eBay Buyer... Scamming Me or Not?

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Not quite a Newb Joined: 18 Oct 2011 Posts: 73

Good Evening.

I had a buyer bid and win an item I am selling in the auction style format. First thing I noticed is that it took this a$$monkey 2 days to pay and that he has 0 feedback... What a great start *sarcasm* I was hoping he wouldn't win.

Okay, so he won and eventually paid (nothing to worry about normally).

This is his name: Павел Литвинцев Rolling Eyes

Okay, so I look in PayPal and find out his Address is Unconfirmed. Dammit!!!

***************************************************

I write him:

Quote:

Hi,

PayPal has your address unconfirmed.

Please confirm this address:

Litvintsev Pavel
30 Panas Rd
Ste EB311394
Foxboro, MA 02035-1072

Thank You

-Justin

Quote:

He Writes:

Quote:

Addres is right, it is the store of EBAYTODAY firm. But if you can ship memory to Russian Federation I can give you my russian addres.

WTF is he talking about?

Also, why if it is the "EBAYTODAY" firm don't they just bid on the damn item? I looked and http://myworld.ebay.com/EBAYTODAY also has 0 feedback. So, he has multiple new accounts with 0 feedback. This is just great!

Okay, I write him back again:

Quote:

Please read this page on eBay & please confirm your Address with PayPal.

http://pages.ebay.com/help/pay/questions/confirm-address.html

Please write me back.

Thanks

-Justin

He writes Me:

Quote:

Done,but i cant change my country to USA, its a problem?

I write:

Quote:

I am not trying to create any problems for you here, but please understand where I am coming from:

You have two (2) accounts with Zero-Feedback this one and EBAYTODAY... You provide a U.S.A. Unconfirmed Address, have a name that is spelled with letters that are not on even on my keyboard (not a problem but strange), ask me to ship the item to a totally different & foreign address that is NOT a part of your eBay or PayPal account (nor eligible for Seller protection), and you say "Done" to the last message indicating you confirmed your Address with PayPal, yet it still shows "Unconfirmed."

Where are you really located?

What do I do? Is this guy trying to scam me? What is a "Federation" etc. Is this guy someone in Russia who cannot possibly confirm a PayPal address but is using some service that re-ships his mail?

I AM paid, and PayPal.com (not just some email) proves that, so I have his money and just want to get him his damned Computer Memory and not get some bogus Dispute or negative feedback while doing it. I always ship next-day, but this looks crazy. There is a REASON I block all other Shipping Locations than the U.S.A. I want to deal with real Americans in America, ship it cheap, and have them get it right away without any problems (i.e. Customs)... and I want to avoid scams.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 21 Dec 2011 Posts: 7

Maybe bite on insurance and/or delivery confirmation to the Paypal address. That way if you have a dispute, you'll have at least some documentation on your side.
I'd say you're guess is probably right - probably somebody reshipping as personal packages to avoid import duties and purchase items listed as US / North America only.
New account without feedback is somewhat worrisome though.

Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 9:18 am

Hi jbirky. Russia is officially known by the titles Russia or Russian Federation. Like Australia can be called either Australia or Aus (informally) or Commonwealth of Australia (in more formal situations).

Good luck with sorting out your ebay issue. If it's any help, I'm always a bit nervous of dealing with anyone on ebay with a zero feedback rating be they buying or selling. But then, I suppose that's because I've been lurking around here for so long Wink

.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 18 Oct 2011 Posts: 73

Okay, so send it insured with signature confirmation to the address that re-ships?

I would much rather have had the person before this guy win... the guy who paid less and had some feedback..

Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 2:09 pm

I would think that if he's paid for the item and you ship it wherever in the U.S.A. the Ebay note tells you to then if they're resending elsewhere you wouldn't be liable for circumstances beyond your control.

I think the suggestion above is a good one though. Do whatever you can to cover your hiney.

(That'll be two more cents please)

Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 4:39 pm

jbirky, you did use your own link to paypal to verify that the payment was received, didn't you?? There are paypal scammers that have very real looking paypal mails confirming payments received. Be sure to log on to your own paypal account to verify.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 18 Oct 2011 Posts: 73

Yes. I went direct to https://paypal.com , logged on and verified the money really is there. Thanks

Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 4:57 pm

^^ Good

Not quite a Newb Joined: 18 Oct 2011 Posts: 73

Yeah. I have learned to assume that any email can be spoofed. I can just imagine a buyer sending an email that looks like it came from PayPal indicating he paid when he didn't. Those eMails PayPal sent can be easily faked. Heck even PayPal spoofs the emails FROM the email address of the account holder in the real emails!

