Scammer or not? Advice.

[BrandonSi]

I buy and sell a good deal of equipment online, and I've never run into a situation like this, so I'd like your input..

I purchased a lens on another forum. Paid via PP gift, which I've done many times. I don't do it lightly, but after some research I was very sure this guy wasn't a scammer for a number of reasons. The guy was pretty slow to respond initially, taking a day or two to finalize the deal.. so I got the feeling he's just like that, and after I sent him the money he sent a nice note saying that he appreciated it, etc.. it was helping him out a lot and that he'd get the lens in the mail the next day.

That was on August 2nd. Since then, I've sent emails on the 4th, 6th, 9th, and 10th asking for tracking information or confirmation that he's shipped the lens. No response at all. I checked his forum activity, nothing since August 2nd.

At this point I'd be agreeing with you if you think "scammer", but here's why I'm not sure.


He's got a small but varied post history on that forum for the last year or so, even sharing his own images in contests, and selling a couple of other lenses.
His email included his college information.. year, major, school, etc..
This guy was was a staff photographer for their campus newspaper, and is tagged in by-line info on those images as recent as May of this year.
He has a photography FB page with his phone number on it.
He has a flickr account, with images of the lens and a sketch of himself with his full name.. First, middle and last.
There's a professional in his home-town that lists him as his 'protege' on his website, and that professional works a day job at the same college as this guy.


For the life of me, I can't understand how anyone would try and pull off a scam with that much public information on them out there.. So I'm just bewildered..

Thoughts..? At what point do you go to paypal / police / "mentor", etc.. and track this guy down? 10 days.. 2 weeks? now?

Thanks for reading..!

[crn3371]

Hopefully the seller is just slow to respond.
Hopefully you learn not to use paypal gift in the future.

[carshop]

Call the number.

[BrandonSi]

Call the number.

I plan to this evening, I'm just giving today's mail one last chance. We'll see what happens.

[hitek]

I am anxious to know what happens keep us updated and good luck. I hope it comes through for you

[BrandonSi]

Phone # called.. I got the voicemail of the guy with the right name, and it rang 4-5 times like the phone was on, before it went to voicemail.. Left a "concerned" message. We'll see what happens there.

[BrandonSi]

Was it his final year in that college? I'm just thinking that it's the summer break now - will he be coming back or is he now in another location never to return?

His email signature said 3rd year, but that's something I hadn't considered. At least the phone number was valid, so if he's just a really bad scammer, hopefully that scared him. I'm still holding out hope he's just lazy/ cheap and shipped it late, or very slowly to save money (even though he said priority mail).

So frustrating..

[IShootThings]

he can't be a scammer. if he is, he's either really good and leading you to someone else or really bad and giving himself up. or maybe someone stole this guy's identity and just swindled you for $1400.

i have a feeling you're going to get a hold of him and all will be ok.

[BrandonSi]

That was my first thought was some hacker stole his ID, but they'd have had to have targeted him specifically for his photo background, and then to blow all that time and energy on that amount when they could easily have done that for a 5D II or 1D IV, etc.. It doesn't make sense.

I'm leaning towards he's just a lazy / irresponsible college kid. Nothing yet, so I think I'll just switch to the daily, or twice daily phone call model until I get a response.

[Pablo3]

There is always the possibility that something happened to him that was out of his control. Accident, sickness, either personal or family could cause him to be 'AWOL.' Trust me, it's easy to have happen - last month my brother and father died within days of each other - stuff happens.

But with that much information available - I think it will turn out ok, just maybe slowly.

[BrandonSi]

There is always the possibility that something happened to him that was out of his control. Accident, sickness, either personal or family could cause him to be 'AWOL.' Trust me, it's easy to have happen - last month my brother and father died within days of each other - stuff happens.

But with that much information available - I think it will turn out ok, just maybe slowly.

That is another possibility.. I'm sorry to hear about your father & brother. :(

[Pablo3]

I think the easiest way to check up on him would be to call his mentor - just be concerned that you haven't heard from him, and is everything ok? Just yesterday, I had someone come to check up on me because I hadn't followed up on something that required several steps to complete. As I said, it's easy to have stuff happen.

(And Thank You!)

[rick_reno]

i'm confident it'll work out, you'll get your lens and all will be well.

[BrandonSi]

Still nothing this morning.. I have now emailed "the mentor" to see if this guy is OK or had an emergency of some kind.

[BrandonSi]

Spoke with the mentor on the phone, really nice guy. Turns out the seller is no longer a student there, and definitely was having some money problems. He'd asked the mentor to list the item on FM, but the mentor said no since he couldn't guarantee that the seller would actually ship it. The mentor gave me his home phone number and some more information, as well as tried to contact the seller via FB / text message on my behalf, but no response yet.

I've sent him another email telling him I really don't want to involve his parents / family, or the police, but that I obviously have the information to do this. Gave him a day to get back to me, so we'll see. Sounds like a mixed up kid, I really don't want to make those phone calls, but if I have to go that route, I will. :(

[BrandonSi]

Well, now his cell phone no longer works, when you call, it returns a "this number is no longer working" message. I called from a few numbers just to make sure he hadn't blocked it somehow.

Tomorrow evening, I'm calling the family members.

[S.Horton]

The saga of PayPal gift continues. Sorry this happened to you. I think he is skipping with your money. Call his parents.

[focus.pocus]

are you sure he is who he says he is and didn't just highjack the credentials??? it's happened to a friend of mine once...

[BrandonSi]

are you sure he is who he says he is and didn't just highjack the credentials??? it's happened to a friend of mine once...

