Scamers

[BigB778]

This old guy i work with told me about this forum and has been telling me how trusted it is.. Then about 2 weeks ago he got scamed for about $900... He dont make that much money and can can barely afford his meds and had to sell a few lenses to cover the price of the lens hes been wanting for awhile... Anyways this has been makeing me question my buys on this forum... I know theres a possitive feedback, but not to many people know how to use it and there is not a neg feedback section

[BigB778]

please fix this

[BigB778]

thats alot of money to lose out on for trusting someone

[teo-bingus]

the forum doesn't control what members do.
he has some options to get his money back (or try to).
no details on how he paid etc so.....

[The-great-328ic]

if he paid with paypal, he can make a claim

[Gliderparentntn]

If he paid thru PP he can start a dispute to get his funds back if he sent a Postal MONTH he needs to go to post office and file a dispute for mail fraud with post master they do take this stuff seriously

[Nates98cbr]

I've bought and sold on here a few times and not a single bad thing really. It can happen anywhere though. On a side note, when you type on here to post something, if the word is underlined in red, then it is misspelled, just a little food for thought. :)

[ed rader]

thats alot of money to lose out on for trusting someone

it sure is. tell your buddy to buy from BH next time ... you can trust them :D.

ed rader

[BigB778]

i know they dont control what members do, He used paypal so thats a good thing .. Its just been stessing him out and its not good for his heart and i just wanna let people know to be cautious...

[richardchoi]

Also, if he paid with credit card, he can make a claim with his CC company.

[midnight_rider]

Yes the forum stays out of the buy sell section. I do not blame them for this at all. It is up to you ( or in this case him) to check out the person that he is buying from. Read HERE (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=423243) and HERE (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=423242).
I am sorry that this happened to him and I hope that he finds a way to get his money back.

[BigB778]

I feel bad for him as well thats why im writing this, I appreciate that..

[vivala1210]

by any chance you know who scam your friend? the thread that he got scam?

[midnight_rider]

by any chance you know who scam your friend? the thread that he got scam?

I think it was stated very clearly in a recent thread that it is not allowed for them to say ( of type) the other parties name.

[midnight_rider]

Here is that thread I mentioned above (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=687273&page=4)

[lyttleviet]

should have some kinda itrader on this forum IMO. I've been scammed for 1180 from ebay which IS paypal and I got nothing but 200 out of it.

[BigB778]

There should be some kind of buyer protection to insure trust that they are going to get what they paid for....

[BobbyM]

I've bought and sold on here a few times and not a single bad thing really. It can happen anywhere though. On a side note, when you type on here to post something, if the word is underlined in red, then it is misspelled, just a little food for thought. :)

It's a shame that spellchecker doesn't correct comma splices. :lol:

[TooManyShots]

Sorry to hear that. Reference check is required. Ask if he or she sold anything here before and so that you can contact the person he last sold the item to.

[zagiace]

and gramma... hehe
I agree with the OP. I have purchased and sold here but it is not the safest place to shop. Personally I have yet to loose any thing but I know my time will eventually come.
It is frustrating. BUT! I cannot expect the mods or owners of this site to be the blame. I do not think they can control every transaction nor would I want this to become another ebay. Its buyer beware here. (oh, seller too.)

[TooManyShots]

Forgot to mention that you can still contact your local postal police if you did pay with a money order. Even contact the District Attorney where the state the seller is living in.

[DStanic]

I hope your friend gets it figured out. Stealing money over the internet is fraud, even if paypal doesn't solve it don't give up.

[DarthVader]

Is there any list here who are the bad guys ?

[david888lee]

obviously if they're out to scam someone, they would just be recreating accounts so knowing their username is pointless.

to avoid getting scammed, i would check feedback and check how many posts they have to avoid buying from someone with no history

[colormaniac]

should have some kinda itrader on this forum IMO. I've been scammed for 1180 from ebay which IS paypal and I got nothing but 200 out of it.
As far as I know, PayPal purchase through eBay previously covered only $200. But now, if you buy something for more than $200 through eBay, PayPal can cover all. I don't know if there is any upper limit.

