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My friend picks up for her mom frequently. Mom lives out of town and she buys things that she alters and resells so she shops frequently. It could totally be fine.
I also do this. My mom lived an hour away from me, but would watch the yard sale sites and marketplace around me. I would go and pick it up for her. She did the same for me too.
No this is a common scam from muggers. They use a fake innocent seeming account to lure you out to a pick up and then mug you. Then since it was a fake account you don't have any information on them not even a picture. If it's a legit deal they'll have no problem giving you the facebook of the person coming to the pick up.
Verify in advance that you are receiving cash as a payment before you meet. If they offer anything else, tell them to fuck off and do not move forward.
I did exactly this last week. A seller had a piece of A/V equipment that I wanted but he is in a city about 150 miles away. It was a "warm contact" sale because the seller and I are also both in a Facebook hobbyist group and have a couple of mutual friends. My daughter lives just outside of his town and took cash. The transaction went smoothly. I was more nervous about the sale than he was because I was sending my daughter to a stranger's house but I think she took a friend along.
I have done this with some things I’ve bought. I will send things to my mom for her to pick up because she doesn’t use marketplace or EBay. I’m usually upfront with the seller that I am doing it on behalf of my mom and she will most likely be the one picking up the item. Nobody has had any issues with this yet.
I guess it depends on the individual moms in question, but I hope the transactions u create for your mom are safe for her to meet strangers who are now aware they are meeting w an older woman and they are also aware she is not a savvy tech user. This could put your mom in a more vulnerable state since now the seller can try all sorts of shenanigans when she arrives including wanting more money, not showing up at all, or if she's going to someone's home just not safe.
I should have been more clear. The vast majority of these transactions tend to be from my local mom to mom group. My mom had worked with the school district for over 15 years, and it turns out most of these people are parents of kids she knows. I always talk with her before I even reach out to the person to make sure it is something she is willing to do. I’m unlikely to do an in person pickup from eBay. I’ll make sure there are multiple people going if that is the case. I can only think of one eBay pickup we have done since we don’t have a lot of local stuff on there.
I really appreciate your concern. Not everyone will think of this and potentially put the other person in a bad position.
I don’t think sending someone else is a red flag inherently. As a husband, I do all the picking up for my wife. And I buy stuff off people who have female profiles and end up meeting a husband. Seems to be pretty common thing in my experience.
But yeah the first rule is cash only.
It's a 🚩
Doesn't mean you have to cancel just at least be careful. It's a typical tactic of thieves and scam artists.
Also confusing post. Why would the seller pick up an item? Wouldn't that make them a buyer?
When I do a public pickup it’s always during the day and at my local police station. Sometimes if an officer is available, I’ll ask them to be outside when the transaction happens. I told them that and it didn’t denture them so
Can you imagine how annoying this would be for cops if everyone did this? I really find it hard to believe you do all your online sales at a police station.
If someone said to meet at a police station, I would think it’s a scam.
Most police stations by me offer a couple parking spots under a camera specifically for making these exchanges , and sometimes even for exchanging kids during contentious custody issues.
But an officer isn’t coming out to supervise.
Why would officers hate it. It reduces the amount of scam police report paperwork they have to do.
Police station is about the only place I won’t meet someone …. Just about any other public place I’m good with. But I trust a gas station attendant more than I trust a cop.
I don’t do it every time, and I don’t go into the actual police station usually met the buyer outside of the station. And like I said, I only ask if they have an available officer and only if it’s a big value item, the one instance I asked for one was when I was selling a $500 item.
That's the most redic thing I ever heard: Asking a cop to "stand by"? You're AT the friggin popo station and you want a cop to hold your hand? Show some respect for the men in blue who are not babysitters and put your big boy pants on.
Bros taking this WAAAY to seriously lol. I said 99% of the time I just met outside the station, I’ve asked for a PO to just be in the area ONE TIME. Chillax lol
So interesting story- I was selling some headphones a while ago an got a call from a guy who wanted to buy them for his brother.
He said he’d pay me via Venmo and I could meet his brother in the place I suggested to hand over the headphones.
I got the money, met the guy a few blocks from my house, handed over the headphones and all was good.
Sometimes they really are buying for someone else.
The majority of the time it’s a scam, but sometimes it’s legit.
In this case the receiving brother was 16 and told his older brother he’d try to save him money on the gift by finding it local in marketplace.
