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OregonEmily
Master August 2014

Used Wedding Dress Scam

OregonEmily, on August 27, 2014 at 1:08 PM Posted in Etiquette and Advice 0 38

I've been quite successful at selling off lots of wedding goodies now that I'm done with them. But I still have my dress. I listed it on 5 different used dress sites. I got my first bite today!

I was excited by the prospect of making a bit back on such a large purchase. The woman that expressed interest seemed ready to pull the trigger. But the more emails we exchanged, the more fishy it smelled.

Here are the suspicious details, in the order they unfolded;

*Bad grammar. No capitalization or periods.

*Buying the dress for her sister, not herself

*Didn't request any specific measurements

*Not available to see the dress, because she is an oceanographer currently at sea.

*Says her "pick up agent" will get the dress after I receive payment via paypal

*AAAAnnd the final nail in the coffin; Her pick up agent only accepts Western Union which she can't send via the boat she's on. Could I wire the money for her?

Yeah, say hello to your cousin, the African Prince for me!

38 Comments

Latest activity by Jeremy Hong, on September 10, 2014 at 9:46 PM
  • Jamgirl
    VIP July 2015
    Jamgirl ·
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    Oh yeah definitely a scam, why would you wire money to her if she's the one purchasing the dress?

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  • Miss P.
    Master September 2014
    Miss P. ·
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    Lol wow those scammers are everywhere.

    I'm sure a real person will bite eventually!

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  • AndixLyn
    Master June 2015
    AndixLyn ·
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    Hahahahaha, i love that scam! my old roommate totally sold items on ebay and got one of those and almost did it! i had to talk serious sense into him!

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  • LadyMonk
    Master September 2014
    LadyMonk ·
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    Weird... And yeah, I don't get that either, shouldn't she be responsible for paying you?!?!?! lol.

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  • Emma
    Master October 2024
    Emma ·
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    LOL! Why would you be wiring money when you're the one selling the dress? ! ahahaha! Love it! That's the most ridiculous, silliest scam ever Smiley laugh

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  • KristenMeowza
    Master October 2014
    KristenMeowza ·
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    Yeah Western Union is a HUGE red flag! Glad you didn't fall for it!

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  • J
    VIP August 2014
    J ·
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    Ugh people suck. I'm sure you'll sell your dress soon!!!

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  • OregonEmily
    Master August 2014
    OregonEmily ·
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    I was mildly suspicious the whole time. As soon as Western Union was mentioned, I noped right out of there.

    Maybe more weirdness was going to unfold, but it sounded like she was going to pay me the asking price in full, plus the money her "pick up agent" charged and wanted me to pay the agent. Does Paypal take time to process or something? I imagine if I wired the money, I would find out soon after that her paypal payment didn't go through.

    What a disappointing waste of time!

    • Reply
  • Maltese
    Master June 2015
    Maltese ·
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    I got bit on a scam similar with a rental house about 4 years ago and wasn't so lucky...I was young, desperate and looking to move back home. All the homeowner information checked out online, but once the deposit ($1200) was received I had never heard back from them.

    My mom and stepdad went as far as go to the house a couple times and the first time they peeked into the window and it looked like someone was moving in or out...they talked to a couple of neighbors who gave them the same story I was given (Missionaries, both doctors, working in Africa). They went back a few days later and finally talked to a guy living at the house...he had just moved in, rented it from a doctor who was doing missionary work in Africa.

    The scammers had pulled all the information and used it to get $1200 while I was in the process, LITERALLY, of moving across the country. When the movers came to pick up my furniture, I had no delivery address to give them as I had no idea what was going on

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  • Alyssa
    Master April 2015
    Alyssa ·
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    !


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  • OregonEmily
    Master August 2014
    OregonEmily ·
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    What a bummer Maltese! Sorry that happened to you. An expensive lesson learned. Smiley sad

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  • TammyNicole
    Super May 2015
    TammyNicole ·
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    SMH I listed a TV on Craigslist and they tried to scam me about that! He wanted to send me a money order, deposit it in my bank. But wait, his assistant made a mistake and put more than what I was asking and can I send him the difference once the money was deposited! UH yeah aiight..try it on a dummy buddy, not me!

    My planner also says she gets a bogus email at least once a month from someone looking to plan a wedding "in her location" and want to pay her fee in full with their credit card (someone else's card) and have her send money to their "logistics agent". (scammer)

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  • Maltese
    Master June 2015
    Maltese ·
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    Thanks...I was young and stupid, and since I was in the habit of paying ALL of my bills late, I was constantly having to use Western Union to make an express payment so I didn't realize it was such a common avenue for scammers

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  • Pancakes
    Master October 2015
    Pancakes ·
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    HAHAHA Smiley smile

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  • KimS
    Master September 2014
    KimS ·
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    Oh, that African Prince line had me rolling... LOL!!

    Hope you get a real buyer soon!!

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  • andeejai
    Expert August 2014
    andeejai ·
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    Same thing happened to me... these people are just dumb!!!

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  • Snarky
    Master September 2014
    Snarky ·
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    I'm so glad you recognized it as a scam. We get so many scam e-mails to our work account for some reason and just the other day a co-worker was explaining to me this e-mail he got and I'm like, HELLO! That's a scam, buddy. It's scary sometimes how legit they can look. Good for you!

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  • Snarky
    Master September 2014
    Snarky ·
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    I wish I could save some of these e-mail scams we get literally every day. Some are just so funny!

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  • Angie
    VIP August 2015
    Angie ·
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    My first clue is "broken english"! I don't even reply to these... there are TONS of these on craigslist. The ones I did reply and got the broken english send money response I never went farther. Now I don't ever reply to broken english e-mails!

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  • Angie
    VIP August 2015
    Angie ·
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    Ohh... one of the biggest was when we were looking for a house to rent. We drove down the area where the house was. Found the house by the "picture" and it had a realtor sign in the yard. The guy says he decided to rent because he was out of the country and to mail him the deposit and he would mail us the keys.... ALL IN BROKEN ENGLISH! Was like hell no, it's a scam. The guy probably stole the pictures off the realtor's website!

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