Selling Thru Paypal or using Paypal

Hello I have never sold anything thru paypal i have a guy whop wants to buy my van supposedly a marine biologist for his dad supposedly he is on a boat and only has acess to email he states that once the paypal clears he will send a mover for the van I told him to send the cash with the mover He states that the money will clear in my paypal account and clear before the mover picks up the van all i have is his email adress but he wants my paypal info which i dont have yet My gut tells me this sound like a Scam Any thoughts or opionions would be greatly appreciated Thank You

Sounds like the typical scam.
Buying for someone that cannot be contacted. Also only reached by email. I would ask for a phone #. If you get the deaf story, run.
Explain that you need to protect yourself and need to sell the van. You will only sell if it's paid for in a way that you can verify and if it's picked up promptly AFTER the funds have cleared.

If you gotta do it, open a new bank and paypal account. Have the money transfered to the new accounts, then move it to your regular bank account and close the new bank one. Provide as little info to paypal as possible for the account so they won't come after you. Paypal has been known to grab money back if someone complains. Also, get something IN WRITING that the van wiill be picked up by an agreed date or the purchase price is forfiet and you can resell it. Too many stories of buyers leaving stuff far too long.

I haven't been burned by this but have read too many cases where other people have.

when i sold my 82 mustang gt used paypa; no problems no issues but it took the buyer 4 months to pick it up

So I asked for a phone number and said he has no cell reception Thanks for the help I really appreciated I really didnt want to hunt him down and make his life a living hell over a Van but i would if i had to he must of thought i fell off a pineapple truck or something Once again MAHALO

That your questioning it should be all you need to know. Run away!! In this day and age, if someone has access to a computer and internet to contact you, they most certainly have a cell phone and can call from anywhere in the world. If they don't, they sure as hell don't have money to buy a van! There will be other interested "real people" down the road. Gotta admit, the old "out at sea on a boat" trick is a good one.....

So on the boat he has email but no phone?
Uh, yeah. I call

http://www.mobilsat.com/marine-satellite-internet-andTV/Marine-internet/

i had the same scam when i was selling the highboy, total bullshit!!

Plus one to everybody else. Forward the email to the authorities because this clown may get somebody. :/ and STAY AWAY!!!! Those jerks are getting more and more clever. Watch your back! -GothY-

I have sold lots over the internet and used Paypal every timr because Paypal checks the sender out and advises me if the guy is leggit. From time to time I have had Paypal advise me the person has sent me money but not to let the good go until Paypal tells me the money has cleared and is good in my account.
I really do trust transactions through Paypal, If the guy is a scammer you would find out from paypal when he trys to send money.

As far as info goes, whats he asking for?? All he needs is your paypal account number which typically is your email address which he allready has. So if he is asking for other paypal account information then he is a fraud.

M1D

Tell him you just raised your price by $10,000... does he still want the van? If he says yes, then its probably a scam...

There is a scam out there that looks all legit you get an email supposedly from PayPal saying the buyer has sent payment but the email is fake! By the time the seller finds out they have been scammed most of the time it's to late cause they have already shipped or reseated the property. I use PayPal on just about everything I buy & sell on the Internet & have never had any problems. There was a guy a year or so ago that was selling a 1968 Dodge Charger that got scammed by the PayPal scam. He got took for close to $40,000
Someone listed his ad on here where the guy was looking for his car. My motto on selling a vehicle has and always be Cash Talks & Bull S**t Walks!!!
There is also people out there on CL & the net that is washing the ink off of the new $5 bills & printing $100 on them so when you get payed with $100 bills make sure that you look on the back side of it in the light & check it to make sure it doesn't have Abe Lincoln's image in it. A guy just stopped off in a little town in tennesee & passed off $600 of them in local stores last week.

Handy is correct & ill add = In God We Trust!! all others pay cash =personally i want 1.00 bills and theyre in the bank before anything is shipped.