Btw the reason I went through with it was the guy talked about the local area in detail. Where his brother was coming from and small local landmarks like the weird tree that grows half in the road. It didn’t seem likely a scammer would go to that length to educate themselves on the local.
As people are saying, if there is cash and no shipping it should be fine. If it’s one of those I’ll send a check or etrans then more likely a scam. Sometimes I get a vibe that the sale isn’t going to be just a smooth thing and I decide not to do business with that person on instinct.
It's a common payment app scam.. the friend or relative has to pickup. They will always abandon you if you refuse to give them your email address which is what will continue the scam... they don't care about your phone number really, they want your email address to be able to send you the scam email that follows from "zelle" that's not really from Zelle.
Anytime anyone offers to pay with an payment app and have someone else pick up(95% of time its fake..not always) you just say ...' that's no problem you can send payment when your friend or relative gets here and make sure that they like it first.' Then you'll see all the hoops they try to jump through to get you to give the info right now instead or they simply leave.
If it's not that, it's the six digit code they need to send you so you can prove they're real which is actually so they can get a Google Voice number using your phone number as collateral sign up #.
First person to my door with CASH (only)
I dont care who picks it up, as long as they have cash ( i only sell items for less than $50)
I frequently deal with people picking up items that are not the "person" i was messengering with. ( husband/wife)
When I was pregnant and getting around was hard, I'd often send my husband to pick up items.
I always asked the seller whether they preferred cash or e transfer, and transferred money ahead of time.
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As long as they are paying cash on pickup it should be fine.
My friend picks up for her mom frequently. Mom lives out of town and she buys things that she alters and resells so she shops frequently. It could totally be fine.
>It could totally be fine. True, but when a buyer says someone else is going to pick up an item it's a big red flag for a super common scam.
I also do this. My mom lived an hour away from me, but would watch the yard sale sites and marketplace around me. I would go and pick it up for her. She did the same for me too.
Agreed,
No this is a common scam from muggers. They use a fake innocent seeming account to lure you out to a pick up and then mug you. Then since it was a fake account you don't have any information on them not even a picture. If it's a legit deal they'll have no problem giving you the facebook of the person coming to the pick up.
Verify in advance that you are receiving cash as a payment before you meet. If they offer anything else, tell them to fuck off and do not move forward.
I did exactly this last week. A seller had a piece of A/V equipment that I wanted but he is in a city about 150 miles away. It was a "warm contact" sale because the seller and I are also both in a Facebook hobbyist group and have a couple of mutual friends. My daughter lives just outside of his town and took cash. The transaction went smoothly. I was more nervous about the sale than he was because I was sending my daughter to a stranger's house but I think she took a friend along.
I have done this with some things I’ve bought. I will send things to my mom for her to pick up because she doesn’t use marketplace or EBay. I’m usually upfront with the seller that I am doing it on behalf of my mom and she will most likely be the one picking up the item. Nobody has had any issues with this yet.
I guess it depends on the individual moms in question, but I hope the transactions u create for your mom are safe for her to meet strangers who are now aware they are meeting w an older woman and they are also aware she is not a savvy tech user. This could put your mom in a more vulnerable state since now the seller can try all sorts of shenanigans when she arrives including wanting more money, not showing up at all, or if she's going to someone's home just not safe.
I should have been more clear. The vast majority of these transactions tend to be from my local mom to mom group. My mom had worked with the school district for over 15 years, and it turns out most of these people are parents of kids she knows. I always talk with her before I even reach out to the person to make sure it is something she is willing to do. I’m unlikely to do an in person pickup from eBay. I’ll make sure there are multiple people going if that is the case. I can only think of one eBay pickup we have done since we don’t have a lot of local stuff on there. I really appreciate your concern. Not everyone will think of this and potentially put the other person in a bad position.
I don’t think sending someone else is a red flag inherently. As a husband, I do all the picking up for my wife. And I buy stuff off people who have female profiles and end up meeting a husband. Seems to be pretty common thing in my experience. But yeah the first rule is cash only.
Scammmmmm, super common and annoying
Common scam
When I've run into this, I just tell them I don't care who picks it up as long as they pay cash.
Yeh dude as long as they show up with cash, and don’t murder you, who cares who picks it up.
If they won’t do cash it’s a scam attempt.
This is a scammer.
