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I saw this position advertised on Indeed yesterday:

Searching For People With Basic Computer Skills job - SOCIADATES LTD - Southampton | Indeed.co.uk

As it didn't give that much information it raised my curiosity & I put in an application.

Last night I received a reply:



Hello,

I'm glad that you are interested in my job. Let me tell you more about it.

I need someone who can list my items on eBay. You'll be listing digital cameras, musical instruments, handbags and other electronics. I will provide the photos and details of the items that need to be advertised. Your job is just to list the ads, I will talk with the people who are interested. I will pay you when the auction ends.

1. If the item is sold:

YOU WILL RECEIVE £100 + eBay POSTING FEES + 5% OF THE SELLING PRICE

2. If the item doesn't sell:

YOU WILL RECEIVE the eBay POSTING FEES (but I'm sure that the item will sell)

Maybe you wonder why not sell my products myself?! I wanted to start an eBay account but I read on one of eBay's community pages that sellers with 0 feedback have not the same success as the others sellers with feedback. Also you must have an eBay Seller Account with more than 10 feedback.

You'll receive the payment from buyers into your PayPal that is linked with your eBay account and deduct your payment from there + 5% of the selling price + eBay fees. In this way is clear that you'll get your payment. Your PayPal account must not have any limits (sending, receiving and withdraw). If you have any limits on your PayPal account you must lift them up.

You'll earn £400 + per week with just one item...I think that this is fair enough.

Also I want to tell you from the beginning that i need serious people in my team so when you say something so be it. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Kind regards,


It may be that the position is legal & above board, but it strikes me as being very fishy.

I've sent copies to eBay & Indeed.

Very fishy.

I would just walk away if I were you.

It would be your reputation on the line and your paypal account that loses money when the buyer is unhappy with the product or failedxdelivery.

I've also sent a Heads Up email to my Work Advisor. I wouldn't want him to see the ad & recommend it to some kid fresh out of school / college.

I mean, look at the things he's planning on selling. From that he plans on paying out £100 on completion of the item, plus 5% of the cost. And on top of that he says that if it doesn't sell he'll pay the posting fees? The posting fees are a matter of pennies - if not free.

I have 100% Positive Feedback on there, with over 350 items listed over the years but technically anyone who gets 1 Positive Feedback from 1 item also gets 100% Positive Feedback. Plus the only way you get to be an eBay Top Rated Seller is by registering as a legitimate business (eg Argos, Maplins & Currys all sell goods on eBay) or by a high volume Positive Feedback rating. This would not be achieved by selling things via other people's accounts.

To get up and running the person could sell anything for cost price just to get his ratings up.

There fiddle must be either dodgy gear, copies, or stolen possibly. Or it might be a VAT or Tax avoidance scam.

He is spreading the risk, but is taking a £100 hit on each potential profit, that is enough to run and don't look back.

You did right by reporting this to Ebay. Yes, this sounds fishy to me as well.

I think the way this works is that the person who has the items for sale, watchers the potential buyers and contacts them outside of ebay claiming to be you, asking for payment outside the system. Then you are liable for breaking the ebay terms of agreement.

Stay well away

Bent as a nine bob note

I got an automated reply from my Work Advisor. It seems he's away on another 2 week holiday, so I think I'll either phone the office tomorrow, or pop in whilst I'm in town. You see, they scour the ads to find vacancies that may be, in the slightest way, possible for someone to do (not necessarily suited to - there's me with loads of qualifications in Book Keeping & Accounts & the tried to make me go for a job doing Soling, Heeling & Key Cutting with Timpsons), and the chances are that they wouldn't research it any further than the initial advert, thus encouraging others to go for it in order to get some Work Experience.

As I said, there's a chance it could be entirely legitimate, but it just doesn't feel right.

" If It walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, It's a duck"

" If It doesn't make sense, then It's not true"

Her Majesty The Queen of Americaworld Judge Judy

Hi yes its a SCAM - I applied for that job as well - but I decided it might be worth a shot - they sent me a photo of their passport and said they wouldnt risk their freedom for small amounts of money. Anyway I decided to see what they would want me to do and they wanted me to list a chromeboy guitar for sale for £750 with £2950 Buy it now - there are trading assistants on ebay who sell your stuff on ebay or 20% so I considered its not much different to that - I guess I wanted it to be real - anyway as the questions came in about the guitar it turned out that model of guitar was registered in Portugal and my seller was claiming he bought it in the uK - anyway I decided it was too much of a risk as I had never seen the guitar I wouldnt know if it was legit, if it existed it could be a copy or anything. I asked my "emplyer" for some UK address or something to confirm who he was but he just sent me his passport again with the same standard message - i knew for certain it was definately dodgy then - why couldnt he give me his address or phone number so I could speak to him if he was a legit company - so I cancelled the sale on ebay and no harm done. I think he wsa probably abroad as his english wa a bit broken by email athough he sent a UK passport I think it was fraudulant - he would have just taken the money and disappeared into the night and I would have been left having to try and refund the buyer for the guitar out of my own pocket :s

malini.wales;1462922 wrote: ...and I would have been left having to try and refund the buyer for the guitar out of my own pocket :s
To say nothing of the PayPal Commission fees.

As I said earlier, I had emailed my Work Advisor at A4E to warn him of the potential danger if they were to recommend it to some gullible eager beaver school / college leaver, but received an automated reply that he was away on holiday, so I phoned the office this morning to give them a verbal heads up on the matter, but the receptionist seemed totally disinterested. I explained the situation to here, stating how I had already emailed the details, but that by the time he got back the damage could have been done. Then she said, with a very bored tone to her voice, "So what's your enquiry about?"

And these are the people who the DWP pay to help ME find work.