For example even legitimate emails are spoofed with a fake from by Paypal!

from: [email protected]
sender-time: Sent at 1:19 AM (GMT-07:00). Current time there: 10:11 AM. ✆
to: Jbirky <[email protected]>
date: Mon, Mar 12, 2012 at 1:19 AM
subject: Item #270927650038 Instant payment received from username ([email protected])
mailed-by: paypal.com
signed-by: paypal.com

My guess would be a fake one would probably NOT have signed-by: paypal.com

Either way, I ALWAYS check. It would be trivial to send a fake PayPal HTML email. Heck, nobody else would even notice if the mailed-by and signed-by are totally missing from the eMail headers. It would look totally legitimate and a lad would NOT even need special software or know-how; since, PayPal by default spoofs the FROM: field to be from the payer's account.

Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2012 1:48 am

In the future you could just cancel his bid. I just put unable to verify. Once you cancel the bid he can not re-bid with the same Id or household ID.

Then block those Id's.

Depending on the value of the item insurance may be not reasonable. Ebay say's ship to the address sent to you. You should be safe on that part. However, Ebay is not friendly in removing bad feedback or less than 5's.

What I do is check every buyer with http://www.toolhaus.org/ . Free listing seem to attract seller to list auction style. I no longer do that it is a pain and increases the likely hood of bad feedback. Buyers have three days to pay.

BIN with Immediate payment works well for me. Once you look at feedback left then you decide how to send insured or not. I like to use a company that sends the buyer insurance info. This way the buyer knows upfront it is insured. Sending packages of low value sig required could also send you neg feedback. As this inconveniences the buyer.

Next go into you paypal account mess around with the setting to only accept US currency. You could also do minor accounts if you wish. Make sure your setting are strict with in ebay.

Get familiar with your seller dashboard and report a buyer as you see fit.

PM for more information if needed.

Edit to add Print your labels on ebay or upload DC number. Same buyer multiple item use PP multi-ship.

Always always keep all communication within ebay mail system. You may need it for proof down the road.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 13 Mar 2012 Posts: 1

Hey jbirky,
I was doing a google search of
Litvinov Gennadij
30 Panas Rd
Ste EB281374
Foxboro, MA 02035-1072
United States

because I was having scamming doubts myself of an ebay sale that ended on Sunday for a nikon lens I sold. I wish the guy under his bid had won as well because he was well established, whereas this guy, ebay id vschditel,
has an account open only since January and the weird thing is if you check his 19 or so replies, 4 of them are the exact same comment from 4 different users, a ridiculous coincidence.
I tried to cancel the transaction and he refused and ebay says I have to go forward which I am not comfortable doing
That address is said to be a company called Hercules not the ebaytoday one he gave you and here are his three comments to me so far:
I have an address in the USA! I made the payment to this address! Sincerely, Gennady.
What do you panic divorce? I have an address in America! Your job is to send!
I'll leave you negative feedback! You are a bad seller!

I don't use ebay very often but this just doesn't smell right to me, I don't know if he is highjacking peoples ebay profiles and able to leave comments or what, so I wanted to know how you've dealt with this and if you wanted to contact ebay together about our concerns I'd be happy to do that
Cheers!

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 03 Apr 2012 Posts: 1

I just had someone from this address do a buy it now from me. He's another Russian with a different name than one that has been mentioned before.

Buyer
Павел Филиппов
glowing_cloud
[email protected]

Shipping address - confirmed
Pavel Filippov
30 Panas Rd
Ste EB319993
Foxboro, MA 02035-1072
United States

He did contact me first to ask a question about the item and to ask if I'd be relisting and some other general back and forth questions, and he does have four positive fb's from different sellers. The first time he contacted me and I noticed he was in the Russian Fed. though, I advised him again as in the listing that I didn't ship outside the US. He said that was alright, he understood and that he has the US location to send where it would be shipped on to him.
My only concern with this is that if you Google the address it comes up with a warehouse outside Boston at the end of a road that looks to not even be fully finished yet given some of the pics on different sites. (Given, these may be old though, as the date stamp on some read 2010.) The only thing I wish I could verify is if this is a place, or if there's a legit office here that is sending things on. Because, as seems to happen many times, from the email where I pasted this, it says the addy is Confirmed, and going into PayPal is shows Unconfirmed. I don't believe that has anything to do with this transaction "necessarily." It seems to happen a fair amount. I've even seen it happen when I've sent money off with the email it sends me saying one thing and the details on the PayPal site saying another. (Between showing Confirmed and Unconfirmed.) Sometimes they match up, sometimes not. Can't seem to figure how it chooses whether they will or not.
If anyone ends up having any trouble or anything else to report in regards to the Russian Fed. guys, I'd appreciate any info you could send along. Thanks much.

