Crazy scam---this is why I often use Zelle electronic money transfer---even people who don't have a Zelle account can easily set one up with your bank---transfer takes mere minutes and you get confirmation just as quick and money is immediately available to you in your bank account! Anytime someone starts with the I do this, this and this and you do this, this and that, it's a scam! Real transactions are simple and quick, not convoluted and weird... And no, I don't work for Zelle!
Serious question on internet sales
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RC44Mag
Bearcat
More red flags than a Chi-com parade.
Zelle might be easy and quick - HOWEVER - a buyer is not protected - once the money is transferred from your account, it's gone - you have no recourse if you get scammed and never receive what you thought you were buying.
From the Zellepay.com site: Why is trusting someone critical? Because you can't cancel a payment once it's been sent if the recipient is already enrolled with Zelle®. And if you send money to someone you don't know for a product or service you might not receive, you may not get your money back. Keep in mind that sending money with Zelle® is like using cash.
To me an obvious scam, the “buyer” uses a fraudulent or stolen credit card number and by the time you find out about it, he is gone with the goods because you shipped them the same day the MO was created.
I have driven a long way to do a FTF transaction in order to get the items I wanted and to minimize the angst of the seller.
In my opinion, He wanted you to jump thru too many hoops, so even if he was a legit, if somewhat of an oddball, buyer, i would have declined his request and told him the only way to complete the transaction was to put the MO in the mail and when the funds clear, then the goods will ship or do a FTF at your local LEO office and you bring CASH! That usually ends the scam right there!
I have driven a long way to do a FTF transaction in order to get the items I wanted and to minimize the angst of the seller.
In my opinion, He wanted you to jump thru too many hoops, so even if he was a legit, if somewhat of an oddball, buyer, i would have declined his request and told him the only way to complete the transaction was to put the MO in the mail and when the funds clear, then the goods will ship or do a FTF at your local LEO office and you bring CASH! That usually ends the scam right there!
either the guy is screwy as can be or it's a scam and the latter is more likely..... but I can't figure out how it is a scam.... but then I've never been very good at these con games... just got an email that the Bank of America is sending me 3.5 million dollars from some Swiss bank because I'm a good person and this will help out the U.S. economy.... I read the email with more typos than I usually make and could not fathom how anyone would believe it and get tangle up in such....
kcsteve
Single-Sixer
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2010
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- 178
Watch out for internet sellers. I told my wife that I had ordered her a diamond necklace for her birthday and they sent me a case of 9mm ammo. What luck.
The 'hoops', odds are he's a teenager who thinks he's hip and aware. Understand that for the most part some view us as barefoot banjo players.
Hopefully you realize that as of today a good many of the online shops dealing in ammo or guns are fraudulent sites. Your clue is if you have never dealt with them before and they claim they have it in stock. When your regular shop hasn't in months.
powder smoke
Hawkeye
Exactly the seller is in charge! They can take it or leave it. End of story!
contender
Ruger Guru
Ok, an update.
First off, the items I was selling were a pair of Hunter western style gun belts, a separate holster & an ammo carrier. NOT A FIREARM!
I went by my PO today, to see if he had called there like he claimed to having done. Nope! A lie.
Next, I did back door contact an administrator, just in case the guy was legit, and had been hacked. I did so quietly.
Apparently, he is the actual member trying this. Not a hacker. And he's not a teenager or whatever,, as he mentioned using one of these belts, and letting his son use the other in a soon to happen hunt. (I know, he could be spinning a yarn.)
I'm awaiting instructions from the admins at to my next option.
And this; "In my opinion, He wanted you to jump thru too many hoops, so even if he was a legit, if somewhat of an oddball, buyer, i would have declined his request and told him the only way to complete the transaction was to put the MO in the mail and when the funds clear, then the goods will ship or do a FTF at your local LEO office and you bring CASH!"
I said this exact type of thing to him in a few different text messages. I said he could still do a FTF,, but he declined. I was going to suggest we meet at the Lake Lure Police Dept. And I allowed him the option of just mailing me a check or money order several times, let it arrive, and I'd make sure it cleared, and then I'd ship. He insisted that a money order did not need time to clear. He kept wanting me to ship the stuff at the same time he was supposedly buying the money order. Saying I could send him tracking info, and I'd have my m/o in hand.
