Rate the scamming

[Dreadnaught]

So I'm selling my old 2008 MacBook Pro on Craigslist. Re-formatted and re-installed the OS from scratch and it works like new. Has virtually no visible wear in the first place.

It's a 15in MacBook pro, I'm asking $750 (with the understanding that I'll probably get negotiated down a bit, I'm willing to settle for $700).

I'm 90% sure this response is a scammer. Presumably the PayPal account bounces after shipment or something?

Hello,

I'm interested in your item on craigslist (i want to know if its still available for sale). Could you e-mail me the status?

Thanks!

Hi Allen:

My name is Dreadnaught, nice to hear from you. The laptop is still for sale — let me know if you have any questions or would like to arrange to try it out.

Thanks!

-Dreadnaught

Thanks for the response. I am interested in buying the merchandise.
For the payment, I would prefer to pay with PayPal as i always feel
comfortable and secured with PayPal for online transactions. It would
be very helpful if you could overnight it to my residence in Morrow,
GA . I can add $100 to the price due to the cost of the overnight
shipment. Let me know if this works for you. If you're ready to go
ahead, let me know where I should send the PayPal payment so we can
proceed.

Sent from my mobile device

[Dreadnaught]

Amazing, another inquiry asking about "the merchandise". That just screams scammer to me.

[Loki]

Yeah, the word "merchandise" stands out.

[EyeKhan]

Maybe insist he pays first, then you send him the "merchandise."

[Dreadnaught]

Well, he wants to pay on PayPal. Which frankly I don't trust. Who the hell buys a $750 MacBook sight unseen and has it sent down to Georgia? And asks no questions about it?

I'd rather deal with someone I meet in person, tries it out and pays in cash.

PS- Anyone looking for a MacBook Pro with an extra battery and MS Office?

[Being]

Anyone looking for a MacBook Pro with an extra battery and MS Office?

I'm pretty sure advertizing is against the rules. Reported.

[Ziggy Stardust]

"Sent from my mobile device" to cover his strange wording.

On a scale from 1 to 10 I rate it: Nigerian.

My postcount is feeling rather palindromatic today.

[Timbuk2]

eBay it?

[littlelolligagged]

Well, he wants to pay on PayPal. Which frankly I don't trust. Who the hell buys a $750 MacBook sight unseen and has it sent down to Georgia? And asks no questions about it?

I'd rather deal with someone I meet in person, tries it out and pays in cash.

PS- Anyone looking for a MacBook Pro with an extra battery and MS Office?

I'd want it sight unseen and sent down to Georgia, though.

[Hazir]

Well, yeah, that does sound fishy. Why would you pay $100 over the asking price for a mac you haven't even seen yet. That sounds outright silly. Also, why would you call it 'the merchandise' if you're a person wanting to buy a mac. I know I'd never put it that way. Also I would definately ask some questions about the machine I would be forking out $850 for.

I only bought something secondhand from somebody online twice; once a book from a woman in Belgium who made a leap of faith sending it to me before I could get the money to her (I'm still grateful because it enabled me to give that book to my sister - who had been looking for it for years - on her birthday), the second was a smartphone that I bought through a forum site I frequent in Holland from another user. I only did that after checking his posting history and feedback about him.

[Timbuk2]

$100 over asking price

Scammity-scam scam scam.

[Wraith]

Definitely a scam, but I'm curious as to what the scam actually is. You can't just unpaypal someone, and paypal tends to side more with the sellers than the buyers (since they only make money that way). My guess is that the real target is your paypal account, and if you go forward he'll try to get you into a spoofed paypal site to give away your information.

You should play along a little longer just to indulge my curiosity.

[littlelolligagged]

Wouldn't the scam actually be Dread charging so much for a used Macbook?

[Wraith]

I think there's a $500 premium for having a fruit on the back of it. The remainder is for the rest of the computer.

[littlelolligagged]

Gotcha.

[Khendraja'aro]

Definitely a scam, but I'm curious as to what the scam actually is. You can't just unpaypal someone, and paypal tends to side more with the sellers than the buyers (since they only make money that way). My guess is that the real target is your paypal account, and if you go forward he'll try to get you into a spoofed paypal site to give away your information.

You should play along a little longer just to indulge my curiosity.

Actually, the scam would be to tell PayPal "The shipment never arrived". Happens regularly - and no, PayPal doesn't take sides. They shaft either side equally.

[Wraith]

Actually, the scam would be to tell PayPal "The shipment never arrived". Happens regularly - and no, PayPal doesn't take sides. They shaft either side equally.

Yeah, but that's easily defeated, I think. I've never actually done any internet selling, but IIRC PayPal lets the seller enter the shipment tracking information, and then the seller has proof that it did arrive. Toss in a required signature, and the seller is iron-clad. PayPal will just tell the buyer to lodge a complaint with the delivery service instead, and they'll keep their cut of the sale.

[Ominous Gamer]

I've always used craigslist to avoid dealing with paypal...

Yeah, but that's easily defeated, I think. I've never actually done any internet selling, but IIRC PayPal lets the seller enter the shipment tracking information, and then the seller has proof that it did arrive. Toss in a required signature, and the seller is iron-clad. PayPal will just tell the buyer to lodge a complaint with the delivery service instead, and they'll keep their cut of the sale.

P-P-P Powerbook
The buyer claims what arrived was not what was advertised, he ships the item back, but what arrives is a box of bricks, or if you're lucky, a gutted and broken macbook.

