I posted my spare used mobile phone in ebay for a cheap price. I decided to sell them online since I'm not using it anymore. A certain Jennifer emailed me and asked me if it is stil available. Since I'm new to this I got thrilled that someone is interested in buying my item. On one of our email exchanges she told me that it should be shipped to Nigeria. She gave me a name, address, and a telephone number. She also told me that due to the nature of her work (taking phone calls), she cannot check the item by herself and would want to buy my item for her cousin in Nigeria.
I thought she just wants to buy the phone right away and she hasn't had the time to haggle for the price since I too, being an online buyer does not haggle for the price most of the time especially if it falls under my budget. I even told her that the shipment is higher in price than the actual item. I even offered to buy a new battery and charger (since it is explicitly stated on my add that the item does not include a charger and battery needs replacement) before shipping with an additional cost of course.
Then I got this email from paypal, stating that they have received my payment and they will hold on to it until I email the tracking number. Since I was a new seller and it's my first time to receive a payment thru paypal... I thought everything is still okay. The letter also told me that I should ship the item in 12-24 hours. So I immediately went out to find a courier. The first courier I was about to send the item did not accepted my package because the lady said we will be having a problem because of the battery. Not sure the reason behind this so I immediately emailed Jennifer back asking if I can just ship it without the battery and give her a refund for it. She immediately replied and said she talked to her cousin and said it is okay. 2nd courier I asked wants me to include the official receipt, and I don't have that being a small scale seller. 3rd courier I asked made me aware about the SCAM. He said they have several customers who are a victim of that scam so I immediately called off the transaction and searched online. There I found out that I was about to be trapped on this scam and I could have lost $210, instead of earning a little amount of money, I will be losing part of my allowance.
Jennifer still insist me of shipping the item, she even mentioned that it will be hard to reverse the payment. When I asked her where she's from and why she's so interested on my item which will also not work in Nigeria since they have a different service provider... that's when she only stopped replying to my email.
Whew... Thank God I was saved by the courier man. I had doubts early on the transaction but convinced myself that I'm new and may not know some of the process. Lesson learned: Search online first.
