Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

starman · Oct 5, 2006, 12:05 PM

Seriously, this is THREE TIMES IN ONE MONTH I get some dingdong from another country asking me to:

Send to his 3rd world country
Send it and he'll pay via Western Union "later"
Doesn't understand that I CLEARLY wrote in the auction "will only ship to the US".

Now I'm screwed out of getting paid for TWO weeks because I can't report an item as unpaid for at least a week when I know NOW that it's not going to get paid for.

Doesn't eBay have some kind of system that says "if buyer != US, don't allow them to bid"?

Dakar · Oct 5, 2006, 12:12 PM

They're doing it to make money off repeat listings </conspiracy theorist>

starman · Oct 5, 2006, 12:13 PM

This is the email I got from him. WTF is he saying?

hallo starmann,here <name removed>
how many time this power book, how program is insaid.

nonhuman · Oct 5, 2006, 12:16 PM

'how program is insaid'

Well, you see, I took the disks that came with the software, used a grinder to sharpen them into spikes, then thrust them into the heart of the PowerBook.

starman · Oct 5, 2006, 12:18 PM

LOL.

I marked the transaction as "unpaid" and that we "mutually agreed to cancel" due to the fact that the buyer asked me to ship to an address that's unverified (he asked me to ship it to his grandmother's, and then later to Poland, both addresses violate the auction in different ways).

Pisses me off...

Person Man · Oct 5, 2006, 12:25 PM

Originally Posted by starman

LOL.

I marked the transaction as "unpaid" and that we "mutually agreed to cancel" due to the fact that the buyer asked me to ship to an address that's unverified (he asked me to ship it to his grandmother's, and then later to Poland, both addresses violate the auction in different ways).

Pisses me off...

I don't say "mutually agreed to cancel." I always try to say stuff like "buyer can't read. US ONLY." I also say buyer didn't pay. I watch my auctions like a hawk any more and cancel bids from outside the US on my US only auctions.

Rumor · Oct 5, 2006, 12:27 PM

I know there is a filter for people under a certain feedback score, isn't there one for location also?

starman · Oct 5, 2006, 12:30 PM

Originally Posted by Rumor

I know there is a filter for people under a certain feedback score, isn't there one for location also?

I marked my auction as "US ONLY", so I have NO IDEA how a guy from Poland won it.

I was in a meeting when the auction ended so I couldn't watch it

starman · Oct 5, 2006, 12:32 PM

He sent me this:

'ok. i bay this power book i have money you shipp to New York.for my grand muther i payed for pay pal in fraday ok ,I can positiv to transacion.'

He can't get it through his skull that I CAN'T ship it anywhere other than the verified Paypal address or I get screwed if something happens to it.

Rumor · Oct 5, 2006, 01:08 PM

Send him a Hooked on Phonics book.

itai195 · Oct 5, 2006, 02:03 PM

You can set a buyer requirement on ebay to block buyers registered in countries where you don't ship. Go to my ebay > preferences > buyer requirements. This will work in your case, but it won't block scams using hijacked US registered accounts.

starman · Oct 5, 2006, 02:06 PM

Originally Posted by itai195

You can set a buyer requirement on ebay to block buyers registered in countries where you don't ship. Go to my ebay > preferences > buyer requirements. This will work in your case, but it won't block scams using hijacked US registered accounts.

Thanks. I don't know why I have to do that when I already checked the box that says "US Only".

Dr. Wahnsinn · Oct 5, 2006, 02:26 PM

When this happens, make sure to use the "Unwelcome Bidder" dispute. This type of dispute closes much faster than using the the unpaid item method.

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/...me-buying.html

Mediaman_12 · Oct 5, 2006, 03:31 PM

This works both ways. Until I discovered that "Block bidders from where you don't ship" option I kept getting US bidders on my items. Some people in the US obviously think that the entire internet is 'within the USA'

ink · Oct 5, 2006, 03:40 PM

I love Craigslist.

No hassle.

Dr. Wahnsinn · Oct 5, 2006, 07:06 PM

In The S.F. area, Craigslist is no better than eBay. Here's a sample of the crap that I and a few friends have had to deal with.

