Is this a dodgy buyer or am I being paranoid?

[funkyflamingo*]

I received a message from a buyer:

Where are you located I'll offer $100 for the bike

Item number is : 331496379919

I will let you make up your own mind!

I have not responded and will not respond to this message!

[joethenuts]

gee that makes sence your post   if that was the case the buyer could of offered $40 and nobody would be the wiser   why would he make it look susoicious by offering $100,   

and because he asks for location  a lot of buyers do that   it happens every day with pick up only sellers 

i think you dream too much   do you think this seller is stupit not to check his paypal account 

[curmu-curmu]

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@joethenuts wrote:

this chap could be thinking its a auction and its starting at $40 and has made a reasonable offer

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I agree. Even though I've been an ebayer for many years, at 1st glance, I didn't realize it was BIN - so the potentuial buyer may not have, either.

[joethenuts]

to davewill i think you have been watching too many get smart episodes  and even in your wildness dreams and if the seller was too silly not to check his paypal   that this buyer with a friend drive how many miles  for maybe a $20 fake delivery   ps also they not have to take the petrol cost out but to do a good job he might have to hire a costume for a disguise  and maybe a wig   why not red shoes mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm  have a nice day 

[joethenuts]

ok this is what i believe to be the answere  of why this chap has offered you $100  its happen to me a few times and i cant believe nobody has mentioned it , here goes  very simple...

buyer is looking at bmx bikes he messages the wrong seller asking for location as a lot of sellers only put melbourne and offers that buyer $100 as it might be for sale at $130     but by mistake he messages you, i have had messages like that saying things like how much can you do this type of paint for and i would say we dont have any of this type of paint , then they say its on your list and then they realise thay are messaging a different seller.. they put a few sellers on there watch list and by mistake message the wrong seller.

and this could be your answere  so i dont think i will buy your bike because that chap was thinking of another bike.

and remember all of you there are 2 sides to every story   dont always think of the worst    have a nice day

[lyndal1838]

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joethenuts wrote:e
dont always think of the worst    have a nice day

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Joe, while this comment is very valid in a lot of cases, I tend to agree with davewil in this case.

It is a very well known ebay scam for the "buyer" to offer well above the price the seller has set, be it auction or BIN.   They are banking on the seller being greedy and jumping at the generous offer.  The seller then receives a fake advice that the item has been paid for, and a message from the "buyer" that they should pay the person who picks up the item a fee for picking it up.

The scammer is banking on the seller not checking their paypal account to see the that the payment never came through.

A $100 bike is very small potatoes.....the scam is most often run with an expensive car.  But scammers have to start somewhere.

And no matter how obvious you think it is for the seller to check their paypal account before sending the item, if you read the boards you will soon see that there are enough sellers who fall for it to make it worth the scammers while to keep trying it on.

I suggest you do a lot more reading on the boards before putting down the information posted by experienced members.

[joethenuts]

fair enough  but in this case the seller is suspious and there is no way this seller would not check details on paypal before handing over the cash and goods .

the seller should unblock the buyer and respond saying i think you have made a mistake this bike is selling for $ 40 and see what happens next [ its not a good exuse to block a bidder when a simple message might answere it. there is a lot of sellers out there that want as many buyers on this site,

ps there are lots of answeres  out there but you will never find out if you dont ask   have a nice day

[joethenuts]

even though i agree with what you say in a lot of posts ,

i am a new poster here like many others   and next year there is going to be a lot of new posters and so on , questions that have been asked before are always going to be asked again with a new group and in 10 years time this post will come up maybe 10 more times ,

davewill could be right  but surely if a scammer wanted to scam somebody it would be for a lot more money item also they would pick a newbie  not someone who has sold 1000s of items and has 500 items on sale  and has been with ebay for about 4 years .

have a nice day

[lyndal1838]

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@joethenuts wrote:

even though i agree with what you say in a lot of posts ,

i am a new poster here like many others   and next year there is going to be a lot of new posters and so on , questions that have been asked before are always going to be asked again with a new group and in 10 years time this post will come up maybe 10 more times ,

davewill could be right  but surely if a scammer wanted to scam somebody it would be for a lot more money item also they would pick a newbie  not someone who has sold 1000s of items and has 500 items on sale  and has been with ebay for about 4 years .

have a nice day

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As I have already said (if you bother to read my earlier post)....this is a very small potatoes scam.  Who knows why the "buyer" is only using a small value item?