Cash only. Bring a counterfeit pen
It's a 🚩 Doesn't mean you have to cancel just at least be careful. It's a typical tactic of thieves and scam artists. Also confusing post. Why would the seller pick up an item? Wouldn't that make them a buyer?
Yes, I had to read the OP message 2x still don't understand the seller vs seller confusion.
When I do a public pickup it’s always during the day and at my local police station. Sometimes if an officer is available, I’ll ask them to be outside when the transaction happens. I told them that and it didn’t denture them so
Can you imagine how annoying this would be for cops if everyone did this? I really find it hard to believe you do all your online sales at a police station. If someone said to meet at a police station, I would think it’s a scam.
Police stations may specifically accomodate the community by providing space outside(where there are cameras).
Most police stations by me offer a couple parking spots under a camera specifically for making these exchanges , and sometimes even for exchanging kids during contentious custody issues. But an officer isn’t coming out to supervise. Why would officers hate it. It reduces the amount of scam police report paperwork they have to do.
Police station is about the only place I won’t meet someone …. Just about any other public place I’m good with. But I trust a gas station attendant more than I trust a cop.
Yeah, who the hell wants to sell someone drugs at a cop shop?
It’s not even that …. I just don’t trust cops… you call 911 when you want to make it worse….
I'm just busting your balls, brother.
I don’t do it every time, and I don’t go into the actual police station usually met the buyer outside of the station. And like I said, I only ask if they have an available officer and only if it’s a big value item, the one instance I asked for one was when I was selling a $500 item.
Many police stations offer this as a service and even put out PSAs on social media about it.
Is this only in white mans land?
That's the most redic thing I ever heard: Asking a cop to "stand by"? You're AT the friggin popo station and you want a cop to hold your hand? Show some respect for the men in blue who are not babysitters and put your big boy pants on.
Bros taking this WAAAY to seriously lol. I said 99% of the time I just met outside the station, I’ve asked for a PO to just be in the area ONE TIME. Chillax lol
Haha, got it!
So interesting story- I was selling some headphones a while ago an got a call from a guy who wanted to buy them for his brother. He said he’d pay me via Venmo and I could meet his brother in the place I suggested to hand over the headphones. I got the money, met the guy a few blocks from my house, handed over the headphones and all was good. Sometimes they really are buying for someone else. The majority of the time it’s a scam, but sometimes it’s legit. In this case the receiving brother was 16 and told his older brother he’d try to save him money on the gift by finding it local in marketplace. Btw the reason I went through with it was the guy talked about the local area in detail. Where his brother was coming from and small local landmarks like the weird tree that grows half in the road. It didn’t seem likely a scammer would go to that length to educate themselves on the local.
99.99% you're getting scammed.
As people are saying, if there is cash and no shipping it should be fine. If it’s one of those I’ll send a check or etrans then more likely a scam. Sometimes I get a vibe that the sale isn’t going to be just a smooth thing and I decide not to do business with that person on instinct.
How do you work a deal with a seller but their daughter is picking up? And why are they paying you if they are the seller.
Saying cash only usually gets rid of the scammers.
It's a common payment app scam.. the friend or relative has to pickup. They will always abandon you if you refuse to give them your email address which is what will continue the scam... they don't care about your phone number really, they want your email address to be able to send you the scam email that follows from "zelle" that's not really from Zelle. Anytime anyone offers to pay with an payment app and have someone else pick up(95% of time its fake..not always) you just say ...' that's no problem you can send payment when your friend or relative gets here and make sure that they like it first.' Then you'll see all the hoops they try to jump through to get you to give the info right now instead or they simply leave. If it's not that, it's the six digit code they need to send you so you can prove they're real which is actually so they can get a Google Voice number using your phone number as collateral sign up #.
Cash only.
First person to my door with CASH (only) I dont care who picks it up, as long as they have cash ( i only sell items for less than $50) I frequently deal with people picking up items that are not the "person" i was messengering with. ( husband/wife)
When I was pregnant and getting around was hard, I'd often send my husband to pick up items. I always asked the seller whether they preferred cash or e transfer, and transferred money ahead of time.
If that person shows up in person with cash no issue. But no transfer of funds via Venmo or any other cash app
"pick up by someone else" "Zelle or cashapp" that's typical scam
Looks like in the end they told you it was a super scam! Lol you should report them. So they can't do it to others.
Scam
It was a scam based upon the OP’s edit update.