I responded to an ad on SmartHunt.com posted by Stephane Picten. He was looking for someone to help him sell things on eBay because his English is not very good. I responded because I was looking for work as a virtual assistant, and thought I could help him out.
Here is an exact quote from his reply: "Let me explain the whole process. My friend he is Japanese owes little company which sells computer peripherals and electronic from Japan to USA and Australia. All products are brand new in the boxes and never opened. All of them have manufacturer guarantees. Mostly, we sell electronics at eBay.com auction. We need a representative in USA who
will sell our electronics in USA
Your tasks are:
1) I give you product description, photo and price. You have to list it at
eBay.
2) After listing you have to send me the URL of eBay listing.
3) When you got a buyer and received payment from him you send me shipping
details where to ship.
4) I'm calling my friend and he ships it next day after you got a payment.
5) As soon as item shipped I'm sending you tracking number and you give it
to buyer.
6) When the buyer got his item you have to transfer money to us (keeping
your % plus eBay and PayPal fees)"
Upon further questioning, it came to light that he expected me to put my reputation on the line, hoping that his Japanese friend would actually send the customers the item. He refused to say what sort of electronics and brands - even when directly asked.
This is quite obviously a ploy to get around eBay's feedback system so that one person can reap the benefits of many scams. Fortunately, I caught it before I lost money or reputation on this. I hope I can prevent other people from falling into the same scam.
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