Selling to Brazil

[Steve Stallings]

I received the following from a "Rubin Campos" who has one post on the forum and just joined.

Hello Steve.
I am interested in this guitar. I wonder what form of payment you accept: Paypal, Money Order, Western Union .... I liked the setting of this steel. I need a phone so I can contact to arrange the details. I await your reply via email or pm. Thanks

Rubens Campos

I balked at selling because he is in Brazil and I honestly don't have a clue about him. I told him this.

I than received the following:

Thanks for responding Steve. I'm in Brazil, but I can still negotiate. I have relatives in the USA. If you can pass me a phone, it's easier to communicate. Journey to be arriving on Monday. I have a friend who speaks English fluently .... We may contact you, ok. Etou interested. Thanks

The second email is from "paulo perin"


Third email...

Steve.
Could you please tell me how much is shipping to Miami .... And if it comes with case and bag for the hardware. Saw the graphic Copedent. I liked it, has a 4p Franklin configured. I find this very versatile setup. That's what I need. I will await your contact and phone so we can arrange the details on Monday.
Gateful

Rubens Campos

Guys, I'm just really uncomfortable with this. I don't know why. Does anyone know this person?

[CrowBear Schmitt]

ask him for his fone # Steve & see if he'll give it to you
contact Adair Torres who's a pickin' Brazilian fo'bro & ask him if he can help you

[Mark Shuda]

Pain in the you know what to ship there.
Try to get him to align with a US shipping broker or a relative in US.
Tell him you will ship the guitar, to US Broker once all funds have cleared.
You can then converse comfortably about the guitar without thinking about whether or not its a scam.
MS

[Doug Earnest]

I had a similar deal and it turned out fine. If he is coming to the US and wants you to ship it to someone here, fully prepaid, you really don't have anything to worry about.

[Steve Stallings]

unfortunately, when I look at the one other thread he posted in, it is the same vibe. I'm not trying to be a jerk or hurt someones feelings but this just doesn't pass the smell test.

[Cartwright Thompson]

Steve,
Check your PM's

[Steve Stallings]

Rubens has contacted at least 5 forum members about purchases in the last few days.


From looking at emails he has sent to other members, each guitar is perfect for him.

If it quacks like a duck.....

[steve takacs]

Make that number 6 he's contacted. Check your email Steve.

[Andy Sandoval]

His phone number is listed in this post. Why don't you just call him?

bumpo

Hello Steve.
I want to buy this Transtubefex. I am a member of the Forum and I live in Brazil. May be sent to Miami, I have a friend there. Contact me to combine the payment and we close the deal. perin_steel@hotmail.com phone: 55 (43) 9937-8786.
I await your contact.
Grateful

[steve takacs]

Thanks, Andy, I might have called Brazil, but there were just too many things that were not adding up in the correspondence between Rubens and myself to allow me to feel comfortable. steve t

[CrowBear Schmitt]

when in doubt....................................lay out

[Daniel J. Cormier]

I'm in there with you guys.here's what i got this morning.
Hi Danny. Thank you for responding. The pictures all have opened. If you can pass me the value of Profex .... Monday I get to travel, I'll call to close a deal. I have Profex old, but I know that II is better. I want to buy it. That Carter is in very good condition. The Rittenberry I only know of videos Bobbe Seymour, really, the sound is fantastic. I think about the steel .... Grateful
Paulo Perin.
The guy seems to be on the up & up but time will only tell if the funky smell comes with the transaction.

[Mark Shuda]

This is becoming quite interesting...however...the fact he refers to Bobbe Seymour may infer that he is a regular reader of this forum.
Again, negotiate, get your money, don't ship OUT of US. and I think your OK.
I say he is real.

[Mark Shuda]

By saying "get your money" I mean don't take a cashiers check, ect. I would probably only accept a electronic transfer to my bank. Or paypal.

[Daniel J. Cormier]

I never ship till the funds clear. Been there done that. Is Miami part of the USa anyway or is a territory like New Orleans and San Juan

OOOOPPPPPSSSS!!!!!

[David Higginbotham]

I say he is real.

He is as real as Rubens Campos, a real scammer! These people are everywhere and they do thier homework like any other criminal. They don't just jump in without looking around first. They will do their homework like reading the posts on the forumas well as joining up on different forums and auction sites. If they are able to scam one in every hundred then it's profitable for them. The forum is not exempt to these type of low-lifes as proof here.

I contacted Bob when I first received the letter from Rubens to let him know what was going on. We seem to do a pretty good job of keeping each other abreast of these people and the scams that arise here on the forum. I know we try to see the good in people here and would think we have a close knit community of fine members. But we still need to stay alert for the vast underworld and be vigilante in our dealings. The more contact you have with these people the more chance they have of gathering your personal info to get your identity and your money. They are very well versed in computer hacking!

