What's this scam all about then?

Hoblands

Hoblands

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I have my boat advertised on Ebay among other places and in the last week have received 2 plausible offers through the Ebay messaging system from separate potential buyers in Germany saying they will be in the UK in the next few days and want to pay me cash in hand.

There is of course the very slight possibility that they are legitimate, but who agrees to a price and offers to pay cash for a 20k boat that they haven't seen, surveyed or sea trialled? I haven't responded to either yet as I'm sure there's a scam there somewhere, just can't work out what it is???

Paul
 
Hoblands said:
I have my boat advertised on Ebay among other places and in the last week have received 2 plausible offers through the Ebay messaging system from separate potential buyers in Germany saying they will be in the UK in the next few days and want to pay me cash in hand.

There is of course the very slight possibility that they are legitimate, but who agrees to a price and offers to pay cash for a 20k boat that they haven't seen, surveyed or sea trialled? I haven't responded to either yet as I'm sure there's a scam there somewhere, just can't work out what it is???

Paul
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And quite what is cash ? Bank notes ? A cheque? Gold bars ?
I know it galls a bit when you want to sell your boat, but dont even reply is my advice. Chances are, these are automated replies to ads, and they just wait for someone to nibble the hook.
Someone might pay full price for a boat that they havent seen, but they would ask some questions first....What is the scam.. well, probably the bouncing foreign bank draft( it's as good as cash, gov, honest....)
 
Simply make it a condition that you will be visiting the bank to pay in the cash before you will release the boat.
Once the bank has accepted the cash and paid it into your account probably honest money.If the buyer agrees it could be that he is genuine.
 
Dont reject out of hand, I sold a 20k sportsboat on ebay last year and had 2 or 3 legitimate offers from Germany (and Ireland). Most of the haggling when selling a boat on ebay happens before the bidder even sees the boat.

If they are offering cash, why not see them ?

My boat was bought without sea trial, survey or even starting the engine.
 
H
Hoblands said:
I have my boat advertised on Ebay among other places and in the last week have received 2 plausible offers through the Ebay messaging system from separate potential buyers in Germany saying they will be in the UK in the next few days and want to pay me cash in hand.

There is of course the very slight possibility that they are legitimate, but who agrees to a price and offers to pay cash for a 20k boat that they haven't seen, surveyed or sea trialled? I haven't responded to either yet as I'm sure there's a scam there somewhere, just can't work out what it is???

Paul
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I know of a £50k boat sold last week to a foreign buyer. He asked for a video of it underway with some requests about lifting floor panels etc. Video received, transfer followed, boat was loaded onto lorry and has gone. All good as bizarre as it seemed.
 
landlockedpirate said:
Dont reject out of hand, I sold a 20k sportsboat on ebay last year and had 2 or 3 legitimate offers from Germany (and Ireland). Most of the haggling when selling a boat on ebay happens before the bidder even sees the boat.

If they are offering cash, why not see them ?

My boat was bought without sea trial, survey or even starting the engine.
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Yep, mine was also bought without sea trial, survey , starting the engine or viewing, and was also sold via ebay.
 
Hoblands said:
I have my boat advertised on Ebay among other places and in the last week have received 2 plausible offers through the Ebay messaging system from separate potential buyers in Germany saying they will be in the UK in the next few days and want to pay me cash in hand.

There is of course the very slight possibility that they are legitimate, but who agrees to a price and offers to pay cash for a 20k boat that they haven't seen, surveyed or sea trialled? I haven't responded to either yet as I'm sure there's a scam there somewhere, just can't work out what it is???

Paul
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Don't kick the gift horse in the mouth.
Instead, lead them to the bank and allow them to pay in the cash.
German and especially Swiss buyers tend not to use cards or e-money as much as we do.
 
Hoblands said:
but who agrees to a price and offers to pay cash for a 20k boat that they haven't seen, surveyed or sea trialled? l
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Loads of people. I transferred that to buy a RIB share advertised on here and didn't lay eyes on the boat till a couple of months later. For something that is a distance away I would want to agree the price and terms first, before seeing the boat. No point travelling to see it then discovering you cannot find common ground on price and terms imho; time is too precious
 
Many thanks for the replies.

