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Sold MacBook Pro on ebay, I'm sure I'm being scammed...?

M

Mildredop

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Sold my MBP on ebay for £660. The reply comes that the buyer wants it sent to Nigeria (regardless of the fact I said I'd only post within the UK). So I assumed it was a scam.

But I now have £660 'pending' on my PayPal account.

Is this genuine?
 
It's apparently trivial to get PayPal to reverse a payment, so I'd conclude that it's a scam.
 
Nigeria?!?!? You're definitely being scammed. If I was you I would start the mutual cancellation process because the "buyer" is not inside the UK, contact eBay customer support to see how to proceed from there if the buyer does not want to agree to the cancellation.

The fact that eBay will have it on record that you contacted them regarding this situation and the buyer is not in the UK will help you if the buyer tries to ding your account by complaining that you're not sending out the item.

The fact that the paypal payment is pending doesn't mean a thing, it can always be reversed due to fraud because someone's account was hacked.
 
Fairfax said:
Nigeria?!?!? You're definitely being scammed.

The fact that the paypal payment is pending doesn't mean a thing, it can always be reversed due to fraud because someone's account was hacked.
Click to expand...

That's what I thought. This whole 'pending' thing in PayPal is a bad system - makes me think it's real.
 
Scam. It's very simple for a buyer to send funds via PayPal then "reverse" it. Any online transaction with "Nigeria" attached to it, STAY AWAY!

Coincidently, I was at the post office yesterday, standing in line behind a gentleman trying to send something to Nigeria. The guy explained the details of the transaction to the postal worker and I overheard the postal worker telling him not to send it and that it was a scam. They mentioned something about PayPal too (I couldn't really hear all the details of the conversation).
 
To avoid this in the future, I would recommend using Buy it now with Immediate Payment. Also requiring some minimum feedback.
 
You stated you'd ship within UK). Contact eBay and cancel everything. You might have to do some explaining to Paypal, but stand firm. Or send them a Raspberry Pi with an Apple sticker on it.
 
juanm said:
You stated you'd ship within UK). Contact eBay and cancel everything. You might have to do some explaining to Paypal, but stand firm. Or send them a Raspberry Pi with an Apple sticker on it.
Click to expand...

On this note, you could revise the p-p-p-powerbook, or send them a book with "Mac" printed on it 😀
 
They have real funds they somehow use for this.

I agree with the above posters! Wait two weeks to ship, then ship a cardboard MacBook and write "stop scamming" on it. Although, maybe you shouldn't write as nicely as that 😛. C'mon, OP. Scam a Nigerian scammer. I don't think anyone would denounce that act.
 
Don't all paypal payments have "pending" status for awhile? Im pretty sure I've had money being held for 4-5 weeks before it was finally posted. Its still worth checking out though.
 
carjakester said:
Don't all paypal payments have "pending" status for awhile? Im pretty sure I've had money being held for 4-5 weeks before it was finally posted. Its still worth checking out though.
Click to expand...

They likely have some funds or some credit card number they obtained fraudulently for this purpose. There is literally a 0% chance they want a legitimate transaction.
 
I used to be an avid eBay seller , but have pulled back in the last couple of years. As I recall, if I saw a "payment pending", I shipped nothing until funds received. With Ebay's "buyer preference", I don't know if I would sell another laptop there, and I've sold 4 or 5 Macs at good prices. Is there another good viable selling option online? It's strength is the size of the market.
 
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I had something sent to Ukraine/Russia... got scammed out of an iPhone 3GS. Now if I ever want to offer something internationally, I use the Global Shippers Program.

The problem also with eBay/PayPal is that not only do they favor the buyer so heavily but their fees can be pretty outrageous.
 
Huntn said:
I used to be an avid eBay seller , but have pulled back in the last couple of years. As I recall, if I saw a "payment pending", I shipped nothing until funds received. With Ebay's "buyer preference", I don't know if I would sell another laptop there, and I've sold 4 or 5 Macs at good prices. Is there another good viable selling option online? It's strength is the size of the market.
Click to expand...

I say Craigslist is quite good. The price you get is usually about what you'd get on eBay after deducting listing and paypal fees.
 
PayPal gives you a "pending" or an "Okay to ship" don't ship it until PayPal clears payment. Truthfully, I'd cancel the sale and relist it. eBay won't charge you the fee if you relist it.
 
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