By saying "get your money" I mean don't take a cashiers check, ect. I would probably only accept a electronic transfer to my bank.

In order to get your transfer you have to give your bank info. Your account balance will quickly vanish! The reason they want your phone number is they can get a great deal of info through the number and charge all types of goods and services.

I can't see that anyone who is trying to sell something here on the forum would be so desperate as to risk any of this. If the item is good and reasonably priced, it will sell to an established forum member.
Dave

[Gary Lynch]

PayPal only after funds clear. If he is registered with them that is...

You can also request additional information. I'd straight up tell him you have concerns. Only give your email address for PayPal and nothing else.

I guess he is reading all these posts?

[Daniel J. Cormier]

I can accept Credit Card Payment. If something is bogus there you find out in 2 to 3 days. By then you see payment post in your Bank Account. Only then do I ship. The guitar this guy wants I'm in no hurry to sale. Kinda like the way it plays and the light weight.

[J D Sauser]

OK.
Let me share my experience having lived in South America and now living in the Dominican Republic.
First, let us remember that the urban parts of Brazil are very developed when compared to other Latin, South and Central American countries.
I don't know where your prospect buyer is at, but his location in or near to a major city is key to success.

I have received 2 brand new guitars when I lived in Ecuador and am constantly receiving "stuff" from the US I buy online, here in the DR.

The way it works best is, that your client ought to establish a relationship with a mail forwarding service, usually in Miami Florida. A well known company is TransExpress ([url]www.http://usa.transexpress.com[/url] ... there are others, but that's the company which started it all). These companies offer a physical address to their members abroad where they can have purchases made in the US shipped to using normal carriers like UPS, USPS, FedEx, etc. They will sign reception, and forward it, at a cost to their clients in Latin America for a quite competitive rate and efficiently (fast). What's even better for the addressee abroad, is that they handle customs procedures very efficiently.

So, what you, as the seller need, is your client's mail forwarder address in Miami (comes with a code like a mail box they use to route the delivery) you can send his purchase too just like you would to ANY other client in the US.
Obviously, you will want to be paid first too, thru credit card or even better PayPal and make sure that your client registered his MIA mail forwarding address as a PayPal shipping address. Once UPS, USPS, FedEx or whom ever you use, delivered to the mail forwarder in Miami (signing reception), you complied with your side of the deal.

This is the easiest, cheapest and safest way to complete such a transaction successfully for BOTH parties.


Both of you are welcome to e-mail me should you have further questions.
... J-D.

[Ulf Edlund]

I might have missed something in this thread but i don't understand how can you scam someone by wanting to BUY stuff? Sending someone payment for goods does't seem like a brilliant scam to me

[Cartwright Thompson]

It's a brilliant scam if they get the goods without paying for them. Or get your bank information for nefarious purposes.

[Gary Lynch]

I might have missed something in this thread but i don't understand how can you scam someone by wanting to BUY stuff? Sending someone payment for goods does't seem like a brilliant scam to me

If they ask for any of your personal numbers........they connect the dots and presto, money is missing from an account.

OR

Lately there has been a rash of counterfeit USA Postal Money Orders and Cashiers Checks. It often takes your bank over a week to figure out they are bogus they are made so well and that's sometimes after they have paid you and they want their money back. A lot of this info is online.

[b0b]

Rubens is not fluent in English, or in American customs. In other countries, direct transfers into someone's bank account are accepted practice.

This does not have the earmarks of scam as far as I can tell. Rubens knows some things about steel guitar - about as much as someone making the transition from lap to pedals. He's trying to buy, not sell, and he appears to be a bit baffled by the way we do business in the USA.

Brazilians can wire money via Western Union, then email you the confirmation number. You go to your local Western Union counter (there are two here in spleepy little Cloverdale) and they punch the number into a terminal connected to a central computer (via modem, not internet), verify your ID, and cut you a check that is guaranteed to be good.

I have used this method with Brazilian customers in the past. It seems to be the best way to get payment from that country.

Certified checks and money orders are a scammer's playground, as they are often counterfeited. People who think of them as "safe payment" are way behind the times.

[David Higginbotham]

One last comment in this matter. I googled the name Rubens Campos and scams. Plenty of info including cell phone scams.

[Tony Glassman]

PayPal only after funds clear. If he is registered with them that is...

You can also request additional information. I'd straight up tell him you have concerns. Only give your email address for PayPal and nothing else.

I guess he is reading all these posts?

I thought Paypal was now not releasing funds until the payer receives the goods.