-- scammajamma

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 16 May 2012 Posts: 1

Am curious how the transactions eventually went to those who sold items to the suspect identified in this thread (though, under the name 'Zinoviya Yaskiw'), as I've recently had an auction that was won by someone at this address.

Thanks in advance.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 29 Jul 2012 Posts: 1

Zapp East is a Russian outfit based in Massachusetts. They place Ebay orders and then reroute them to customers in Russia. In other words they divert the goods.

The rub is they pay you via Paypal. They ask you to mark the package with an identifying number so it makes it easier for them to ship out to Russia

Here's the problem.

Shipping to Russia is dangerous because many shipments get stolen and all that arrives is usually an empty box on the other end.

The Russian customer complains he has nothing in his box usually 4 or 5 weeks after you shipped the goods to Massachusetts. However Zapp East file a claim with Paypal and get their money back claiming they received an empty box!

Paypal always sides with the buyer.

They use loads of front account names on Ebay, in fact so many Ebay cant locate them all!

Be warned folks!

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 03 Oct 2012 Posts: 1

eBay buyer is: "zappeastusa2" and has currently 30,712 feedback!

Strictly from buying, but they want me to ship to that same Russian forwarding address in MA and then write the item # on the box....

Item is valued over $600

should I ship it to them or should I cancel?

you never know with all the chargebacks that can happen month later if it is even worth it...

And even if I insure it and they try to scam me in 6 months, can I even file a claim at that time or is it too late?

thanks in advance for any help

Baiting Guru Joined: 11 May 2004 Posts: 2163

I wouldn't trust that one. Cancel the transaction

Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2012 7:31 am

@whiteboyultra

They are basically re-shippers.

Many sellers block non USA transactions with Paypal and Ebay. The buyer then uses a re-shipper. The shipper you mentioned has great FB if you can say that for a buyer. If the re-shipper was scamming he would have been banned a long time ago. Over 30,800 in FB and never left a Neg is a great record. Member since: Nov-27-10.

http://toolhaus.org/cgi-bin/negs?User=zappeastusa2&Dirn=Left+by&ref=home

With this said its your call. Remember to follow Ebay seller protection and ship the item with Signature confirmation I would also insure it.

Familiarize yourself with Ebay forums and learn about re-shippers. Here are a few. Many use the same screen name just adding more digits. If you wish not to deal with re-shippers then use your ebay tools and block them.

zappeastusa1
zappeastusa2
zappeastusa3
zappeastusa4

shopamerica

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 05 Oct 2012 Posts: 1

Just wondering how you made out with the transaction to this address? I have a parcel to ship to that same address - name Pinegina Ol'ga

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 29 Nov 2012 Posts: 1

Guys, I registered on this entire forum just due to this thread as I could not keep myself silent.

I have Russian roots and I moved to the States in 2009, but I was an eBay user since 2002.

So, eBayToday is a US-based company operated by Russians, whose primary business is mail forwarding. The first reason that such companies exist - is that most sellers do not ship international. So upon registering with them, they provide you with a U.S. address, where the Suite number is just your customer number.

Customers would usually gather 10-20 packages, combine into one, and have them shipped USPS Express Mail. They do it for a reasonable fee like $2 per incoming package and $20 per outgoing international shipment. This results in huge shipping savings for the purchaser. This is a totally legit business.

When I lived in Russia, I used such forwarders often, because even if sellers do ship international, that usually required lots of headache and wasted time on communication, receiving ridiculously high shipping quotes, and such.

Another point about unconfirmed addresses is: it is not always possible to have a confirmed address. What if I am buying something for my grandparent in a different address? Or I am traveling and need to receive something at the hotel? Or I just moved and haven't confirmed yet.

I am now a powerseller on eBay myself and I do ship international to whatever country it is. It just brings me a lot more business. I am selling auto parts. 10 sellers offer the same part, but I am the one who happily ships international. Procedure does not change for me, I print international shipping labels in few clicks directly from eBay, next morning the mailman would pick up from my porch. Guess who this guy from Europe would purchase the item from?

