(Update: both posters have sold since I wrote this post, and the referenced announcement has been deleted.)
As you can see from the announcement above, I’m putting one more set of the NSA satire posters up for auction. (As noted above, this is the last time I’ll be making these available, so if you want either or both, bid early and often.) The reserve price for each poster is set at what its predecessor went for in the last auction. I’ve also put up a slightly higher Buy It Now price on each in case anybody’s too impatient to wait for the end of the auction.
And that’s where it gets interesting.
If you were online Tuesday night, and paying attention, you would have seen that these auctions went up at about 9:30 pm EST, and ended early through Buy it Now about two hours later. I had my doubts, when I saw this the next morning — the buyer had zero feedback and was using a yahoo email account. And had the unlikely name “Mike Nike.” But I went ahead and sent an invoice and waited.
No response.
Logged into eBay today and noticed that Mike Nike was “no longer a registered user.” Which made things easier for me — I was able to cancel out the auctions and relist them with a minimum of hassle as a result. I figured the buyer was either (a) a Republican fucking with me, or (b) somebody who had a few too many drinks on Tuesday night and woke up Wednesday morning with Buy it Nowers remorse.
Then I got an email from Mike Nike, with the subject line “Answer my questions and email me your full name and address and you mobile number.”
I agreed to pay the amount you want as buy it now any additional money for the shipping and handling. Here will go i am using this opportunity to inform you that the amount that will be on the moneyorder will more than your item fees.I don”t realy know the exact amount that will be.Because it will be issue by my client.and the reason of the over payment is that.the amount on the moneyorder has been signed already.And it is more than your item fees.so once you receive it.you must deduct your item fees and westernunion the balance money to my client manager in africa.the item is going to africa also the shipping and westernunion address will come with the payment.
There will be no problem about the shipment.I want you to responsible for it.also make sure you deduct ur item fees and westernunion any aditional money on the m/o once you receive it.and email me ur phone# asap today.
Below are the questions i have for you.1)is the item in good condition?
2)is any westernunion location where you to send the balance money arround you?
3)can you make sure you get the m/o cash at ur bank the sameday you receive it?
4)can you allow me to send DHL for the pick up and complet the transaction the day you receive the
moneyorder?If yes too all my questions.kindly email me back asap today so that the moneyorder can be send
…and suddenly it all made sense — I was dealing with a low-grade variation of the classic Nigerian email scam.
So consider this a public service announcement, especially you eBay users — I don’t know if this is already a commonly-known scam, but my guess is, as fewer and fewer people are willing to help “transfer fifty billion dollars out of my country,” we’ll see more penny ante stuff like this.
Oh, and by the way — on this auction, Buy it Now only works if you pay via Paypal immediately. Sorry, Mike Nike.