Selling advice; potential scammer?

GibboDen

Evening guitar buddies, some advice please.

So aswell as having my Kotzen Telecaster advertised for sale here, I also have it up on FB.
I was contacted today by a dude asking if I could bring the guitar to West London (I'm East London- not a big deal, but unusual and not how I usually deal)
Guy says that he lives in Poland (alarm bells!...) is aware that I won't take PayPal (as per my ad) and says that he's willing to pay via bank transfer if ai meet his friend.
Passes on to me said friends nunbr to call and says his friend would be happy to meet in a public place as I suggested (coffee shop)

Does this sound like a common scam? Aprt from being robbed, is there any risk if I accepted a bank transfer from Poland?
Doesn't feel right to me, but curious if I'm missing an obvious scam?

sorbz62

This is an obvious scam. FB Marketplace is so bad that 90% of all replies I get are scams. In this case they promise to send and don't or somehow recover their money from your account. Or his 'friend' will say that you have to pay insurance on the deal, which they'll pay back later, which they won't. I'm sick of it tbh.

 

thebreeze

I don’t do FB marketplace so don’t know anything about that but I’ve bought and sold expensive guitars with different Europeans - Hungary, Poland, French (there’s probably more) and I’ve never had a problem, in fact they’ve been smooth, cordial deals.  It’s no different to dealing with an English person, you have to assess all the circumstances and individuals for yourself, proceed with caution and take any steps you can to make it more comfortable for yourself.  There are no guarantees in any private sale I don’t think.  Personally, I think someone prepared to meet in person is a good sign.

wellsyboy

Scam - spot them a mile off - just block it - Having said that I recently sold my Collings 360LT through facebook marketplace but the guy checked out and the language was different. Anything where someone else picking up etc etc is a scam. 
Retracted

wellsyboy

Make sure you tell him to fuck off too  Retracted

UnclePsychosis

Its potentially legit - but I'd tell him to bank transfer the cash to his friend who can then pay you cash on collection. If he is legit, that's actually safer all round...

finest1

nah i wouldn't go for it. if he wants it he can take a flight over. i know Polish people living in London and they are going back and forth to Poland for sometimes less than £50 air fare and its a 2 hour flight. 

Roland

Was this adrian gonciarz, aka kraken_hunter and other names, who was banned for using the forum to source guitars for his business?

thebreeze

I don’t know if it’s helpful or not for GibboDen but if it’s the guy Roland has mentioned he’s not a scammer and will pay what you agree/is legit, albeit he shouldn’t have used this site for that purpose.

pjf

Even if it’s not some form of scam (which it seems to be) I wouldn’t be going across London to do the deal. Get them to meet you somewhere near yours. If they’re not willing to do that I’m sure someone else will be.

Edit: then you haven’t wasted your time travelling across London if they don’t turn up or they want to pay you later etc. (i.e. an obvious scam)

wellsyboy

it's a scam Retracted

Nightswan

Bank transfer can be reversed if paid my credit card. If meeting in person why would he suggest that? Alarm bells ringing there for sure. Cold, hard cash only and make sure they are not dodgy notes.

Catthan

I've seriously considered asking for a hefty deposit on FB marketplace to weed out scammers and time wasters. 
Maybe suggest a refundable 20% via BACS in order to meet. 

GibboDen

Hi all, thanks very much for the feedback.
To my surprise the friend of the potentially Facebook buyer (Artur) actually messaged me on on here; user name Varun? (Hope you don't mind me mentioning here Varun; thought maybe some well know users could vouch for you/your friend?)

andyg_prs

I didn't know that someone could reverse a bank transfer.  However after once receiving a dodgy £20 note (yes it was only one) for high value sales, if not via paypal, I've had people come and see the guitar.......then we've gone to the bank with the guitar and the cash......once the bank has accepted the money, it's confirmed as genuine, then I hand over the guitar.

I've had someone back out of a sale because that approach 'made them nervous'.

But at some point, there is always risk.  If someone buys through eBay they can make a false claim about the item they've received.

The same with PayPal and stories of people returning a guitar case full of bricks but using their courier info as 'proof'.

Cash can be counterfeit.

Now someone has said that a bank transfer paid via credit card can be reversed....

It's a tough one....

GibboDen

Nightswan said:

Bank transfer can be reversed if paid my credit card. If meeting in person why would he suggest that? Alarm bells ringing there for sure. Cold, hard cash only and make sure they are not dodgy notes.

To my knowledge, a bank transfer (if transfered say via a banking app) can't be reversed?; can somone confirm if there's something weired if transfered from another country?
Cancelling a credit card payment could be done if say they paid over the phone then tried to say it was a fraudulent transaction (saw that on a  JT vid the other day where a guy bought a cat and conned the salesman for $500, after claiming his deposit back...apparently that scam doesn't work if the buyer is in your presence paying by card uaing chip+pin)
I don't think you can make a bank transfer using a credit card (only pay via c card if someone has a chip'n'pin reader?

variplexi

GibboDen said:

Hi all, thanks very much for the feedback.
To my surprise the friend of the potentially Facebook buyer (Artur) actually messaged me on on here; user name Varun? (Hope you don't mind me mentioning here Varun; thought maybe some well know users could vouch for you/your friend?)

I know Varun. We have met and traded gear on numerous occasions, both of us being in W London. Good man, no issues (unless his account has been hacked!). Your deal seems fine and I have been in these situations a few times with overseas buyers. I usually have a gut feel about a dodgy deal once you have corresponded with the buyer a few times. Always a small risk associated with these things. I suppose you will have the buyers address, contact details? 

vofcr3

GibboDen said:

Hi all, thanks very much for the feedback.
To my surprise the friend of the potentially Facebook buyer (Artur) actually messaged me on on here; user name Varun? (Hope you don't mind me mentioning here Varun; thought maybe some well know users could vouch for you/your friend?)

You see it can be fine. Congrats on the making a deal. Always assess each case on it's own. 

prowla

I've bought and sold a fair few things via Facebook and always keep my scammer-o-meter at the ready.

My most recent was a £650 rrp office chair for £30 - the seller lives within a mile of me.
I did get scammed a few years back; it was a quite unpleasant experience, but I did get my money back.

I tend to prefer pickup/cash and won't buy via an unsecured method (eg. PayPal F&F).

Varun

Am I allowed to vouch for myself  . I pinged @GibboDen. Hopefully this is sorted now. 

Nachoar

Scammers always use the line “my friend/brother/relative is gonna pick it up as im working blahblah”