I have a strange one

soolin

I've got a slightly odd situation, it doesn't feel right but I have nothing to suggest it is actually dodgy at all.

Item I had listed on my private account for £3 sold for just shy of £40 which was a real shock- it is unusual so I didn't really have any idea of the value and would have been happy with £3 . Buyer shows as in Romania and has almost 20000 feedback , all private. I send invoice to a Romanian address planning to pay the extra to upgrade to tracked myself.

I then get a message asking me to quote for a UK address as that is his paypal one, so feeling this is all a bit odd I decide to offer my standard 2nd class as per the listing - but also to offer 'free' MyHermes postage- and I told him he could choose which he preferred. He has thankfully gone for the MyHermes so item is going fully tracked and to a UK address, but also to a completely different name. The original name appears to be Eastern European, the new name is very British.

This has all been done through ebay, the payment is in my paypal account and says 'OK to send' so I am safe. I had assumed it was going to be one of those shipping companies (I get them quite a bit) but this is a family house according to Google street view.

Very strange

RHemmings

It does sound odd. I briefly wondered if you had double checked that it is the correct paypal address that you are sending to. But as you're Soo-lin, I'm very sure you have. The private feedback still makes me suspicious that something is up. If it is some sort of scam, then scams are often obvious once you're aware of them, but not so obvious if it's a new one you haven't heard of before. It could be that they're buying to resell, and hence they might have multiple identities and private feedback so that their buyers can't work out how much they paid for an item.

ailey

Could it be that he has lived and worked here and this is a present to someone he has as a friend in the UK? Possibility.

soolin

ailey wrote: »

Could it be that he has lived and worked here and this is a present to someone he has a friend in the UK? Possibility.

That's a definite possibility.

ballisticbrian

Not as strange as this advert...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251764994402?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_from%3DR40%26_sacat%3D0%26_nkw%3D251764994402%26_rdc%3D1

RHemmings

soolin wrote: »

That's a definite possibility.

In that case, wouldn't the verified paypal address not be the address of his/her friend?

soolin

RHemmings wrote: »

In that case, wouldn't the verified paypal address not be the address of his/her friend?

A PayPal account can have many different addresses and once the main one is verified they all are. I have several addresses in my PayPal and just choose where I want my things delivered.

However, I thought it was more difficult if not impossible to do this across country borders- but I'm not sure.

theoretica

soolin wrote: »

However, I thought it was more difficult if not impossible to do this across country borders- but I'm not sure.

I have found it very straightforward to have presents sent to relatives abroad this way avoiding international postage. Just choose/enter the address when paying and postage calculates automatically.

There was one ebay item which I presume had settings of only available to the US which I was blocked from bidding on even though I would have used a US address, but others have worked fine.

mgdavid

Have you asked the buyer the direct question ' what connection do you have with this other person in Glasgow?''
I've done this in almost same situation, got a genuine-sounding reply, explaining he had worked over here. rented a room at the address and was now very good friends with the addressee, who would look after the item until he (buyer) returned here in a few weeks time.
The only bit that maybe makes this different is the industrial-strength feedback.

DaveTheMus

mgdavid wrote: »

Have you asked the buyer the direct question ' what connection do you have with this other person in Glasgow?''
I've done this in almost same situation, got a genuine-sounding reply, explaining he had worked over here. rented a room at the address and was now very good friends with the addressee, who would look after the item until he (buyer) returned here in a few weeks time.
The only bit that maybe makes this different is the industrial-strength feedback.

We're talking about an item worth 300 pennies and you want to do your best Columbo impression...get a grip.

Post the item and stop being so paranoid, it's none of your business what connection the buyer has with the person at the delivery address.

N9eav

I often bid on things in the USA, and then switch my address to my friends address for delivery address. I pay through PayPal as normal and my friend keeps it for me when I go visit. It must seem odd to the seller, but I guess 'Romania' arouses suspicion. Just make sure you have the money safely deposited in the account before sending..