Classic Scam ? I listed this old Chinese medal on eBay last week for 50.00. Two collectors got very excited. One offered me 1000.00 to end the sale early and sell it to him. I accepted the offer and he payed through Paypal. Now he says he believes it to be fake and is willing to keep it if I refund 800.00! So he is willing to pay 200.00 for a fake!! No dice! I offered him a full refund including his return postage after he returns the medal.
Definitely smells like week-old gas station sushi. Did he _actually_ pay you through PayPal (as in, you checked by going to PayPal's site yourself, not through any links he sent you)? Because one classic scam is for someone to offer an overpayment for [item], either stating that it's rare, you can use the extra money for postage, they just really need [item] etc. Then they send you a fake notice from PayPal that you've been paid. When you send them back money (either from overpayment, or in your case because they claimed [item] is fake), however, you actually are sending them real money from your PayPal account, and now they have both money and [item]. By the time the victim realizes they've been conned, the scammer is long gone, and you will never see either your money or [item] again. Not sure what your rights are with PayPal (I haven't used them in many years) but there is no way this is legit.
Hate these kinds of guys who think that EVERYONE they run into online is stupid enough to fall for such a simple scam. Oh well, those people get banned quickly anyways (If you report them).
Hi Fred, I agree w/ Mr. Ray that you did the right thing. Please keep us informed if there are any further development w/ this transaction. This and eBay's plethora of new draconian policy changes are why I no longer use them as a seller's platform. Regards, J.T.
Yes Parthicus, paypal has the money and has it on hold as they should. Interestingly eBay sent me an email advising me not to refund the money until the coin has been returned which has always been my policy since I got on eBay nearly 20 years ago.
Thanks Buntflame, as of yet I am not sure if the guy is trying to scam me or if he is just a collector with more money and enthusiasm than self confidence. If he accepts my refund offer then I suspect that he is the latter.
Thanks Histman, I thought of that too which is why I kept my scans of the actual medal. It shows every tiny nick, scratch and handling mark which would probably be impossible to duplicate.
Agreed with points given. Why the heck would he pay a "fake" for 200 dollars. He knows what he's doing. Don't accept his nonsense and ask for it back. No refunds until he returns it with tracking. Heck you might take a small hit for refunding the shipping fees but you might end up losing the entire 1000 dollars. Pretty dumb in my opinion where these days one can bluntly embarass someone online like this forum.
Just for clarification, you listed it for sale or for auction? I assume auction, but just being sure.
Was listed as an auction, then changed to a buy it now price at the buyers request. All this was done through eBay so eBay was not cheated out of their commission. Buyer then gets cold feet because some "expert" friends tell him it is fake. I tell him to return it for a refund which he is now doing. So far no one has been ripped off yet but the buyer's offer to keep the medal if I would refunded him 800. of his 1000. payment looks very suspicious to me and may have been an attempted ripoff. In any event if he returns the same item to me he will get a full refund of his buy price plus his return postage as per my terms of sale.
I am sure you are aware of this, but one other thing to watch out for is any request to refund to a different Paypal account. This is a classic scam when they do not actually own the original Paypal account and know the real owner will eventually pursue a refund for fraudulent use.
I'm curious why the 2 collectors would be so excited about your coin. What is it? What makes it so valuable?
I guess the Chinese market is very strong with the Chinese buying and collecting their own stuff. Why this item would be so interesting to them is beyond me especially since it is not a coin. Makes me think 'beware of the Chinese bearing money".
The medal has been returned. It is the same one I sent him so I guess he is just a collector with cold feet.