Suspicious activity in classifieds ?

[retnull]

I placed an ad in the classifieds. A buyer in Europe committed to the deal. He paid via Paypal. The amount sent was in Euros, though my asking price was in US Dollars. I then received a message claiming a "mistake" was made, asking me to refund the difference (approx 200 usd).

This is classic scam behavior, so I denied the Paypal transaction and will not sell the item to this person.

This would-be buyer has just joined RFF and does not have any posting history.

What is your advice: should I post this RFF member's name/identity to prevent further problems?

 

[Gumby]

Why don't you ask the buyer to resubmit payment in USD before you brand him/her a Nigerian scammer? Maybe you can complete the transaction without embarassment to either party.

 

[Instantclassic]

What is the problem? He made the payment in the stronger current and that covers your asked price with a great margin. I think the proper behaviour is to send the item and refund the 200USD minus the PayPal fee. You can make the currency conversion at www.xe.com 😀

 

[Nando]

I've made a similar mistake in the past. I once intended to make a payment with Canadian funds and accidentally sent US funds.

 

[Paul T.]

It's a simple transaction to refund via PayPal, you can do it from the main account page. Then ask him to re-send. If his address is Verified, why suspect a scam? I know he's in Europe, and all, but we're not all socialist scamsters.

 

[Gumby]

I've made a similar mistake in the past. I once intended to make a payment with Canadian funds and accidentally sent US funds.

So, out of curiousity, what was the "proper behaviour" in your situation... did you resubmit in the requested currency of did the seller compute/send a refund?

 

[ferider]

This is classic scam behavior, so I denied the Paypal transaction and will not sell the item to this person.

Why ? I've had buyers in the past do mistakes like that, sent money from the wrong account, etc. Just let him resend the money in Dollars.

Roland.

 

[coelacanth]

My understanding is by using Paypal refund function, you are canceling the transaction, not actually keeping the received funds and sending "different" money to the buyer. So there should be no no danger of you being double charged in the end.

 

[retnull]

To be clear: I instantly "denied" the transaction on the Paypal site, which instantly refunds the money to the buyer.

The would-be buyer did not have a verified Paypal address.
There were other reasons I found the potential transaction suspicious.

My question was not "How to handle the transaction?" but "Should I post the name of the potential buyer here?"

 

[retnull]

What is the problem? He made the payment in the stronger current and that covers your asked price with a great margin. I think the proper behaviour is to send the item and refund the 200USD minus the PayPal fee. You can make the currency conversion at www.xe.com 😀

The problem is, it is a common scam: with an unverified address, the seller could lose not only the item, but the refunded "difference".

 

[kully]

'retnull' - the answer to the second comes from the answers to the first.

So, what were the other reasons?

 

[johannielscom]

...

This would-be buyer has just joined RFF and does not have any posting history.

...

And he makes a mistake with the currency. Sounds to me this is someone just getting acquainted with online purchasing of camera gear.

I'd say, Cut the guy some slack.

 

[Gumby]

My question was not "How to handle the transaction?" but "Should I post the name of the potential buyer here?"

In that case, ignore anything I wrote previously and my response is, to be clear, NO. Cancel the sale and move on.

 

[Nando]

So, out of curiousity, what was the "proper behaviour" in your situation... did you resubmit in the requested currency of did the seller compute/send a refund?

In my case, the seller refunded the US funds back to me (in full) and I resent the payment in Canadian funds. At the time when I made the payment, the seller and I were both online and sending each other emails back and forth. So the mistake was discovered and corrected in a matter of minutes.

 

[ferider]

RFF posting history or not, buyer having made a mistake in sending EUR or not, IMO, you run the same risk when sending outside the US (even to a verified adress) and using USPS. The seller now takes all the risks.

Part of the new joys of using Paypal. As a side line, paypal just let me know that for my future ebay sales, they will hold payments for 21 days, until an ebay buyer has left positive feedback. And this with 100% ebay feedback and > 500 transactions.

For me this ends my relationship with both Paypal and Ebay ....

Roland.

 

[kbg32]

Refund the difference, send him the item minus any PayPal fees.

 

[Wouter]

People are supposed to be not guilty until proved contrary. Posting the buyer's name here without substantial evidence would be inacceptable, imho.

 

[Al Patterson]

I placed an ad in the classifieds. A buyer in Europe committed to the deal. He paid via Paypal. The amount sent was in Euros, though my asking price was in US Dollars. I then received a message claiming a "mistake" was made, asking me to refund the difference (approx 200 usd).

This is classic scam behavior, so I denied the Paypal transaction and will not sell the item to this person.

This would-be buyer has just joined RFF and does not have any posting history.

What is your advice: should I post this RFF member's name/identity to prevent further problems?

I personally wouldn't accept a transaction from a user with no posting history. I wouldn't post the name, I'd PM Stephen Gandy and the mods and re-list the item.

 

[proenca]

It's a simple transaction to refund via PayPal, you can do it from the main account page. Then ask him to re-send. If his address is Verified, why suspect a scam? I know he's in Europe, and all, but we're not all socialist scamsters.

OI ! ... yanks 😛

 

[_mark__]

I have been using ebay since its advent, paypal the same 100% feedback. I no longer trade using either, extortionate fees at every stage, hypocritical policies! In 2009 I had more problems than all previous years combined so I said enough. What should be simple and safe is hazardous! I have had items returned because the buyer changed his mind after he received the goods on the most tenuous justification, the sale used to be a binding contract. I am fair, I list honestly, it is a moral choice I made some time ago, be honest or a crook.

I would communicate with the buyer before publishing your private transaction on a public forum, people make mistakes. It sounds like you have made a decision and just want to name and shame a guy who could of made a genuine error, no figure?