And for the most part scammers are rather dumb, which is why they get caught out when the seller has a bit of experience.  IMO, if the seller is suspicious then they should go with their gut instinct and ignore/block the buyer.

As for suggesting you read the boards before asking the same question numerous times.....that is the reason that the posts on the boards are archived and full searchable.

If you read the old threads you will probably get your answer and if you need further clarification or an update on facts, THEN is the time to ask the question again.

In case you have not realised it, the boards are run by volunteer members who give a lot of their time to answer questions.  It is soul destroying to get the same questions asked time after time just because new members don't bother to do a board search to see if the question has been answered recently.

[funkyflamingo*]

I have gone through all the comments, and yes I agree with all that was said.

That I could do a pick up at a public location, to do an auction, which would cost me money to list under a shop.  That I could just be paranoid, that it is a young kid whom has not read the description properly of buy it now price and location.

My first instinct was a bit like an experience I had on Gumtree, where the person was a scammer, willing to pay more money for an item, and then you organise the money for the item to be transported .

I have so many items, that most buyers know that I have a shop or a place to view, hence, I felt it was like they wanted  to know the location, and maybe after other  item or items.  It really just felt odd with the email that I received, and then looking at one of the feedbacks, Not to deal with this buyer.  

Gut instinct kicked in, and for $40 -$100 of loss of not selling the item, it is piece of mind.  Usually with emails, people ask, "Do you have a buy it now", not just offer $100 when they could buy it for $40. I thought they may have wanted to do a deal outside of ebay.  I could have made things easier, and said you can buy it now for $40, but I have no trust in this buyer.

Hopefully my gut instinct is wrong about this person, but I will never know, and happy not to know.  Thank you for every ones thoughts, but I feel it's better to be safe than sorry.

[expanded_perceptions]

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@retrovintagecollectables3195 wrote:

I have gone through all the comments, and yes I agree with all that was said.

That I could do a pick up at a public location, to do an auction, which would cost me money to list under a shop.  That I could just be paranoid, that it is a young kid whom has not read the description properly of buy it now price and location.

My first instinct was a bit like an experience I had on Gumtree, where the person was a scammer, willing to pay more money for an item, and then you organise the money for the item to be transported .

I have so many items, that most buyers know that I have a shop or a place to view, hence, I felt it was like they wanted  to know the location, and maybe after other  item or items.  It really just felt odd with the email that I received, and then looking at one of the feedbacks, Not to deal with this buyer.  

Gut instinct kicked in, and for $40 -$100 of loss of not selling the item, it is piece of mind.  Usually with emails, people ask, "Do you have a buy it now", not just offer $100 when they could buy it for $40. I thought they may have wanted to do a deal outside of ebay.  I could have made things easier, and said you can buy it now for $40, but I have no trust in this buyer.

Hopefully my gut instinct is wrong about this person, but I will never know, and happy not to know.  Thank you for every ones thoughts, but I feel it's better to be safe than sorry.

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I don't blame you one bit! Instincts are given for a reason, and only you can decide what 'feels right'. The same happened to me a few months ago; offered i think $400 on an item selling for $260ish, and turned to these boards for wisdom. I am glad I did, because I actually did not know the possible ways you can be scammed. I sent an email response asking why he would want to buy an item at way over the odds............of course never received a response!! In today's eBay climate, sadly you have to be even more cautious than ever, as you say taking a risk on $40-100 is hardly woth the stress.

As for Joe - My potential scammer was called 'John Smith', yes, you could hardly make it up, these people don't think in logical ways, they probably send out 100's of 'bites' a day, and rely on people not being switched on, too busy to check things properly, or on a sellers greed. If I had asked the same question when Joe was around, no doubt he would be saying "as if a scammer would make up a name John Smith", it happens and sometimes they are caught out by their own stupidity!