solo4652 Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 (edited) I have my Fernandes bass on Gumtree. This morning, I had an enquiry from somebody who describes himself as: "...from London, UK" and "...i'm a very busy man working all day, am an (Operating officer) am presently on-board, i'll be looking forward to the total cost of the shipping and buying i dont mind adding extra £50 for helping me please i really need to get them send to [my son in Texas] as a birthday gift..." Hmmmmm. My antennae are in full twitch mode here. I've said that I will only proceed if he pays me for the bass up-front via Pay Pal. He'll need to send me his email address so I can send him a payment request. He will need to pay for and organise a courier and insurance. He will be completely responsible for any US import/sales duties. I am happy to pack the bass securely, and drop it off at a courier, or wait in for collection. What do we think, people? Edited July 7, 2019 by solo4652 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ead Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 As Iron Maiden once sang "Run to the hills, run for your life." 6 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreadBin Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 Dodgy, I bet they want to pay by Western Union money transfer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazzbass Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 also kinda depends on whether you are in the UK or US. Personally, I'd run away, too many things to go wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor J Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 His son is in Texas now? He used to live in Nigeria. 3 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solo4652 Posted July 5, 2019 Author Share Posted July 5, 2019 1 minute ago, bazzbass said: also kinda depends on whether you are in the UK or US. Personally, I'd run away, too many things to go wrong. I'm in Stockport. Ball's in his court to send me his private email address for PayPal payment request to be sent. I'm also waiting for him to ask for my address and phone number to pass onto a courier. I rather think I'll have quite a long wait! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solo4652 Posted July 5, 2019 Author Share Posted July 5, 2019 I'm also slightly intrigued why somebody would want to pay over £300 to import this bass - nice as it is - to the USA, when something like a MIM bass would be a much easier and simpler buy for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Pickguard Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 Its a common scam. There's absolutely no point in replying to these criminals. Delete the email & move on. If he messaged via gumtree, report him. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franzbassist Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 7 minutes ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said: Its a common scam. There's absolutely no point in replying to these criminals. Delete the email & move on. If he messaged via gumtree, report him. This +1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsmedunc Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 (edited) Don't get paid by PayPal! All he needs to do is say he hasn't received the bass and they will refund his money. It's happened to me before and PayPal paid the buyer out despite having proof of delivery to the right address. You will not be able to claim on any insurance either as of course a delivery company will have proof of delivery. Be very careful. Edited July 5, 2019 by itsmedunc 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 18 minutes ago, solo4652 said: I have my Fernandes bass on Gumtree. This morning, I had an enquiry from somebody who describes himself as: "...from London, UK" and "...i'm a very busy man working all day, am an (Operating officer) am presently on-board, i'll be looking forward to the total cost of the shipping and buying i dont mind adding extra £50 for helping me please i really need to get them send to [my son in Texas] as a birthday gift..." Hmmmmm. My antennae are in full twitch mode here. I've said that I will only proceed if he pays me for the bass up-front via Pay Pal. He'll need to send me his email address so I can send him a payment request. He will need to pay for and organise a courier and insurance. He will be completely responsible for any US import/sales duties. I am happy to pack the bass securely, and drop it off at a courier, or wait in for collection. What do we think, people? Nah.... There are so many ways to scam people out of their money on Gumtree and this sounds like one of them. Take cash, at your door, from the person who is buying directly from you, or don't sell it at all. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrixn1 Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 4 minutes ago, itsmedunc said: PayPal paid the buyer out despite having proof of delivery to the right address. You will not be able to claim on any insurance either as of course a delivery company will have proof of delivery. It's even worse in OP's case, since he isn't organizing the courier and so won't have access to proof of delivery or even proof of postage. