Sellers Beware!!!


Folks, 

I am wondering if anyone else here noticing the latest trend on Audiogon. I have been approached by buyers in Vietnam to buy my listings. I have gotten at least dozen offers in last month or so, they are pretending to be US based buyers, with US address and do not disclose their actual location until you have accepted the offer.  I have already declined two confirmed offers as soon as I figured out their true identity. The US address being provided on Audiogon is either a local business shop run by Vietnamese native or a 'friend' address. I googled the address and called the local address listed on Audiogon. It turns out to be small business shop and the owner had no idea about the sale or the product he is about to receive in next 2-3 days. 

The icing on the cake, the buyer gets bent of shape when you point out these last minute surprises and then try shift the blame on us that we are not very 'trusting'. Go figure! 

I am outlining some of the things that were common in my dealings, 

1. Broken English (sorry no offense)
2. 12-14 hour delay between communications
3. Start off with low ball offer and then agrees to pay within 10-15% off of your asking price
4. Unusual delay in receiving payments, they tend to apologize profusely and blame PayPal for delay
5. They will ask you to 'absorb' PayPal fee due higher percentage charged by PayPal on intl. transfers
6. Negative, neutral or no feedback
7. The address in their Audiogon profile will be either in west cost (CA) or east coast (NY). 

This thread is not intended to target a certain race or nationality, the sole purpose of this thread is to create awareness against the 'sneaky' buyers. I welcome all buyers, domestic or international and wish them a hassle free buying and selling experience on Audiogon. 

128x128lalitk

Showing 1 response by alpha_gt

I remember a show on TV a while back talking about how Amazon and many other large mail order companies will not do business with many countries in the Far East and South Pacific, due to excessive credit card fraud. Apparently their governments have no laws against defrauding foreign banks. So they make bogus credit accounts and make large or multiple purchases, and later someone in the Free World sees a fraudulent charge on their credit account. Hopefully they eventually prove they never made the purchase, and get a refund, and the bank is left holding the bag. "As long as I get my money, who cares?", maybe you don't care if you're helping someone steal from the bank? But with my luck it would wind up in my lap sooner or later. 

If someone is being deceitful and underhanded, there is usually a good reason. What's legal and where one's responsibility begins and ends may be subjective, but right and wrong rarely change. Maybe they are just trying to avoid import taxes and fees? It's still wrong.