Looking at this with different eyes now. It is quite true that once cash is paid in and accepted by the bank then it's deal done. The Boat is in Gosport so a stones throw from the High St too. Nothing ventured, nothing gained :D

Cheers

Paul
 
Hoblands said:
I have my boat advertised on Ebay among other places and in the last week have received 2 plausible offers through the Ebay messaging system from separate potential buyers in Germany saying they will be in the UK in the next few days and want to pay me cash in hand.

There is of course the very slight possibility that they are legitimate, but who agrees to a price and offers to pay cash for a 20k boat that they haven't seen, surveyed or sea trialled? I haven't responded to either yet as I'm sure there's a scam there somewhere, just can't work out what it is???

Paul
Click to expand...
As I have mentiond before I sold previous Windy to someone who paid me upfront without having seen the boat...stranger things happen at sea ! Just re-reading your post...ok, they havent said they will do anything more than settle in cash, which is plausible. They havent said they dont want to see it, sea trial it, or offer you more than #5k for it?
On second thoughts then, see where it goes. From personal Ebay experience questions like "how much tread is on the tyres" (honestly, that was a question!!) are a bit of a give away as to how genuine the enquiry really is !!
 
Sold my Lotus Exige for £32k a couple of years back to cash buyers from Germany. Fortunately Bell & Colvill (Lotus dealers) were selling for me on a commission basis so they had the hassle of making sure it was all legit. Buyers came with a suitcase of cash, a letter from their bank to confirm the funds had been drawn from the buyers account at that branch in Germany. Went with the dealer to the bank to pay in the cash. Bank phoned the German branch to confirm all ok. Apparently the bank in Germany couldn't see what the problem was as it was a perfectly normal transaction as far as they were concerned.
 
Wavey said:
Sold my Lotus Exige for £32k a couple of years back to cash buyers from Germany. Fortunately Bell & Colvill (Lotus dealers) were selling for me on a commission basis so they had the hassle of making sure it was all legit. Buyers came with a suitcase of cash, a letter from their bank to confirm the funds had been drawn from the buyers account at that branch in Germany. Went with the dealer to the bank to pay in the cash. Bank phoned the German branch to confirm all ok. Apparently the bank in Germany couldn't see what the problem was as it was a perfectly normal transaction as far as they were concerned.
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paid for my boat in cash (in spain) - the owner had a machine like a bank for checking and counting it. Guess he had used cash before.........
 
gjgm said:
As I have mentiond before I sold previous Windy to someone who paid me upfront without having seen the boat...stranger things happen at sea ! Just re-reading your post...ok, they havent said they will do anything more than settle in cash, which is plausible. They havent said they dont want to see it, sea trial it, or offer you more than #5k for it?
On second thoughts then, see where it goes. From personal Ebay experience questions like "how much tread is on the tyres" (honestly, that was a question!!) are a bit of a give away as to how genuine the enquiry really is !!
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What's wrong with asking how much tread is on the tyres? Perfectly reasonable question IMHO.
 
landlockedpirate said:
Dont reject out of hand, I sold a 20k sportsboat on ebay last year and had 2 or 3 legitimate offers from Germany (and Ireland). Most of the haggling when selling a boat on ebay happens before the bidder even sees the boat.

If they are offering cash, why not see them ?

My boat was bought without sea trial, survey or even starting the engine.
Click to expand...

+1 Saw her on the hard, had a good look at the way she was maintained (not perfect I admit) bought her. Seemples, and no regrets.
As to the cash bit, I bought a pair of secondhand winches and the seller wouldn't accept cash unless he saw me withdraw it from the hole-in-the-wall, so I reckon the "bank accepting it" is the best way to go to ensure forgeries aren't used.

As said, nothing ventured etc. Good luck, give it a try.
 
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