My usual routine when using Paypal is to tell the buyer that the price needs to be paid in full and show up in my account BEFORE I will release the whatever to them. Even inexpensive stuff. I have the same policy when buying because I seem to have a bad case of C.R.S. I want the money transferred and have a receipt (or e-mail/Paypal transaction in this case) in hand before they ship, that way the seller can't dispute anything. Also, don't use the 'gift' transaction option to circumvent Paypal's fees. All the seller has to do is say "it was a gift" and you're screwed.

And easy way to make sure that you aren't getting a bogus e-mail looking like a Paypal payment is to close your browser window, reopen it, then log into Paypal yourself.

what you also need to know is the police will not go after any internet scam that is under $5,000.00 if it is 5 k or more that is when they get involed. but if my kid stole a 50 cent pack of gum they have no problem aresting him /her. if you think it could be a scam it is. i allways tell them have the cash with the pick up person . and you never here from them again.as far as the 68 charger i posted that, almost 40 k from bad money orders. he had the license plate from the trailer and the pick up truck and they were stolen also. cash or cash unless they pay with cash.

Paypal is fine to use. It is secure and I have bought and sold using ebay and paypal for over 10 years.

This guy who is stuck on the boat is obviously a scam just trying to get your account information. The only info he needs to buy something from you is your email address so he can send you funds. Do not provide your login password to him or anyone else.

Paypal is a legit company, owned by Ebay, which is publicly traded on the NYSE. You can call paypal customer service and talk to a real human about any questions you have so you feel secure about dealing with them.

Become educated and then you will not be a target for scammers.


Another secure form of payment is US Postal money Orders. There is a post office in every town and it is a federal crime to use US postal money orders in conjunction with fraud. Go to your local post office and cash the money order before shipping the item (or vehicle), that way you have cash in hand before the goods leave your possession.

so you are telling me if i have a u s postal money order for 40 k i can take that to a post office and they will cash it in.??? and i guessing that will show up as income on my taxes ????????

I am not saying paypal is a scam. It is a legit company. However, there have been cases where they have been used to further a scam and they have been known to settle a dispute in favor of a scammer even with proof from the victim.
Play it safe!

dix wrote:so you are telling me if i have a u s postal money order for 40 k i can take that to a post office and they will cash it in.??? and i guessing that will show up as income on my taxes ????????

http://about.usps.com/publications/pub370/pub370_015.htm

Domestic Money Orders


You can purchase money orders with cash, debit cards, or traveler’s checks at any Post Office in the United States and its possessions. You can replace a lost or stolen money order upon presentation of a receipt.

Maximum amount of a money order is $1,000.

You can purchase multiple money orders up to a daily total of $10,000.

The daily limit applies regardless of the number of visits made by a customer to one or more Postal Service facilities. Identification and additional information are required for purchases of more than $3,000.

A money order can be cashed at any Post Office and at many banks in the United States and its possessions.

So, if you need to transfer $40,000 it must be done over 4 days.

Your PayPal address which is your email address is all a scammer needs to scam you! They send you a fake PayPal email saying that the buyer has made payment to you. The fake PayPal email shows that the payment has cleared. Some of the scams also fish for your password. If you click on the PayPal button it takes you to a fake PayPal login site and when you type in your PayPal username & password they have it! I also have been a member of eBay for almost 15 years & have always used PayPal through eBay from day one of buying or selling on eBay with never any problems. I have also always accepted & payed thru PayPal for anything that I have bought or sold here.

kookykrispy what i'm saying is take the money order to the bank and ask them to cash it being worth more than your account. and they won't do it cuz they are not willing to eat it . it will take a few days to clear by then the scammer is gone.the bank is only going to cash what they can remove from your account...all the articals on this topic are well worth reading... craigslist has the most scammers that i've seen.

The scammers use ever little trick they can to scam someone. PayPal, Western union, fake us postal money orders, cashiers checks, fake money, stolen credit cards & much more. That's why if I'm selling a vehicle or something expensive I want cash money!