Fisher Cameras Scamming of a Registered eBay Trading Assistant Billings, Montana

George from fishercameras.com e-mailed me that he had found my listing in eBay's Registered Trading Assistant Directory. He said he sold refurbished digital camera lenses on CraigsList, wanted to break into the eBay market, but hadn't time to do it himself. I checked out his website, then replied that I was interested, and suggesting in some detail how our collaboration might look. A whole week elapsed. I contacted him again. He finally replied, and I agreed to sell one lens for him at eBay on a trial basis for a 20% commission.

Per his instruction, I listed his Nikon lens at $1,599 and sent him a link to it for his review and sign-off--in a timely manner, I emphasized, as once someone places an eBay item on their watch list or purchases it, you cannot change the listing text and will be held responsible for things such as item description, handling time, etc.

I asked George several questions that I'd had to guess at when writing the listing: the guarantee, return policy, shipping, handling time, etc. I also asked if he really wanted to price the lens that high, as there were several listed for lower, including a brand new one for $300 less. I also continued my attempts to define the specifics of our agreement, how any money would get handled, etc.

Several days went by, no reply. The eBay listing was live and I was fretting, as his input was required on several important aspects of it. I tried calling the number on his website and got a fax machine. I e-mailed him again and again in a growing state of urgency.

Then early on a Friday a Buyer appeared and purchased and paid for the lens via PayPal. It was a brand new eBay account with no previous purchases on record. I immediately e-mailed George the shipping information. No reply. The whole weekend went by. The listing had stated a two-day handling time, so I was sweating bullets. Then Monday George re-surfaced, said he'd ship the lens and get back to me with tracking. He also said he would take his payment once the Buyer left eBay Feedback -- never mind that the listing said, at his instruction, that returns would be accepted within 30 days for a full refund, no questions asked.

George sent me a UPS tracking number, with which I learned that someone at the Buyer address had rejected the shipment. Then the Buyer e-mailed me saying his mother-in-law had refused the shipment while he was away, and would I please re-ship it next week at my expense. I agreed and asked when exactly he wanted to receive it. First he said to ship it "until next Friday"; when I asked him to clarify, he replied "by next Friday."

Everything about the situation now smelt fishy. I requested buyer contact information from eBay and called the Buyer. A person by that name answered. He said he did not buy a lens on eBay, did not recently open an eBay account, and his mother-in-law had been deceased for several years.

I called eBay's fraud department and they advised me to retain all communications while they investigated a case of identity theft. Investigation is ongoing.

I suspect George from Fisher Cameras was both Seller and fictitious Buyer, and I was being set up in the middle. Per his scheme, the shipment (whatever it actually contained), would have been accepted. Then the fictitious Buyer would have left positive feedback, I'd have paid George his lion's share of the sale price, then the Buyer would have demanded a full refund, no questions asked.

I'd have been on the hook for $1,600 and George would be nowhere on this planet to be found. That is what I suspect.