ebay advice for X5 Wheels?

[fheatl]

I won the bid for a set of 4 sport wheels off an 05 X5 and the seller requested to be paid via cashier check. The seller does not have an active history on ebay and during the bidding process the seller did not reply to any of my e-mails. The seller's ID showed a Houston Tx location and when I received the payment instructions, the seller was requesting for the payment to be mailed to a Jackson Mississippi address (an address I could not verify online). Additionally, the seller was only charging $18.00 for shipping and typically it is at least $150. The telephone number provided is a work number in Houston and when I called it I was told the extension was invalid and they do not have an employee with that name.
The seller claims he has moved, did not provide a new telephone number, his Paypal account is suspended for unauthorized use, and still wants to be paid via cashier check/wire transfer/or Western Union.
Ebay customer support has been pretty worthless in providing guidance and I am inclined in telling the seller to ship the wheels COD or to take a hike.

What would you do?

[JV]

Originally Posted by fheatl

What would you do?

I would do anything else besides send him any money. The only other option is maybe someone on the board can secure your wheels for you from his location.

JV

[iop9000]

What are the payment options listed in the auction?
I will not send the payment. I'll rather have a negative feedback than lose more than $1000 for nothing, IMO---sounds like a scam to me- heard many cases like this.

[B&DCalgary]

Usually one red flag is enough to call off a deal, but this guy has so many it's ridiculous.

The way you can call his bluff and protect yourself at the same time without violating any eBay rules is to use a web escrow service for the purchase. You make payment to the e-escrow company, which holds the funds in trust until you receive the goods and verify they are "as promised". Only after you have received the goods is the payment released to the seller. If he doesn't agree to do this, then call off the deal. You should be able to get information about this on the eBay website. Make sure it's an escrow site of your choosing, not his, as there are numerous scams out there (see below)

Here's a good primer on Online Escrow services
http://www.nclnet.org/shoppingonline/escrowtips.htm
http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y02/m10/i25/s01

[powers1]

Originally Posted by B&DCalgary

Usually one red flag is enough to call off a deal, but this guy has so many it's ridiculous.

The way you can call his bluff and protect yourself at the same time without violating any eBay rules is to use a web escrow service for the purchase. You make payment to the e-escrow company, which holds the funds in trust until you receive the goods and verify they are "as promised". Only after you have received the goods is the payment released to the seller. If he doesn't agree to do this, then call off the deal. You should be able to get information about this on the eBay website.

Also,complain to Ebay that this is a possible fraudulent transaction and they should act on it as well.This should clear any negative feedback.

[iop9000]

any details? link to the auction listing? or ebay item number?

[iop9000]

Originally Posted by powers1

Also,complain to Ebay that this is a possible fraudulent transaction and they should act on it as well.This should clear any negative feedback.

I would do this RIGHT NOW!

[AutoXer]

Agree with all above posts, too many suspicious signs. I would not send him money!

[PersonaNonGrata]

I'm with the others. It smells down right rotten. First off, I wouldn't trust anyone who only accepts a cashiers check. Someone legit should accept PayPal. The $18 for shipping is plain stupid. I sent a 10lbs box of X5 wood trim within the state and it cost me $16 with UPS. Run, run, run. Do whatever you have to to ensure you don't get dinged. Good luck!

[x5GuyInLA]

Originally Posted by fheatl

I won the bid for a set of 4 sport wheels off an 05 X5 and the seller requested to be paid via cashier check. The seller does not have an active history on ebay and during the bidding process the seller did not reply to any of my e-mails. The seller's ID showed a Houston Tx location and when I received the payment instructions, the seller was requesting for the payment to be mailed to a Jackson Mississippi address (an address I could not verify online). Additionally, the seller was only charging $18.00 for shipping and typically it is at least $150. The telephone number provided is a work number in Houston and when I called it I was told the extension was invalid and they do not have an employee with that name.
The seller claims he has moved, did not provide a new telephone number, his Paypal account is suspended for unauthorized use, and still wants to be paid via cashier check/wire transfer/or Western Union.
Ebay customer support has been pretty worthless in providing guidance and I am inclined in telling the seller to ship the wheels COD or to take a hike.

What would you do?

if you want to see how legit this seller is, see if he will do an online escrow. I had someone asking for payment via Western Union for a laptop that was $400 less than what I could find on the internet. I asked them to do an online escrow, and they refused. If they have nothing to hide and are legit, they shouldn't have a problem doing that. Needless to say, that seller ended up being unregistered.