Reverend Conehead
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I just sold two guitars, one electric and one acoustic via FB Marketplace. When I first listed them, I immediately got responses that didn't make sense. The first sentence some lady writes to me is, "I want your guitar; I'll Venmo you the money, and my son will pick it up later." Then she adds, "What is your address?" This has more red flags than a People's Republic of China military parade. She already wants the guitar, but she hasn't even seen it? Venmo? The MP ad reads that payment is in cash and we meet in a public place. Give out my home address to someone I don't know? Are you kidding? I look at her FB profile, and it's all in Russian. It's obvious she's not here in Omaha. I respond, "We would meet in a public place for the safety of all concerned, and payment would be in cash if you buy it." Poof! She vanishes.
Then about 10 minutes later, I get a nearly identical PM. It's the same hogwash: I'll pay in Venmo, but I can't pick it up; some other family member will pick it up later. They want my address. Person's FB account is in some other country. As soon as I mention we should meet in public and payment must be in cash, they vanish as well. And then I get more PMs like that. I finally don't bother to respond and instead just block them.
So I go online and google "Venmo FB Marketplace scam." A variety of scams came up. In one type, they send a fake email, supposedly from Venmo, saying, "You've received a payment of $400" (or whatever amount). Then someone shows up and steals your guitar straight from your hand. In another variation, they claim you have to upgrade your Venmo account for payment to work. Then the "upgrade" link is really their fake link collecting your bank info so they can rob you straight from your account. I didn't figure out what the deal was with them wanting my actual address, but I suspect it had to do with crooked info collecting. They figure out who has stuff that can be stolen and sold (like guitars) and sell your info to crooks online.
And then it went silent. It seemed no one was interested in my guitars. I think maybe the economy just sucks, and I won't be able to sell the guitars. Then, finally, about a week later, I get another PM. This guy sounded like a normal person. His questions were normal ones that a guitar player might want to know about the electric I was selling. "What year is it?" "Where did you buy it?" "Have there been any modifications?" I look at his FB account; he's right here in Omaha, and we have some common friends. I set up a meetup at a local Starbucks inside a grocery store, and he doesn't flinch. He never asks about payment method. I also get another nibble, this one on the other guitar, the acoustic, that I was selling. With him it was also normal guitar-player questions. So I set up a meeting with him in the same Starbucks at a slightly later time.
I meet both guys one by one, and sell each guitar. There's no BS about payment. The first guy simply pulled out his wallet and gave me cash for my asking price. The second negotiated a slightly lower, but acceptable, price and then gave me the cash. No BS from either guy. What a difference!
I've learned some things from this experience:
1. If you smell a rat, there's probably a rat.
2. Real prospective buyers ask questions that make sense.
3. Be patient when selling something.
None of the scammers had any earthly clue how to mimic a guitar player interested in a guitar. I know guitar players. The scammers sounded like they were from another planet. I was also glad I didn't get desperate. When I wasn't getting any legitimate nibbles, I was like, "If I can't sell these, I'll just keep them and play them, and maybe try again some other time if the economy gets better." I didn't rush to go to a world-wide market like Reverb. It was much nicer to sell local, and thus not have to deal with shipping to some far-way place. The buyer could also try out the guitar first.
So there's my experience with scammers versus real people. Take it for what it's worth. I'd bet some of you guys may have had similar experiences.
Then about 10 minutes later, I get a nearly identical PM. It's the same hogwash: I'll pay in Venmo, but I can't pick it up; some other family member will pick it up later. They want my address. Person's FB account is in some other country. As soon as I mention we should meet in public and payment must be in cash, they vanish as well. And then I get more PMs like that. I finally don't bother to respond and instead just block them.
So I go online and google "Venmo FB Marketplace scam." A variety of scams came up. In one type, they send a fake email, supposedly from Venmo, saying, "You've received a payment of $400" (or whatever amount). Then someone shows up and steals your guitar straight from your hand. In another variation, they claim you have to upgrade your Venmo account for payment to work. Then the "upgrade" link is really their fake link collecting your bank info so they can rob you straight from your account. I didn't figure out what the deal was with them wanting my actual address, but I suspect it had to do with crooked info collecting. They figure out who has stuff that can be stolen and sold (like guitars) and sell your info to crooks online.
And then it went silent. It seemed no one was interested in my guitars. I think maybe the economy just sucks, and I won't be able to sell the guitars. Then, finally, about a week later, I get another PM. This guy sounded like a normal person. His questions were normal ones that a guitar player might want to know about the electric I was selling. "What year is it?" "Where did you buy it?" "Have there been any modifications?" I look at his FB account; he's right here in Omaha, and we have some common friends. I set up a meetup at a local Starbucks inside a grocery store, and he doesn't flinch. He never asks about payment method. I also get another nibble, this one on the other guitar, the acoustic, that I was selling. With him it was also normal guitar-player questions. So I set up a meeting with him in the same Starbucks at a slightly later time.
I meet both guys one by one, and sell each guitar. There's no BS about payment. The first guy simply pulled out his wallet and gave me cash for my asking price. The second negotiated a slightly lower, but acceptable, price and then gave me the cash. No BS from either guy. What a difference!
I've learned some things from this experience:
1. If you smell a rat, there's probably a rat.
2. Real prospective buyers ask questions that make sense.
3. Be patient when selling something.
None of the scammers had any earthly clue how to mimic a guitar player interested in a guitar. I know guitar players. The scammers sounded like they were from another planet. I was also glad I didn't get desperate. When I wasn't getting any legitimate nibbles, I was like, "If I can't sell these, I'll just keep them and play them, and maybe try again some other time if the economy gets better." I didn't rush to go to a world-wide market like Reverb. It was much nicer to sell local, and thus not have to deal with shipping to some far-way place. The buyer could also try out the guitar first.
So there's my experience with scammers versus real people. Take it for what it's worth. I'd bet some of you guys may have had similar experiences.
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