[ImperialX]

Hello Head-Fi, I've been here for quite a while, but it's the first time I posted a thread like this and I'm not sure where to put it. I looked up other threads about the same topic, and they seem to go here in the the member's lounge. So I decided to put it here.
 
I have been with the Head-Fi community for about a year. Over this period of time I have made a lot of very important friends who I love interacting with, many of which are in the Anime/Manga thread. I also bought my first audiophile-grade headphone, the HD800 from the Trading forums. This community is dear to me, and I wouldn't want to lose it for a trivial reason.
 
Unfortunately, I do know that scams can happen on Head-Fi. I've heard people talk about it before. Before I unconditionally trust every member here, I have to put my safety at number one. Here is my story, and I'd like some advice on what to do.
 
On May 4, 2012, I saw a Cardas cable listed for sale on the Trading Forums. I've been looking for a new cable for my HD800, so I was interested immediately. The asking price was 299 Euros, and I immediately sent a PM asking if he can sell it for a lower price. I asked for $200 USD, expecting him to ask for a higher price than that. Surprisingly, he immediately accepted, and asked me to pay the money into a Westpac bank account so that we can save PayPal fees.
 
The trader had 22 posts and doesn't have any trading feedback, so I didn't feel safe with the whole idea and insisted on using PayPal. He accepted, and gave me a PayPal E-Mail to put the money into. I asked him about shipping and he said he would look into it. I said I didn't mind any kind of shipping as long as it had a tracking number.
 
I didn't hear from him for another two days, and then he sent me a PM yesterday saying that the cables have already been sent to me! This is really surprising to me at first, because it's normally common sense to never send your items until you have received a payment. He said he sent it already, and the tracked/insured option cost $50 so he assumed I wouldn't want that. I asked him about the tracking number, and he said he didn't have one, and it can take anywhere between 1, or 2 or 3 weeks to deliver. It's said in the rules of the forums that you MUST send items with a tracking number. He didn't do that and now he's asking for the payment.
 
I seriously think this is very fishy, and as much as it pains me to say it even though I love this community so much - I just don't trust this guy. He seems really nice in the PMs, but I've read threads about scams in the past on Head-Fi and they have always been polite and impossible to detect in PMs alone.
 
So now I posted this thread because I don't know what to do. If I send the money and he just vanishes without ever having posted a cable (we don't even know if he owns one), then I've been parted with my money. If I don't pay the money, maybe he, a person with just 22 posts and no feedback, report me, and I'lll have an infraction or maybe even banned! I bought a HD800 and sold a IE8 on this site and everyone was very satisfied. I've also made many friends who I want to keep talking to and interacting with. Adding onto the fact I want to keep using the trading forums here, since I have just started my audiophile journey, I can't afford to get banned.here for a trivial reason like this.
 
So, everyone of the Head-Fi community, what do I do?

 

[bowei006]

Send the money when it arrives.

Jude is nice, the rules state that and Jude wont ban you for that. Heck email jide and see his reply but it is fishy. Send payment when it arrives

 

[0o0o0o]

In this case, I would DEFINITELY not send payment at this point (See the bold/italic double emphasis here). If he really did send the cables before confirming payment, it's his own fault and you should not feel obligated to make any payment until they've arrived.
 
Having said that, if he were a long-time member with good feedback I might do things differently, but then you would not expect someone familiar with selling on Head-Fi to make such a stupid mistake. 
 
Don't make payment. If the seller is legit, the cables will arrive eventually and you can pay then.
 
PS: Why would asking price be in Euros if he has a Westpac account?

 

[bowei006]

If you are really worried on your standing on Head Fi the contact Jude.

I like how our thread members come and jump on your request for help

 

[sperandeo]

I agree, because there is not a tracking number I would wait until it arrives. Then I would send the payment immediately.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Tracking and insurance $50?, tracking and insurance I would think would be under $10.
Everything in his actions sends up a red flag, I really doubt he is going to report anything to Head-Fi.

 

[garetz]

You have every reason to be concerned about this, if i was in your situation i would message him that you did not agree to this postage method, as you insisted on a tracking number, and he should of consulted with you before sending the item. As anyone who was worried about the item arriving safely would have done.

The only thing you can do is make him aware he has done something you are not comfortable with, and will pay him when the item arrives safely.
You should also ask for scanned copies of the receipts for posting the item, and anything else he got for posting it from the post office.

 

[ImperialX]

Thank you everyone for your responses! I really appreciate them! 
 
The general conscience is that I wait for the item to arrive before sending the money. This is the first thing that came into my mind as well, but I was afraid that he would report me to the community as someone who wouldn't pay him the money even though he already sent the item. It's reassuring to have these posts here, and I know it will help in the case that he reports me to an admin.
 
