Unethical Classified Buyer
 

I purchased an item on the Talk of the Villages web site. When I contacted the seller to arrange pickup he said that I had already picked it up? What! Turns out that someone, who saw that it had been sold, contacted the seller through his email address, that he had posted on his advertisement, and went to his house and said he was me. Seller never asked for ID. Please do not include your email address in your ad. Let the buyer contact you through the message system provided by Panjo. Item was a utility garage sink. Grrrr.:mad: "AJ"

The seller could contact the site admin to find who this individual is and at least stop them from pulling such a stunt again. What this cretin did is so wrong on so many levels.

Bummer…..

When you describe this as "purchasing an item" does that mean you paid for the item in advance of picking it up?

How did this "fake buyer" know who you (the real buyer) are? Did the fake buyer use your name?

How much time expired from your purchase to when you contacted the seller to pick it up?

What responsibility, if any, is the seller accepting for "giving the item" to the wrong person?

Thanks, just trying to understand the risks you are describing.

Don

I did not pay for it in advance.
He did not know me, but the seller asked if the thief was Mr. XXXXX meaning me.
I contacted the seller within a few hours.asking for the arrangements for pick up and payment.. Someone saw the sold sink, saw the seller's email address and contacted him.
Seller and I went back and forth.
I don't know the seller's name.
Funny in a way. I asked how to get it and he keeps saying I already bought it. Oh, well..posted this to try and help other people out. thanks for asking the great questions.

I had similar experience. Saw ad for framed picture in Panjo ,I wanted it so hit I am buying . Panjo stated I was purchaser and seller would be contacting me. Waited to hear from seller. Left e mail message that I wanted to come pay and get it. Finally ended up calling seller who told me it was sold. I said yes I had made offer to buy it. Well long story short I did not get the picture. Use the old saying
" Buyer beware!"

If the transaction actually happened as the OP understands it then the interloper is indeed unethical If however, the seller misrepresented his role in this transaction then they are both unethical

These situations should not be happening and am disappointed the administrators did not sign up with a trusted and secure company. I will no longer view the classifieds on this site.

This was not Panjo's fault. It was that the seller also included an email address and someone else contacted the seller via email and allegedly pretended to be the Panjo purchaser. It either occurred exactly as stated by OP or the seller got a better offer and took it. If the former, then the actual purchaser of the sink has no morals or ethics. At the very least, this person should be banned from TOTV. If the seller and purchaser colluded, then both should be ashamed of themselves and seller should be prohibited from selling here again. To blame Panjo is not fair.

Did the person that picked up the sink pay for it? If so, that's certainly underhanded and unethical, but I guess not outright stealing.

Sometimes when things like this happen I sit back, take a deep breath and say "well this person must have really needed it more than me."

My recent experience as a Buyer suggests that there is confusion on the Seller side. I saw an item I wanted, hit BUY NOW, and then completed next screen to enter contact info and agree to Panjo terms. I then hit COMMIT TO BUY. The Seller contacted me about an hour later when he saw the email that I had purchased the item. He asked if I had paid for it through Pay Pal, etc. I said no, but I had agreed to the terms to follow through and buy the item. He suggested I should come over soon to buy/pick-up since someone else was coming in an hour to see it and probably buy it.
Another Panjo add I saw, the Seller specifically stated do NOT hit BUY NOW and to call since it may already have been sold.
I do not think there is a scam going on with the Classifieds, but Panjo needs to tighten-up the process and educate the sellers.

If no cash exchanged hands, then no scam. If I was a seller, bird in the hand than in 2 in the bush. First come first served. Early bird gets the worm.

It is stealing. I agreed to buy it. Seller agreed to sell it to "ME". Typical comment of today's society "First come, first served". Now I understand the screen name!

Your title says Villages. TOTV is not connected
 

The title has been changed . All is well.

I feel as though the person selling was not wrong in selling to the person who showed up with money. If the OP had already paid for it, it would then be stealing. This was definitely unethical of the buyer but not illrgal.

It is totally wrong to call Panjo a scam. The OP was not scammed at all.