This is probably the wrong forum, as I am not registered for the Buy and Sell forum. I responded to a local ad on Craig's List in Columbus, Ohio for a Canon 5D and lenses at a very attractive price. Two days later, the ad disappeared. A week later I received an e-mail from London, UK, offering to use Royal Mail to get the equipment to me and allow me to inspect it. The info stated that my money would be refunded if it were not as described.
Is anyone familiar with this Royal Mail process? Do you recommend it?
The Royal Mail is just the regular postal service here in the UK. They deliver letters to your door & that's about it - they are not a courier service and do not offer tracking. Also, as Chester has said, why would anyone in the UK list an item for sale on Craigslist??
Craigslist has sort of replaced the weekly newspaper for a lot of misc. stuff for sale. I bought a mint Canon 100, f/2.8 macro lens via Craigslist a few months ago from someone local. I was able to inspect the lens before buying it.
The price of the 5D outfit sounded too good to be true. I suspected a scam, and wanted to see if anyone had any dealings with Royal Mail.
In his reply, he referred me to a website that presented a glowing report of the tracking ability of Royal Mail. In brief: They verify the contents and contents of the merchandise, I receive the package, inspect the merchandise, and, if it is not in the condition described, can ask the Royal Mail to refund me from the seller's trust account. It looked official, but it appears that he may have set up the URL just for that purpose!
Agree that you are looking at a SCAM that's after your money.
In general, if it ain't local and you can't lay your hands on it FIRST, you should beware of it.
I send a lot of stuff back and forth to England. The Royal Mail is just the British mail system. It is NOT a registered commercial business, and the site you were referred to is part of the SCAM..........Run Away, Run Away.
If you insist on following this guy up, inquire as to why he isn't shipping via USPS or Federal Express. Both do business in English Isles, and both do insured shipping and tracking. Price of shipping isn't an issue for photographic equipment, as the mail system has to ship via air mail and that's hugely expensive for a 2+ pound package.
Also inquire as to his customs certificate number. If he doesn't have one, ask how he will handle customs fees on the item (he would have to declare the value, and then YOU are going to have to pay over 20% of that in customs fees, COD). Note that if he hems and haws over this issue, your next point is to ask how he will handle insurance, payable to you (you can't lie about the value for one, and not have it show up on the other ).
Tell him to send it - and you will pay him when it arrives
This was a post a few weeks ago
I quote:
"Anybody familiar with Royal mail...
I'm in the US and found a great deal (NEW Canon 5D and 2 lenses with filters-$1300) on the local Craigslist but now the seller is in the UK and wants to ship the gear by Royal mail in 2 days and says I can somehow receive the items and check the gear before he receives payment.......the low price of the items and this situation is sending a red flag."
George, maybe we should tell him that we'll send him a check for $1,000,000- all he had to do is take his price out of the check, and send the rest back to us.
Was he there "studying medicine"? I responded to a similar add about a year ago for a 5d and 24-70L for 1300 US dollars. I never pursued, but was just interested in what he had to say; he did say he was there studying medicine and mentioned Royal Mail as well.
Royal Mail does offer "tracked" parcels, but Royal Mail's idea of "tracking" isn't the same as mine, they tell you if it's arrived, that's all, if it doesn't get turn up you've got as much chance of finding it by consulting a mystic with some runes.
Comments -- from both sides of the pond -- are warm and helpful. Thanks!
This scam is widespread. Most of you have seen or know directly of the ad. It was repeated yesterday, word for word -- no surprise! I 'flagged' it, and it was deleted very quickly from Craigslist. They are obviously aware of the scam. Initially, I sent an inquiry, saying that I was interested.
It may be helpful for you to see/know the response to my inquiry. Here it is:
"Obviously we need a safe way to complete this deal that will allow us to make sure we receive what we are after.I have found a way for us to complete the deal fast (3 days) and easy. The solution is Royalmail. Royalmail is the UK's national mail carrier ( such as USPS in the United States) and they will provide assistance in handling the payment and delivery of the items .With this process you will be able to check the items before I receive the payment.Let me know if you agree with this!
Here is a link where the process is described: http://www.royalpost-international.com/transactions/
Randy Nicholas
Aintree Complex, Longmoor Lane,
Liverpool, Merseyside L9 7LN
United Kingdom
Ph: 07031890636
I replied to this message and stated that I responded to the ad because I thought he was local and wanted to look at the equipment before I made a final decision. "Can you arrange that?" He has not yet responded.
I have to wonder if UK authorities would like to know of this. The URL given looks authentic, for example. Googling on "Royal Mail" might be interesting.
I have to wonder if UK authorities would like to know of this. The URL given looks authentic, for example. Googling on "Royal Mail" might be interesting.