I never bothered to mention that there are FAKE USPS money orders out there.
I guess what got me was his attitude in how I would not do what he wanted me to do. AND the insinuation that he might get ripped off. (He mentioned stolen money orders, empty packages, no guarantee I'd ship.) I actually sent him pictures of the belts & stuff, before we agreed on a price. AND I sent him a picture of the package ready to ship. It just did not have the postage on it.
So, my take is that he may have been trying to get something for nothing. Or, he may feel he can't trust the time proven methods of payment via normal USPS mail. Or, (and my gut says this is the issue,) he decided that he couldn't afford it and didn't want to admit it.
Either way,, I'll let the admins on that site figure out what's best for this. Their site, their rules & they decide what's best for the Forum!
First off, the items I was selling were a pair of Hunter western style gun belts, a separate holster & an ammo carrier. NOT A FIREARM!
I went by my PO today, to see if he had called there like he claimed to having done. Nope! A lie.
Next, I did back door contact an administrator, just in case the guy was legit, and had been hacked. I did so quietly.
Apparently, he is the actual member trying this. Not a hacker. And he's not a teenager or whatever,, as he mentioned using one of these belts, and letting his son use the other in a soon to happen hunt. (I know, he could be spinning a yarn.)
I'm awaiting instructions from the admins at to my next option.
And this; "In my opinion, He wanted you to jump thru too many hoops, so even if he was a legit, if somewhat of an oddball, buyer, i would have declined his request and told him the only way to complete the transaction was to put the MO in the mail and when the funds clear, then the goods will ship or do a FTF at your local LEO office and you bring CASH!"
I said this exact type of thing to him in a few different text messages. I said he could still do a FTF,, but he declined. I was going to suggest we meet at the Lake Lure Police Dept. And I allowed him the option of just mailing me a check or money order several times, let it arrive, and I'd make sure it cleared, and then I'd ship. He insisted that a money order did not need time to clear. He kept wanting me to ship the stuff at the same time he was supposedly buying the money order. Saying I could send him tracking info, and I'd have my m/o in hand.
I never bothered to mention that there are FAKE USPS money orders out there.
I guess what got me was his attitude in how I would not do what he wanted me to do. AND the insinuation that he might get ripped off. (He mentioned stolen money orders, empty packages, no guarantee I'd ship.) I actually sent him pictures of the belts & stuff, before we agreed on a price. AND I sent him a picture of the package ready to ship. It just did not have the postage on it.
So, my take is that he may have been trying to get something for nothing. Or, he may feel he can't trust the time proven methods of payment via normal USPS mail. Or, (and my gut says this is the issue,) he decided that he couldn't afford it and didn't want to admit it.
Either way,, I'll let the admins on that site figure out what's best for this. Their site, their rules & they decide what's best for the Forum!
Good to hear contender it all worked out and you didn't get scam.
My final thoughts after reading your latest post.
#1 - He is indeed legit but had never bought like this off the internet and was being overly cautious because of the stories he's heard/read. However still best to avoid because he could also be a nitpicker who would later accuse you of misrepresentation.
#2 - Depending on his age he could have alzheimer's/dementia. There's a forum member here that possibly has it and his story is scary.
This was an interesting and exciting thread, let us know if we can be of any more service.
My final thoughts after reading your latest post.
#1 - He is indeed legit but had never bought like this off the internet and was being overly cautious because of the stories he's heard/read. However still best to avoid because he could also be a nitpicker who would later accuse you of misrepresentation.
#2 - Depending on his age he could have alzheimer's/dementia. There's a forum member here that possibly has it and his story is scary.
This was an interesting and exciting thread, let us know if we can be of any more service.
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Sounds to me like the guy is screwy as a bed bug.... postal money order is in reality cash... but the thing about waiting for a check to clear is a joke to. Other than big checks for thousands of dollars, checks clear in 24 hours max. I've bought a lot of items. (too many) over the internet from gun folks and prefer sending a check. I think the key to buying this way is to do one's due diligence and check out the person you are sending the money to. Example... over 21,000 post on a single forum tells me the guy is not going to rip me off.
