*sigh* eBay help please

Luke

Luke

Luke

Soldato
Joined
19 Jul 2005
Posts
7,069
Location
S. Yorkshire
I know I'm opening myself up for all sorts of abuse here (and rightly so) but I'd like some opinions on this situation please.

I was selling some winter wheels and tyres on eBay. Not much interest up to yesterday when it closed in the evening. I got a message offering me more than the minimum bid but less than the buy it now. I haggled and we agreed a figure that was ok for us both.
He sent me the money by bank transfer and when it was in my account I ended the auction.

I've asked him when he's collecting them (the auction was collection only) and here is his reply:

I am based in Austria and this is where I need the wheels. I have found a company in Rotherham that will package them on a pallet for me and I will then have them collected from there. So is it possible that you could deliver the wheels & tyres to a Rotherham address?
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Ok, alarm bells are now ringing. I checked his profile, he is a UK member, 10 years history with positive feedback. His profile pic is of someone standing on a mountain, and his purchase history is mainly ski wear but with the odd high value item.

I'm reluctant to take the wheel to a 3rd party, partly as I don't know who this 3rd party is and partly because I sold them as collection only and can't be bothered!

I've sent this reply:
Hi Mike, I don't have the ability to transport the wheels which is why they were collection only.
If you can arrange for them to be collected then that is fine, but not by a courier direct as that would mean I'd have to package them which I honestly don't have the time for.

I'm surprised that you'd need to import to Austria, they are generally far more geared up for winter tyres and have better choice both new and 2nd hand. Why have you had to buy from England?
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Am I being overcautious/awkward or is this a scam? I'm normally very quick to spot a scam but this one has me on the fence as to whether or not it is.
 
Meh... seems a bit weird but im pretty sure a bank transfer cant be reversed? Dont know how he would scam you because as its done outside of ebay, ebay and paypal cant do anything so that rules out the typical paypal dispute ******** people try. You're right though if it says "collection only" that dosent translate to "deliver to my bud who can ship it to me in frickin austria" lol.

Just see what he replies with.
 
I'm not really sure what he can do here - he's bank transferred you the money.

Plus for every 999 scammers that try to pull this there might well be the odd person who is actually genuine and wants to get the tyres abroad for a vehicle there.

You're right to be cautious but I don't think this is a scam.
 
You have the money, what's the problem? Put them in a box, arrange for a courier to deliver them to Rotherham, sorted.
 
Can you actually see the details of the account that the money came from or just a reference?

I could be well wide of the mark, but I suspect this may be some sort of refund fraud and he's trying to wash the money through you.

He pays you from X account, makes up story which is deliberately designed for you to cancel the transaction, you refund to Y account. Later transaction from X account is also reversed due to fraud. You're out the full amount.
 
I just see something that looks to be a company name "Oxford Archiving" (not oxford but similar placename) and his own reference which is "subaru wheels".
 
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I can't foresee an event that would lead to that happening to be honest. But no, you're right.
Can I instruct my bank to simply reverse a payment?
 
Luke said:
I can't foresee an event that would lead to that happening to be honest. But no, you're right.
Can I instruct my bank to simply reverse a payment?
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If he tells you he cant collect, you'll need to refund him. I don't believe you can reverse a bank transfer due to data protection laws, could be wrong. Suppose you could tell the bank the money has been deposited into your account but you have no knowledge of where its come from.
 
Luke said:
But as it's outside eBay and I have the money in a non refundable way, that negates the risk doesn't it?
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Well no, you've heard stories of people getting money back mistakenly sent to an account. But considering it's overseas then maybe that won't happen.
 
My first stop would be the bank to find out in written form if this payment can ever be taken back....

If it cant then I guess let his shipping company have em!
 
How much were the wheels?? I mean I dont understand why would you want winter tires imported from UK.... Surely the delivery price would be sky-high...

Need more info tbh on what you were selling... I mean was it a bargain or something that is difficult to get?? So his transportation costs are justified?

Cause if someone for example gets an Iphone from UK and then asks it to be delivered to USA, you`d clearly think it was a scam since Iphones are cheaper in USA... Let alone the haggle of customs,delivery,warranty etc...
 
It's not ideal but you could perhaps fanny him around for a few weeks, that way you should see if he has the power to reverse the payment. It's a bit of a **** thing to if he's genuine but it seems a bit risky otherwise?

I would do what AtreuS says and talk to your bank first, see if they know if the payment is in anyway reversable.
 
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