When selling a lens on eBay...

....and a potential bidder e-mails and asks for the serial number... is
there a legitimate reason for this, or am I just being paranoid that he
may be trying to pull some sort of scam?

On 2007-11-01 19:51:58 -0700, =?iso-8859-1?Q?TheDave=A9?= said:

...and a potential bidder e-mails and asks for the serial number... is
there a legitimate reason for this, or am I just being paranoid that he
may be trying to pull some sort of scam?

With the serial number he can estimate the year of manufacture.

If you're advertising something extremely rare, he may be trying to
rule out deception on _your_ part, but that's just my speculation. I
don't think I'd hesitate to furnish the number, but someone else may
have a good reason you shouldn't.
--
Vanity is so secure in the heart of man that everyone wants to be
admired: even I who write this, and you who read this.

D.Quatsch wrote:
On 2007-11-01 19:51:58 -0700, =?iso-8859-1?Q?TheDave=A9?= said:

...and a potential bidder e-mails and asks for the serial number... is
there a legitimate reason for this, or am I just being paranoid that he
may be trying to pull some sort of scam?

With the serial number he can estimate the year of manufacture.

Sometimes different production batches had reported problems or even
different features. Some lens models have been in production for
decades. It's possible they are looking for their stolen lens also I
suppose, or seeking some degree of assurance that it isn't stolen.

If you're advertising something extremely rare, he may be trying to rule
out deception on _your_ part, but that's just my speculation. I don't
think I'd hesitate to furnish the number, but someone else may have a
good reason you shouldn't.

"TheDave©" wrote in message ...
...and a potential bidder e-mails and asks for the serial number... is
there a legitimate reason for this, or am I just being paranoid that he
may be trying to pull some sort of scam?

Full disclosure, Dave. Practice it and find people respond by paying a
premium price for your goods.

Depending on the lens, it could indicate if it was an early version
assembled in Japan or one which was in a bunch with faulty glass, made in a
3rd world country.

Douglas

Paul Furman wrote:
D.Quatsch wrote:
On 2007-11-01 19:51:58 -0700, =?iso-8859-1?Q?TheDave=A9?=
said:

...and a potential bidder e-mails and asks for the serial
number... is there a legitimate reason for this, or am I just
being paranoid that he may be trying to pull some sort of scam?

With the serial number he can estimate the year of manufacture.

Sometimes different production batches had reported problems or even
different features. Some lens models have been in production for
decades. It's possible they are looking for their stolen lens also I
suppose, or seeking some degree of assurance that it isn't stolen.

If you're advertising something extremely rare, he may be trying to
rule out deception on your part, but that's just my speculation. I
don't think I'd hesitate to furnish the number, but someone else
may have a good reason you shouldn't.

Ok, that make some sense. It wouldn't occur to me to ask, and I
envisioned someone then taking the info and accusing me of stealing it,
or of it having been stolen from them at some time, or whatever.
Stranger things have happened and the world is not lacking in dishonest
people.

"TheDave©" wrote in message ...
...and a potential bidder e-mails and asks for the serial number... is
there a legitimate reason for this, or am I just being paranoid that he
may be trying to pull some sort of scam?

Or, the bidder wants to know if what you are selling is really what you say
it is. If, for instance, you send a serial number which cannot belong to
that model of the lens, the bidder will vanish.

Jim

"TheDave©" wrote in message ...
...and a potential bidder e-mails and asks for the serial number... is
there a legitimate reason for this, or am I just being paranoid that he
may be trying to pull some sort of scam?
Just give him the number but use xxx for the last 3. He prolly wants to
check the year and place of manu. Bob Hickey

Rita Ä Berkowitz wrote:
Oh, for Christ's sake Bob! If a seller has nothing to hide there is
absolutely nothing to worry about when revealing the full serial
number. The bottom line is if a seller refuses to comply with my
request for a serial number they don't get my bid and they sure as
hell will not be getting any of my money.

You obviously haven't the slightest clue what the question was about.
It had ZERO to do with being a dishonest seller, and everything to do
with watching out for dishonest "buyers" who I thought might be up to
some sort of scam.

"TheDave©" wrote in message
...
Rita Ä Berkowitz wrote:
Oh, for Christ's sake Bob! If a seller has nothing to hide there is
absolutely nothing to worry about when revealing the full serial
number. The bottom line is if a seller refuses to comply with my
request for a serial number they don't get my bid and they sure as
hell will not be getting any of my money.

You obviously haven't the slightest clue what the question was about.
It had ZERO to do with being a dishonest seller, and everything to do
with watching out for dishonest "buyers" who I thought might be up to
some sort of scam.
-------------------

Wooo Hooo!
A new twist to eBay... Buyer scams!
Now that would be a good one.

You are asked to disclose some information about the goods you are trying to
sell - nothing incidentally a buyer couldn't discover if they held the item
and looked at it - and straight away, you suspect a buyer scam!

Unbelievable!

Give it up Bob. Not a single sole I know who buys on eBay would bother
buying from anyone trying to hide the identification of the item they are
selling. Hell Bob, if you can't let someone know everything there is to know
about your goods, maybe you ought to just bury them in the back yard?

Douglas

Rita Ä Berkowitz wrote:
TheDave© wrote:
Oh, for Christ's sake Bob! If a seller has nothing to hide there
is absolutely nothing to worry about when revealing the full
serial number. The bottom line is if a seller refuses to comply
with my request for a serial number they don't get my bid and
they sure as hell will not be getting any of my money.

You obviously haven't the slightest clue what the question was
about. It had ZERO to do with being a dishonest seller, and
everything to do with watching out for dishonest "buyers" who I
thought might be up to some sort of scam.

This is a clear and present indication you are trying to sell the
wrong type of items to the wrong group of people. All, bite for the
hell of it. How exactly can a dishonest buyer "scam" you with a
serial number of a piece of merchandise you are trying to sell him?
This ought to be good.

I don't know. Hence the question. You're having a hard time
comprehending a simple concept. Do I need to break it down into
single-syllable words for you? Apparently so.

Fortunately, I did get a couple intelligent responses and found out
there isn't anything new that maybe I might want to be aware of. Yours
wasn't among those.

Like I said earlier, honest sellers have
nothing to worry about.

"If you have nothing to hide..." LOL! What a naive fool! We live in
a world where new scams are being created everyday using instruments
and methods that have traditionally been considered safe and secure.
Or, have you been too busy with your pompous idiot rantings and ravings
to notice the world around you?

Maybe you question the rightful ownership of
the item you are trying to sell? I believe in full disclosure when
selling merchandise. I haven't a problem yet from being honest and
open with my customers.

Like I said, you have no clue as to the purpose of the question. Then
again, I've been around usenet long enough to know that yours is an
opinion to discard easily. You remind me of George Costanza... just
dim-witted enough to get by and give the illusion of intelligence.

Yes, I've chosen to go with ad-hominem attacks, now. You can look up
what that means and pretend you knew what it meant when you fire back.
Have a nice day. :-)