Strange occurance on bidding site

Recently I listed my son's old bike on you-know-who, and I indicated local pickup only.

About a week later, I got a buyer. However, there was something odd about him. Part of his profile had him living in Korea, and another part of the profile listed him with a US zip code. As strange as that was, I sent him an email asking how he intended to pick up the bike since he didn't live locally. Twenty-four hours later, with no response from the buyer, I contacted YNW to cancel the sale.

YNW was very understanding and accommodating. They agreed that the buyer lived too far away for local pick up and said go ahead and cancel the sale.

But, the commission they earned from the cancelled sale would be processed anyway, and then refunded 10 days later. The commission was only $3.50, so  this really didn't bother me much.

But then I got to thinking. Why would someone bid on something they couldn't follow through with? Could it have been a prank from someone with too much time on their hands..well I suppose. But I checked the profile one last time, and now the buyer's country changed to Germany, and the US zip code had changed as well. Also, this buyer had no previous purchases on his profile.

My next thought was that this "buyer" is actually a Bot. But why would someone build a bot that benefits a third party (YNW). My only conclusion is that this Bot was built by YNW to artificially boost their sales and cash position. Sure, the sale would only be good for 10 days before it was reversed, but if this was done to millions of customers each and every day, it would create a perpetual float that would permanently benefit their financial statements.

Your thoughts? Anyone else experience this? Am I being paranoid?

40,103 views 2 replies
Reply #1 Top

I don't think you're being paranoid...there might be some other weird explanation, but I'd advise contacting your State Atty. General and/or the FBI and report it as possible internet fraud. I'm surprised that YKW allows that entity to continue to exist with such obvious contradictions.

As I think about it, what if it's a criminal who, if you lived in the same or close by town arranged for that pick up and robbed you, or...

Reply #2 Top

Quoting DrJBHL, reply 1


As I think about it, what if it's a criminal who, if you lived in the same or close by town arranged for that pick up and robbed you, or...

I've done local pickup sales before. It's safe if you take basic precautions. Checking  their profile, and searching their name online and make sure that they are legit, and arrange to meet in a public place. If I can't find out who they are and/or if someone insisted on meeting in an isolated area, orif something just seems "off"then that would certainly raise suspicions.