I've got a bad feeling about this, what are your thoughts?

[Dechande]

Bit of an odd one, I've not made a post like this before, never had to I suppose.

I saw an ad for an aeg on another forum, it's one I've had my eye on but was advertised as faulty. messaged the seller to ask a few questions, agreed to buy. But, the seller has been a bit odd since then so I'm not sure what to make of it.

I'll put up what has been said, anonymously, I'd be interested to hear what some of you chaps think/would have done?

- Me -  Hello,I'm looking to buy a UAR, I was looking at a new one in the UK for £135 but saw yours for sale also. If I buy one, I'll be looking to upgrade it. Potentially I could buy yours and fix it instead of buying new.What sort of condition is it in externally?Ideally, I'd want to pay around half the cost of a new one for one that needs repair.All the best,Adam

- Seller -  The external and condition of it is brand new, it was tested to chrono to be sold and was faulty.If you wish to buy I can probably take slight money off, but I am not preprared to drastically reduce as posting it will cost around £20 by courier. Let me know if you would like to buy.

Later on,

- Seller - Well I could drop to £95 as shipping & packaging and fees will cost me £20.00This package with all the mags brand new cost more (at trade pricing) than what I'm selling it for.I had contacted APS direct for replacement or ro be sent parts under their warranty but their response is yet to reach me. I just need to sell to gain some funds back as its dead money currently.Essentially you would be paying £75 + £20 for post, packing and fees.

- Me -  Ok, I'll have a think about it,thanks.

- Seller -  just some more info, had an email back from APS and apparently its an easy fix with an out of line selector lever and the connection bars...

- Me -  Ok, go on then!Can I get your details before I send payment please?My details:(I gave my full name, address, mobile number, Ukara number and where it was registered)

- Seller -  My PayPal details are -removed-once I've finished work and received funds, I'll get the item packaged up and sent out forwarding you the receipt for the shipping invoice (i.e. tracking). 
 

- Me -  Can I get your name, address and a contact number before I send payment please?

- Seller -  I don't understand why you need my details for your purchase? this isn't a trade sale and I'm not bound anything do you ask the same from any other 2nd hand purchases you do? ie bootfairs ebay and so on. 

- Me -  Everytime I buy something on a forum (which is fairly often), I get the details of the seller in case there's an issue. On some forums, the rules state that both parties have to swap details.I've been buying and selling airsoft kit for over 15 years, in that time, I've been scammed twice (i.e. not received anything). Having the full details of the seller shows trust and meant I got my money back in both cases. I'm not saying you're a scammer, obviously, but a lot of it happens, especially on forums.I also trade on ebay, once you buy something, you get the option on ebay to request the seller's details, this will be given by ebay, and ebay notify the seller that the buyer has made the request. Ebay give the name, address and phone number on record. I bought a pistol off this forum yesterday, it was near Glastonbury, I drove down there and made the deal face to face, in that instance I wouldn't need the seller's details, although i had them in order to find his house, obviously.Common sense is you shouldn't send money to strangers on the internet without getting some contact details first.

- Seller -  Ok thats fine, but I do not wish to pass my details on and have never had to before, over 12yrs of being involved with airsoft and or being on this forum for many years.I do not wish to scam you in the slightest, I am also part of the airsoft retail trade. But it is my desicion who I release my details to and in this circumstance as the item is classed as 2nd hand I am in no obligation (by law) to pass on any of my details for this transaction. Paypal is used to cover any disputes between sellers and buyers. If you wish to still purchase you can PayPal the funds over to the email supplied. 

- Me - I gave you my details, and I've never had anyone refuse to give theirs in return. Your feedback score is only 10, with only one of those in the last year, only 2 in the last 3 years. Your forum activity only shows sales posts, but without the feedback to back up completed deals.People get around paypal rules by sending out tracked empty boxes, meaning paypal won't refund the buyer, the protection provided is certainly not infallible.If you're not willing to provide me with any information about yourself, I'm not willing to send money. Are you seriously telling me, that you send money blindly on the internet to strangers without any contact information? If so, that's ridiculous. You're being 'part of the airsoft retail trade' doesn't tell me anything, Stephen Glennie (see the Lost Souls section for a thread about the worst scammer airsoft has probably ever seen), he claimed the same. Anyone could say that.

