Does this sound fishy to anyone else?

[Goddess FallenAngel]

Okay. So, I'm trying to sell my car, and place an online ad. I get an email from someone who is interested. It sounds just a little fishy, but then again, I'm paranoid. I decide to email him back. However, the emails get considerably more fishy-sounding....

Here are the emails (email addys and phone numbers deleted). All spelling/grammar errors are as sent - and yes, one of the emails he did send to me twice.

I'm Kat (Kathy) in the emails below. The prospective buyer is John.

[sblock]
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Kat <EMAIL> Fri, Jul 8, 2005 at 8:34 PM
Reply-To: Kat <EMAIL>
To: EMAIL

John,

Yes, the vehicle is still available. As I said in the ad, I am selling
this car because I bought a larger one. The price is also in the ad
($1,100 or best offer). For condition of car, please see the ad. I do
not have a picture or it would be in the ad. Email me and I can set up
a time to have you look at it if you are in the Indianapolis, IN area.

Link to the ad:
http://www.post-n-buy.com/cgi-bin/c...results_format=long&db_id=883&query=retrieval

YOUR ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
Name: John Lee
Subject: Pontiac Grand AM SE - Must Sell
Date: 07/08/2005
Message: Hello, I'm John by name,So could you mail me back if your
vehicle is still available for sale and please include the price and
the reason why you wanna sell it please the picture and condition of
the vehicle are very important to me ok. Mail me direct to my email
address**** EMAIL John.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
john Lee <EMAIL> Mon, Jul 11, 2005 at 5:22 AM
Reply-To: EMAIL
To: Kat <EMAIL>
How are you doing? Am very much okay with the price $1100 of the vehicle cos that is what i need as you have explained it. I express satisfactory with the looks of it on the site . So I Will like to proceed with purchase. I need you to know that I will like to purchased the vehicle and have it shipped down here asap. I will be Responsible for handling the Pick up and shipping of the vehicle .In such that ,I will instruct my shipper to come over to pick up the vehicle from you And have it shipped down As soon as I make payment to you. He will also be collecting and signing.All papers regarding purchase And ownership of the vehicle on my behalf. , Guess you understand Payment for the vehicle will be made to you in Cheque or money order. Shipment arrangement will commence immediately. Guess all is well! ! understood. Get back to me with the following details:
Full name....
Contact address...........
Zip Code................
Phone numbers....................
Country.............
I will be expecting your reply ASAP.
Thanks and God Bless ......


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Kat <EMAIL> Mon, Jul 11, 2005 at 8:23 AM
Reply-To: Kat <EMAIL>
To: EMAIL

My name is Kathy. I am in Indianapolis, IN. Please have your shipper
call PHONE and I will give him the street address. Please
understand I am not comfortable with giving the street address over
the internet. How will payment be delivered to me?

Kathy

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john Lee <EMAIL> Mon, Jul 11, 2005 at 11:10 AM
Reply-To: EMAIL
To: Kat <EMAIL>

you are dealling with me and am the one who wanna bye and not my shipper so please do get back to me if you are willing to sell to me...


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
john Lee <EMAIL> Mon, Jul 11, 2005 at 11:11 AM
Reply-To: EMAIL
To: Kat <EMAIL>

you are dealling with me and am the one who wanna bye and not my shipper so please do get back to me if you are willing to sell to me...


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kat <EMAIL> Mon, Jul 11, 2005 at 12:45 PM
Reply-To: Kat <EMAIL>
To: EMAIL

As I asked before, if your shipper is picking up the car, how will I
recieve payment? Please get back to me with that information and I
will send you the address.

[/sblock]

So am I being overly paranoid?

 

[Yami no Hon]

I don't think you're being paranoid. If I were you, I'd send "John" one more e-mail to tell him that you got a better offer for your car, so sorry, but no deal with him. [It probably won't take him to long to figure out its a lie if you leave your listing up, but who cares?] Then teach the Spam-blocker on your email to delete anything from him.

That's my 2cp.

 

[der_kluge]

I had a hard time following that chain, but it sounds like both of you are just being paranoid. If you have his phone number (it looked as if you did), I would just call the guy. Call him from a phone booth if you're really paranoid.

 

[Goddess FallenAngel]

Actually, I don't have his phone number. All I have is the information provided in the emails - which was his email address (which is a free web-based one, so I don't even have his domain). I don't even know where he is located, and he's ignored the times I asked how he would provide payment.

Also, he spoke of shipping the car "down here" - and frankly, my car's not that great (as mentioned in the ad), and I wouldn't think worth shipping anywhere. It makes me all rather suspicious.

Also, he said his shipper would sign for the vehicle - which, by law (as far as I know, anyway), means his SHIPPER would then be the official owner of the vehicle, as whomever signs the title when I sign it over is the owner.

If he emails me back and refuses to give any more information, or ignores the payment question again, I think I'm just going to tell him I'm not interested in doing business with him.

 

[S'mon]

Okay. So, I'm trying to sell my car, and place an online ad. I get an email from someone who is interested. It sounds just a little fishy, but then again, I'm paranoid. I decide to email him back. However, the emails get considerably more fishy-sounding....So am I being overly paranoid?

No. I read a book called "The Gift of Fear" which explained the vital importance of always trusting your feelings. If you are at all worried by this guy, don't deal with him. The best thing to do now is not to contact him again at all & to block his email adress so you don't get anything further from him.

 

[eabha]

I wish I could remember all the details, but several months ago there was a news story up here in Ontario about a young woman who lost a lot of money on a deal like this. The purchaser had agreed to send her a cheque covering the cost of the vehicle and the shipping so that she could pay the guy who came to pick it up. The cheque arrived, the bank initially said it looked good, she paid several thousand dollars to the shipper who took the car away, then the bank called to say the money had not come through after all.

Just hoping your situation is nothing like that.

 

[Goddess FallenAngel]

I was planning on only accept Cashier's Check or Money Order, and I'd make sure that everything was set before the car left the lot. But... one can always make mistakes.

I'm just no getting a good vibe on this whole deal, and I am regretting giving him as much info as I already have (which wasn't much, but still...).

I'm thinking he might not reply to me anyway. We'll see.

 

[Bront]

Ask to deal with him over the phone. You can set up a neutral meeting site at a public place to do the deal, which should be ok with him. And don't be afraid to simply tell him flat out that you're uncomfortable giving out your home address via the web.

This shipper thing sounds strange, but if he's willing to pay and meet at a neutral site (Say, a local restraunt or something like that), then I don't see the harm.

 

[freebfrost]

Check this out before you go much further...

 

[eabha]

Check this out before you go much further...

Aahhh...that looks like the one. Nasty!