A question for shops / dealers

I'm not a shop or a dealer (unless you count my eBay selling), but what are the circumstances and why do you think it's a scam? Being from SA in itself means nothing, but I think that's one of the countries where you won't be able to get proof of delivery even if you pay Royal Mail for that service.

Now if you'd said Nigeria...

I did a bit of googling and found that there's an Elsabe Cremer listed as manager of the Gallivant Guesthouse near Solheim, contact details etc on this webpage:

"Len Smith" wrote

You could always just ask what they are interested in buying. If they ask for a catalogue or listing before telling you then there's a fair indication it may be a scam.

John.

Hi Elsabe Cremer is the winning bidder on 3 items that I listed on eBay (total value over =A3200). All emails etc have come from her. However, the Paypal transaction says that the buyer is Paul Stanley. When I asked about this I was told that Paul is Elsabe's husband. This is why I'm suspicious. Len Smith

That's nothing unusual on eBay. Strictly speaking it's a breach of Paypal rules but it's generally nothing to be concerned about. Now, if they'd deliberately overpaid and asked for a balance sum to be sent I would then be highly suspicious.

(kim)

Oh come on Kim, if the buyer is NOT the bidder all sorts of problems could rear their heads, what proof does the OP have that this "Paul Stanley" is who Elsabe Cremer claims, what would happen if "Paul Stanley" was later to claim that he never knowingly paid for such items, things get even more murky if they are not man and wife...

The OP should decline to ship stating that the bidder is not the person attempting to pay - sorry but if this was anywhere other than (Crim)eBay/Pay(my)Pal warning flags would be flying high.

OK - in itself that's not unusual at all, although I can see why alarm bells might be ringing. However, following up on Bruce's search, Elsabe is the owner of a B&B (not far from where my Dad used to live!!) so perhaps not the typical scammer.

Difficult. If she had hijacked Paul Stanley's account, surely she would have changed the name as well, even if just the surname? Does the Paypal address match the B&B address found on google?

You won't get any proof of delivery or postal insurance, and Paypal won't protect you without proof of delivery. You could always ask her to transfer Sterling into your bank account. People are scared of giving out bank details, but these are the same details that appear on every cheque you give out, except that a cheque also has your signature!

I think if it was me I would make a judgement based on your correspondence with her, but I tend to be the glass-half-full type! I have sent eBay stuff out to people and waited with bated breath for delivery, and I've never been caught out yet. Ultimately, only you can decide whether or not to go ahead, although if you've left your auctions open to "Worldwide" bidders then you do have an obligation to complete the sale.

Thanks to everyone that replied. The Paypal address is the same as the address on the internet, and the emails appear to be genuine. She now has feedback on ebay (it was zero when she won my items) and the other sellers are happy, so I'll go ahead and send the items. Thanks again, all your comments are appreciated. Len Smith

UPDATE Items arrived in SA and there appears to be no problem with the PayPal payment. Len

That's good news - thanks for the update.