I have already contacted some admins and moderators about this issue. I'm sure this thread will come in handy when they access the situation.
 
Quote:

In this case, I would DEFINITELY not send payment at this point (See the bold/italic double emphasis here). If he really did send the cables before confirming payment, it's his own fault and you should not feel obligated to make any payment until they've arrived.
 
Having said that, if he were a long-time member with good feedback I might do things differently, but then you would not expect someone familiar with selling on Head-Fi to make such a stupid mistake. 
 
Don't make payment. If the seller is legit, the cables will arrive eventually and you can pay then.
 
PS: Why would asking price be in Euros if he has a Westpac account?

 
Yeah, if he was a Headphoneus Supremus or have at least one positive feedback I would have done things differently, since not sending the money even after he "sent it" is disrespectful I think, but it's a safety precaution I have to take now as you said. I will apologize with all I have if the cables end up arriving.
 
He said that he had an Australian Westpac account and asked me to pay in AUD into that bank account. Again, somewhat fishy, don't you think? 
 
Quote:

If you are really worried on your standing on Head Fi the contact Jude.
I like how our thread members come and jump on your request for help

 
I have contacted Jude already, and I really appreciate you guys coming in here to help. It's another reason I like this community and wouldn't want to part with it.
 
Quote:

I agree, because there is not a tracking number I would wait until it arrives. Then I would send the payment immediately.

 
Yes, I think it's quite rude on my side that I wouldn't send the money, but it just has to be done. It's the rules here that things sent have to be tracked, and since they weren't even though I asked for it, I think I have the right to do such a thing.
 
Again, I will surely apologize for doing such a thing if I receive the cables. Heck, I'll even give him $20 more than what we agreed to in the first place! I do value my Head-Fi feedback. 
 
Quote:

You have every reason to be concerned about this, if i was in your situation i would message him that you did not agree to this postage method, as you insisted on a tracking number, and he should of consulted with you before sending the item. As anyone who was worried about the item arriving safely would have done.

The only thing you can do is make him aware he has done something you are not comfortable with, and will pay him when the item arrives safely.
You should also ask for scanned copies of the receipts for posting the item, and anything else he got for posting it from the post office.

 
This is a really good idea. I will contact him now and linked him to this thread.
 
Quote:

Tracking and insurance $50?, tracking and insurance I would think would be under $10.
Everything in his actions sends up a red flag, I really doubt he is going to report anything to Head-Fi.

 
I hope he doesn't, because I don't see anything wrong here on my side. I wouldn't want a negative feedback even though I didn't receive anything in the end...

 

[bowei006]

A member with sparce posts and generic account sets off red flags as well.

I am looking at the FS forum these days too

 

[graphidz]

no link to the sales thread?you should have asked for pictures of the item first.if he is as legit as he says,why don't you pay like 50 to gain his trust a little and say you will pay the rest when the item actually arrives.hopefully you won't get conned

 

[Makiah S]

>.> very nice I'm also looking at getting into the FS forum, I've got some stuff to part with and some purchases to make my self and I'd like to do it here with you guys as opposed to going with eBay -.-
 
non the less though, I'm glad you decided to wait until you sent the money, I agree if he sent the cables b4 you paid that's his mistake... or his lure. I hope the cable come in though ^^

 

[panshaoze]

also curious about buying on F/S forum 

 

[bowei006]

also curious about buying on F/S forum 

Remember to always shop around(as in check prices elsewhere).

But other than that. Check the feedback tool to see if they are "more" trustworthy.

And then remember to use paypal goods. Not gift

 

[billybob_jcv]

I tend to think both the number of posts and the trader feedback is important. In fact, I'm more leery of someone with 50 posts and 20 Trader feedback than I am of someone with 2000 posts and no feedback. The person who is only here to sell stuff has very little to lose and I think they might be less willing to work with you if something unforeseen goes wrong in the deal. We're supposed to be a community of head-fi enthusiasts - and those are the people I prefer to deal with.

 

[HideousPride]

Quote:

I tend to think both the number of posts and the trader feedback is important. In fact, I'm more leery of someone with 50 posts and 20 Trader feedback than I am of someone with 2000 posts and no feedback.

A good number of the high feedback, low post members are those that are active on other headphone sites, you can be reasonably sure they're a good egg if they have 10+ feedback of high dollar buys and sells.
 
Post count doesn't mean anything for trustworthiness in the FS threads IMO. There's people that have been here for years with <500 posts because they only post when they have something of value to contribute, and there are many that rack up 1000+ posts in <1 year.