Hi folks,
I'm looking for some advice here. There is a guy selling a canon xl1s for a very cheap price. I asked him for more info and how it could possibly be so cheap and he answered. I've pasted the answer below. Does this sound really dodgy to you or will I be missing out on a bargain? Thanks for any advice,
Jay.
By the way, I replaced his details with xxx.


The answer-


Dear Jason,

If you will ask me how can i sell this great products at such a low price here is the simple truth: the products are received for the poor kids at a charity foundation in Andalucia(a province from Spain).
They receive many items monthly from donations from
reach people or big corporations.Some of the products are keeped for the kids and other are sold for the money.They give this great products to me to sell them because i have a good rating on Ebay.
The items are brand new and still in original boxes
still unopened. They come with all the accesories
included and warranty is international.If you agree with the price and you think you can help the poor kids here is the deal:

1. It is better for you to know that the items is
brand new ,its has never been opened and it is has
international warranty provided by the factory and
it comes with all accessories that you need.

2. SHIPMENT ---this is a thing about you shouldn't
worry about because i believe that it is my
responsibility to deliver it to your home.We can do it
in 2 way in each of them i am going to pay for all
charges:

-UPS 2 days

-Fed ex 2 days

It will take 2 days for the package to arrive to
you.The shipping costs will be payed by me and i will
also pay for the insurance in case of any damage
happens during the handling and shipping,so i will be
protected in case off damages and you too.

3.THE WAY TO PAY -----there are many ways to make a
payment but this one was recommended to me by a good
friend of our family who is a banking manager.
We will have to end the deal through MONEY GRAM in
a very secure way for both of us in way that just a
few of people know,because the birocracy from our country if we use COD
or escrow i won't be able to pick up my money in lees
then a month in stead of 2 days.

The payment method that i am talking about is wire
transfer with MONEY GRAM.It is very simple and
secure because you will have to go personal to an office and send the
money from your name and address to my
name and address.Look one more thing,when you put the
money to MONEY GRAM please don't tell there the reason for you send
the money because here in this country I must pay somes aditional taxes
when I recive the founds(you know busines with electronic...),please say
you send the money to your friends or to your partener. After that, you will receive an
confirmation number and i want you to send me the
following details :

-the sender name

-the sender address

-the amount

-the confirmation #-MTCN (money transfer control
number)

-the receiver name

With all this informations i will be able to check the
payment and after i will see that sis OK i will send
the package right away and also mail you the TRACKING
NUMBER from the shipping.

4. REFUND-----After the package arrives you have an 7
days period in witch you can send the package back for
an full and NO QUESTION refund, but you will pay for
the shipping and handling back to me.
Here is my name and my address where you must send the
money:
First name: xxx
Last name: xxx
Address: xxx
Zip code: xxx
City: xxx
Country: xxx
Phone nr: xxx

I look forward hearing from you.

Warm Regards,
xxxx

This is a scam, pure and simple.

Do a search on the ebay threads which have appeared here, and you'll find out all about it. The bottom line is: if it sounds too good to be true, it is.

I concur. This is definitely a scam.

Please alert ebay ASAP and they will most certainly take the auction off-line and investigate the seller.

The XL1 seems to be a favorite with these ebay crooks.

Thanks for the advice guys. I mailed ebay about him.
Jay.

I'd pass. It's very hard to chase these guys down over seas. If you pay with a money order/gram you money is gone the moment you mail it. At least on a domestic transaction you have some legal recourse.
my 2 cents,
Mark

SuperSCAM!

Anytime someone demands a money order or the like think scam right away. Also be careful about using escrow company look alikes. There been several incidents where people have cloned a look alike Paypal to take off with your money. Make sure the URL of the escrow service is correct and legit.

To read more check out Dylan Couper's How Not To Get Scammed on Ebay (http://www.dvinfo.net/articles/buyersguide/ebay.php). It excellent.

Well it seems he's had his account suspended already, but it's scary going through the camera listings as it seems to be full of very similar, and dodgy, looking auctions. Especially now that I've read that 'How not to get scammed on ebay' article (thanks for that). It's really hard to tell who is legit really.

I'm actually thinking now that it might be better to just rent the camera I need from somewhere respectable rather than trying to find a good deal on a second-hand one.

Thanks again for the advice,
Jay.

With a little luck, I plan to go back to Ireland again next year. In '94 I spent a whole month touring your country, including two nights in the convent at Glasnevin.

If you only need the camera for a short period of time, renting it is an excellent option. If it's more than a fwe days though, you may be better off purchasing a used camera, and the re-sale loss you might take will still be less than what you would have spent on a rental. If at all possible, buy localy, that way you can inspect it in person.

Someone is teaching these people how to scam on ebay! Here's a portion from a mail I got from a different person (their addresses were different and I would assume that they would have better sense than to mail me twice with the same mails) -

"Hi,It is better for you to know that the item is brand new , never been opened and it has international warranty provided by the manufacturer and it comes with all the accessories you`ll need."

and -

"please don't tell there the reason for you send the money because here in this country I must pay somes additional taxes when I receive the funds(you know business with electronic...) Please say you send the money to your friends or to your partner. "

They're the same words I got from the first guy! They even have the same bad grammar. So they are just copying and pasting from a document somewhere telling them how to scam on ebay. This is a scary thought.

Jay.