Playtrade scam?

pinkgem

I sold an item last night at 11.30pm, but it was still showing as status: pending this morning, i have checked my sales this evening and it is now showing as cancelled and has been automatically relisted by play.

I have just receieved an email from the 'buyer' who included his email from play.com below his message. I have x'ed out my details and buyers address and bolded his 3 different names and odd email address!

It seems that he is trying to trick me in to sending the item even though the order has been cancelled! anyone else think the same?

"From: EDDIE HITLER <bettersend@hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: Confirmation of PlayTrade order from 'xxx'

Hi just wanted to know when your be posting. Thanks

> From: buying@PlayTrade.com
> To: bettersend@hotmail.com
> Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2008 23:31:05 +0100
> Subject: Confirmation of PlayTrade order from 'LittleGems'
>
> Dear MARK WRIGHT,
>
> Your order for xxx has been received.
>
> Thank you for ordering from xxx via PlayTrade. Please check the following order information:
>
> Order Reference(s): xxx
> Item: xxx
> Price: GBP xx.xx
> Quantity: 1
> Delivery Cost: Free
> Payment: Credit Card
>
>
> Condition: New
> Seller Comment: xxx
>
> Link to product: xxx
>
> Delivery Address:
> Vince Jones
> xxx
> xxx
> xxx
> xxxx xxx
> United Kingdom
>
>
> You have purchased this item from xxx, who will confirm by email when the item has been dispatched, which is usually within 2 working days of receiving this confirmation. The item is being posted from the UK.
>
> Should you have any questions about this order, you should email xxx directly at xxx. Further information about PlayTrade can be found at:
>
> * PlayTrade User Agreement (http://www.play.com/aboutus.html?page=tradeuseragreement)
> * PlayTrade Delivery Guidelines (http://www.play.com/aboutus.html?page=tradegeneralq#jump-02)
> * PlayTrade FAQ (http://www.play.com/aboutus.html?page=tradegeneralq)
>
>
> Kind Regards,
> PlayTrade"

PopeSock

I've never had that before.. though I actually have been having more than my average share of cancelled items recently. I have heard of someone getting similar messages on Amazon. I still think PlayTrade is a good way to sell, and it's not their fault they're getting scammers. And yes, I think they are scammers. Some people might have an expired card on their account, but then if they input the right card it goes through. I've been having listings just cancel out.

The one problem with Play as far as the above goes is that unlike E-Bay, you can't hide your email from the buyer if you reply to them. So if this is indeed a scammer, and not a misunderstanding, they'd have your email.

funkyfunkymonkey

When you buy from PlayTrade you get the "Confirmation of PlayTrade order ..." email straight away (I think). Your order remains as pending for 20-30 minutes to allow you time to reconsider and cancel your order. If the item remained as pending for longer that would suggest a problem with their credit/debit card.

To avoid the 'buyer' getting your email address you could forward it to a newly set up disposable account, delete the header from your real email address and then answer from there.

Just explain that although they thought the payment had gone through it hasn't and if they still want the item they will need to purchase it again.

FFM

pinkgem

funkyfunkymonkey wrote: »

When you buy from PlayTrade you get the "Confirmation of PlayTrade order ..." email straight away (I think). Your order remains as pending for 20-30 minutes to allow you time to reconsider and cancel your order. If the item remained as pending for longer that would suggest a problem with their credit/debit card.

To avoid the 'buyer' getting your email address you could forward it to a newly set up disposable account, delete the header from your real email address and then answer from there.

Just explain that although they thought the payment had gone through it hasn't and if they still want the item they will need to purchase it again.

FFM

thanks for the advice, unfortunately it is over a month too late lol. not sure why it was bumped.

i emailed then to tell them it had been cancelled and didn't hear from them again. still think it was a bit dodgy though, 3 different names and weird email address etc. nevermind

funkyfunkymonkey

pinkgem wrote: »

thanks for the advice, unfortunately it is over a month too late lol. not sure why it was bumped.

i emailed then to tell them it had been cancelled and didn't hear from them again. still think it was a bit dodgy though, 3 different names and weird email address etc. nevermind

Ha, didn't notice the date of your original post. Did look dodgy though, especially as you heard no more from them.

FFM

PopeSock

Guilty - I bumped it. Because I found this thread Google searching for PlayTrade cancellations. And it's still bloody happening. I've not had any scam emails, but of my last ten Playtrade transactions, two were cancellations, and another two look like they will be cancellations too. Because, as another poster noted, sellers only have an hour to cancel. If the order gets cancelled after that it's because payment isn't valid.

It's not the end of the world, it's just a pain in the bum having the item tied up for 24 hours. It's even worse on Amazon, where it's tied up for 3 days, though oddly I've had far less cancellations due to lack of payment on there. I know it's not one scammer targeting me, since you can't search for a person's listings on PlayTrade - it must just be bad luck.

EDIT: Well, at least one of the ones I thought would cancel just came through. It's certainly more cancellations than I'm used to. Though whether it's due to people buying more at Christmas, or people trying it on more, I don't know.

Dave_H_4

Sorry to reserruct a VERY old thread but just to confirm, there is nothing dodgy going on here whatsoever. The reason the buyer probably contacted you was because they had no idea the order was cancelled. There are only 2 ways they would know:

1. They receive an automated email from Play confirming the cancellation which is nearly always because of a payment problem.
2.They log into their account, view order history and see that the order from you is cancelled (it will actuall say "declined" to customer, only says cancelled to you)

Number 1 hardly ever applies because Playtrade emails hardly EVER reach the customer, their systems are appalling. Even now, I tried to log into my Playtrade account (one I hadn't accessed for a while) and forgot password so requested another, the email never arrived. Tried twice more and it was only the third time I actually got the email. An automated email will only send once so the chances of the customer receiving it are very slim.

Number 2 will also never apply because the obvious thing is for the customer to check their account but as customers do not do obvious things then they will simply contact you assuming all is well.

The fact that your customers details were all different wasnt really that strange, from the thousands of orders we deal with, this is not uncommon to have one guy pay for it a completely different name to be delivered to.

zenseeker

Why the hell do you think it's useful to resurrect a two year old thread?

Dave_H_4

zenseeker wrote: »

Why the hell do you think it's useful to resurrect a two year old thread?

Because noone replied stating what I did and as the internet is filledwiththis exact question, people are probably still haing the same situation.

Jesus, calm down man. Just helping

zenseeker

You're not helping though, the original post was made two years ago, your advice is of no use whatsoever.

Do not resurrect old threads pointlessly.

Dave_H_4

So noone sells on Playtrade anymore???

Course its of use, dont be silly.