Am I Being Unnecessarily Paranoid with this FB Marketplace Interaction??

Ash-Say on 18/02/2024 - 18:15

I put a mobile for sale at Facebook Marketplace and this person contacted me saying he would buy. He was coming from a place which was apparently 1.5hrs drive and didn't negotiate either. These were red flags but gave benefit of doubt. It was made clear from the beginning that he would pick from my house as it was safer for me and he could all phone checks before he leaves.

I gave him the suburb name and told him to message me as soon as he enters into suburb.

After 1.5 hours, he messaged stating that he had arrived and I gave him the fulk address. He then mentioned the garage door colour after few minutes so I thought he had arrived and asked him to come to front door. As he didn't knock door or arrived for next 10 minutes, I tried to message him but found that he had blocked me and the messages were unliveable.

Am I unnecessarily paranoid that he may gotten address for some other wrong intentions? Alternatively, if he was scammer, he may have figured that he was unable to snatch and run away.

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  • bobbified on 18/02/2024 - 18:20
    +11

    Buyer could've just been as a paranoid as you are and thought he/she was going to get robbed!.

    (If I was a buyer, I ain't driving anywhere for an hour and a half without a full address! To many shitty sellers and buyers these days…)

    • wordplay on 18/02/2024 - 18:26
      +2

      yeah, get to suburb on to get, sorry its sold now. or no response from seller.

    • Ash-Say on 18/02/2024 - 18:36
      +5

      I understsnd but this was clearly advised from the beginning that the pick up is from my house.

      I am not going to bring someone to my house, open the door, come outside and then rob them. How will it work when the other person know where the seller lives?

      • barge-in hunter on 18/02/2024 - 19:00
        +7

        I do the same as OP - no full address until they’re “on their way”.

        It’s not bullet proof and may scare away some, but saves me handing out my address to flakey people who will ghost me or could be burglars, fishing to find out times I’m not at home.

      • bobbified on 18/02/2024 - 19:34

        I am not going to bring someone to my house, open the door, come outside and then rob them.

        People use airbnb houses for all sorts of reasons. Even used for delivering stolen goods to and then disappearing after that. No-one is going to know whether the address you give is your house or somebody else's house.

      • CurlCurl on 18/02/2024 - 20:55
        -1

        Are you built like Rambo?

    • 2esc on 19/02/2024 - 09:01
      +1

      Plenty of times ive travelled to pick something up without full address never had a problem. Though not on Facebook but Gumtree. Recently travelled 2.5 hours didnt know the address until 10 minutes from destination never ever had a problem.

      • bobbified on 19/02/2024 - 18:15

        I'm not doubting your experiences, but judging from the quality of some of the sellers/buyers on those platforms, I'm pretty certain that there would also be plenty of people who've been told to drive somewhere and then either ghosted or then told that the item has already been sold. I'd be pretty pissed.

        You can even see from some of the posts here (not this one in particular, but others), where a seller has agreed to sell an item to someone and then posts something in these forums to ask if they're being scammed because the buyer has offered paying by xyz method.

  • AustriaBargain on 18/02/2024 - 18:20
    +15

    He could have just looked at your garage door on Google Maps.

    • Ash-Say on 18/02/2024 - 18:38
      +6

      Yes that's what I thought. I suspect he was never coming.

      I just checked car rear dashcam and outdoor camera footage and found no sign of anyone. He was definitely lying.

  • wordplay on 18/02/2024 - 18:26
    +7

    who knows with these facebook marketplace interactions. people are strange and poor communicators. have had people come and buy no dramas and others not being able to find the house, turn up 2 hours late (or turn up an hour early at 6am when time was meant to be 7am as they would be passing by on way to work) ), look at the item and realise a fridge won't fit in the hatchback and come back with a ute.

  • Hardlyworkin on 18/02/2024 - 19:04
    +15

    If movies have taught me anything: HE'S IN THE HOUSE!

  • hasher22 on 18/02/2024 - 19:05
    +5

    Not the worst conversation but it is odd. But if that were me, I would have declined the sale. But it's also weird you didn't give the full address, just the suburb. As a buyer, I would not even be bothered going. But it seems it was just someone wasting your time.

