Is this a scam?


I would appreciate some help with this, which has happened to me in the last few days.  I listed an item on a site, not Audiogon but another one, and got an offer within a few days.  The offer was lower than asking price, but reasonable, so I accepted.  All of this happened with an exchange of emails.  The buyer wanted to send me a deposit which was about 1/4th of the total sales price, and that amounted to a few thousand dollars.  He said he would send the rest when the item was shipped.  I thought this was a little strange, but agreed to it -- today I received his deposit via Paypal Friends and Family.  Somehow I wish now that the money transfer hadn't happened.  But the good news is, I have not yet sent him the items.

The guy has very little purchase history on the site that was used to contact me.

He says he has a Freight Forwarder and and will have someone pick up the items.  All of this seems suspicious to me.  I fear that perhaps I have been paid with a stolen credit card number, for example.  Of maybe there is another angle here that I cannot perceive.  Has anyone else been through a process like this?  I think he is a scammer but don't know for sure.

Ag insider logo xs@2xscottwsmith

Iam buying a troubadour audio mirror dac at audio mart , slowly the mode of payment keeps on changing,according to the seller choice like payment thru PayPal family or fiends? I did not pursue the deal, something inside of me is telling me don’t do it.

"Trust your gut." 

If the hairs on the back of your neck are standing up, get out.  Red flags all over this one.

Cancel the transaction.  Wait to refund until funds have fully settled, or until PayPal agrees they will cover you if buyer used a stollen card (and not take funds from your general account to cover bad funds due to buyer malfeasance).

 

Good luck.

He sends you fictitious money and you're going to refund him real money?  What until he starts screaming and hollering before you take any action.

I saw this in a David Mamet movie -- the conman doesn't ask you for your trust, but instead gives you his.