Unless the person who hijacked his credentials kidnapped or killed him, then I'm pretty sure. In that situation you'd think the "real" person would response with a "hey, stop calling me!" or "hey, quit emailing me", etc.. There's nothing from this guy..

and now his cell phone is disconnected..

[crn3371]

Sorry to hear that it's not looking good. An expensive way to learn the pitfalls of Paypal gift.

[BrandonSi]

Spoke to his father, who says he thought he shipped it out since he was using the money to pay a bill.. His father assured me he would have him give me a call when he gets home from work. Originally I was going to track him down at work, but I'll hold off on doing that for right now as a courtesy.. Though that's far more courtesy than he's show me at this point.

[Carlwashere]

Wow. Good luck getting your lens dude.

[hitek]

This is some crazy stuff I cant believe he would try to do that. Does he live somewhere in your area?

[BrandonSi]

This is some crazy stuff I cant believe he would try to do that. Does he live somewhere in your area?

Nope, unfortunately, he's a number of states over from me. I've already lined up the police contacts for his town, and his place of work. Hopefully I don't need to use them.. We'll see what happens after he gets the message I left at his home. :(

[S.Horton]

The police cannot help you. The attorney general of that state has a website with a form you can fill out to report a fraud or theft by deception. That office has real staff and real teeth.

Now that you know he has not suffered a tragedy, I think you should call him at work. Then at home tomorrow, until you have a tracking number for a package.

A long time ago I was a bill collector. Basically, people are good. But if you are not sure or see any behavior which makes you think something is wrong, something is wrong. Stay on him.

[acpoweradapter]

Wow this will be interesting to see how it works out. I prefer never to use paypal gift. Part of selling is either pricing higher or eating the cost I believe.

[Scatterbrained]

Man, that sucks. I hope this works out for ya.

[Hard Drive Disk]

Very strange.

[BrandonSi]

Well, finally a response from the "seller". I guess speaking with his father moved things along..

His excuse was that his "head was in the wrong place" and "the money and the lens were the last thing on my mind."

Whatever that means. I told him nothing has changed until I see a tracking number, to which he says the number is at home, and he won't be at home until tomorrow, but he'll get it to me ASAP.

To be continued..

[Bang Bang Boy]

I think I know whom the seller is and he seemed like an alright kid. Hopefully you will get your lens soon. I have completely stopped buying used lenses and always go for the store. So easy to get scammed on photogear.

[xarqi]

His excuse was that his "head was in the wrong place" ...

Well, with luck he'll pull it out before he suffocates.

[Midaso]

Well, with luck he'll pull it out before he suffocates.

Right off the bat I thought this whole thing smelled funny, but now I know why :p

[crn3371]

This thread is a perfect example of why you don't use Paypal gift for online transactions. It sounds as if OP might still get his lens, and I hope he does, but I can't imagine that saving 3% was worth all his anguish.

[squashed]

Oh man, good luck Brandon !!

[jetta-the-hut]

like another member said most peeps are honest and alittle background checks help, which Brandon did. Paypal gift is a bad way to pay, i've done it before too but i've always been lucky, and got honest sellers.

[S.Horton]

I wish there was a way to impact someone's credit report for doing stuff like this.

[jetta-the-hut]

I wish there was a way to impact someone's credit report for doing stuff like this.


yeah me too, paypal gift is great to save alittle money but just pay the 3% fees for the insurance and the peace of mind.

[BrandonSi]

Thanks guys.. We'll see if it shows up, but I think having gone this far into the guy's life, it should. I still think PP gift has a purpose, though now in retrospect there are a few indicators that this may not have been the most reputable person in the world. I think from now on I'll negotiate splitting the fees with the buyer, instead of just going for straight PP gift.

[crn3371]

Yeah, split fees, negotiate somehow with seller, but somehow protect yourself as a buyer. Conversely, I would always recommend as a seller you ship insured to protect yourself.

[Cubdriver]

Any further developments?

-Pat

[BrandonSi]

No tracking # on Monday, I've emailed him this afternoon asking for info / status. I can't believe him still not sending it after I spoke to this father, and made clear I have his home address and can call the cops at any time. More likely, even after all this, he took the cheap way out and mailed if parcel post, and didn't get a tracking number to give me.

I'm giving it until this weekend, then the police are being called.

[Cubdriver]

Not cool.... Hope it works out. Gotta love how trustworthy people are, huh? Argh!

[Shelly1204]

Where does he live? Maybe someone here lives near him or might know him.

[Midaso]

No tracking # on Monday, I've emailed him this afternoon asking for info / status. I can't believe him still not sending it after I spoke to this father, and made clear I have his home address and can call the cops at any time. More likely, even after all this, he took the cheap way out and mailed if parcel post, and didn't get a tracking number to give me.

I'm giving it until this weekend, then the police are being called.

Don't count on any action from the cops. Your best bet would be to speak to the DA, and if that won't work, the only option you've got left is to take him to small claims court, which could cost YOU money, depending on several factors, and it would be a longdrawn process.

So let's just hope this lens arrives soon :)

[BrandonSi]

Lens arrived today.. 16 days after payment. Apparently it was shipped out on Monday, according to the USPS stamp / circle thing.

What a PITA.. but at least it's done with. Thanks for all the responses and feedback.

[Chris]

Wow, what an adventure!! So glad you got the lens.

[Cubdriver]

Glad to hear that it worked out ok. It still sounds like it was an angst ridden process, though. Hope you enjoy your new lens!

-Pat

[blatallic]

I avoid paypal gift. I rather pay an extra 3%. And I always use my CC. Never my bank.

Glad things worked out.

[hitek]

Wow finally... glad to hear it worked out for you!