Or he pays using a stolen paypal account and or payment credit card.

[Dreadnaught]

Wouldn't the scam actually be Dread charging so much for a used Macbook?

Nah, based on what I can tell from other postings it's pretty much fair value. The thing is in great shape, runs perfectly, has an extra battery and MS office. There is a premium that seems to stay with those machines

Actually, the scam would be to tell PayPal "The shipment never arrived". Happens regularly - and no, PayPal doesn't take sides. They shaft either side equally.

I've always used craigslist to avoid dealing with paypal...



P-P-P Powerbook
The buyer claims what arrived was not what was advertised, he ships the item back, but what arrives is a box of bricks, or if you're lucky, a gutted and broken macbook.

Or he pays using a stolen paypal account and or payment credit card.

Interesting ideas...looks like all the good scammers from from Georgia, eh? I sort of want to play along, but I also sort of want to just ignore him or tell him to fuck off. I leave it to the community to suggest an awesome response.

[Illusions]

Yeah, but that's easily defeated, I think. I've never actually done any internet selling, but IIRC PayPal lets the seller enter the shipment tracking information, and then the seller has proof that it did arrive. Toss in a required signature, and the seller is iron-clad. PayPal will just tell the buyer to lodge a complaint with the delivery service instead, and they'll keep their cut of the sale.

I'm thinking he wouldn't offer more money unless he thought he could get it back though. That plus the overnight delivery makes it sound like he's either really impatient about receiving his Macbook, or he's staked out and chosen a house to have it delivered to, where he knows the owner is away for a while, but not sure exactly how long. As for the requiring signature thing, I'd have to check it out, but a few shipping companies now have options where the receiving party can change how the item is delivered, ie. whether a signature is required, or they drop it off somewhere at the delivery location, leave it with a neighbor, etc.

[Wraith]

I'm thinking he wouldn't offer more money unless he thought he could get it back though. That plus the overnight delivery makes it sound like he's either really impatient about receiving his Macbook, or he's staked out and chosen a house to have it delivered to, where he knows the owner is away for a while, but not sure exactly how long. As for the requiring signature thing, I'd have to check it out, but a few shipping companies now have options where the receiving party can change how the item is delivered, ie. whether a signature is required, or they drop it off somewhere at the delivery location, leave it with a neighbor, etc.

I'm thinking that he has no intention of paying in the first place. That he's really just trying to steal paypal account information.

It could also be a credit card scam. Somebody else is paying, and he's trying to grab the merchandise.

I don't think I've ever heard of these scams where the scammer ever actually pays anything, even if they try to get it back later. It's usually more about creating the appearance of paying something when you never did. To actually pay something and try to get it back later sounds way too risky for these types of people.

[Illusions]

I'm thinking that the overnight plays into it though, as if he'll get the product before the transaction fully goes through, thus have his "merchandise" before anyone can realize there was no money in the payment method he was using, or be able to reverse payment and still receive the item before the seller would be able to find out what had happened and re-direct shipment back to themselves. The over-nighting a laptop from NY to GA is what gets me. One or even two day air would still get it to him quickly for much cheaper, and if he were in such a desperate need of this device that he wanted it in less than 24 hours, he likely would not be attempting to purchase it in this manner. He'd also still be as able to steal paypal account information or run a credit card scam in 24 - 48 hours as he would in less than 24.

[Wraith]

I'm thinking that the overnight plays into it though, as if he'll get the product before the transaction fully goes through, thus have his "merchandise" before anyone can realize there was no money in the payment method he was using, or be able to reverse payment and still receive the item before the seller would be able to find out what had happened and re-direct shipment back to themselves. The over-nighting a laptop from NY to GA is what gets me. One or even two day air would still get it to him quickly for much cheaper, and if he were in such a desperate need of this device that he wanted it in less than 24 hours, he likely would not be attempting to purchase it in this manner. He'd also still be as able to steal paypal account information or run a credit card scam in 24 - 48 hours as he would in less than 24.

I don't get the overnighting either. I can't see how any of the scams we're coming up with would be thwarted by slower shipment. It might be there just to create a false sense of urgency, hoping to make the guy on the other end rush more and think less.

[Lebanese Dragon]

It's pretty clear he really wants a used Mac... and he really wants to have it shipped overnight. This is completely legit, he refers to the item very specifically as merchandise, which it is. Did he not say true statements?

[Bitter Jeweler]

It's pretty clear he really wants a used Mac... and he really wants to have it shipped overnight. This is completely legit, he refers to the item very specifically as merchandise, which it is. Did he not say true statements?

It's baaaaaack.

[Ominous Gamer]

Its odd that the reply feels so generic, but Google doesn't return any hits on it.
Anyone else notice the email addresses changed as well?


EDIT:
Finally found a hit. http://forum.notebookreview.com/note...ml#post5218037
My Google-Fu must be a little off today http://mikebrum.com/dont-scam-me-bro/

[Illusions]

I don't get the overnighting either. I can't see how any of the scams we're coming up with would be thwarted by slower shipment. It might be there just to create a false sense of urgency, hoping to make the guy on the other end rush more and think less.

Maybe its especially urgent due to time constraints...

[Ominous Gamer]

I miss that show raged so hard when he finally (possibly) found the right universe, only to get tricked by a recently oiled swinging gate

[Wraith]

It went completely shit after season 2, though.

[littlelolligagged]

Yes, I remember deciding it was completely unwatchable at some point even though it started out decent.