Dodgy message via ebay - be aware

soolin

It's been years since I've had one of these dodgy messages on ebay - but just got this overnight

"Hy  would you be intrested in selling my items can give you percentage I have stock worth 100k looking for few eBay accounts splitting up stockCurrent account I have with 6k feedback"

Obviously I'm about to report it to ebay but although they didn't give me their user name- it was easily traceable via messages, and they are a private seller, selling 'shop stock' items, only have 13 items listed currently with 1 feedback. Surprisingly they are in the UK as well.

I'm posting as this might just catch out a newbie or someone who doesn't see the danger in doing something like this.

Exodi

Hi @Soolin I'm not as clued up as you, but what is the scam?

Are you expected to buy stock off them (and it's a bad deal) or are you placing orders on 'them' to ship direct to your customer (but in reality it's coming from a Chinese factory and you're effectively dropshipping but paying them a cut as a middleman?).

Or is it more simple that all of that and you take an order, place the order with them (which they'll suggest you do off eBay) and they disappear with your money?

Or something else?

soolin

Exodi said:

Hi @Soolin I'm not as clued up as you, but what is the scam?

Are you expected to buy stock off them (and it's a bad deal) or are you placing orders on 'them' to ship direct to your customer (but in reality it's coming from a Chinese factory and you're effectively dropshipping but paying them a cut as a middleman?).

Or is it more simple that all of that and you take an order, place the order with them (which they'll suggest you do off eBay) and they disappear with your money?

Or something else?

It might help if I actually said what they sold, basically their 13 items are watch links, the bit between the watch and the strap  ( not straps) from well known higher end brands. I’ve no idea why they think I might possibly want to sell those , I don’t sell watches and know nothing about them. Average price £25. I’ve no idea of course what the rest of the stock is as the account only has these 13 items. 

There are several scam possibilities , firstly it could be a drop shipping scam , I agree to sell ‘their’ products but they save me the bother of storing them and say they will send out for me. That’s an obvious one, They send me photos of a high end item, and ship out Far East copies, leaving me losing my account - they probably think if I agree to do it then I might be foolish enough to also pay them out quickly before problems are identified. 

Also of course it might be money laundering, spread the sale of stock across dozens of accounts, those sellers pay tax on the lot , scam seller pays no tax and washes dodgy money. 

There’s the usual scam of sending things for me using dodgy tracking , leaving me with INRs after paying them the money , there are more and no doubt regulars can think of a few themselves.

it might even be simpler, they sell me say £10,000 of stock for a bargain £2000, thereby ridding themselves of completely dead stock that they have failed to sell.