Sorry for the printscreens if they we're breaking some rules.. just wanted to give a better picture of the problem.
Didn't really know the rules about selling, first time sale here.. now I know.. but still..if i did.. would it help in this case?
I'm not really angry, more dissapointed.. it's not that much about the money, but still it's more about the principal.
Didn't even think about the police..as far as i know..it has to be more then 150€ to file a report?
well he was a bit shady, but people are weird sometimes.. doesn't know english, maybe an older guy..
like the qoute "Trust is good, control is better"
as for the account
https://bikemarkt.mtb-news.de/en/user/400200
Ah ok, then it was Bikemarkt-related. Sorry, I mistook this cause the title of your screenshots said "Whatsapp".
Yeah, disappointment is true, people sometimes can be really shit. It happens. But if it helps for your consolation: to my experience this is not a regular case, especially not in the Bikemarkt. I guess in the end a theme-specific community helps to shy away most people with bad intentions. That you had this case in your very first deal here is quite some bad luck!
For my part, I buy and sell in the Bikemarkt regularly for years now, and so far I only had one case (out of over a hundred transactions) of what I guess was attempted fraud (one guy claimed to have sent the money and asked for the item to be shipped, but the mony never arrived, and he didn't answer my queries afterwards... just like your case, only that I was cautious enough not to ship the item in advance).
If you follow some basic rules for your safety, especially selling is quite safe:
- always look at the reviews and the profile of the person you deal with. There is also this thing called "Vertrauensstufe" (trust network) where people who know each other in real life or have had so many contacts that they see each other as absolutely trustworthy can claim their mutual trust. The higher this number "Vertrauensstufe", the more people trust this person.
The account you dealt with had some older "neutral" reviews, stating there were some problems with the payment. Reading something like this in the reviews should alert you. When in doubt, better not do the deal, there's always someone else who will want to buy it eventually. At least be extra cautious that everything is done correctly.
- always wait for the money to really be on your account before you ship the item, at least if you don't know the person you deal with really well. This also pops up as a safety hint in the Bikemarkt when you mark an item as "sold".
- for documentation reasons (in case something goes wrong) always use the chat in the Bikemarkt for all communication related to the deal. Never something else like Whatsapp.
Another hint: better not use the "normal" Paypal function meant for commercial deals (the one where fees are charged). This is said to be safe for both sides. In reality however, it is a known method for fraud, as Paypal acts very buyer-friendly and commonly doesn't really look into the case on the seller-side. People with bad intentions can use this, as they pay you via Paypal, you think everything is fine and ship the item, and after they received the parcel they go to Paypal and claim that the item is defect or something. Paypal will withdraw the money from you without checking further. So you lost the goods, the money, and on top of it all even the fees for Paypal.
Better/safer for the seller-side: only use the (free of charge) "Friends" function on Paypal.
Buying is naturally more risky in private deals, as you send your money before you get hold of the goods. So this is really about trust, and you have to be way more cautious.
I know, this is not like you would want a good "ideal" world to be, because it's not nice having to mistrust people as a basic principle. But as you see, sometimes it's better to be safe, just in case.