Back to the original topic, I am new here and I was quite scared to spend a lot of money buying from people here without much protection. But I have been lucky for those several times. this incident makes me hesitate again.

[Josue DG]

I agree with Lyttleviet; some form of iTrader would be nice. And I do hope that the mods are perm banning those scammers instead of just letting them roam freely.

[Hangbot]

After being scammed years ago on Ebay, I only deal locally when buying from others on forums.

I feel for your friend:(

[nicksan]

The best you can do is to do your research on a seller whether it be here, Ebay, local.
Use common sense. Review feedbacks. All the common sense stuff.

If it's too good to be true, then it is...and if someone takes the bait...well...I'll stop right there.

Not the responsibility of this forum to police it...let's keep it that way please. I like the B/S forum. Bought and sold lots of gear and never once a problem.

[Rick Anderson]

I have bought and sold dozens of items here without any problems besides the post office losing a package I sent, which took a long time to resolve. Fair warning if you think you are safe sending something USPS insured, It took me over six months, numerous visits to the post office, and lots of headaches to get the claim through.

[Rebel450D_Addict]

That is horrible that happened... I hope he will pay for his wrong doings.

[Exposure101]

There should be some kind of buyer protection to insure trust that they are going to get what they paid for....

There is- it's called a credit card. I really do feel bad for the guy that got scammed. However, so many people have been complaining about not receiving products purchased from other members and time and time again it is suggested that you USE A CREDIT CARD or at least use paypal. Credit card is safest because it is the bank's money so they will do everything they can to protect it. A debit card, on the other hand, is YOUR money so if it's lost, they won't try as hard to fix it for you.

[ed rader]

There is- it's called a credit card. I really do feel bad for the guy that got scammed. However, so many people have been complaining about not receiving products purchased from other members and time and time again it is suggested that you USE A CREDIT CARD or at least use paypal. Credit card is safest because it is the bank's money so they will do everything they can to protect it. A debit card, on the other hand, is YOUR money so if it's lost, they won't try as hard to fix it for you.

how do you use a debit card when dealing with a private party? and the only way to use a CC when dealing with a private party is via paypal.

read what Nicksan said above. do your due diligence. if you have any doubts don't do the deal. POTN says right out front that you are on your own.

if you want a guarantee buy from a retail store that has a return policy.

ed rader

[discreativename]

Always use a credit card when paying via PayPal. That way you get the protection from both PayPal and your credit card company. If something goes wrong, you can file a dispute with PayPal and immediately escalate it to a claim. And if PayPal does not resolve your claim, you can always file a charge back with your credit card company.

[TeamSpeed]

We followed the other thread, and your friend did receive the lenses back after all and is out only the cost of the original shipping. I am not sure how they were scammed out of $900? In any case, there are numerous threads (stickies) that describe how to go about due diligence to research a potential seller or buyer.

Why not post up the lenses for sale again, and this time screen the buyer based on their feedback, prior posts, and references on other forums or sale sites?

[strobe monkey]

Sometimes it happens.In happened to me in another forum, a seller who has been registered in the forum longer than myself, swindled some forum member before, changed his username, then he victimized me.

Mr. Gump said.. Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you get!

[Pete]

Mr. Gump said.. Life is a box of chocolates, you never know what you get!

That's the bottom line really.

Looking at both scenarios, it's next to impossible to tell whether a deal is going sour because the other party has valid reasons (family emergencies, broken computer, lost in transit, general laziness in responding or sending goods, misunderstanding between buyer and seller, etc), or whether the other side is in fact booking a holiday on the money that's been sent to him/her.

We've had a case where a seller had been out of touch for a week because there was a death in the family that demanded his time to deal with.

This is the reason why POTN can't arbitrate in these cases, and this is also the reason why we don't allow negative feedback - people are quick to assume the worst and will gladly report it to the world if given that avenue of feedback. Needlessly giving someone negative feedback can be very damaging to their reputation.

