I'm trying to sus out this guy, wants to buy my kites but keeps asking me to do more odd things take more photos, keep pumping up kite for more photos and is a bit cagey when it comes to payment, only wants to do paypal and send to a PO box in Bondi but says he's on holiday in Vietnam.

Profile shows has sold a few things on seabreeze so I thought he was legit, but now not sure. Possible that this members account has been hacked?

[Account Name Removed by admin]

Spoken to him on the phone? That normal weeds out the scammers.

Had guy Said pay with PayPal Asked for my email for PayPal Recieved fake PayPal invoice Was pending subject to Tracking number of postage Fn Scammer Looked up PayPal account no such messages and no money in my account Only send it when money is in your PayPal account

Called it rang but no answer. He said deposit made in paypal and sent attachment (of course nothing in my account). I don't like paypal either even if they do pay they can pretend they never recieved it or unhappy and get their money back.

Key red flags with this guy are the volume of urgent emails, and messages (more than 20) asking more dumb **** like is there a 5th line pocket can I pump it up again take a photo of it, pack in a garbage bag, put both kites into one bag to reduce postage costs all of which makes it sound like he knows something about kites.

Have reported to Laurie/Admins but get the usual robot response.... He even has stuff for sale on SB. Not sure if his whole account and email has been hacked (email same as username).

Just don't send the kites until the money is sitting in your account. Is it possible for the buyer to claw back the cash after they have received the kites?

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Spitfire said..
Just don't send the kites until the money is sitting in your account. Is it possible for the buyer to claw back the cash after they have received the kites?

Obviously. Yes those that pay by paypal can try and reverse/dispute for whatever reason damaged/ not as described / not received but they usually need to send it back.

My question is whether this guy is a scammer or just a complete and utter time waster. Either way is a waste of oxygen.

Trust your gut. The fact that you feel something isn't right is a great indication that you should move on.
Years ago I nearly got scammed on a piece of audio gear for my studio. It was a 5 grand piece (second hand) from the US. I wired the money, but as I left I felt something wasn't right, went back to Western Union (before paypal existed) and because he had not collected the money yet, I was able to reverse it minus a small fee. Turns out it was a scam and I lucked out.

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dafish said..
Trust your gut. The fact that you feel something isn't right is a great indication that you should move on.

Yes gut feel was not right. I would move on but the guy is obviously still active on seabreeze here. Plenty of scammers out there but at least can we weed this guy out of seabreeze.

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Peahi said..
Have reported to Laurie/Admins but get the usual robot response.... He even has stuff for sale on SB. Not sure if his whole account and email has been hacked (email same as username).

I investigated, and it doesn't / didn't look like it. Guy has been a member since 2018, sold a bunch of stuff, and as I replied to you, it looked/looks legit. Have closed the account for now, and sent enquiry to them.

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Peahi said..

My question is whether this guy is a scammer or just a complete and utter time waster. Either way is a waste of oxygen.

Bad grammer, and too many questions doesn't necessarily a scammer make - or as you say, could be a hacked account.As the others say, keep your wits about you, and check for fake PayPal receipts.

Can I ask .. are you confirming that he's tried to scam you with a fake email? If so, please do let me know, and forward the details to me.

Appreciate you helping to keep scammers out of the Buy&Sell .. nobody (that I'm aware of) has been scammed in quite some time.

Well I finally got hold of the guy on the phone and checked everything out. He sent me money but to wrong paypal email address. Apologies to everyone. Now I feel like a complete DH. Laurie, could you please delete this thread.