rosebudtwin
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posted on February 28, 2002 07:46:26 PM new
My husband needed a new video camera and found one on Ubid for $600.00. The auction was over but he contacted the person (got the information from ubid) and asked if he had any more cameras to sell.
They emailed every day for about a week, even twice a day discussing status of the camera and why he was selling it, the seller even gave him his personal address and phone number and said that he needed good feedback because he wanted to be a seller and seemed very legit and passed all my husbands little tests.
My husband decided to go ahead and purchase it directly from the buyer who wanted cash through Western Union and would be shipping UPS air right away. He lives in Romania. And the item was going to be shipped from Romania.
Well.......the money was wired Fri. Feb 22. The only thing we have heard from this guy is Mon. Feb. 25th he emailed and wanted the confirmation number for the payment. My husband sent it.......that is the last we have heard from him. Today is Thurs. Feb 28th.
What can we do?
This blows the whole trust thing with buying through the internet!
I would like to receive some wisdom on what to watch out for and how to do things right when making purchases (especially sizable ones).
Thanks, Debbie
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dadofstickboy
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posted on February 28, 2002 07:49:30 PM new
You have his phone # try calling.
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bidsbids
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posted on February 28, 2002 08:23:01 PM new
Was it that great of a deal to send $600 to Romania? Never in my wildest dreams would I ever consider such a thing. It was an expensive lesson learned.
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morgantown
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posted on February 28, 2002 08:29:07 PM new
Sorry to sound crass; I would not ever consider buying an item in Romania for $600, or even $100. There are certain countrys that are known for fraudlent activities, I bet Romania is one of them.
You wired the money to boot! Had you paid by credit card you might have had a chance at recovery.
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Libra63
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posted on February 28, 2002 08:54:09 PM new
You probably should have asked him to list it on eBay so that you would have some protection. That is what I do if someone wants something that I have already had on and didn't sell. I list it with a BIN and mail the buyer to watch for it and then they bid. This is the easiest and safest way I can think of.
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masujoviga
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posted on February 28, 2002 09:04:57 PM new
to add insult to injury...camcorders in Rumania operate on a PAL system while the USA uses NTSC...useless here
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tomwiii
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posted on February 28, 2002 09:11:17 PM new
The same sad story over and over and over!
At least ya can't blame PayPal -- but if ya had use them...
This is 2002! Do you live in a vacuum? I don't even blame the seller! They live in an impoverished dump of a country -- this kind of activity is ADMIRED!!!
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outoftheblue
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posted on February 28, 2002 10:12:09 PM new
>>"I don't even blame the seller! They live in an impoverished dump of a country -- this kind of activity is ADMIRED!!!"<<
You have to be kidding. Since when does living in an impoverished country make theft ok?
I personally limit my purchases to the USA and only to people that have a proven track record as a seller.
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rosebudtwin
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posted on February 28, 2002 10:14:54 PM new
We made sure it was a camera that would work in America. That was what some of the emails were about.
This guy was super good! And we are inexperienced buyers that trusted another human being with integrity and the system.
I agree with you and hind-sight tells me the same about the country being backward and those rich Americans can afford anything type of thinking.
While we lost our paycheck, he is sitting there laughing at us!
I am hoping others who are new at things will see this and learn from our mistake.
Thanks all of you who took time to comment.
It is hard to imagine such a sad world.
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tomwiii
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posted on February 28, 2002 10:25:43 PM new
Well that came from out-of-the-blue...
READ! I don't admire such activity! But in that HORRIBLE excuse for a country, I'm sure this thief is reguarded as a SMART COOKIE for duping "those Americans" 
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bidsbids
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posted on March 1, 2002 10:41:44 AM new
Why was another thread started? No sympathy in this one?
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mcjane
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posted on March 1, 2002 09:41:59 PM new
I have a friend who was going to buy a DVD player from someone in Romania. Saw her auction on yahoo. She asked my advice & I told her never to buy anything from a Romanian.
her argument was that the lady was a lawyer & her father just died & she was selling things off from his estate to help with funeral expenses. She believed the story 100%
It has a good ending though, my friend gave me the sellers email address & I emailed her & told her I was interested in the DVD & could she tell me why she was selling it. This same seller was now a medical student & needed the money to buy books. She wanted to be a doctor & dedicate her life to helping the poor.
She didn't buy the DVD, got one at Best Buy.
I told her she owes me a dinner. She paid up, we had a good time & a good laugh.
Edited for spelling.
[ edited by mcjane on Mar 1, 2002 09:46 PM ]
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bidsbids
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posted on March 1, 2002 09:46:02 PM new
Isn't Romania full of wandering gypsies? They read your fortune and steal your chickens and now sell laptops, cameras, and DVD players on online auctions. They're flexable and change with the times very well.
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mcjane
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posted on March 1, 2002 09:50:28 PM new
bidsbids
Yes, they are extremely flexable, but not too smart if you play their game with them.
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ahc3
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posted on March 1, 2002 11:16:56 PM new
They let people sell electronics from Romania on Ubid? I wouldn't even send $20 to Romania for anything. Anything that is electronic in nature I would only buy using a credit card and from the US for maximum protection as a buyer
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