Scammed by James White 92 on facebook market place

[Burn Down]

Not how I wanted to start my first posts on the forum.

Anyway a guy by the name of James White on Facebook Market Place was selling Stinger performance parts out of Spokane Washington. Injen 3.3 intakes, Takeda intakes, JB4 with CPI, BMS intercooler used, brand new Mishimoto intercooler. Everything looked legit, used parts pictures, paper with his name and date on it, Facebook page looked legit. I made an offer on the intakes, bms intercooler and CPI. He accepted and said he could ship tuesday wednesday as he was working until then. When I messaged him tonight for a tracking number the message wouldn't send, uh oh.... Checked his profile and listing, all gone.... Anyway just a heads up to anyone looking for stuff be very careful, this is the first time i have been burned doing this. I'm cking with Venmo but don't hold a lot of faith. More of a cautionary tale. Or if anyone has any thoughts, the guy definitely had these parts at one point. Id love to catch up with him and work things out...

-Albert

 

[Snicklefritz]

Id love to catch up with him and work things out...

I bet you would. It's good of you to share your misfortune so that others might avoid the same.

 

[Burn Down]

Turns out he blocked me. My son in law could still see everything. He has a profile on a Genesis forum my son in law is on but no posts.

 

[D.J.]

Turns out he blocked me. My son in law could still see everything. He has a profile on a Genesis forum my son in law is on but no posts.

Now all you need is someone local to him to find a way to meet up in person...

To, talk..........

 

[Burn Down]

Yeah forsure, Im a peaceful guy I'm sure it's just a big misunderstanding, he accidentally blocked me and the parts are in the mail.

 

[noblesteed]

I got screwed as well on FB. I definitely feel your anger. But lesson learned.

 

[JSolo]

Not much to add as the transaction already took place (or at least money got exchanged). My only advise is to always pay with a credit card using some payment method. I don't know what venmo is, but understand it's similar to zelle. I've never used either of these and never will - if that's all the seller accepts; well, they'll have to adapt if they want to make the sale.

For forum based transactions (this would probably include fb if I ever had one), I've always used paypal and payment for good/services. Also been on the receiving end as a seller during group buys and selling off other stuff (ie several thousand dollars worth of bike parts/accessories when I got out of it). Again, always paypal. Maybe i'm behind the times, but never had a transaction go wrong (as either seller or buyer). Probably had a handful of none compliant sellers - I pay they don't ship. No problem, open up a paypal dispute get my $$$ back.

Finally, for any item over ~$100/150, I'd send it signature required for my own peace of mind. That ensures fedex/ups/usps don't just leave it.

 

[Landshark]

pay with Paypal Good & Services (*** not Friends & Family ***) ... you have buyer protection with G&S.

any seller who requests another form of payment? ask them how the scam works first ...

 

[Volfy]

Never pay with Venmo, or Zelle, or any of the other direct cash payment methods, unless you know the person you are sending it to, or if it's a brick and mortar business you can go wring the neck of the guy behind the counter (figuratively speaking... not advocating violence).

FB Marketplace is a good buy&sell place. I have done both. If at all possible, set up a meet in a public place and exchange goods and cash in person, after inspection. If paying remotely, pay ONLY through the built-in payment mechanism in Facebook, tied to the very same for sale posting. If the seller insists otherwise... bail.

 

[Navaids]

Turns out he blocked me. My son in law could still see everything. He has a profile on a Genesis forum my son in law is on but no posts.

Guess this guys a real scum bag.

 

[Navaids]

Yeah forsure, Im a peaceful guy I'm sure it's just a big misunderstanding, he accidentally blocked me and the parts are in the mail.

Want to buy a bridge?

 

[JSolo]

Never pay with Venmo, or Zelle, or any of the other direct cash payment methods, unless you know the person you are sending it to, or if it's a brick and mortar business you can go wring the neck of the guy behind the counter (figuratively speaking... not advocating violence).

FB Marketplace is a good buy&sell place. I have done both. If at all possible, set up a meet in a public place and exchange goods and cash in person, after inspection. If paying remotely, pay ONLY through the built-in payment mechanism in Facebook, tied to the very same for sale posting. If the seller insists otherwise... bail.

I've got a [serious] problem. I don't use paypal much these days, just a few times a year to send funds or receive funds. Last week I tried logging in as I normally do about once a month but was locked out. Customer service was able to unlock, reset pw and I was on my way. Two days later, same thing, except this time they can't unlock it, nor can tell me why it's locked other than failed login attempts, but no recourse to unlocking.

Been a paypal user for the last 20 years with account in excellent standing. Ironically when this happened on the 15th, I didn't need the acct for anything. On the 17th however I was getting ready to accept a transaction and wanted to make sure I could still get in. The other party ended up paying with zelle.

So this leaves me in a bit of a pickle, besides accepting zelle (no venmo as that's a paypal company) or listing the item on ebay (albeit at inflated price due to ebay fees), what other credit card options are for someone who doesn't need to accept CC payments regularly? I don't think a potential buyer would be too comfortable providing me directly with their credit card number.

What information does facebook need to allow a user to accept payments? Social security #, dob? If so then pass. That's the last company I will trust with that info.

Btw, I filed a CFPB complaint, we'll see if anything comes about from it. Local bank also suggested filing something with the BBB, but I don't really see the BBB as having much teeth in the game. Bank also suggest that if I can't get the paypal account unlocked/unrestricted, to close the linked checking account and open a new open. That would ensure any transactions with the old (since I can't delete it) would be rejected.

 

[Volfy]

I've got a [serious] problem. I don't use paypal much these days, just a few times a year to send funds or receive funds. Last week I tried logging in as I normally do about once a month but was locked out. Customer service was able to unlock, reset pw and I was on my way. Two days later, same thing, except this time they can't unlock it, nor can tell me why it's locked other than failed login attempts, but no recourse to unlocking.

Been a paypal user for the last 20 years with account in excellent standing. Ironically when this happened on the 15th, I didn't need the acct for anything. On the 17th however I was getting ready to accept a transaction and wanted to make sure I could still get in. The other party ended up paying with zelle.

So this leaves me in a bit of a pickle, besides accepting zelle (no venmo as that's a paypal company) or listing the item on ebay (albeit at inflated price due to ebay fees), what other credit card options are for someone who doesn't need to accept CC payments regularly? I don't think a potential buyer would be too comfortable providing me directly with their credit card number.

What information does facebook need to allow a user to accept payments? Social security #, dob? If so then pass. That's the last company I will trust with that info.

Btw, I filed a CFPB complaint, we'll see if anything comes about from it. Local bank also suggested filing something with the BBB, but I don't really see the BBB as having much teeth in the game. Bank also suggest that if I can't get the paypal account unlocked/unrestricted, to close the linked checking account and open a new open. That would ensure any transactions with the old (since I can't delete it) would be rejected.

I don't use PayPal much these days. Ebay still allows PP payment, but i get the feeling they've kinda distanced themselves.

Another thing I dislike about PP is they will automatically add on state sales tax, regardless of whether the seller collects it or not. I use CC directly instead, and Visa/MC always leave it to the seller whether to collect state sales tax or not.

I like FB marketplace for the convenience. I still buy on Ebay but seldom sell on it. For auto parts, posting ads on target specific online forums is a good option too.

Regardless, I'm not doing zelle. Just too risky. I don't even have a venmo acct and have no interest in it.