Posts left up for days after the item sells.
Sellers who argee to a transaction and then sell to someone else.
Buyers who agree to a transaction and then never show up.
People wanting the item shipped because they don't have a car.
People wanting free tech support - both before and after the purchase.
Buyers expecting the seller to drive to their place.
Sellers expecting the buyer to meet up in an alleyway behind a derelict building.
Lowballers.

However, I've also had some good deals from a few very nice people. I'd love for Craigslist to insititute a registration and rating system.

MOTHERWELL · Oct 6, 2006, 01:50 AM

Recent scam email I got from Craigslist:
Hello Seller,
Good Day,
Compliment of the season, I have just seen your ad, and it fits what i have been searching for.

COMPLIMENT OF THE SEASON???? I swear these people use babelfish.

Anyway, I just had an auction won by a guy from Nigeria, even though it was a US auction. The whole thing was a total scam, as are most of yours.

NEVER use Western Union and NEVER deal with overseas individuals unless they use PayPal - but be wary! This Nigerian fellow sent me a FAKE PayPal email explaining that the money was being held and that I would have to email PayPal a tracking number to receive my money. The email address wasn't even a PayPal.com address!

I tried to leave the buyer negative feedback to warn others, but his account has been deleted. He probably has a different account already and is getting ready to scam someone else. I feel bad for the less computer savvy people that will fall for these scams.

Kr0nos · Oct 6, 2006, 02:25 AM

Used to happen to me a lot too.

I figured that quite a few people just have no clue about what they are doing and simply don't care what the seller specifies.

It got to the point where I included the shipping specifications in bold red letters in the description text.

Seemed to work fairly well.

Silky Voice of The Gorn · Oct 6, 2006, 07:11 AM

A few years ago I listed my TiBook 400. Bidding was going well, pushing it up to the $600s..I was thrilled. Suddely a bidder came in at the last hour and won, pushing it over $700. I was ecstatic.

And then I saw he was in the UK.

As the OP did, I was explicit that I was ONLY going to ship in the continental US. I even repeated it in my text, not just the form. eBay nullified the auction and offered to relist for free, but I declined. Now the thing is a big, dead brick gathering dust.

What boggles my mind is what possible reason there is for someone to do this. There is NOTHING to gain. They won't get the item. Just cheap thrills to ruin someones auction??

Troll · Oct 6, 2006, 07:22 AM

Originally Posted by Silky Voice of The Gorn

And then I saw he was in the UK.

The UK is in the USA though. You haven't heard of Governor Poodle Blair of the 51st state?

OreoCookie · Oct 6, 2006, 07:29 AM

Nigeria connection. We have that, too, ugh.

alligator · Oct 6, 2006, 07:40 AM

I had someone bid my last auction up using 2 fake accounts to three times a legitimate price. It was aburd and eBay refused to help. I only got my listing fees back when he closed his account.

I'm so paranoid now I refuse to sell my digital Rebel camera on eBay because I know I will be scammed.

ink · Oct 7, 2006, 08:03 PM

Originally Posted by Dr. Wahnsinn

In The S.F. area, Craigslist is no better than eBay. Here's a sample of the crap that I and a few friends have had to deal with.

Posts left up for days after the item sells.
Sellers who argee to a transaction and then sell to someone else.
Buyers who agree to a transaction and then never show up.
People wanting the item shipped because they don't have a car.
People wanting free tech support - both before and after the purchase.
Buyers expecting the seller to drive to their place.
Sellers expecting the buyer to meet up in an alleyway behind a derelict building.
Lowballers.

You know, you're not required to accept an offer from someone who pulls these tactics (unlike ebay, which forces you to deal with whoever clicked on the bid button).

I've only have good experiences with craigslist so far (knock on wood).

At least starman can try to re-sell on craigslist while he waits for ebay to do its bullsh*t stuff.

Person Man · Oct 8, 2006, 09:50 AM

Originally Posted by alligator

I had someone bid my last auction up using 2 fake accounts to three times a legitimate price. It was aburd and eBay refused to help. I only got my listing fees back when he closed his account.

I'm so paranoid now I refuse to sell my digital Rebel camera on eBay because I know I will be scammed.

You are allowed to cancel bids, you know.