I'm posting this here not to complain but to help other users here avoid a mistake I made in selling flightsim gear on the Classified Ads forum.

Long story short, I sold a piece of hardware via AVSIM's Classified Ads forum, and a user here, Luigilizares77, bought it via a PayPal transaction. He requested through AVSIM's private message board that I send the item to a Delaware, USA address. The funds were transferred and I shipped the item to DE as he requested.

Fast forward to a week later, and this user filed a PayPal claim against me, stating that he never received the item. I'm now potentially on the hook for the amount I sold the hardware for, and I've lost the item itself. When I checked his PayPal info, he had an address NOT in DE, USA but in the Philippines.

This is my mistake, and apparently, I've fallen for a common scam (see #2 on this webpage: https://heimdalsecurity.com/blog/paypal-scams-protect-your-account/amp/ ). PayPal can refuse to honor the transaction and withhold seller protection IF the shipping address doesn't match the buyer's registered address on PayPal itself. And I fell for it.

So please, be careful selling gear via PayPal and make sure the buyer's shipping address matches their PayPal shipping address, regardless of how they'd like you to ship the item. And it this point, I'm inclined to warn anyone from selling anything to Luigilizares77.

 

There are thieves everywhere these days and the internet makes it even easier for them to steal.

13 hours ago, RudiJG1 said:

I'm posting this here not to complain but to help other users here avoid a mistake I made in selling flightsim gear on the Classified Ads forum.

Long story short, I sold a piece of hardware via AVSIM's Classified Ads forum, and a user here, Luigilizares77, bought it via a PayPal transaction. He requested through AVSIM's private message board that I send the item to a Delaware, USA address. The funds were transferred and I shipped the item to DE as he requested.

Fast forward to a week later, and this user filed a PayPal claim against me, stating that he never received the item. I'm now potentially on the hook for the amount I sold the hardware for, and I've lost the item itself. When I checked his PayPal info, he had an address NOT in DE, USA but in the Philippines.

This is my mistake, and apparently, I've fallen for a common scam (see #2 on this webpage: https://heimdalsecurity.com/blog/paypal-scams-protect-your-account/amp/ ). PayPal can refuse to honor the transaction and withhold seller protection IF the shipping address doesn't match the buyer's registered address on PayPal itself. And I fell for it.

So please, be careful selling gear via PayPal and make sure the buyer's shipping address matches their PayPal shipping address, regardless of how they'd like you to ship the item. And it this point, I'm inclined to warn anyone from selling anything to Luigilizares77.

 

Ouch. That is a scam a few ebay sellers fall for.Unfortunately Paypal almost always sides with the buyer.Did you try talking to paypal ? Did you have a tracking number ?

Wayne, I'm sorry you've been conned by this individual. I checked his status and he has no posts at all on AvSim. So whilst it won't help you it might be worth other sellers checking the activity of a potential purchaser before entering into a sale.

Luigilizares77 joined AvSim on 20 August 2020 and last visited at 10:29am on 13 Sept 2020.

If they have never posted on AvSim there might be a good reason behind it.

Thanks, guys, and yes, I'm talking with PayPal and I have a tracking number...to the address he gave me, NOT his PayPal registered shipping address. And, Ray, I think you're right about his reason for never posting at AVSIM.

Good luck, Rudi!

UPDATE: Luigilizares77, the buyer, has been refunded the initial payment by PayPal, and, he and I have agreed to split the expense of my liability. The item is still missing, apparently. 

I appreciate his willingness to soften the financial blow. 
 

Soften the financial blow and not eliminate it? 

Forgive my cynical self, but is this person still making some money and thus still a thief?

2 hours ago, HighBypass said:

Soften the financial blow and not eliminate it? 

Forgive my cynical self, but is this person still making some money and thus still a thief?

Understood, and he told me he hasn't ever received the item. I have no means to determine what actually happened to it, and given that I shipped it to an address other than the buyer's PayPal address, PayPal has resolved the issue in the buyer's favor. So the financial burden falls on me, and I'm pleased that I've recouped at least some of the value here.

Thank you for bringing this scam to everyone's attention Wayne. I have to say, I use both Ebay and PayPal regularly, so I'm grateful for this information that you've shared. 

4 hours ago, Rockliffe said:

Thank you for bringing this scam to everyone's attention Wayne. I have to say, I use both Ebay and PayPal regularly, so I'm grateful for this information that you've shared. 

Sure, Howard, and I hope this does help you and others avoid such problems.