Sellers, BEWARE !!!

[Vlad 0]

Hello all !
Some of you may know that in past there was an accident with some skydivers from Moscow ordering skydiving equipment from US dealers, paying with fraud credit cards. That was a while ago. Now listen to my story. I was selling my DIablo 150 on e-bay. The current price on it was $500. Suddenly, I received an e-mail from somebody who called himself " Garry Green". He wrote:
"Dear Sir,
I would like to buy your canopy.
Seeng that you accept paypal - I would like to pay via PayPal (I am Verified
member).
Could you send this item directly to my nephew (Russia)as a gift? He is
experienced skydiver ("C" rated, around 200 jumps)
I am ready to leave positive feedback to you and use Buy It Now option.
thank you."
Jeez, don't you want to have such a generous unkle ? I bet you do... This e-mail seemed suspicious to me. I told "Garry", that I was going to sell it to him for $900. He agreed, no arguing about the price. But then he asked me to insure the canopy for $90 only, because "Russia has very large customs". Seems strange for a guy who is willing to spend almost a grand for his nephew.. well, I agreed. Garry told me that he was going to pay immideatly, but I have not received a penny yet (3 days have passed). I think, however, that he tried to pay, but his fraud credit card numbers did not work this time, luckily for me.
Well, the point is that you all should be careful when selling your equipment. Even if you receive the money through PayPal, wait for couple of days. If it was a fraud, PayPal will notify you quite quickly..
Blue Skies !

[Spy38W 0]

I'm leery of using PayPal anymore.
http://www.paypalsucks.com
--
Give them a sip of the darkside, and they just thirst for more.

[Milo 0]

I recieved the same messages and exchanged 2 or 3 emails with the same guy regarding an ebay auction I had a couple of weeks ago. I told them I would not be able to ship immediately due to work reasons, but would be able to ship in two days. I never heard back from this person and decided they were either a fraud or had simply changed their minds.
They didn't choose the 'buy it now' option in my case and I never was led to believe they had decided to purchase my gear.
Based on my experience and Vlad's I am now convinced they were frauds.
Don't ship until the money is in your hand!!!!
milo

[Kirils 1]

shit...BUYERS beware!!!
I was burned for nearly $2500.00 on E-bay! It's a haven for thieves with stolen gear and liars and cheats. If you get stuck with junk, there is little recourse for getting your money back.
A bit of advise: Have the gear sent to your DZ for inspection before paying. If a seller will not comply, he's probably not on the up-and -up. Jumpers don't screw over other jumpers.
Skydiving is not a static excercise with discrete predictability...

[skybytch 273]

Sounds like you got lucky there. A good point has already been made - don't ship (at least not overseas anyway) 'til you have the money either in hand or in escrow.

Quote

But then he asked me to insure the canopy for $90 only, because "Russia has very large customs" Seems strange for a guy who is willing to spend almost a grand for his nephew

Russia does have pretty high import duties, and as far as I know they must be paid by the recipient on delivery. The amount the package is insured for is the amount that will be used to determine the import duties and taxes, so I can understand why he would ask you to "low value" the package.
pull & flare,
lisa
---
On the other hand...you have different fingers

[Vlad 0]

Lisa,
It is very strange to see that a rich uncle, who is spending nearly a thousand dollars for his nephew to worry about import taxes....

[skybytch 273]

If the rich uncle is in the US and the nephew (recipient of the package) is in Russia, I can understand it. Transferring money between the two country's is complicated - and it would be the person in Russia receiving the package who would have to pay the import duties.
pull & flare,
lisa
---
On the other hand...you have different fingers

[Milo 0]

Well,
I bought gear twice via ebay and got GREAT deals both times, so I can't say it is all bad.
The first time I got the phone number of the seller and talked to her before I bought. She threw in a Z1, Sidewinder, Altimeter, Weight Vest, and gloves, no charge, on a $1450 rig. I got a hell of a deal.
The second rig was from a soldier, he had a Ft Benning address, so I had reason to suspect he wasn't a fraud, and I got a good deal.
Maybe I was just lucky, but I am happy with my ebay purchases and wary with my ebay sales.
Kirils is right: "Jumpers don't screw over other jumpers."
milo

[Zennie 0]

The scam-artists are coming out in droves with Ebay.
Anymore if I'm buying/selling a high-ticket item (over $100), I use an escrow service, such as Escrow.com. It costs a little extra, but at least you have peace-of-mind.
And Clay, that's Escrow service, not escort service.
"Zero Tolerance: the politically correct term for zero thought, zero common sense."

[rapper4mpi 0]

I shipped my gear C.O.D. I knew what I was selling was good, and shipping C.O.D is not too expensive either.

[kmcguffee 0]

Same here. I've had very little problems with E-bay but there is a lot of potential for them. The post office lost a Factory Diver Helmet that I sold to someone and they didn't request insurance. Made me feel real bad.
Always wait for the money before you ship and wait until checks clear before you ship. When buying or selling high dollar items I require a phone number and a verified e-mail account (not a free one like yahoo). I like to talk to the person and verify I can get in touch with them if something goes wrong. I also refuse to do business with someone who has negative feed back.
It is a great service and you can get some outstanding deals but, like everything else, you have got to be careful.
I'm all in favor of keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of fools. Let's start with typewriters.

[Vlad 0]

FYI
I e-mail this "Garry Green" in Russian. Guess what, he replied, confirming that he was trying to fraud me...

[drenaline 0]

Hey what about Buyers beware? send the money, starts the waiting, and waiting, and waiting and waiting... "mmm... I think I lost my money" "I did I did, I did lost my money"
"Life is full of danger, so why be afraid?"
drenaline

[BadDog 0]

I can't even count the number of deals that I've "lost" because I chose to protect myself after a bad experience on ebay. I've had some very good experiences there too, so the key for me is to make sure the other guy sticks his neck out farther than I stick mine out. I trust me more than I do the other guy. If they trust me too, things work out. Otherwise, it's on to the next deal. The thrill I seek is not in wondering if I'm gonna get screwed by a buyer or seller (at least not on a gear deal). BTW, check out my new site www.baddog.esmartbuyer.com. Ooops, forgot PLUG ALERT.
CorporateLawyerDave aka BadDog

[BadDog 0]

BTW, I've had several Russian experiences. I've been asked to ship to a Post Office Box at an airport, following which my money would be promptly sent to me (right). I've been told the money was sent, so could I hurry up and ship the goods in good faith (right). And then there was the poor guy who wanted me to send an altimeter to him in Alaska so he could take it to a friend in Russia (but shipping delays messed that one up - sorry Vlad).
CorporateLawyerDave aka BadDog

[Vlad 0]

BadDog: Could this be me ? I think I bought an altimeter from somebody for my friend from St.Petersberg.. However, it was shipped to me no problemo... And I can't remember, whether that was on e-bay, or from the store. The transaction went smoothly, however.. I just do not know many skydivers here in Alaska, that are from Russia... I know a couple, but they are definitely not a fraud...
Please, be careful, dealing with anybody international, especially from Russia. Nobody can blame me in being discriminative, because I'm Russian :-)
Blue Skies !

[BadDog 0]

Vlad, it was you. We got it to you, but not as soon as we had hoped. It was nip and tuck. As I recall, you wanted to take it with you but ended up mailing it. Anyway, I'm glad you have only fond memories! BTW, you responded to an ad on dropzone.com. It was not ebay.
CorporateLawyerDave aka BadDog

[lazerq3 0]

I sold a canopy to someone here on DZ .com via COD and there where NO problems!! Especailly when you can track everything over the internet through the carriers web site!!! If I eever sell again I'll use COD!!
jason