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solo4652 Posted July 5, 2019 Author Share Posted July 5, 2019 (edited) 10 minutes ago, itsmedunc said: Don't get paid by PayPal! All he needs to do is say he hasn't received the bass and they will refund his money. It's happened to me before and PayPal paid the buyer out despite having proof of delivery to the right address. You will not be able to claim on any insurance either as of course a delivery company will have proof of delivery. Be very careful. Really!?. And there's me thinking that payment via PayPal would give me some protection... Edited July 5, 2019 by solo4652 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 Scam. That is all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taunton-hobbit Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 I hate sending stuff overseas, had one parcel go to somewhere near Russia - got paid, much to my surprise, the latest was an American gentleman who seemed to think I was going to send a basically uwrapped Marshall valve amp............hmm............... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solo4652 Posted July 5, 2019 Author Share Posted July 5, 2019 Just now, taunton-hobbit said: I hate sending stuff overseas, had one parcel go to somewhere near Russia - got paid, much to my surprise, the latest was an American gentleman who seemed to think I was going to send a basically uwrapped Marshall valve amp............hmm............... Two weeks ago, I sent a £650 bass to Belgium. Up-front payment via PayPal. EU, of course, so no concerns about VAT or import duties. Very helpful buyer who volunteered all necessary information without being asked for it. Smooth and worry-free transaction. This is most certainly not how I'm feeling about our friend the "Operating Officer" who is currently "On board..."! If/when he replies, I'll politely tell him to get lost. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleOhStephan Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 Yeah I've had a very similar response to a car ad earlier in the year. Total scam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlfer Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 46 minutes ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said: Its a common scam. There's absolutely no point in replying to these criminals. Delete the email & move on. If he messaged via gumtree, report him. Bang on. Every time I put anything up on Bumtree I get a reply within an hour to send details as they are asking for their boss/uncle/dad/client/clairvoyant/pet cat, whatever. Block & delete 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldslapper Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 Same scam when I was teaching. “Son (always a son) is over from USA/Nigeria/Burnley/etc for 2 weeks, teach him every day, I’ll pay you in advance, etc etc, give me your bank details and I’ll put the money in there ..like now” Knobs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor J Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 29 minutes ago, solo4652 said: Two weeks ago, I sent a £650 bass to Belgium. Up-front payment via PayPal. EU, of course, so no concerns about VAT or import duties. Very helpful buyer who volunteered all necessary information without being asked for it. Smooth and worry-free transaction. This is most certainly not how I'm feeling about our friend the "Operating Officer" who is currently "On board..."! If/when he replies, I'll politely tell him to get lost. Don’t even reply. It’s a well known scam. This person is a criminal trying to steal from you. You don’t need to be polite or explain anything. Just block them and don’t waste any more of your time on them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Steve Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 see here: https://blogs.quickheal.com/quikr-scam-alert-beware-of-the-distance-buyers-scam/ and here: https://startsat60.com/discover/lifestyle/style/the-gumtree-scam-catching-out-innocent-sellers 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikNik Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 Those ones that pop up right away and ask if you'll take it down right now, offering your price (or a lot more) via PayPal and then say they'll send an 'agent' or courier to pick up your gear.....avoid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsmedunc Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 3 hours ago, solo4652 said: Really!?. And there's me thinking that payment via PayPal would give me some protection... In my case, it gave me no protection. Have a quick search on Google. It's a common scam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solo4652 Posted July 5, 2019 Author Share Posted July 5, 2019 6 minutes ago, itsmedunc said: In my case, it gave me no protection. Have a quick search on Google. It's a common scam. Well, I've learned something very useful there about PayPal. As for the Gumtree scammer, I've deleted and blocked him, and reported him to Gumtree. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solo4652 Posted July 5, 2019 Author Share Posted July 5, 2019 1 hour ago, Monkey Steve said: see here: https://blogs.quickheal.com/quikr-scam-alert-beware-of-the-distance-buyers-scam/ and here: https://startsat60.com/discover/lifestyle/style/the-gumtree-scam-catching-out-innocent-sellers Thanks for those links. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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