alex.moskalyuk

I always liked Amazon Marketplace more than eBay and have probably sold a dozen or more of books from my apartment just this year. Generally it provides a pretty good environment and is reasonable hassle-free for sellers and buyers. The Marketplace account is tied up to seller’s checking account, so at least Amazon has some data on the seller, they process all the payments, so no chance of ending up with reversed PayPal payment or fake Nigerian cashier’s check, they also enforce shipping costs, inflation of which is so typical of eBay.

So browsing their electronics top-sellers, I come across this nifty item – Samsung HP-R5072 50″ Widescreen Flat Panel HD-Ready Plasma TV, which generally sells for $4,000 to $5,000 and above. Now, if you look further into Amazon Marketplace section, you will find a bunch of Marketplace sellers selling the item for $650-900, which is a rather hefty discount. Now, we all know that LCDs are kicking plasma’s proverbial backends, but come on, that’s a pretty hefty discount for a best-seller item on Amazon.

Thankfully, a post from FatWallet explained the tactics:

Why going off Amazon Marketplace through Western Union is a no-no

I am glad I did this search before sending the money using Western Union as this scamer’s instructions were, here is my story: I find in the Amazon.com Marketplace a guy that sells an X2 Infocus DLP Projector for $550 plus $10 S&H, very appealing; I place my order asuming Amazon.com will charge my VISA Card and forward the money to this “Emanuel” guy as they have done it with my previous purchases from the Marketplace. The day after I place my order I get an email from Amazon.com that reads:

“We’re sorry, we’re unable to complete your order from an Amazon Marketplace seller enjoythegroove1@hotmail.com. We have canceled this transaction and you have not been charged for the order.”

I emailed “enjoythegroove1@hotmail.com” and asked him why he had cancelled the order. He immediately replys:

“Sir the offert is avaible.But if you want to buy the projector you must send me your full name and address so i can call to Amazon center to approve the transaction.After that you will receive an email confirmation from them with the all shipping details and payment method. Please email me asap with your full info!”

I sent him my full name and address and then I did get 2 (TWO) identical emails from Amazon (since when Amazon.com sends the emails twice?) saying that the item was sold to me and telling me the payment instructions. They were asking me to pay via Western Union Wire Transfer (I thought Amazon.com was supposed to charge my Credit Card!!!) I even chatted with the guy on the yahoo Messenger he told me he was in London, so I asked him where the item was, he told me the projector was in the United States, in the Amazon warehouse. What the heck!!?!?!?! Does this guy think I’m stupid? I went on with his game and decided to do a Google search on this BASTARD, I found this Forum and was stunned to realize I was not the first one. So please be careful when buying in Marketplaces like Amazon or eBay, ALWAYS use Amazon itself or PayPal when paying for goods. that way you’ll be protected. OOh by the way, that email “from Amazon” asking me to send money through Western Union to:

Emanuel Derich
449 Luton Rd
London NW109PT
United Kingdom

also totaled $550, as I was chatting with the guy I asked him what about the S&H??? He said it was included. Yeah Right! When I completed my purchase in Amazon when I placed the order Shipping was $10 making a total of $560, and now this new “Amazon” email doesn’t say anything about shipping ??!?!?!? That was stupid very stupid my Emanuel friend. I hope you read this and are behind bars when you do it. Have your mother send you wire transfers!!! As*sho*e! I hope this comment was useful for other people to keep them from doing business with this kind of guys.