OK...heres the 'story'... Im selling a g4 mac computer on ebay, and today i got this offer of someone from singapore wanting to purchase it for $1400, the only problem is that he cant use paypal, but says he has a credit card - and if I would be willing to make the sale that way with a merchant acct.

My worry is that once he gets the computer the credit card is going to come back stolen, and ther going to do a chargeback or something to take my money away. Is there any guaruntee or way I can get this done.


Im posting the email i got from him below:
Dear Sir / Madam ...

I'm ebay members from Singapore and I have seen your
item on ebay auction and I'm interest to make a deal
with you, and for the payment are you accept credit
card direct ?, if you have capability using a machine
or merchan account or maybe someone who have owner to
check my credit card direct please let me know ASAP,
cause I look forward for this. I'll send you my credit
card details through email, if you agree for this term
I'll pay for $1400 include shipping cost use FedEx for delivery service So I can get tracking number to allow my package. to calculate shipping cost I'll give you my zip and city and here they are:

ZIP / POSTAL CODE : 918115
CITY : CHANGI

please do not hesitate for any questions about this
regarding.
have a nice day,

Thanks and Best Regards,



P.S
I'll give fee for your friends merchant or machine 10%
from the total cost. because at this time I only prefer
for credit card direct and I'm not usin online payment
like paypal, bidpay or another onlin payment service.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Can anyone help me out?
Thanks,
Jeff

Well what he is suggesting is illegal - for you to use someone's merchant account.

Does he have any buyer feedback or whatever ebay calls it? There is no real answer here. If it makes you uncomfortable, don't do it. It's your time & money. There is no really guarantee.

If you had a merchant account & had Verified by Visa, this would cover the "I didn't do it". But if he does a chargeback because he is not happy with the system, there might be little recourse you can take to actually get back your computer

Thanks Corey,

I was able to find some information via ebay:
Member since: Aug-05-03
Location: Indonesia

Also I was wondering if anyone knew about trying something like this:
Me giving him my bank acct. # and bank name, and then having him send the money that way using his CC - would that protect me incase the CC is stolen?

Thanks,
Jeff

I would not give him your bank account number. Scary thing is - it is more difficult to take money out of your bank account rather than put money into it.

If he is willing to foot a 10% increase ($140) to the person who processes your CC - did you consider Western Union? That way you get the money & there is nothing that can be done about (I am of course assuming you are legit :) ) If he feels worrysome about that, maybe 50% down, you verify it is on the way, you send the computer & you can have him send you the rest of the money. I think they might also (Western Union) offer delayed payment

Be very, very very careful with this person.

It is extremely common for folks from high risk areas - such as Singapore - to purchase high ticket items like laptops & PC's and then charge back the purchases. This happens every day, more often that you might think.

Some of these fraudsters can be very convincing and they will also be happy to pay extra for faster shipping or for processing costs. (After all, why would you care how much extra something costs... when it's not your money anyways!)

So use Western Union, a bank wire transfer or some other form of secure payment or escrow.

Also, be wary of any "certified checks" that you may receive - especially if they are for a higher amount than the purchase.

Another scam going around recently is that fraudsters have been sending certified bank checks to U.S. merchants for MORE than the amount. (i.e. item costs $5,000, they send a check "accidentally" for $7,500)

The U.S. merchant says, "oh - you sent it for more than the amount!", the fraudster says, "oh - geez - can you quickly wire me the difference?".

The U.S. merchant wires the $2,500 - and then shortly after, finds out that the $7,500 "certified bank check" is a forgery. :(

Thanks for all the advice, I went ahead and told him I'd only accept money orders ... we'll see if it comes through.

Thanks again,
Jeff