Using eBay as a "middleman" service to buy goods off Craigslist?

[noelani72]

Mkay, I have a question.

My wife found a camper in our local Craigslist adds.
My wife contacts the seller via email, gets a reply in a few hours with the camper's details.
It almost sounds too good to be true, but the lady details a long divorce battle and she wound up with it, so she is basically getting rid of it.

She says she has a Purchase Protection account with eBay.
She says the camper is already in the hands of a shipper - therefore, we cannot go see it.
She says the shipping fees are already paid for.

Here's how this supposedly will go down:

Here is how it will work:
1. First of all I will need the following details from you:
-Full name and shipping address.
2. After I will receive the details from you, I will forward them to eBay.
3. After they will process your info, they will send us both more informations about how we can complete this transaction. They will contact you regarding the shipping process and the arrival time.
4. eBay will start the shipping process and it will take up to 48 hours for you to receive the camper. After you receive the camper you will have 3 days to test, verify and do whatever you need to the camper. If you will buy, then I will receive the payment through eBay.
5. If you decide not to buy the camper, then eBay will ship the camper back to me (and you won't be charged for this). If you wish to make the transaction, please send me the necessary info so that we can proceed. I look forward to hear from you.
Kind regards,

Soooo...my question is - does eBay REALLY just act as a middleman on this deal?
Has anyone heard of such a deal/transaction of this type using eBay to shuffle payment like this?

[RickD]

I would advise calling Paypal and eBay's customer service to confirm and tell them the whole situation.

don't trust anyone on craigslist.

this just protects you.

[ScottA]

That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard of. I would pass.

[luey]

sounds real fishy to me, I wouldn't do it either!

[megoapesnut]

This one has alarm bells ringing fast and furious. Why would you advertise on Craigslist (which is usually used by people who prefer local transactions) and then immediately put the camper in the hands of a shipper so people can't view it locally. You think she would want to keep it to avoid any shipping costs. Then she says it won't cost you anything if you get it shipped to you and don't want it? Would you be willing to pay someone to ship it wherever with the possibility that it gets returned. That might get expensive. Usually if it sounds to good to be true, then it isn't true. I think this is certainly the case here.

[noelani72]

agreed. My radar was going nuts, but explaining "why" to my spouse has been difficult.
It all sounds so good...but it's an elaborate scheme merely to gain our full name and address....I mean, I would think that if true, eBay would freaking send me an email...not this lady providing eBay the information....just too weird.

Assuming...no no, seeing how this is a scam, whaddya think the angle is?

[RickD]

I unfortunately learned the hard way on craigslist list a couple years back. I wished I listend to my gut feeling.

I'm glad we have good members on here to help put things in perspective for you.

[spacecaps]

When ever theres an automobile that's "in the hands of another shipper" it's a CL scam. Wen I was looking at buying my Mustang I'd run into the same ads where a Long Island guy was going through a divorce and he had to sell his totally restored 2+2 65 Mustang for $8,000 in a hurry cause he needed the cash quick. He'd have a dozen pictures of the car but when I contacted him I got a reply like the car's in Florida so send me the money and I'll have it shipped to your door. A few years later I was looking into buying a Fiero and I found similar deals that when I replied to them I would get the same "the cars not here but...." reply. If you google the wording of your ad, you'll see this is a very popular Craigslist Scam. If something is too good to be true, it probably is.

[Toy Talk]

agreed. My radar was going nuts, but explaining "why" to my spouse has been difficult.
It all sounds so good...but it's an elaborate scheme merely to gain our full name and address....I mean, I would think that if true, eBay would freaking send me an email...not this lady providing eBay the information....just too weird.

Assuming...no no, seeing how this is a scam, whaddya think the angle is?

The angle is you have to send the money first. Before the transaction finishes they are going to make you send them a money order and bolt with the money. Look it up on the web, this is a very popular Craigslist scam.

[toyman]

My wife had the same experience with a Lincoln Navagator she was looking at on craigs list,they told her it had to go thru Ebays attorneys for the transaction to be completed but was not listed on ebay.It was listed in Alaska from someone in the Airforce and was going to be shipped free to the closest base to us.

[Brad]

Big time scam!!!! See this one quite often too. EBay is only a venue and does not get involved in sales other then hosting the listings basically. The item is either listed and sold on eBay or it isn't. All the rest of the "eBay will handle shipping" "eBay will take car of the buyer protection" etc is a load of BS.

[toys2cool]

yup it's a scam..happens all the time with cars