Before I send payment, please advise me if I'm being paranoid...

blaze42 · July 9, 2006 12:56PM

I won this item on ebay for less than 1/2 of what it went for at the Hunt auction:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180003718806
What scares me is
1. Seller doesn't take paypal
2. Altho he has 199 feedbacks with 100% positive, only one is recent
3. The one recent transaction is for a purchase in April for 1948-1949 Leaf Joe DiMaggio SGC 40 - VG
that he paid $650 for and just sold today for $410
4. Today auction ended for a 8 photo series of Dimaggio HR that sold via Hunt for $300 and he only
got 1/2 of that.
5. His e-mail to me was pleasant, but I'm thinking that after paying $950 for the scrapbooks recently.... taking a $500 loss is nothing to sneeze at.
I AM RELUCTANTANT TO SEND FUNDS WITHOUT CONFIDENCE THAT HE OWNS ITEM AND WILL SEND IT. What I have to believe is that the seller bought 3 Dimaggio items recently and then flipped them a month or 2 later and lost $1000 but will honor the transactions. The fact that he took Hunt auction pics and just used them to sell on ebay is weird...why not new pics...Do you all think that Hunt will tell me if he is the buye? I have his name and address to send payment to. Should I tell him about my paranoia etc? I'm thinking that I will wait a couple of weeks to see if these recent buyers get their item and leave feedback.
All advise is appreciated!

80sJunkie · July 9, 2006 1:07PM

I'd be a little cautious too but thats just me. Sometimes when someone is buying and imediatly selling theres something fishy there or maybe it's nothing. One rule always go with your gut feeling.

storm888 · July 9, 2006 1:13PM

Wait a while.

Do not tell the seller you are "worried."

Do not lie to him about "I sent the payment."

See if Hunt will give you "a tiny" bit of info.
(If he was using their shots, and is not the
buyer, they will want to hear about it.)

Sometimes folks buy expensive stuff and have
to sell it quickly due to "financial circumstances."
The low-prices could be perfectly innocent.

storm

Carew29 · July 9, 2006 1:25PM

Send payment with Signature required.

Boopotts · July 9, 2006 2:34PM

Why would you bid if you're scared of winning.

storm888 · July 9, 2006 2:55PM

"Why would you bid if you're scared of winning."

/////////////////////////////////////////////

eBay makes people do crazy things.
eBay is the devil.

storm

montanafan · July 9, 2006 3:17PM

let me see if i have this right...

this guy buys a card for $650, then turns around and takes it in the shorts reselling it a short time later.. (it happens) he loses $250 roughly on the deal.... he might have listed the card to raise quick cash.

then, as if that doesn't suck enough for him, he's got a buyer who doesn't want to pay him because he got "too good of a deal." there goes the quick cash, and he loses $250 on the deal, plus listing fees. poor bastige seller.

added: pay the man, you owe him

Griffins · July 9, 2006 3:19PM

Get his phone number thru ebay (since you have a transaction with him) and give him a call. If it's legit you'll know when you speak to him- and he might have other items you're interested in.
Wouldn't hurt to wait a few days either, to see if anything hits the fan.

storm888 · July 9, 2006 4:23PM

Blaze:

Seriously.

I looked at the guy's history and he looks good to me.

The only things you have to hang your fears on are:

No-PayPal; Pictures in listing are from previous auction;
Price realized is less than you think it should be.

I think it looks ok, but I would still call Hunt in the morn
and tell them you saw their photos and want to know
if the person using their shots "had permission, or
bought the items."

People often need money fast, and they often throw
stuff up on eBay to raise it. Nothing odd about that.

I recall seeing some of that DiMaggio stuff a while back.
VERY nice.

storm

RichG · July 9, 2006 8:10PM

Good morning all:
1)Without a doubt, I would be concerned.

2)Without a doubt I would send payment via registered mail (or at least in a way that he needs to sign for it).

3) If this person was happy with the sale....Great! However, if he's scratching his head and now feels sorry for selling his item for such a low amount of money.......Hopefully he learned a lesson and in the future will not try to save a few pennies by starting his auction with a low first bid but instead will protect his investment and start the any auction with the first bid equaling the lowest amount he will take for the item in question.
Rich

effe · July 9, 2006 8:28PM

Do you have any of those checks they send you with your credit card? If so, I'd use one of those. I had to file a chargeback on cc check for an item I didn't receive and I was reimbursed by my cc company. I only use them when I have "uneasy feeling" about a transaction, because your cc company treats them as cash advances so there is a charge.

Wizardsguildcards · July 9, 2006 9:39PM

I would not call not accepting Paypal a hangup. Many sellers on Ebay refuse to take Paypal on items that will go above 100.00 because of their history of giving into credit card companies.

Why do people think having a Paypal account makes them safer?? Actually a scammer can go out get a small savings account. Set up a Paypal account sell a few high dollar items send all the money to the savings account or buy high dollar items on Ebay with another ID paying with those funds. Close their Paypal account by removing their bank account and Credit Card account and totally disappear in a matter of 3 to 4 days. Then they just rinse and repeat the whole process. The ease of setting up a Paypal and Ebay account make this process easier and easier.

Many times you do not get the correct mailing address and even correct name of the seller. When you mail a payment you at least get an address attached to that person as well as a name they use to cash the payments.

ColleSystem · July 9, 2006 9:48PM

This guy appears to be a casual ebay user since 1998 with no problems. He doesn't appear to have weekly auctions that would produce frequent feedbacks.

jimq112 · July 10, 2006 12:58AM

I've seen fuzzysloth on network54 and also on signings hotline, it was a few years ago but I'm pretty sure he was heavy into autographs and dimaggio. If I remember right he was pretty knowledgeable.

SKINSFAN · July 10, 2006 1:00AM

I must agree you should have thought about this before you bid.
Now its just time to pay .Dont bid if you have to think about paying

sagard · July 10, 2006 1:33AM

My thoughts:

1. Politely ask him where he got the items and tell him payment will go out shortly.
2. PayPal is a scammers tool. The buyer protection can be defeated in several ways.
3. His feedback is very good. Many of his previous sales are to sports related items. Old baseball gloves tend to be spendy.
4. He probably won the items at the Hunt auction and decided they weren't exactly what he wanted, so he sent the out.

blaze42 · July 10, 2006 3:02AM

Thanks to all...
It's no excuse, but shoot....I never thought I'd win it at that price

I haven't had a chance to contact Hunt, but will.
I have a CC check and will see if it does convey some protection

blaze42 · July 10, 2006 3:41AM

Additional thanks to effe...cc check is the way to go...and it will ....to the seller tomorrow.
Hunt won't confirm seller's connection to item but says name is familiar./
Paranoia has abated...thanks again all

blaze42 · July 24, 2006 11:03AM

Just thought I should update the transaction...
Everything went like clock work. I am curious what he thought about the losses he obviously took, but I didn't want to rub it in. FWIW..the scrapbooks were underwhelming and I will probably turn around and let them go on ebay also....(perhaps that's his reason also) Hopefully I will do a better job in the presentation of the item and not take a hit

Before I send payment, please advise me if I'm being paranoid...

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