    I will never buy a phone second hand or new via a marketplace. Too many people getting scammed from sellers blocking the IMEI and making an insurance claim weeks later. I worked in telco retail and the amount of people coming in with blocked IMEIs cause they purchased it via a marketplace is crazy.

  • CyberMurning on 18/02/2024 - 19:07

    Watched channel 7 news about grab and run mobile phone scam. Good luck

    • Ash-Say on 18/02/2024 - 19:38

      Wow, this indeed is very likely scenario and that's why i dont like meeting in public. The scammer can always snatch and run. Neverthless this is also possible at home.

      • CyberMurning on 18/02/2024 - 20:05
        +2

        Best is police station.

        • bobbified on 18/02/2024 - 21:09
          +3

          That's where I insist to meet to get my baggies.

        • Loopholio on 19/02/2024 - 12:45

          Do the police at the station allow the public to meet and trade?

          • CyberMurning on 19/02/2024 - 12:59
            +1

            @Loopholio: in front/next is enough i mean sane bad guy will think twice to do something next to

            • Loopholio on 19/02/2024 - 16:54

              @CyberMurning: That makes sense. The local police station has a pretty large area to meet at outside. I assume they have all the cams.

      • CyberMurning on 18/02/2024 - 21:28

        Even worst meeting at home they know where you live now. Well if you are 100kgs with tattoos no worries but if not ..

        • freefall101 on 18/02/2024 - 22:04
          +4

          Being ozbargain the first is a given, just need some decent deals on tattoos.

          Now is it spelled "No Ragrats" or "No Regerts"?

  • randomusername2017 on 18/02/2024 - 19:28

    🤣🍿😂🍿🤣🍿😂

  • plmko on 18/02/2024 - 19:36
    +3

    Think nothing of it. Everyone is to be assumed a no show or no deal until you have real cash in your hands.

  • Ash-Say on 18/02/2024 - 19:58
    +3

    I may get negging here but there is specific race where every single interaction was unpleasant.

    I can be just bad luck that I interacted with them at least dozen time and they always turned out to be scammer. Once this person came to pick up an item and he was standing in porch with no place to run. He was mumbling and shaking once he realised there was a camera at top. He did not buy with an excuse that he forgot to bring cash.

    Ash-Say on 18/02/2024 - 19:58 (Collapsed - Offtopic. Show)
    • CyberMurning on 18/02/2024 - 20:06

      Indian…

      • CurlCurl on 18/02/2024 - 20:09

        Indian

        That wouldn't be my guess.

      • Ash-Say on 18/02/2024 - 21:00
        +1

        Wasnt 100% bad experience with them.

        There are different bunch of people which I referred. I am already getting lot of negging lol

        • elgrande on 18/02/2024 - 21:02

          Those damn white people I'm guessing…

  • AndyC1 on 18/02/2024 - 21:02

    The Huge M arches is the place to meet.

  • Empharand on 18/02/2024 - 21:11
    +3

    I gave him the suburb name and told him to message me as soon as he enters into suburb.

    If I was trying to buy something from you and you did that to me I'd block you and move onto the next marketplace seller….

    No one wants to waste their time (and fuel) hoping that you will reply after they have journeyed all that way and/or wait for you to reply when they're in the area. Personally, if I'm committing to a purchase and we have agreed on a time then I want to know where I'm going before I walk out the door, saves me the trouble of messing around with unnecessary BS

    • Ash-Say on 18/02/2024 - 21:21

      On a contrary, lot of people buyer waste time asking for all sort of item details and agree on a time.

      You give them an address and they ghost you. Why the sellers need to provide address to every stranger?

      I used to provide full address but over 80% of perople never turn up or change their mind at last minute though fully committed to purchase at an agreed time. I even cancelled other committments to accomodate their request but they ended up ghosting.

