don't want to pick it up, so payment would be through Paypal.

ETA, I've offered cash on collection, need to find out what they want to do, it's £20 cheaper if they want to collect.

[SpeedBash]

I had a similar scenario a few years ago.

I had a VW Golf front bumper for sale and got an email from a potential bidder asking how much I'd take for selling the item to him and stopping the auction. I replied by asking him to call me on my mobile.

Discussed the details and told him he'd have to collect today and that we really shouldn't be doing this as it is against eBays T&C's.

Anyway, he came over within the hour as he worked locally - as a copper.

[ensignia]

Why does everyone automatically assume everything is a scam now?

She just sounds overly enthusiastic rather than a scammer. If she were a scammer I'm sure she wouldn't be pursuing a £50 bonnet.

[Pork]

ensignia said:

Why does everyone automatically assume everything is a scam now?

She just sounds overly enthusiastic rather than a scammer. If she were a scammer I'm sure she wouldn't be pursuing a £50 bonnet.

Because we live in a cynical world?

Tis true though, even someone making polite conversation gets looked upon with suspicion.

[55allgold]

ensignia said:

Why does everyone automatically assume everything is a scam now?

She just sounds overly enthusiastic rather than a scammer. If she were a scammer I'm sure she wouldn't be pursuing a £50 bonnet.

The risk is not of a scam. It's that she changes here mind when she can't fit it, or it's faded to a just slightly different colour, or the courier bends a corner, etc. Then she reclainms by PayPal, and chummy here's b*gg*r*d.

[Deluded]

Just tell them that if they come and collect it and pay you in cash before the end of the auction, you will cancel the auction. This saves you getting final valuation fees too.

If they don't turn up you don't have to relist it and if they can't get there before the end of the auction, they will just have to try their luck at bidding.

[TonyRPH]

I've carried out a few transactions outside of Ebay, and using Paypal for payment.

Never had a problem.

[TRUENOSAM]

Its only a £50 bonnet for a 106. Not worth scamming over IMO

[ROOODBOY]

Can't you transfer the money from Paypal into your bank account straight away?
I never leave funds in my Paypal account for very long, surely they can't get the money back then..?

[TonyRPH]

ROOODBOY said:

Can't you transfer the money from Paypal into your bank account straight away?
I never leave funds in my Paypal account for very long, surely they can't get the money back then..?

Paypal can do a reversal even when your Paypal balance is zero.

The money will simply be debited from whichever payment method (credit car or current account) you have attached to your Paypal account.

[ROOODBOY]

Damn!