Expert: Marvinator - 9/9/2005

Question
I little while back I won a 5 pound bag of world coins on ebay that was $44. It was a legitimate looking page with a picture of the coins in a ziplock bag. So I sent the payment in a money order but unfortunatly I have yet to recieve that item from the seller. And I learned that he had been banned from ebay for ripping others off as well. Now the bad news is that I no longer have the item number, but I do have his phone number, his name, and I know the state he lives in. I have left him two voice messages, both of which had been ignored, and today I was finally able to talk to him and he said he likley did put the item up, but after I told him that he never sent it, he hung up on me. Now from the sound of the conversation he knows what Im talking about and knows that he ripped me off. So what can I do now? Should I tell him of the possibility of a lawsuit or police that could maybe scare him into sending my item? Or is there something else I could do? Your help is greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot.

Answer
Please forgive me if I come off a bit brusk here.  YOu've been scammed out of $44 (plus shipping I"m guessing) and you want to know if you should SCARE the guy?   Here is what I would do:

1) Get the item number and, if possible, print out the auction while it is still visible on Ebay.  You can do this by going to the Feedback Forum.  I'm also guessing here, but you probably have NOT left feedback for this guy and that means that the auction is still sitting there in the feedback forum waiting for you.  (If the auction is UNDER 90-120 days old) You're not GOING to leave feedback but the Feedback forum has a link to the auction page, which will give you a chance to print it, and get the information you need.  

2) Go down to your Local Post Office and ask them for a Mail Fraud Form.  Since you mailed your payment, this deal falls under MAIL FRAUD and they are pretty good about going after such scammers. Take along the Auction Page, the scammer's phone number and his address AND the address you sent the Money Order to in case it is different.

3) CAll the cops/District Attorney in the city where the Scammer lives and ask them if they do anything on deals like this.

4) Call your local cops. They can sometimes give you information on how to handle a situation like this.  If not the Cops, then the District Attorney in your town may be a haven of information about what you can and cannot do.  

Ok, you'll notice that no where did I say you should call the Scammer back.  This is because like any good buyer, you gave the guy a chance to make things right and he refused.  To do anything else with him borders on returning to Junior
High School and saying "I'm gonna Tellllll!" I'm not trying to be sarcastic, but let's face facts.  You really can't scare this guy into doing anything other than covering his tracks.  Act now while the trail is still hot and while he THINKS he got away with it. Hook up with Law Enforcement and the USPS and let them do thier job.  

If you get nothing at least you know you tried and you acted quickly.  But if you DON'T act quickly the trail will grow cold.  So do it today!   

Good Luck!