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 06 Dec 2012 Posts: 2

obviously this Madame, too, did not want to send the jacket coat in the name of a Russian guy ? and this Litvinov Pavel-Gennady paid for my money. he gave to the work of the mail us and work at least 10 people in a warehouse in the us

Oh dear to find this woman mlee7445 and tell - spoiled the mood me and the girls.
can not buy in the United States without a mediator . but with the mediator is a huge problem ! I kept crying all services .this is my correspondence with the seller . she refuses to send a lot.
=============================

Dear mlee7445,

Coat for spring - Italy (170942179388) USA Tracking Number: ?????????I bought this lot through an intermediary-30 Panas Road
Foxboro , MA, 02035 , USA. Where is he ? thank you 10bskyeBay

- 10bskyeBay sent this message to (10bsky).
Your registered name is included to show this message originated from eBay. Learn more.
Message from eBay member, mlee7445
Do not respond to the sender if this message requests that you complete the transaction outside of eBay. This type of offer is against eBay policy, may be fraudulent, and is not covered by buyer protection programs. Learn More.

User details:
From User:
mlee7445 (13)
100.0% Positive Feedback
Member since Oct-21-09 in United States
Location: NY, United States
Activity with mlee7445 (last 90 days): I have bid on 0 items from mlee7445
Activity with mlee7445 (last 90 days): mlee7445 has bid on 0 of my items

Dear 10bsky,

Hi~
The coat had a problem so i couldn't sell .
I wonder, I gave notice first buyer. and I didn't relist.
something is wrong.

- mlee7445
Click "respond" to reply through Messages, or go to your email to reply

From: 10bsky
To: mlee7445
Subject: 10bsky has sent a message
Sent Date: Dec-03-12 23:02:59 PST

Dear mlee7445,

Coat for spring - Italy (170942179388) USA Tracking Number: ?????????I bought this lot through an intermediary-30 Panas Road
Foxboro , MA, 02035 , USA. Where is he ? thank you

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 06 Dec 2012 Posts: 2

nisa737 wrote:

obviously this Madame, too, did not want to send the jacket coat in the name of a Russian guy ? and this Litvinov Pavel-Gennady paid for my money. he gave to the work of the mail us and work at least 10 people in a warehouse in the us

Oh dear to find this woman mlee7445 and tell - spoiled the mood me and the girls.
can not buy in the United States without a mediator . but with the mediator is a huge problem ! I kept crying all services .this is my correspondence with the seller . she refuses to send a lot.
=============================
30 Panas Road
Foxboro , MA, 02035 , USA ----You are not returned the money to the intermediary!!!!!!!. You spoil your image. I am very sorry for himself. You're not quite done.

Четверг, 6 декабря 2012, 12:32
it is a great pity . you spoil the Christmas holidays my daughter and me.you did not answer the question - did you send the parcel?????? you have received money from the intermediary?

I understand YOU correctly -- goods spoiled and not sen http://www.ebay.com/itm/Coat-spring-Italy-/170942179388

1 rate on the goods - it's my bet that's my money + 10 dollars I pay the intermediary for services but paid for it mediat
30 Panas Road
Foxboro , MA, 02035 , USA
Dear mlee7445,

Coat for spring - Italy (170942179388) USA Tracking Number: ?????????I bought this lot through an intermediary-30 Panas Road
Foxboro , MA, 02035 , USA. Where is he ? thank you 10bskyeBay

- 10bskyeBay sent this message to (10bsky).
Your registered name is included to show this message originated from eBay. Learn more.
Message from eBay member, mlee7445
Do not respond to the sender if this message requests that you complete the transaction outside of eBay. This type of offer is against eBay policy, may be fraudulent, and is not covered by buyer protection programs. Learn More.

[email protected]

User details:
From User:
mlee7445 (13)
100.0% Positive Feedback
Member since Oct-21-09 in United States
Location: NY, United States
Activity with mlee7445 (last 90 days): I have bid on 0 items from mlee7445
Activity with mlee7445 (last 90 days): mlee7445 has bid on 0 of my items

Dear 10bsky,

Hi~
The coat had a problem so i couldn't sell .
I wonder, I gave notice first buyer. and I didn't relist.
something is wrong.

- mlee7445
Click "respond" to reply through Messages, or go to your email to reply

[email protected]

From: 10bsky
To: mlee7445
Subject: 10bsky has sent a message
Sent Date: Dec-03-12 23:02:59 PST

Dear mlee7445,

Coat for spring - Italy (170942179388) USA Tracking Number: ?????????I bought this lot through an intermediary-30 Panas Road
Foxboro , MA, 02035 , USA. Where is he ? thank you

Not quite a Newb Joined: 08 Apr 2013 Posts: 30

hi, just be very careful on this one , i had this happen to me , you will no doubt get a letter from (paypal) as i did , looks real until you see bad grammar . and its usualy paypal.tm @ or some crap like that .

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