      • Empharand on 18/02/2024 - 21:24
        +2

        I agree regarding the time-wasters, and I have certainly given my address to people which resulted in them ghosting me, but that's why you get them to commit to a time and day and then message you before they leave. Those that are keen will agree to a time and day and will message you before they leave (or when approaching the time for them to leave), those that are tyre-kickers (time-wasters) simply will ghost you.

        I have done this with a number of buyers and it certainly works; granted it's not 100% fool-proof and I have had a few just not show up, but that method does rule out a lot of numpties and it's a lot better than your method.

        • foxmulder on 19/02/2024 - 09:15

          As from op's case we can see op's method is not 100% fool proof either, to know a complete address prior journey is important. Address can be revealed to those who are committed. I went to someone's suburb the other today, same way as op - I went to suburb, and seller didn't reply to my message about half hour, then I messaged seller that as I didn't get the reply thus why I left the location - 20 minutes later seller replied with a complete address - I was already far away thus I didn't come back.

          To those who wants to do op's way - need to commit to make sure messages are read and replied soon after. But still not very ideal to buyers.

  • MEDBEDb on 18/02/2024 - 22:12

    Good on you, I am trying to limit the nr. of persons I am giving my address as well. You never know.

  • foxmulder on 18/02/2024 - 22:15

    It's high risk how about if buyer in the suburb but seller didn't response until an hour or two later with complete address.

  • mike6969 on 19/02/2024 - 09:10

    I make them call me now if they sound fishy
    Then when they say they don't have a phone I block them. Too much address fishing going on

    • Rukiata on 19/02/2024 - 09:45

      lol now they have your phone number.

  • rumblytangara on 19/02/2024 - 09:40
    +1

    Sheesh, I would not drive to a random suburb then hope to be contacted again.

    If you want to be paranoid, arrange to meet up at a shopping mall, with a real location and time. In front of a security camera.

    • Ash-Say on 19/02/2024 - 10:29

      Public space and security camera is not 100% going to save you either.

      If someone snatches and runs away, you can't do much in public space apart from lodging a police report which is same as doing from home if you have a camera installed. You know your house and can strategically block them if you stand in a certain way.

      • rumblytangara on 19/02/2024 - 12:50

        Your original post indicates that you are concerned about personal information (home address). If that's really your concern, why are you having someone turn up at home? Blocking a criminal from escaping your property sounds great on the internet, but think about it for more than a moment and it is far more dangerous than is worth.

        Try look at it from the other side- if someone tried to tell me "go to X surburb and wait for further instructions" then I'd just walk away.

  • LFO on 19/02/2024 - 11:30

    Probably yet another time waster. Or a full psycho/retard.

    Went to that with a moron insisting he was just around the corner.

    Time wasters during their toilet break.

    • rumblytangara on 19/02/2024 - 14:07

      Are you trying to channel jv here? If so, you have to randomise the bold font more.

      • LFO on 21/02/2024 - 11:37
        +1

        WHY ?

        :-|

  • PissLUR on 19/02/2024 - 12:02

    screenshot of the chat?

  • USER DC on 19/02/2024 - 12:06

    FB equal to time wasting people messaging
    " Hey, is it still available? "
    then leave GC

    or be like "$5 cash pickup now. take it or leave it"

    basically F**ked up society

  • kmwa on 19/02/2024 - 13:31
    +1

    After messaging interactions, I say "Give me your phone number and I will SMS my address".
    So at least you've got a phone number that the police can track and find the owner if something goes wrong with the sale.
    Because a Facebook or Gumtree handle is untraceable.

    • PissLUR on 19/02/2024 - 13:46
      +1

      yes this is what i do for gumtree.

      please text me for the address.

  • lew380 on 19/02/2024 - 18:36
    +2

    I wouldn't leave my house till I had the address, I'm not driving an hour to have someone ghost me. If people are worried and give out the address in the last few minutes, how does that help? A burger would just lie and say they are close.

    Precautions are wise, but there's a logical limit. You still have to give an address and meet them.

  • cupcake on 22/02/2024 - 09:43
    -1

    Reminds me the scammer we all spoke about last year - who got caught eventually.

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