Should I be wary?

Johnnyh

Johnnyh

Dude
I don't know if I'm just being overly paranoid, of if I actually do have a reason to be suspicious. I have a Sentinel Apeks BOV for sale, list on both CCReX and on another rebreather forum. I've been having a few back and forths via PM with someone in Estonia:

A synopsis:

XXXX said:
Subject: BOW [<-- sic]

Hi,this bow its available or not? Can you send this in Estonia. Lauri.
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then:

XXXX said:
Please send your email. I don't understand this forum. I send many message you?
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Then

XXXX said:
Hey John,

Thanks for checking the transport cost.
What about the US Postal service? I guess it would be cheaper?

Also question regarding payment, is possible to pay to you via PAYPAL?

BR,
Lauri


johnnyh said:
Hey Lauri -

Yes it's still available for $450 USD plus shipping. However I did a quick check for shipping to Estonia and I got a cost of $240 USD. That would make the cost of the BOV upwards of $790, which might be too much for you.

It is shipping from Boston, MA, postal code 02118. And I'd send it in the smallest package possible. If you know of a cheap way to get it to you let me know.

Best,
John
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Then

XXXX said:
Hey John,

Thanks, yes please check cost via US Postal.
My address:
[Address removed by me]
76505 Estonia

It would be nice to get that bow, the rebreather needs that ;)

BR,
Lauri

johnnyh said:
I'll look into the shipping cost with US Postal this week. Could you give me an address so I could get actual cost? And yes, I can do PayPal

John
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Then finally this morning I received an email (I had provided my email address)

XXXX said:
Dear John,



I am writing to you regarding the Apeks POV about what you had discussion before with Lauri in Rebreather forum.



As Lauri is away and asked me to handle the progress.



Please update me, do you have fresh information about trasnport cost via US postal service ?



Thanks and best regards,

Indrek
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Somehow this seems scammy - but I have no idea how. Am I being nuts?

Thanks,
John

John Hanzl

Author, Out of Hell's Kitchen
www.outofhellskitchen.com
 
It matters a lot. Cause he can claim it never arrived. In that case paypal doesn't pay out and you have a problem.
Never use paypal when selling items.
 
Just send it recomended so he needs to sign for it.
I have a few friends in Estonia, i can ask if they know these guys.
 
Olaf Bontes said:
It matters a lot. Cause he can claim it never arrived. In that case paypal doesn't pay out and you have a problem.
Never use paypal when selling items.
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i sell a lot using paypal , when it arives in my account , i first remove it once in my account i send ,always tracked and signed for
mike
 
I think you're being overly concerned. USPS flat rate international will be the cheapest by far, but only gets tracked while in the US. Once it leaves the country, there is no way to track it. If he claims he never got it, he could be scamming, but it is just as likely that it "disappeared" in transit. Often it will eventually show up.

Explain it and offer 2 choices. Option 1 involves higher cost but less risk and can be tracked the whole way, like FedEx or UPS. Option 2 is cheaper with USPS but they have to agree to assume the risk. Send them the US tracking info link and they can take it from there. And like Mike said, remove the money from your Paypal account once you get it.


Please pardon any typos. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
sounds scummy to me. More interested in the postage than the item.(Which has been described as a POV and a BOW. Can anyone who knows the lingo confirm if these are Estonian terms for a BOV? Two typos seems a bit suspect) As suggested, I would get payment via paypal, transfer it to your bank account and then send the BOV
 
Transferring money out of PayPal doesn't protect you. If they find against you, they will pursue recovery.

Options are:

- proper carrier with signature on receipt
- they pay via bank transfer, or paypal gift
- escrow...either commercial or via a trusted local member.

Fwiw, I think your paranoia is appropriate...
 
Yeah, perhaps the broken English is also not helping.

What I would do?

1. Setup a eBay 'buy it now' auction and tell them to use that - you and the buyer are then covered. (yes it will costs 3-4%)
2. Send only via UPS/DHL/Fedex - need signature at the other end
3. Only send to verified postal address associated with the paypal account.

The POV, BOW spelling thing is odd...
 
To be a bit blunt - asking US$240 shipping is outrageous! With minimal effort you could post it via USPS prority air mail, AND have it signed for on delivery much cheaper. Consider it good ju-ju to help out another diver. (I've had tems of thousamds of dollars of musical instruments shipped to me this way. Not one lost)

His emails are exactly what I would be doing, apart from the getting another person to finish the transaction off. In this case, just say you will wait for their return, unless another seller pops up. Their fault for being slow off the mark!

cheers

Andy
 
Looks fine to me - but it's either PayPal and Tracked or Bank Transfer and USPS.

If he's legit, he'll take the latter option.

Matt.
 
Thanks for the info guys. As it turns out - I'm not selling the BOV regardless - well, now it'll be sold with a Sentinel attached...
 
Not sure how it would work with this. I have a brother with the treasury dept. who checked out a similar situation for me. I had the same kind of emails to buy a car and wanted to pay with paypal. I was told if I had a legitimate shipper to pick up the car, paypal would be on the hook if the money was bad on the other side. If an individual picked up the car, it was on me. The scams they run into are unbelievable. I told this person the car had to be picked up by a licensed car shipper and that was the last I heard of her.
 
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