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FS: Gitzo GT2540EX W/ RRS BH-40 Ball Head.

f8orbust

Active member
Services like escrow.com are a really useful 'middle-man' (or woman) between buyer and seller if needs be. I've used it before with no problem whatsoever, and the rates are pretty reasonable for the peace of mind it brings. On a $950 transaction like this, the fee would have been around $30.
 

peterc

New member
I had a WTB post for a markins Q3 ballhead earlier and was contacted by two scammers on the forum. I didn't think about it too much then and deleted the PM's already. However, they weren't very good at scamming since they sent me pictures of the wrong ball heads and had very inconsistent flow in their messages. Just for fun, I google'd the file name of the picture and found it on flickr that belonged to someone else. These were members with 1 or 0 posts.

It feels like scammers are getting familiar with forums like this that sells high $ ticket items and are starting to target us. Definitely be cautious!
 

mathomas

Active member
Personally, I'm going to avoid dealing with "new members" except in special circumstances. That is, I'll let folks put a little time contributing to the forum before I buy from them. It's not foolproof, but it stops the quick buck for scammers.

Everyone needs to make their own call on this, of course.
 

RGoldman

Member
To update was is going on, Paypal is taking care of it at this point. He has a "verified" paypal account so they have all of his contact information. I was told that he has until 7-29 to prove shipment or that paypal will credit my account and then go after him on their own. This is one of the reasons I always use paypal and amex for purchases. Between the two of them, I am covered if something happens. It is still disturbing to have this happen here as this has been the best B&S forum I have come across. One dishonest person will not keep me from buying and selling here although there will be more caution on my part in the future when buying.
I have no idea what he sold the ballhead for as I only was interested in the tripod. Hardly seems like enough money to rip someone off over but I guess some people are desperate for any amount of cash.
 

donaldt

New member
worse so for me
this is the first time I am buying anything here
anyway Paypal is taking care of it and hopefully I get the money back
 

cs750

Member
This is great news. Please followup with an indication of whether Paypal did in fact fulfill their promise to take care of these matters. I had begun to feel "protected" on this forum despite the fact I have sold no items and only purchased a couple items. Luckily, despite selling many photograhy items on other forums I have never had a bad transaction. I still say it would be good if there were some way our members could voluntarily verify their identity in a transaction. Charles
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
Personally, I'm going to avoid dealing with "new members" except in special circumstances. That is, I'll let folks put a little time contributing to the forum before I buy from them. It's not foolproof, but it stops the quick buck for scammers.

Everyone needs to make their own call on this, of course.
That is a wise choice for sure. Just because 99.99% of the folks on this forum are stellar people, it does not guarantee a slime-ball cannot sneak in, especially now that we have grown...
 

RGoldman

Member
A quick update. I got home to find that Paypal has sent me back the money. Not sure if they actually "recovered" it like hte email states or they are going to have to go after him some other way but I want to say that Paypal really came through for me this time and with all the negative things that I see posted(on other forums of course) about them, I am happy with the way they handled this.

Ron
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Great news


BTW you get a scam PM than I count on you folks to let us know. We need your help too and trust me banning someone or a IP address is not even remotely a issue for us. Rather have a trigger finger on that button than see a member lose money. Also this is YOUR forum and your home help us help you.
 

RGoldman

Member
It's why I posted so quickly when things didn't seem right. I was hoping to save others from doing business with this guy. I really hope that everyone else gets their money back. And, I will continue to use the B&S here because as Jack said, 99.99% of the people here are honest.

Ron
 

johnnygoesdigital

New member
Reading this thread made me realize that if using PayPal, it's important to NOT use the gift option for purchases. By not using the gift option you have recourse if something like this happens, it's a small price to pay for security. Negotiate the fee's, but keep these WTB/FS's safe. This section provides some of the coolest/obscure/ most desirable photogear anywhere, and most buyers have seamless transactions, due to the professional character of most here.
 

mathomas

Active member
Reading this thread made me realize that if using PayPal, it's important to NOT use the gift option for purchases. By not using the gift option you have recourse if something like this happens, it's a small price to pay for security. Negotiate the fee's, but keep these WTB/FS's safe. This section provides some of the coolest/obscure/ most desirable photogear anywhere, and most buyers have seamless transactions, due to the professional character of most here.
[bolding is mine, above]

Agree, and I would add that their fee is actually a small price to pay for being able to pay for (and receive payment for) a transaction, instantly and securely, over the internet. Like them or not, PayPal provides something that didn't exist before, and deserves to get paid for it.
 
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