Is this legal? :/

porto_bello

anthonyox10 wrote: »

thanks for all your replies....dw i havent done it and now im not going to for sure.

all seemed a bit fishy but i just wanted to see what other people would do/think.

thanks guys!

Anthony,

The fact is that at best, there is little chance of any worthwhile gain and a huge chance that you'll find your 'employer' has disappeared with the funds and as the contract was with you, eBay/Paypal will expect you to refund the buyer(s).

If you lose your eBay and Paypal accounts, you'll be in a very much worse position than you started. And if there is anything in the least bit dodgy about the vehicles, your name being recorded by the police as being at the heart of some scam is certainly not going to help your future prospects.

Crowqueen wrote: »

Yes - campervans and motorhomes are at the heart of a notorious scam.

However, the concept is simply that of a trading assistant which is perfectly legitimate in itself. A lot of people do make their living in this way - but I would say that if you are just looking for a 'job' you could do a bit better. I think it takes a lot of experience and understanding of eBay and business to do this and just looking on it as a 'job' underestimates the responsibility.

I'd do it for some items but not for everything, particularly not for the items proposed.

At the end of the day, if it was genuine, and the guy wanted a genuine trading assistant, he would approach a genuine trading assistant, rather than try to recruit someone of unknown skills and experience, via an advert.

Contains_Mild_Peril

If they want you to use your own account, it sounds dodgy. I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole.

I once agreed to sell an item using my account as a favour for a friend, and I won't bore you with the details but I had to refund the buyer then get the money back off my friend later: a lot of hassle over a £50 item. I'm sure you can imagine how much more potential for complications there could be when selling vehicles for a stranger.

Haffiana

Please search this forum for posts from people who have done exactly what this advert wants you to do. They end up unwittingly owing thousands from their personal eBay and Paypal accounts to customers who have paid and who have not received anything.

It ISN'T legal, whatever the barrack room lawyers say on here. When someone buys an item large or small from a business seller, then that business must give them their trading details and ensure that their legal rights as buyers are adhered to. This is not only by-passing that, but also setting up a proxy to take the legal flack when they abscond.

In fact, it would be really helpful if you could cut and paste both the wording of the advert, and any follow up communication from this person. It might help someone else who is googling about it.

Crowqueen

It ISN'T legal, whatever the barrack room lawyers say on here. When someone buys an item large or small from a business seller, then that business must give them their trading details and ensure that their legal rights as buyers are adhered to. This is not only by-passing that, but also setting up a proxy to take the legal flack when they abscond.

The concept of a trading assistant is perfectly legal, and eBay actually run a match-making service: http://pages.ebay.co.uk/tradingassistants/hire-trading-assistant.html

That is why I said check out that the goods exist and to see them, and perhaps even take possession while they are being listed. The moment the OP asks that, chances are the person will evaporate.

Certainly, it's not something to be entered into lightly, or for the items in question, but it is not and has never been illegal as such. That these people are scammers is very probable, but in general a trading assistant is a professional businessperson who uses their eBay expertise to help those who don't have an account or don't want to use eBay. That is also why I said that it is more of a burden than the OP perhaps realises and from a legal point of view they would be getting into more than they bargained for. There are easier ways to make money, but it is perfectly legal to act as an agent for someone else when selling on eBay.

If it were blanket illegal then eBay would not have the service outlined above. It's not a good idea to sell items for your mates, but if you know what you are doing, and make an arrangement/contract with the buyer, then it's perfectly reasonable. There are a couple of people on the official boards who act mostly as TAs.

thenudeone

Listing anything under your ID = YOU are legally responsible for the delivery. At best you could be banned from ebay. At worst a very large gentleman and his mates may pay you a visit at your home to discuss the return of the money they've been scammed out of by your ebay identity.

Listing anything under your ID, even if you have the goods in your possession (but they later turn out to have been stolen) = You are easily traceable, and still responsible, and now you've got "handling stolen goods" to worry about as well.

Listing anything under their ID (but later turns out to be stolen) = Your IP address can still be traced as the address where the listing was created. Boys in Blue again?

Barge Pole!

terra_ferma

My understanding is that the contract would be between your and the buyers, with all the complications that may arise. What about if one of the vehicles is faulty and someone has an accident?

Limana68

I am sure there was something about this on the tv a few weeks ago where a female applied for a job like this and was scammed. All the money went into this persons acct from the female after she did all the listings and she never got paid a penny.
The ''items'' never existed and all the buyers lost out aswell.

Limana68

Oh and forgot to say the scammer disappeared!

sequence

It's probably a scam. The scammer gets you to list items that don't exist, and pockets the money. You're left owing the buyers a refund (could be tens of thousands). Because you listed the item, there is no link to the scammer, and you get all the trouble for it!

LutonGirl

Limana68 wrote: »

I am sure there was something about this on the tv a few weeks ago where a female applied for a job like this and was scammed. All the money went into this persons acct from the female after she did all the listings and she never got paid a penny.
The ''items'' never existed and all the buyers lost out aswell.

I saw that too. It was electronic items I think, they told her they were ex-catalogue or something, but it sounded just like the scheme (pronounced "scam") OP is describing here.