The Skinny on The Scam

Ok, so I got hosed. It only cost me something to look forward to. I've ordered things through Amazon's marketplace before and had no problems, so why not take advantage of a sweet price. I knew, being backed by Amazon's policies, I wouldn't get stiffed. So here's how it happened:

I found the low price, checked the review for that seller, and everything looked good. They had quite a few 5 outta 5 star reviews and a couple of 4 out of 5's. I placed my order and waited. Got the confirmation e-mail from Amazon.

Me: Cool, it must be set in stone now! Go tell everyone what a great deal you got!

Me: OK, yeah, I am pretty psyched!

So I post on here the deal and throw in some pics all while day-dreaming of the awesome stuff I'm gonna do. After downloading manuals from Canon to get a jump on the controls and switches and setup stuff, the idiot goes to bed. Visions of sugar plums and crap, drool on my pillow, muttering stuff in my sleep, wife thinks I'm cheating on her with a girl nick-named "shutter speed".

I wake up this morning, throw on a pot of coffee and straighten up the living room from all the camera buying and boasting the night before. Beep, the coffee's done brewing (yeah, it really does beep when it's done; I don't skimp on my coffee makers, homey) and sit down with a fresh cup to check the e-mail. I got one from Amazon saying they charged my credit card for the camera. Awesome. Awhile later I get another email that looks very Amazony.

The seller requests to be paid via Western Union Wire Transfer.
Thank you for the understanding.
Click here to locate the agents in your area :
http://www.westernunion.com/info/agentInquiryIntl.asp

Once the payment was sent, provide the seller with the following information:
1) MTCN (Western Union Money Transfer Control Number):
2) Sender name :
3) Sender address :
4) City where you sent the money from:
5) Amount sent:
Then wait for the confirmation that the payment was received. Within 2 business days,
you will receive the tracking number for your product.

Shipping from Address and Payment Information:
E-mail Address: ceimaisus@aol.com

Ship from Address:
Samaon Ovidiu Ioan
Calea Dragasani
Pitesti, AG 0300
Romania
Payment Address:
Samaon Ovidiu Ioan
Calea Dragasani
Pitesti, AG 0300
Romania

Note: Due to this terms the shipping will be supported by the seller.

Purchase Protection and Refund Information:
Currently, this seller has $ 4,000.00 deposit in an Amazon.com managed purchase protection account. Transactions with this amazon seller are covered 90% in case of fraud and description errors.
You have 14 days after you receive the product to request a refund.
Refund requests are processed within 3 days.
For your safety, this account was blocked today, for 14 time. The seller is unable to withdraw the money within this period.
The seller was informed about this transaction being started and is awaiting for your payment.

Uh-oh, here comes another email. I wonder who it could be from?

Date: Sun, 17 Jul 2005 12:13:06 -0400
From: ceimaisus@aol.com
Subject: Re: Sold -- ship now! Canon Digital Rebel XT 8MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 Lens...
To: Tokyo Slim

Hello!

All is done .

Now i will wait your reply with the details of the transfer from Western Union

My details :

First name : Samaon
Last name : Ovidiu Ioan
Street : Calea Dragasani
Zip code: 0300
City: Pitesti
Country: Romania

Ok, time to call Amazon. I reported it, my credit card was reimbursed, and now I have to find another camera. I don't think I'll use Amazon's Marketplace again. The sellers' reviews must be bogus and I got lucky the few times I ordered through them.

Well, I'm about blogged out for today.