Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "David Keenan"
<ausdlk@...> wrote:
>
> I had the following lens stolen in a fraudulent eBay transaction:
> 
> Zeiss Ikon C-Sonnar 50mm f/1.5 lens (silver), serial number 15600688.
> 
> If you see this lens for sale anywhere, do not buy it and please
notify me.
> 
> If you know of other appropriate place(s) where I can post this notice,
> please let me know.
> 
> Dave.

Hi Dave,
this is my third attempt at answering this. I thought I had joined
this group a while back, but found I was still in "lurking" mode. I
sent you a response to this, but doubt you got it. I've been in eBay
for a number of years, and felt I should offer the following:
(1) contact eBay and tell them the problem (it's difficult to get
through the email system, but you'll find a category you can use).
(2) block the buyer in your eBay account so they can't do that again.
(3) give them negative feedback on the sale - be honest!
(4) if you shipped it with delivery/signature confirmation, track it
and see if the USPS can retrieve it for you. (you will find contact
info at usps.com for issues like this)
(5) always, ALWAYS, check the headers of Paypal emails (you can tell a
bogus email from a genuine email in a heartbeat) (something I did not
do and so this all comes from experience) (there are scammers out
there now who have developed eBlasts that look identical to Paypal
front doors.... be very cautious of anything that does not look like a
traditional paypal message)
(6) Never, EVER, ship something until the money is (a) in your paypal
account, or (b) in your checking account officially - if you get a
money order or a cashier's check, wait for it to clear. if the seller
is genuine, they will understand your wanting to wait for verification).
(7) if you have the buyer's email address, track it and see if you can
find them.
(8) contact your local police department and file a report. Contact
the police department of the locale where you shipped the lens. if
it's international, call the USPS and see if they can retrieve it for you.

there is no easy solution in here, just some cautionary notes on how
to proceed with what happened to your package, and how to avoid it in
the future.

As a closing note, I was scammed early this year on a sapphire ring I
sold (and, being tired and stressed at the time, did everything
wrong). The good part is, it was shipping to Nigeria (call me
"stupid") and because it was Global Express Mail with my phone # on
it, they contacted me about a week ago and said it couldn't be
delivered and 'what do you want us to do with it'.... my response?
"Send it back - it was a fraudulent transaction on eBay." One of these
days, it will come back to me.

Act quickly. The sooner you act, the more likely you are to retrieve
the lens. Good luck in this.... it's something that happens to you
once, and then you learn to be more cautious and less trusting (how
sad). But don't lose faith in Paypal. It's a great system :-) I have a
merchant account, and I use it all the time.

Jane