Need suggestions on possible scam

[Microgolf]

So I got a wild hair to get another rc, it's been a few years since I bought a scx10. I used it for a few months until I broke it and had to sell it because I needed the money at the time.

I must have seen an ad for the vaterra ascender bronco when I got the wild hair. I went on Facebook and joined a few local rc pages when I noticed a slightly used vaterra bronco. ($240, smoking deal in my opinion). I checked my wallet and sure enough I had just enough for it. I message the guy even though in the comments another buyer wanted to send payment the next day.

Seller says he will contact me if the guy first in line doesn't send payment. I'm a college student and only have cash with no bank account in the town I'm in. I know it's risky to send cash but the guy looked trustable and professional. I've bought and sold things with cash across the nation several times with no issues. Monday rolls around when he was supposed to get payment (which he did) and he says call me. We talk and he says the guy first in line sent money via PayPal after I sent my cash I believe was his story. He wanted to honor first in line which flustered me because I sent payment first with the sellers ok.

My problem now is he was going to ask his buddies if they would sell their crawlers and get back to me. He keeps pushing me off and I finally said its okay if I get my money back and not a crawler. He said he would let me know either way by the end of Friday night and I never heard from him.


Suggestions? I was an impulse buy like most things I buy and now I kinda just want my money back.

[Duuuuuuuude]

Sending cash across the country to strangers for internet purchases is quite frankly, stupid. I hope it works out for you.

[wings_of_fire]

What was your mode of communication with the seller other than facebook?

You know his name and adress?

[Highmark]

Suggestions:

1: Get a bank account (credit union)
2: Get PayPal
3: Never do that again
4: Don't do deals on FB

There's nothing you can do at this point. IF you did the deal on Rcc you could leave feedback or you could have checked his feedback in advance. If you had PayPal you could file a claim.

[onebullet]

if you cant get or dont want a bank account, get a walmart greendot prepaid credit card. You can use it like a normal credit/debit/bank card and load it as you need it, you can even set up direct deposit to it.

[lead lobber]

You said you joined "local rc pages" when you found the Ascender?
Red flags didn't pop when he wasn't LOCAL?

As the others have said, lesson learned to the tune of $240.

[WHITE-TRASH]

Some of the most important life lessons you'll ever learn are not taught in a classroom.

[Microgolf]

I know his address, name and phone number. He is located in Washington, I'm in Oregon. It's a northwest/i5 page.


Thanks for the suggestions. We have contacted through telephone and Facebook messages. He seemed legit and I know the risk I was taking when I sent the money. I'll do things differently next time. I had trust that people were still decent but things like the low price and not honoring the first payment sent are definitely red flags.

[EddieO]

Report it to the admins on the i5 page....and frankly, don't do something so stupid in the future.

Later EddieO

[wings_of_fire]

Why can he not approach the police for help? He knows the scammers contact details and electronic data might be available for proof.

Everyone suggested to move on.....what am I missing?

[Microgolf]

Cops probably won't help, they have better things to worry about. Lesson learned I guess. I asked him to send my money back and he said he would but didn't say it's in the mail. I'll check the mailbox but don't expect to see it

[WHITE-TRASH]

There is zero reason whatsoever to send cash to anyone. Be it you dear old grandma or some schmuck across the country. You had to mail the money right? Postal money orders are under a dollar and if he doesn't send what you paid for its mail fraud and then the cops WILL get involved since it's federal.

[HSPcrawler89]

To be quite honest i feel for u man i dont have credit card at all so im constantly having to purchase things with cash or going to hobbyshops to have them order me parts u were thinking the same way i would u think there are still some trustworthy people in this world but seems there few and far between any how hope everything works out for you and u get a crawler u want and for me to tell u lesson learned wouldent be right because id prob end up pushing my luck and doing the same thing again and to be honest even if the cops would get involved they will prob end up dragging there feet

[wings_of_fire]

How many days since you sent him the money?

If you let go that money, you will learn to let go money in the future. You have already learnt a lesson, now learn the other lesson of fighting back to claim what belongs to you.

[crawlhog]

bad decision

good lesson

[sbs10v8]

Hope it works out for you but even if you were to involve the local law enforcement it would be a civil matter. You would say you sent him the money and he would say you didnt. Simply your word vs his. You have no proof money was sent or received which means there is no case...like everyone else has said, take it as an expensive lesson learned

[losikid]

Did you ever consider it's the weekend and he had "better" things to do? If he said by friday night, I'd wait till after the weekend to see if he holds up his end of the bargain. (So say Monday night)

As for sending cash through the mail to someone you don't know. That's just stupid. And no bank account in town is lame. If its a considerably sized bank, there's probably a deposit ATM somewhere close by. You could also go to most banks and wire the cash to your account for a small fee. Or you could start a free checking account at a bank or credit union in town. Or go get a prepaid card that can be refilled at your local grocery store. Then get a paypal account, which is free, and send money through paypal. It's impossible for a buyer to get scammed with paypal...it's much more likely the seller will get scammed with paypal.

If you're really desperate, you could go visit your schools cashier, deposit the cash into your account, then have them write you a check or direct deposit the balance into your bank account.

Or, if you have a friend with a bank account in town, just ask them to paypal the money.

You could also drive down to the guys house, knock on his door, and ask for your money back.

[Ohioskills]

The guy on Casting Couch looks an sound professional TOO??

[BrazinScaleRC]

If he is supposed to ship via USPS, they are closed today also FYI.

[djjiz]

https://www.facebook.com/groups/335192180015917/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/BadG...radesFeedback/

Put your screen shots on this page. They will contact the other party. It's not foolproof but its something.