- Seller -  I find you very rude by your approach to be honest, by the tone/manner of your recent replies.Not for the fact of your request, that is viable, but I maintain, I do not have to give such information as a second hand seller. As you are purchasing your details are used to post the items to you on the shipping labels for the items. As for the request for my full details, I do not wish to disclose, I have been a victim of fraud before, something as simple as someones full name and address can give access to many possibilities. My activity via this forum is somewhat limited I agree, but what there is, is all positive feedback.I do not appreciate you stating "ridiculous" to the fact of paying people money to send items. I have never done this before .the only way I can see to resolve this is if you wish to add me on Facebook. I am happy to add you via there and discuss if that further reassures you 

This did put my back up, I felt I had not been rude at all. Something I find rude is when people don't start a message with 'hello' or end a message with 'thanks' or some such, or not signing off with their name at the least on first contact. These were things the seller hadn't done once, so I didn't even know his first name.

- Me -  It has certainly not been my intention to come across as rude, I'm sorry you feel that way.I am, however, surprised that you won't share your details, especially as I have a lot of feedback, including recently.If you want to send me a friend request on Facebook, that would be fine.

At this stage I had decided not to buy as something felt off, I've never seen such a cagey seller before.

If there was any chance I might still buy, it was if, via Facebook, he'd add me and then I'd have some form of contact outside of a forum.

Now, despite it being the seller's suggestion, he didn't add me just sent a message:

- Seller -  Hello, believe we have been speaking on -forum-

- Me - Hello, yes we have.

This is where I realised he hadn't added me, but I had a look at his profile. There was a picture of someone appearing to be playing airsoft, his banner picture was like an advert for a retailer, with a name, website address and phone number. As he had mentioned his 'part in the airsoft retail trade' previously, I asked if it was his company:

- Me - Is -name of company in profile banner' your company?

- Seller -  Why do you ask Adam?

- Me - Because it's your profile picture. You do seem paranoid/cagey which I'm not sure what to make of.

- Seller -  my general personality matey... people have to earn my trust usually.

- Me -  It's usually the seller's place to earn the trust of the buyer...

I never got a reply after that, and it has certainly removed any chance of me from buying from this seller. Now, I don't know if he is dodgy, but I feel he comes across that way. I was never asked if I had a defence to buy a RIF either.

I realise there's a lot of text here, and I know not many people will want to read it all, of course, but if you get this far, I'd like to know what your thoughts are (and thanks for taking the time ). Does he seem dodgy to you? Do you think it's unreasonable to swap contact details (something, I've always done and thought was common practice)?

 

[shane213]

Swapping contact details I think should be standard, obviously if he was a scammer he could just give you false details but nothing you can do about that. As long as you pay via paypal using the normal method and none of this familey and friends crap, you should be covered if he did scam you. However his cageyness would have put me off for sure and the fact he appears to be a business of some type, and refussing to provide on any details just adds to the speculation somthing may not be 100% right.

 

[Dentonboy]

A good example of why I'd only buy something from a forum from a long-term member and one with consistent feedback. I often see if people leaving the feedback are themselves long-term members too.

 

[Sitting Duck]

The bloke is giving you his paypal details - why ???

Was or did he send you a paypal invoice for "Sporting Goods"

or

was he expecting you to gift him the funds or send payment to friends etc....

If he has yours then that is all he needs to send your paypal account a paypal invoice

OK there a few people on here I'll gift stuff to coz I know & trust them

(plus if I have money/funds already in my account then there are no fees to pay anyway)

Me personally.....

I'd have sent you a paypal invoice & my mobile number if I didn't wish to disclose my addy to tom dick harry

AND honestly explain that a "Sporting Goods" invoice & mobile should cover most people's concerns

AND if that still wasn't enough I'd have given you some people to contact for reference most likely

but still wouldn't have taken offense I don't think, well not too much

How many mags is included coz you get 2- large & stubby mag in UAR's

plus should get m100 + 110 + 120 springs I think

£20 postage - hmm £15 should of covered it I would of thought

PITA buy/selling stuff, I'd rather drive 50 miles and pay cash £75

or - f*ck it, buy new from TWG - shame coz they were doing 10% off stuff end of Feb

free shipping is I think 135 Euro @ TWG

Yeah some bells are starting to ring a little...

Bloke getting the ar$e - though he may not want his addy known to all those weirdos out there like me

Did he send you an invoice or expect you to gift it with/without paying the fees ???