As stated in this thread already, the best defense is due dilligence when entering a transaction. Look at the seller's history, are they on eBay/other forums, are they happy to meet, talk on the phone, etc...

There is no hard and fast defense against getting scammed, it happens to the best of us (myself included). Cover your bases the best you can, use your credit card protection if you're covered that way.

[Karl C]

Not the responsibility of this forum to police it...let's keep it that way please. I like the B/S forum. Bought and sold lots of gear and never once a problem.

Agreed - I've bought/sold here and Ebay, never once had a problem (knock on wood).

Know the buyer/seller before finalizing your transaction.

Like Pete said, allowing for negative feedback can lead to public lynchings and mob mentality responses.

Use good common sense and judgment.

When in doubt, don't go through with the deal.

[Exposure101]

how do you use a debit card when dealing with a private party? and the only way to use a CC when dealing with a private party is via paypal.

read what Nicksan said above. do your due diligence. if you have any doubts don't do the deal. POTN says right out front that you are on your own.

if you want a guarantee buy from a retail store that has a return policy.

ed rader

I think you can use a debit card thru paypal no? The OP said his co worker bought a lens from here and mentioned something about shipping so I assumed it's not a local transaction. Thus paypal is the preferred way and a credit card is preferred over a debit card.

But I agree with others that sometimes the seller have an unexpected emergency or simply got caught up in something and people just assume the worst.

[Pete]

I think you can use a debit card thru paypal no?

That is correct. If a deal goes sour, you can issue a chargeback against Paypal. It's Paypal's responsibility to retrieve funds from the other party.

At least that's how it used to work, things might have changed recently.

[postcardcv]

That is correct. If a deal goes sour, you can issue a chargeback against Paypal. It's Paypal's responsibility to retrieve funds from the other party.

At least that's how it used to work, things might have changed recently.

I got scammed on a forum last year, having paid through paypal I asked them to lok into it, but they told me that the buyer protection only applies to ebay sales! Thankfully my credit card company did take it up and recovered the money for me.

[BigB778]

WoW I am not saying this is a bad forum by any means, i like this forum and have learned alot from here and still like reading what people have to say and help.... I dont understand what TEAMSPEED said:
We followed the other thread, and your friend did receive the lenses back after all and is out only the cost of the original shipping. I am not sure how they were scammed out of $900? In any case, there are numerous threads (stickies) that describe how to go about due diligence to research a potential seller or buyer.

Why not post up the lenses for sale again, and this time screen the buyer based on their feedback, prior posts, and references on other forums or sale sites?


What, I never said who my friend was and he wasnt the seller he was the buyer...
__________________

[ruben00]

Still, even if he got his lenses back, it wasn't a For Rent post he made, it was a For Sale, if the Scammer wanted to rent lenses, there are plenty of sites out there that can do that for him. I think the scammers actions were dishonest and he should be banned from here and any other site for that matter. Im sure he made some good money from the "shoot" that he went on and used the lenses for, so the least he can do is pay the OP for his shipping and then a fee for the rental. Guys like the scammer make it hard for regular honest guys to sell their gear on here

[Joshua14321]

Use an escrow service,

That way, when you get your lens, camera, ect they get their money,

Simple :)

[CoryAllenPhotos]

Open a dispute with paypal or the CC Company

[TexasStalker]

it sure is. tell your buddy to buy from BH next time ... you can trust them :D.

ed rader

I always use paypal for payments because of this. It adds a little piece of mind knowing that I wont have to fight alone if a deal goes wrong.

[TexasStalker]

I got scammed on a forum last year, having paid through paypal I asked them to lok into it, but they told me that the buyer protection only applies to ebay sales! Thankfully my credit card company did take it up and recovered the money for me.

Wow.. I did not know that they only protect eBay sales.. Good to know.

[Eccentric M]

paypal + credit card is the way to go.