yup this is a scam, first checked this thread before any posts and i was dubious on the truth of the guy's message but now with the additional info. I say steer clear of him.
I mean from my view as a vet, its a total BS scam. I know because my gunner really had his house burn down the day he got back from Iraq, because someone set it on fire.
Same guy sent me the exact same message on one of my auctions. I didn't bite, and I'm glad I didn't, judging by the previous experience millerman had. To be honest, though, I did feel bad, so I just told him that I didn't negotiate prices with an auction that was already underway. Asking for a cheaper price for an item that doesn't have "Best Offer" is against eBay policy. Maybe we should report his ass.
Its a scam. I got a similar message about discounts on some items for his son for x mas gifts on my account, then my wife got a message from the same dude on her ebay account and this time he was saying the presents were for his sons birthday. Atleast have your story straight if your going to scam people.
Shit like this disgusts me...as a veteran (though a non-combat one) and as a father. How people today can have so little shame is beyond my comprehension. Last I checked it was illegal to impersonate a vet.
The vet thing is what really gets me, several of my family members are vets, including my wife who served in Iraq. I'm going to report him once i get to my home computer. Everyone else please do the same!
Every once in a while I get an email like that (though not as scammy), usually its when I start something at 99 cents. Like, say its an item that should normally sell for $50, if you start it at 99 cents it will stay at like 3 bucks till the last day then jump up to $50 in the last few hours (or minutes). I've been selling on eBay for almost 15 years now (damn, i'm old) and it always happens that way. Well every once in a while someone will send me a message saying they'd be happy to buy it for X amount right now and the amount is always way less than what its worth. After getting those randomly over the years, I started messing with them. Like replying as though I would but then never ending the auction or giving them an address to pay me, or just being really silly or douchey. Eventually I replied to one guy (about some Diesel jeans) and said essentially "hey, I know what its worth and i get these kinds of emails all the time... what's up? how often does it work?" and he said he emails everyone on ebay that has sellable designer jeans up and about 1/3 to 1/2 the time the people will cash out early. He ran a used jeans/clothing store, and he used it to get his stock. So yeah, its a scam, but apparently it sometimes works or he wouldn't try it all the time.
I received the exact same message from the guy on one of my auctions yesterday. The item wasn't selling anyway, so I lowered the price on it. Thankfully someone else bid on it before he had a chance to buy it now. Looks like I need to block this guy from my auctions.
Aha! Glad to see this thread popped up, though I'm sorry to see he snagged someone else. I'm the sucker on the Allspark who asked about him too. He definitely set off my BS detectors, but I figured oh what the heck I'll play along - it wasn't a huge sale. Offering the same sob story, he wanted a discount for my Voyager movie Ironhide I had on sale. It was loose/complete with instructions and package bio and I had it listed for 15 BIN, so I offered to ship it to him for free. He said fine, but had to wait for payday - no worries. I few days later he emailed saying he was ready so I changed it to free shipping and he paid for it right away. I packed it up and mailed it to him and that's when things started going fishier. Initially he claimed to be "recently returned from Afghanistan". Then he started claiming to still be over there. Then, once the delivery date had passed he claimed to be back at home again (all in a less than two week period). The tracking number showed it delivered on a Wednesday and once Saturday rolled around he said it still hadn't arrived. I emailed him the link to the post office website showing it had been delivered. He kept up the "haven't seen it" thing for another three days before emailing to say, "Ok, I got it today and the box is empty." Obviously I knew I was going to get screwed but I told him he needed to take it up with the post office since it was delivered a week earlier and had sat somewhere in the meantime and maybe someone had opened and resealed the package (knowing full well the guy is just full of it). THEN he comes back to say he got the package the week before on the Wednesday, but he just thought I was sending the toy along later! Because I was already footing the bill for shipping so why not do it twice? The long and the short is he stuck to that story, filed a complaint that I sent him an empty package and Ebay sided with him because I've only had 100% feedback for over ten years and of course I'd decide to blow it all on a 15 dollar toy. I've appealed it but they are sticking with their decision. But for those who have also encountered him, if you wouldn't mind reporting the buyer - it can only help.
It is, and it isn't. If a person "pretends" to be a vet for the sake of doing it, he/she is legal under the first amendment. However, if said person using fake veteran status is using said status for economic benefit, then yes that is illegal. Wish I could get this azzhat's name. Give his name to the "proper" authorities and then give the name to Don Shipley or someone that calls out fake vets..
Sure you can send them my way, or if you want you can report the guy right here: Stolen Valor VA Office of Inspector General