scam?
Sun Mar 25, 2007 2:15 pm
I'm not sure whether this can officially be called a scam, but at the very least it's dishonest.
Out of the blue, I get a neomail from someone asking be to sell them an item for a certain price. I do not have this item in my shop but I check the shop wiz and the price they are asking seems fair. Then, out of the blue again, a second, different person offers to sell me the item for a much larger price. If I were to accept this deal, I would lose money overall.
Surely it can't be a coincidence that two different people contact me, one asking to buy an item and the other asking to sell it for an exagerated price. But is this reportable?
Out of the blue, I get a neomail from someone asking be to sell them an item for a certain price. I do not have this item in my shop but I check the shop wiz and the price they are asking seems fair. Then, out of the blue again, a second, different person offers to sell me the item for a much larger price. If I were to accept this deal, I would lose money overall.
Surely it can't be a coincidence that two different people contact me, one asking to buy an item and the other asking to sell it for an exagerated price. But is this reportable?
Sun Mar 25, 2007 2:20 pm
I don't think it's a scam really, because I don't think anybody would re-buy the item that they'd sold for a larger amount. I can't imagine anyone selling Item A for 100np, then when somebody offers to sell them Item A for 200np, they'd even consider buying it. Is there something I'm missing?
Sun Mar 25, 2007 2:51 pm
Anoohilator wrote:I don't think it's a scam really, because I don't think anybody would re-buy the item that they'd sold for a larger amount. I can't imagine anyone selling Item A for 100np, then when somebody offers to sell them Item A for 200np, they'd even consider buying it. Is there something I'm missing?
I think you are missing the fact that most people who fall for scams are being a wee bit stupid.
Sun Mar 25, 2007 2:54 pm
fredajones wrote:Anoohilator wrote:I don't think it's a scam really, because I don't think anybody would re-buy the item that they'd sold for a larger amount. I can't imagine anyone selling Item A for 100np, then when somebody offers to sell them Item A for 200np, they'd even consider buying it. Is there something I'm missing?
I think you are missing the fact that most people who fall for scams are being a wee bit stupid.
Heh I took that into account, and STILL couldn't find anyone that stupid
Couldn't they just buy it from the shop wiz at the price they sold it at?
Sun Mar 25, 2007 3:32 pm
Anoohilator wrote:
Heh I took that into account, and STILL couldn't find anyone that stupid
Yep, fair point.
Sun Mar 25, 2007 5:19 pm
Tell person B you're not interested in buying and then tell person A you'd be happy to sell them the item and see what they say.
Sun Mar 25, 2007 10:53 pm
The only possible scam I can think of in this method, is that they might encounter someone who is on a faerie quest, and therefore unable to check the shop wiz price. I just automatically report that kind of stuff, and leave it up to TNT to decide whether it's a scam or not.
As for only getting that first request to have you (get and) sell them an item, it'd be better to tell them to buy it themselves. Why would they need you as a middle-person if they can find it on the shopwiz themselves (unless of course they might be on a faerie quest. But there's the neoboards, forums, friends and all sorts of other ways for that)? They might not have enough money to buy it themselves, and then start asking you to sell it cheaper (at which you can report them for begging
). Since you're stuck with that item already, you might be tempted to do it, too. Or else they might even change they're mind, leaving you stuck with the item.
As for only getting that first request to have you (get and) sell them an item, it'd be better to tell them to buy it themselves. Why would they need you as a middle-person if they can find it on the shopwiz themselves (unless of course they might be on a faerie quest. But there's the neoboards, forums, friends and all sorts of other ways for that)? They might not have enough money to buy it themselves, and then start asking you to sell it cheaper (at which you can report them for begging
). Since you're stuck with that item already, you might be tempted to do it, too. Or else they might even change they're mind, leaving you stuck with the item.
Mon Mar 26, 2007 12:27 am
Uh, Kenjiro there's a difference between begging and haggling. You sound report happy to me.
If the item in question is particularly rare yet useless, it might be a scam. I've heard of this particular scam, but not in a while.
a) scammer ends up with HTS item, and can't sell it
b) scammer logs into side account to ask randomly selected victim to buy super-cool item, and they'll buy it off of them
c) victim buys item
d) scammer gets their money and never replies to neomails, and victim is stuck with HTS item.
There's always the chance that it is an honest coincidence, and the person asking for the item is just new and doesn't know what the shop wizard is. I'd just send them a link to the shop that sells what they want. You don't get scammed, they get the item they want. No one loses.
If the item in question is particularly rare yet useless, it might be a scam. I've heard of this particular scam, but not in a while.
a) scammer ends up with HTS item, and can't sell it
b) scammer logs into side account to ask randomly selected victim to buy super-cool item, and they'll buy it off of them
c) victim buys item
d) scammer gets their money and never replies to neomails, and victim is stuck with HTS item.
There's always the chance that it is an honest coincidence, and the person asking for the item is just new and doesn't know what the shop wizard is. I'd just send them a link to the shop that sells what they want. You don't get scammed, they get the item they want. No one loses.
Mon Mar 26, 2007 9:05 am
I do check their user status first, to see how long they've been playing. I sound report happy, because every bit of neomail that I got that was not from friends or from mails concerning trades or anything, just random mails from strangers, all have turned out to be scams or advertising and such. So that just gets reported. I agree, it might be a newbie, but I think the chances of finding the shop wiz is a lot higher than to come up with the idea of mailing random people to ask them to buy it for him/her.
Also, I know the difference between begging and haggling, but if two people have already agreed on a price, and the buyer then still wants it for less (thus making you lose money than you intended), it sounds more like begging to me than haggling.
If it is a scam, though, TNT won't know about it unless they actually receive reports. I can't see how many people they contact with this, so i'll have to leave that up to TNT. If it turns out that it's not a scam, no harm done.
Also, I know the difference between begging and haggling, but if two people have already agreed on a price, and the buyer then still wants it for less (thus making you lose money than you intended), it sounds more like begging to me than haggling.
If it is a scam, though, TNT won't know about it unless they actually receive reports. I can't see how many people they contact with this, so i'll have to leave that up to TNT. If it turns out that it's not a scam, no harm done.