Figured I would ask this here since I don't have a lot of experience with this, but I put my SR MBP up for sale on eBay, and someone bought it using the Buy it Now, and they asked if they can send me payment through Western Union. They are a new account, but it says they are registered in the US. Is there any risk to this? From my understanding, once they send payment through WU and I pick it up, I have cash in my hands and there's no reversing it. Is there anything I should be looking out for here? I would appreciate any advice if anyone is more experienced on this type of thing.
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Sold my SR MBP on eBay, buyer wants WU
- Thread starter Zorn
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stay away from that like a bad cold. usually people that want to Western Union stuff are up to no good.
Money orders are supposed to guarantee the funds (Western Union takes the money from the first party [plus a small fee] and then gives you the money at any of their locations). I've used money orders from the USPS before for things like traffic tickets where the court wants to make sure you're not sending them a bad check.
So I think you should be pretty safe here...
So I think you should be pretty safe here...
You can always tell him you want the funds to clear before you'll ship the MBP to him too. That way you'll have the cash in hand before shipping him anything...
DO NOT DO IT!
don't let anyone tell you otherwise. You will be scammed, 99.9999999% chance. He will have your money and MBP.
It is widely known that people who want to pay for expensive items on ebay through western union in any way shape or form are trying to scam you.
If he is legit, which i highly doubt, he can pay you with a check that you have make sure clears before you send it.
don't let anyone tell you otherwise. You will be scammed, 99.9999999% chance. He will have your money and MBP.
It is widely known that people who want to pay for expensive items on ebay through western union in any way shape or form are trying to scam you.
If he is legit, which i highly doubt, he can pay you with a check that you have make sure clears before you send it.
Okay well it seems to be rather split. I'm going to wait until tomorrow morning and see how this pans out, if they tell me they sent cash and I can go to the WU office and just pick it up, I guess that would be safe as there wouldn't really be much they could do to take cash out of my hands. But if they want to mess with some kind of WU check (assuming they exist?) that could be counterfeit I won't play that game.
It seems to me that the person sending the money via Western Union is the one who is more likely to get scammed in this situation. Once Western Union gives you the money, I can't think of a way that they (or the person who sent the money) can get it back from you - short of litigation of some sort.
If he could send money with WU, why doesn't he just send money through Paypal which is easier and faster?
Beware of money orders too because people make fakes.
Beware of money orders too because people make fakes.
sorry to sound like an ass, but please, dont listen to this guy. He obviously has not heard about how many thousands of people have been scammed by western union. It is not worth it. Just dont do it. Why would this guy not be able to send payment any other way? It is shady.
You don't know what you're talking about. Western Union is dangerous for buyers, not for sellers. Once the money is in your hands, they can't do anything about it.
HOWEVER, this is a scam. NEVER, EVER, NEVER EVER sell to a new user, especially on a very high value item. They will probably send you a fake WU number or a photoshopped confirmation and then beg you to send the computer in the meantime.
This forum is a good place to come with technical and market-oriented questions, but using it as your only resource when making a decision like this would be foolish.
Have you spoken with anyone at Western Union? I'd suggest calling them up, explaining the situation and finding out if there's a particular way the money has to be sent in order for you to be free and clear.
HTH
Have you spoken with anyone at Western Union? I'd suggest calling them up, explaining the situation and finding out if there's a particular way the money has to be sent in order for you to be free and clear.
HTH
Hey, no reason to be mean about it...
See if he'll send you a USPS money order if he has to do it that way.
Wolfattack - when I do a search for Western Union Ebay scam it seems all the people getting scammed are the buyers (not the sellers as the OP is), so can you tell me what the issue is with Western Union?
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?forumID=107&threadID=214366
I appologize for sounding mean.
this is my point. If he isn't trying to scam you, then why can't he pay through another method?
Maybe WU is just easier for that person to use - who knows really. I think the issue with getting scammed is the guy on the other end. If I were the buyer, I would want to use Paypal so I would have the insurance...
I personally wouldn't do it. They aren't talking about a money order, they are talking about wiring the money.
There are such better ways to pay and plenty of buyers willing to pay in safer ways.
There are such better ways to pay and plenty of buyers willing to pay in safer ways.
How can someone get scammed by Western Union? Someone goes to a location, picks up the cash, then sends the item. Seems ideal for the seller.
This is what I'm hoping for. They claim that they are going to pay "right away in the am" so as long as this means he's just sending cash, it should be good. If they're talking about sending some kind of check or money order that could be bogus, then it could be a problem.
I'll keep you all updated later today with what happens.
If the guy uses the "Money in Minutes" service from WU, he would give them verified funds and you would be able to pick it up at any WU office in a matter of minutes.
Red flag #1 - NEW Ebay user with little/no feedback
Red flag #2 - Western Union
DO NOT go through with it. Re-list the auction and specify how you want to be paid (i.e. PayPal, BidBay, etc..). Also put some sort of statement in the auction like "New users or bidders with less than 10 positive feedbacks contact me before bidding".
This bidder is trying to scam you.
Red flag #2 - Western Union
DO NOT go through with it. Re-list the auction and specify how you want to be paid (i.e. PayPal, BidBay, etc..). Also put some sort of statement in the auction like "New users or bidders with less than 10 positive feedbacks contact me before bidding".
This bidder is trying to scam you.
I think Western Union only deals in cash, so it would be safer than PayPall, because PayPal can always freeze the funds.