If it is such an easy fix then why don't he sort it and sell for top dollar ???

Bloke could be genuine and might have just $hit the bed a little when you asked for more info

Me personally I would of checked your UKARA out and if that was legit then my details could be sent afterwards

(If you are honest with me then I will be honest with you so to speak)

Even people with great feedback can go rouge & scam people

or stolen ebay/paypal details etc......

Look at the bastid that was scamming people 6 months back selling stuff on his/friends paypal account

then staging a Help for Hero fund raiser skirmish and kept all the money raised - f*cking sick scamming c**t

I can understand his reluctance to disclose all his details perhaps

but if somebody was collecting it then he would have to disclose it anyway I would of thought

Airsoft is all based on trust, honesty, integrity and all that other stuff....

Him getting the ar$e perhaps raises some concerns, but he could of handled it better I'd say

I'd forget about it and move on - if he wants to get uptight then f*ck it

I would save and buy a working one from TWG instead than run a slight risk of seller/gun not performing properly

well that is my take on this with what you posted so far

 

[Dechande]

Thanks for the replies guys, I'm glad it's not just me that thought he was being odd.

Sitting Duck, he didn't send an invoice just his paypal address. I'd have settled for a mobile number and name to be honest, but he just seems too difficult.

Thanks for the tip about TWG, I just had a look for a UAR on there, only £116.15. It says I only have to spend another £2.14 to get free shipping as well, not used them before, but that's a great deal, thank you!

 

[AshOnSnow]

I'd avoid this one if i were you.

He's starting to sound like John Malkovich's character in Red.

 

[Albiscuit]

lol... yeah a bit off, if our honest then why the need to be cagey? Im a bit paranoid with online details etc but if im tring to sell something proving my intentions and credentials are not a problem!!

Glad you avoided, sounded like it may have caused you a headache

 

[Max2000]

When he refused to give you his details (when you gave him yours) made it a bit strange for me, as there should be no hassle with that.

What can a scammer do if you pay on paypal using that friends and family method? What is the difference to the normal payment?

I have recently found what I want and the seller told me to pay with family and friends. The seller looks/sounds genuine, have been on a website for 7 years, sold 32+ items and has some items on sale. I guess I should pay using the normal method. He is going to send the item Saturday morning (using Parcelforce 48) and will send me the tracking details straight away. The item should arrive Tuesday (maybe Monday)

 

[jcheeseright]

When he refused to give you his details (when you gave him yours) made it a bit strange for me, as there should be no hassle with that.

What can a scammer do if you pay on paypal using that friends and family method? What is the difference to the normal payment?

I have recently found what I want and the seller told me to pay with family and friends. The seller looks/sounds genuine, have been on a website for 7 years, sold 32+ items and has some items on sale. I guess I should pay using the normal method. He is going to send the item Saturday morning (using Parcelforce 48) and will send me the tracking details straight away. The item should arrive Tuesday (maybe Monday)

Is this a joke?! Never use friends and family, you have ZERO comeback if you get scammed. 

 

[Sitting Duck]

Is this a joke?! Never use friends and family, you have ZERO comeback if you get scammed. 

101% agree with the above -

f*ck it send me a paypal invoice like it should be the norm

If a seller is legit then he has nowt to worry about the payment being processed properly with invoice for payment etc....

Yes you can gift stuff but first time purchase from a bloke you don't know from Adam ain't worth it

Already said some good sellers who have sold stuff with great feedback n stuff have gone rogue

So a bloke you don't know from Adam is not wise....

Gifting people you don't know or trust 101% is just not worth it

Gifting it means just that - he hasn't got to send send you anything and you have no comeback

It just isn't worth it - so don't do this stuff

if it goes tits up on a gift you might as well chuck ya wallet out the window

(still think you would have more chance of getting your wallet back - might be empty but you might be more lucky)

Final thought....

You give him your paypal addy, he then logs into his paypal and generates a paypal invoice in under 60 seconds

That arrives at your paypal account and you get an email notification to pay it - simple tidy stuff

If the seller comes back with some ol' bollox about the hassle of a paypal invoice crap....

If he can't be ar$ed to invoice you for a so called AEG sale through paypal

Then what on earth makes you think the seller will be ar$ed to actually wrap it all up and bother to post it off to ya ??

JUST DON'T DO IT