Joel Maust - Blogger, Marketer, Photographer

So my camera went for just over $974. I guess that isn’t bad. Didn’t get to $1000, which is kinda good because now I can still use PayPal without having to set up a business account.

I think it’s worth more, but it’s used and older and doesn’t come with the boxes and manuals and all that stuff. So I can understand.

Anyway I look at it, I got a pretty good deal. A friend sold the set to me for $1000 about two years ago on a no-interest, four-month payment plan. So I basically got to use a Nikon F100 with some great accessories for two years for $25.

Not bad :)

So, this guy supposedly from Indonesia e-mail’s me about my F100. Says he loves the offer and wants to pay $1400 for it. I was hoping to get $1000, so naturally I was pumped. The catch is that he can only use credit card, but not through PayPal because they don’t service Indonesia.

He then encourages me to seek alternate means of accepting a credit card order. Odd request, I admit, but I humored him and surfed around, looking for how to accept personal credit card transactions. I find a few means of doing so, but they all take a 3 to 5 percent cut from the sale and require sign-up processes and all that garbage. Stuff I can’t do the night of the sale.

So then I start getting suspicious. Couldn’t the guy just send me a money order if he wants it that bad? So I search Google for “ebay Indonesia fraud” and vola! I get some results!

Turns out, Indonesia and a couple other countries are havens for credit card fraud and that it is in fact fairly common for a person to get an outlandish offer for an item from a person in Indonesia. I guess they usually end up buying stuff with a bad credit card and don’t want to go through mainstream credit card systems because they know they’ll get caught.

(Actual post time) August 25, 2004, 2:14 AM

Brilliant…I just got the e-mail from typepad. Apparently I set up my username as jm427 rather than the usual jm4727. T Y P O

Praise God for password and username recovery…I would have NEVER thought of jm427. I tried joelmaust, jmaust, j_maust, jdmaust, jdm4727…but certainly not jm427…

(Actual post time) August 25, 2004, 2:10 AM

Tonight is significant for a couple reasons. No, it’s not because I’ve stayed up past two on three consecutive work nights (I do that on a regular basis), nor is it because of the neat projects I just finished at work.

It’s my inaugural blog and e-bay sale!

However, I can’t post this live tonight (can’t remember my typepad user name…I thought I ALWAYS used jm4727 for this very reason: that I might forget what it is and have to go through the hassle of having it e-mailed to me.) So, I’m blogging in the ugly MS Works–my new laptop’s default word processor. When I find some time, I’ll be converting to the MS Office suite. Thank Spring Arbor University for $15 educational pricing on the ENTIRE professional package!

Anyway…so I’m blogging (I’ll have to add this word to the software dictionary…I’m getting sick of thinking I’m writing typos when that squiggly red line busts out) for the first time, and I’m selling my beautiful Nikon F100 package, complete with three lenses, the vertical control grip and a stud flash. Looks like the auction will be a success, but we’ll know for sure in about…let me check…40 minutes. I’m contemplating staying up for the close, but I’m not sure yet. Might just set my alarm and get some shut eye instead.

Oh–another cool thing about tonight before I close: this is the first REAL time using my laptop on our wireless network. Fun stuff. Get up, check the weather, sports, all that good stuff. I’m going to have some real fun with this…

Later.