Not here obviously. On another site. I have all but given up buying anything other than on the SF. But I did. After doing as much as I was comfortable with I took a chance. There were some red flags. Wished I would of trusted my gut. Not a huge amount. But enough for a few tanks of gas. I paid with a Postal mo and he knew it as was part of my way to protect my self. So I went ahead, knew right away I was screwed. Kept all paperwork but knew nothing was going to come of it.
Had to go into the PO today. Asked the clerk about it. She told me it would cost me $21 to file a claim. She would do it. They (postal service) would investigate. If they determine it is a scam they would send me a check for the full amount of the original MO? Hmmm. Figured it was worth it. So I did. She said it would take a while. I thought that was strange but the clerk seems well versed on the process. Anyone else have a similar experience?

Did the check go to a mailing address?
Or a PO box?

quote:

Originally posted by ScreamingCockatoo:
Did the check go to a mailing address?
Or a PO box?

Not a po box. A street address.

Street addresses don't matter much as secure as we'd like, plenty of crooks look to intercept packages or mail, some even use empty lots mostly CC thieves.

Hope you get your money back.....

I think they can track down who cashed the MO. Even if it was a third party, I bet a letter or visit from the USPS inspector will get their attention.

Trust your gut. That little tingly thing never fails.

What you will likely find at the end of the trail, if you ever reach it, is a relatively poor person who is receiving payments from these bogus listings and then depositing them in an account that a foreign based scammer can pull the money out of.

Anytime someone asks for a MO or even use CashApp, instant scam.
Venmo finally cracked down.

Unfortunately, PayPal doesn't allow any transactions having to do with guns or accessories. So for GB sales, if you don't take credit cards, you're stuck waiting for check or MO. Sometimes I've had a decent rapport with others there and we'll use Zelle or Venmo, never had an issue. But you gotta go with your gut. A few folks have made me want to double check with my bank that funds have cleared before shipping.

I don't often buy used things on line from individuals because of scammers or misrepresented condition of the item. When I do, it is a specialty item, and I buy from an active member from a related forum.

Same with selling online. Scammers have ruined the online experience.

quote:

Originally posted by ScreamingCockatoo:
Anytime someone asks for a MO or even use CashApp, instant scam.
Venmo finally cracked down.

That's not always true. I have bought and sold many things over the years via a USPS or Wells Fargo/Walmart m.o..

May I ask what you were buying? I don't think a USPS money order really protects the buyer but would benefit the seller as the funds are more readily verified. Using PayPal would give the buyer more protection.

I've seen it written where folks said if you got scammed for $10k then there's a chance the postal inspectors might care. But if it was a couple hundred bucks, you're one of hundreds every day and they couldn't possibly look into that many cases.

There is an - escrow / credit card / ACH - payment system that functions as a 2A alternative to paypal. I've used it a couple times to take cc payments or make cc payments on Gunbroker.

The site has a mandatory 3-day inspection delay, but can be overridden if buyer is satisfied. GunTab.

Some guardrails built in to protect buyers if item doesn't ship, or takes too long to ship, not as advertised, etc.

Happened to me using USPS. Wasn’t fraud turns out, not on the seller’s part. A USPS employee stole the money order. It took two months to get it sorted out, but the post office did come through.