Item won by Nigerian buyer wanting to pay cash on collection

[crazycrazy]

I've just sold a highchair on ebay (listing offered only Paypal as payment method). The same buyer has just also won a steriliser

The winner emailed me saying he would pick up the item and pay me cash on collection. As he had no feedback and had only registered last week on ebay, I looked up his email address on google and found he was nigerian (don't want to generalise, but alarm bells started to ring).

I emailed him back saying paypal only and he has now replied asking me to ring him on his mobile. I'm really reluctant to call him so I emailed back saying I wasn't able to call, but is he able to pay on paypal

The invoice details on ebay state his registered address is in Staffordshire, yet on his email to me he says he lives in the city I live in (not in or near Staffordshire!). I'm pretty convinced there's something dodgy going on here so I don't want to sell my things to him (not only do I stand to lose about £50 worth, but I really don't now want to sell my baby's stuff to him)

WWYD?

Just cancel the bid.

You still didn't clarify whether you offered collection as an option though.

does anyone remember the lady who sold her £2000 engagement ring on ebay about 6 months ago. It was on the TV. nigerian won the bid and somehow he managed to put a fake paypal screen up so that the buyer thought she had received the money safely. She willingly sent the goods to nigeria and never got the money.
Equally it can happen here too. There are many fraudsters everywhere unfortunately and computer whizz kids that can make you believe everything is above board

Whereabouts in Staffs is his registered address (I am in Staffs). I would imagine a paypal registered address was the address where your credit card is registered which in the case of students etc can be different or if you havn't got around to changing it. We have a lot of foreign national students and medical/hospital staff here.

For a small amount of money I would say cash on collection is fine. I have done it lots but always asked if it is OK.

Fine, this may be a dodgy buyer, wanting to engage in a viariety of illegal activity with the highchair, but if he turns up with the cash do you care what happens to the high chair afterwards?

Tbh, as a seller, you're better off with cash on collection that you are with paypal.

Paypal protects the buyer much more than the seller, if he was going to be a scammer, he'd very likely not want to collect in person and pay cash. He surely isn't travelling all the way from Nigeria to pick up a high chair and steriliser?

Any scams I've experienced/heard of always involve paypal.

crumpet - I do care if he gives me false notes. As I stated earlier, I have been the victim of ebay fraud before.

islandofsodor - he isn't registered on paypal. His ebay registered address is staffs. He only registered last week - it's hardly likely that he moved since last week surely

If you have stated the buyer can pick up, I don't see the problem with cash.

Many people prefer cash on collection.

If he really want's the high chair, he'll have to set up a bank account (if he doesn't have one) and a paypal account.

Just be firm, stick to what you have posted in the listing, and say if he hasn't payed in 7 days you will re-sist.

Ask for him to bring £1 coins then. But seriously do whichever is easier - get shot of the highchair now for cash, or relist.

Lynette - she doesn't want cash because she is worried about counterfeit notes.

Thanks all for your input

As stated, I have already cancelled the sale now

Maybe I'm more cynical than most, but the risk of false notes and the fact that ebay cash sales are a very common method of money laundering are enough to put me off accepting cash

Sorry but is it really likely that he would bother with fake notes to the tune of £50 or so?
I have also been scammed on ebay a couple of times and am quite cautious, but I would agree to cash on collection, as another poster says you are better off as a seller with cash payment than paypal.

I can't reconcile buying a highchair and sterliser with a dodgy fraud/scam, it just doesnt ring true.

Sorry x-post.

I'd be wary of counterfeit money as well

£50 may not seem worth scamming someone for but if you are the person being scammed it certainly feels like a lot of money

I just sold a car on ebay and accepted cash on collection. guy and his wife turned up - and were lovely - they had only just registered on ebay and had 0 feedback. everyone has to get feedback somehow and start somewhere!

banked cash next day, no problem.

it would have me worried, but i would let him come and collect and pay cash, just have a conterfeit note pen ready and check before you hand over goods.

I am quite a suspicious person anyway - this has nothing to do with the ethnicity of the buyer.

True, I suppose its best to trust your instincts in such cases.

agree ladylush - £50 is a lot to me to risk losing

btw - it may sound like a lot of effort to go to to money launder, but numerous small transactions are a much better way to do it that fewer larger ones. Much lower risk of being caught

i suggest you stop selling things on ebay then. and perhaps barricade your doors and windows for fear of passing nigerians....

eleanor - really don't think there's any need to be so sarcastic

With an ebay score of over 300, 100% positive, I think I've been doing fine so far

I think people are being unfair to the OP.

Bil runs a small business on Ebay, he normally only accepts paypal but agreed to cash on collection. He was given a £50 counterfeit note, the items he had sold only came to £20 so he handed over £30 in change. Do this often enough and you will be raking it in.

dollshouse - I guess that's a variation on the other common scam where they'll offer to pay more than the goods are worth by cheque and then you give the difference back in cash. Most people have cottoned onto this one how though, hence new variations occuring. Useful to know, thanks

I'm also generally suspicious about things too and I recently sold a bukly item on ebay which only went for 99p but even with the postage was a good price for the buyer.

I offered both collection or a postage price and the winning buyer had an address in the W Midlands (can't remember exactly where) which is quite a way from me but insisted on coming to collect even though it would have cost more in petrol than the postage.
I was very dubious about the whole thing but he paid by paypal and turned up to collect and all was fine so I guess you can't always draw conclusions from the address.
The only scam I can think of is the one thedollshouse had suggested but you're within your rights to cancel the sale and, I agree, no point in risking losing your stuff if you aren't 100% happy.

As I said, Eleonora, if you take the chap's nationality out of the equation, it still looks dodgy - he says his location is near the OP, but his registered address (which is very new) is somewhere else altogether, plus he has no feedback or previous purchases, and he's ignored the fact that the auction was paypal only.

Honestly - does that sound trustworthy and above-board to you? Because it would ring alarm bells with me.

Of course, it is far easier just to be sarcastic than to look at the facts.

Often I ask to collect if I am desperate for the item.

We live in Staffs but dh works in Birmingham, Kent & Nottingham so the possibilities are endless.