I recently sold 5x 31059 (Sunset Street Bike) to a buyer in Florida.  Buyer has 500+ feedback, 100% positive, and has no items for sale.  Today I received this email to my gmail account (not an ebay message), with the buyer claiming to be a dealer in Japan.  Does this look legit?  Is this normal practice?  Is the Florida/Japan inconsistency a red flag or is Florida his buying clearing house?  I've only worked with other dealers on small one-time sales so I'm sniffing for a scam if there's one here.  Thanks for any advice in advance!

Hello

My name is xxx xxx.

I am retailer in Japan.

I sell 200 foreign products and make $50000 each month in Japan.

The other day, I bought your item on ebay(LEGO 31059)

I am interested in the items of your shop.

Do you support bulk buying?

If dealings are possible, we are considering purchasing on a continuous basis.

I am waiting for the good reply from you.

Sincerely

xxx xxx

xxx xxx email address

Funny. I got the same email today.
He bought (2) of one item on January 3. No problems with the initial sale.

Not sure if / how I would proceed with this email.

Sounds like he is trying to find some suppliers who will deal off of eBay. That way he can get a better price and the seller won't have to pay selling fees. Both parties benefit. It wouldn't hurt to reply and ask a few questions. I've had a few bulk sales of this nature (unfortunately, not for my Steam Rollers...yet). If you pursue just make sure they pay with a PayPal Friends & Family payment. This way you are protected against them filing a bogus claim after they receive the product. They have no protection as a buyer with that type of payment, but the buyers I've dealt with understood that going in and were ok with it because they were getting a decent price. 

7 minutes ago, terrymc4677 said:

Sounds like he is trying to find some suppliers who will deal off of eBay. That way he can get a better price and the seller won't have to pay selling fees. Both parties benefit. It wouldn't hurt to reply and ask a few questions. I've had a few bulk sales of this nature (unfortunately, not for my Steam Rollers...yet). If you pursue just make sure they pay with a PayPal Friends & Family payment. This way you are protected against them filing a bogus claim after they receive the product. They have no protection as a buyer with that type of payment, but the buyers I've dealt with understood that going in and were ok with it because they were getting a decent price. 

The buyer could claim identity theft to Paypal and get reimbursed and you would have not protection against the chargeback.

A risk probably worth taking if it means selling the steamrollers, though.

Edited January 30, 20187 yr by Val-E

I simply refuse requests to deal outside of eBay unless they offer to pay cash and the transaction takes place in a safe area. If it sounds remotely dodgy, don't reply.

Its very common for Asian buyers to use addresses in the US/Canada as a forwarding agent to source inventory for business in Asia. When I was selling heavy on ebay last year/year before a lot of my top sets went to Asian buyers with forwarding agents on the west coast.  

I'd have zero worry about writing up an invoice on paypal and sending to them for payment.     

Update - I sold a few bulk lots to 2 different asian buyers based in the US.  The MO seems to be that they buy one lot for a fair price, and once they receive it they come back with offers on similar lots at a much much lower price, and I assume continue to grind down on price.

7 minutes ago, FM said:

Update - I sold a few bulk lots to 2 different asian buyers based in the US.  The MO seems to be that they buy one lot for a fair price, and once they receive it they come back with offers on similar lots at a much much lower price, and I assume continue to grind down on price.

I used to get this a lot which is why I no longer sell to Asia or Russia.