Aqualung
Blackhawk
I think the buyer is just too impatient and, as you put it, "wants something for nothing". He's also misunderstanding the situation that as with any other remote-sales situation, the seller has the position of power/advantage. Maybe not misunderstanding, but unwilling to accept the situation and is trying some convoluted means of "balancing the scales". To try to do so through the USPS is risky on his part, because that's one outfit that doesn't mess around with fraud.
It takes a big leap of faith to send money to an internet stranger, especially in this internet world that is rife with scams and fraud...
That said, the seller assumes risks, too, depending on what he/she will accept for payment.
I'm currently in the process of a transaction with someone on another forum. We exchanged cell phone numbers (he texted me a pic of the item) and I sent him a pic of my personal check with his name on it and the addressed envelope and told him it went into the mailbox yesterday. He didn't ask for that, I just did it to show him a bit of good faith on my part. While it would be really nice of him to send the item to me so the check and the item pass each other in transit, I don't expect him to do so until he gets the check and the funds are taken out of my bank account.
I've bought and sold on forums and on ArmsList a few times and have had good results in every instance, so have been fortunate. I've met guys in parking lots of shopping centers to do FTF deals and have generally ended up shooting the breeze with them for quite a while when doing so.
Contender, I think you're right to have your "Spidey senses" tingling with that buyer...
Best of luck for future sales.
Aqualung
It takes a big leap of faith to send money to an internet stranger, especially in this internet world that is rife with scams and fraud...
That said, the seller assumes risks, too, depending on what he/she will accept for payment.
I'm currently in the process of a transaction with someone on another forum. We exchanged cell phone numbers (he texted me a pic of the item) and I sent him a pic of my personal check with his name on it and the addressed envelope and told him it went into the mailbox yesterday. He didn't ask for that, I just did it to show him a bit of good faith on my part. While it would be really nice of him to send the item to me so the check and the item pass each other in transit, I don't expect him to do so until he gets the check and the funds are taken out of my bank account.
I've bought and sold on forums and on ArmsList a few times and have had good results in every instance, so have been fortunate. I've met guys in parking lots of shopping centers to do FTF deals and have generally ended up shooting the breeze with them for quite a while when doing so.
Contender, I think you're right to have your "Spidey senses" tingling with that buyer...
Best of luck for future sales.
Aqualung
I would go with what your local P.O. tells you. By the time you went thru all the hassle this guy was trying to get you to go thru, you could have received payment thru the mail. I'd steer clear of anything that was that complicated. If you can't report this to your site moderators, I'd say that something is wrong with that site.
contender
Ruger Guru
buckaroo, the guy claims to having done other sales like he described to me. But you hit upon something that we've discussed around here. He may have mental issues of some sort that caused this.
blume,, yes,, a real usps money order is like a check or cash. Easily cashed, as long as it's not a counterfeit m/o. (Yes, there are fake usps money orders.) And a normal personal check can take a day or two to clear a bank. Normally 3 days & all is good.
Newtire,, I'm in communication with a couple of Admins on that site already.
blume,, yes,, a real usps money order is like a check or cash. Easily cashed, as long as it's not a counterfeit m/o. (Yes, there are fake usps money orders.) And a normal personal check can take a day or two to clear a bank. Normally 3 days & all is good.
Newtire,, I'm in communication with a couple of Admins on that site already.
WV460hunter
Bearcat
One word..scam
black1970
Single-Sixer
No way.
RSIno1
Hunter
Was his area code even the same as yours? If not his offer to "drop by with cash" was bogus.
I would have written this guy off 3 minutes in.
I would have written this guy off 3 minutes in.
contender
Ruger Guru
Yes,, his area code was correct for his address. And so far,, it appears he's the actual person who was wanting to do the trade.
I went by my PO again today to get my mail, and the senior Postmaster was there. He & I know each other very well. And his words to me were; "I know you, and I know your card & such are good, but by regulations, I could not do what that guy wanted to do."
I think, after all I've learned so far,, this guy is just a bit weird & as my Dad used to say; "His glue never dried!"
I went by my PO again today to get my mail, and the senior Postmaster was there. He & I know each other very well. And his words to me were; "I know you, and I know your card & such are good, but by regulations, I could not do what that guy wanted to do."
I think, after all I've learned so far,, this guy is just a bit weird & as my Dad used to say; "His glue never dried!"
scam and too much brain damage, stay away
