``DEAL GONE BAD - SCAM ALERT

POOLPLYR1111

POOLPLYR1111

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
First off I just want to admit that I am partially responsible because I fell for the PayPal "Friends & Family" payment request. So I will provide all the info I have on this POS so that others are aware.

I was the middleman to arrange this deal. An older gentleman at one of my local rooms asked if I could help him locate a Harry Richards cue. I posted here on AZ and received several responses. Deal was made for a snakewood Harry Richards cue with 1 shaft for $450. Seller asked if I could pay using PayPal " Friends & Family". I am a trusting person and agreed because I have used it in the past with no problems.

After payment was made I was asked if I could send him a screenshot of the PayPal payment which I did. After that the last I heard from this person was that the cue would be shipped in a day or 2. After further inquiries on shipping status I have not heard anything.

Below is any information I have on this person

Possible name Jake Russ. Said he was from West Virginia
Email is russjake199@gmail.com
Said he was going to give me his wife's paypal info
Email that was given to me is billy4677@gmail.com
Name of the woman that the PayPal payment went to is Maureen Ida McNamara
Cell Phone # 1 304-853-1716 <--Feel free to send him a quick text letting him know what a fine upstanding citizen he is

I have all emails and texts saved. If anyone happens to know this person please feel free to PM me. Maybe you can talk some sense into him and possibly salvage his reputation.

Thanks,
Ron
 
How did you fund the payment, credit card or through your bank? Have them reverse the payment. I would also open a case with PayPal to at the very least have them see what they can do about the scammer.

here is an article with more detail

donotpay.com

How To Get the PayPal Friends and Family Refund [2025 Guide]

Unfortunately, PayPal no longer offers refunds for Friends and Family payments under the Purchase Protection Program.
donotpay.com donotpay.com
 
Last edited:
D Bag - If you do F & F only with highly 'Trusted' friend of member.

Good luck,
Kat
 
That's exactly why if I see payment as ff. I keep on scrolling. To much scamming and big head ache. I just have patience something else will come along. Or we agree to split PayPal or I just pay it to not have the hassle. Sellers and dealers already have big mark up and want that 3 percent. All anyone has to do is add it in price and work with someone if not willing move along ,plenty of other sellers who will work with you
 
Starting next year PayPal will 1099 you selling anything via goods and services over $600, so virtually everyone will be doing f&f only
 
cueaddicts said:
Starting next year PayPal will 1099 you selling anything via goods and services over $600, so virtually everyone will be doing f&f only
Click to expand...
i think by then other payments will be made thru new means , including the ole dinosaur check . i still use checks believe it or not , i pay , electric , water, insurance, car home , vacation home. etc . because im like my dad was dont like dipping in my accounts and making mistakes , i dont know how many drafts companies made on me til i said eff it .good ole check rofl . the biggest stealer here is land taxes and homes, they never get it right , every yrear there is a mistake . and you think living in small community of 300 people and the closest city of 25,000 people could get it right .

im a 3rd gen farmer , i pay a ton of taxes already, if you run a business pay your taxes i dont like paying for others .
 
POOLPLYR1111 said:
First off I just want to admit that I am partially responsible because I fell for the PayPal "Friends & Family" payment request. So I will provide all the info I have on this POS so that others are aware.

I was the middleman to arrange this deal. An older gentleman at one of my local rooms asked if I could help him locate a Harry Richards cue. I posted here on AZ and received several responses. Deal was made for a snakewood Harry Richards cue with 1 shaft for $450. Seller asked if I could pay using PayPal " Friends & Family". I am a trusting person and agreed because I have used it in the past with no problems.

After payment was made I was asked if I could send him a screenshot of the PayPal payment which I did. After that the last I heard from this person was that the cue would be shipped in a day or 2. After further inquiries on shipping status I have not heard anything.

Below is any information I have on this person

Possible name Jake Russ. Said he was from West Virginia
Email is russjake199@gmail.com
Said he was going to give me his wife's paypal info
Email that was given to me is billy4677@gmail.com
Name of the woman that the PayPal payment went to is Maureen Ida McNamara
Cell Phone # 1 304-853-1716 <--Feel free to send him a quick text letting him know what a fine upstanding citizen he is

I have all emails and texts saved. If anyone happens to know this person please feel free to PM me. Maybe you can talk some sense into him and possibly salvage his reputation.

Thanks,
Ron
Click to expand...
I recently had a guy from here contact me trying to sell me a Harry Richards cue, he sent pics of only the butt and shaft tip. when i ask for more pics he said his uncle had the cue and that he would get them for me. He then went on to say if i sent him the $993 , which was an odd amount, he would ship the cue. I never heard form him again, ill look thru my pm's here and find his id here. He had a Central Florida phone number, however, it could have been a texting app. I never followed thru , felt he was a scam

i'll check his id here, and post it for all to see
 
cueaddicts said:
Starting next year PayPal will 1099 you selling anything via goods and services over $600, so virtually everyone will be doing f&f only
Click to expand...
From an IRS standpoint- when you sell something and make a profit, there is an income to be declared- it does not matter to the IRS who you sold the item to- a friend, family member, or stranger. So if this is a new IRS directive to Pay Pal, then why would they exclude F&F; unless, under the gift tax exclusion laws, there is some sort of way around a 1099 using F&F - not sure - but a lot of buyers of high end stuff are not going to be willing to buy under F&F in the future- too many scams going on now.

Most of us do know the sellers' reputations when we buy higher end cues, BUT- with F&F- going forward, you need to start making sure the cues are insured for mail damage/loss and you need to be sure the seller will accept a return if you happen to fall into dispute as to the stated condition of a cue.
 
mikemosconi said:
From an IRS standpoint- when you sell something and make a profit, there is an income to be declared- it does not matter to the IRS who you sold the item to- a friend, family member, or stranger. So if this is a new IRS directive to Pay Pal, then why would they exclude F&F; unless, under the gift tax exclusion laws, there is some sort of way around a 1099 using F&F - not sure - but a lot of buyers of high end stuff are not going to be willing to buy under F&F in the future- too many scams going on now.

Most of us do know the sellers' reputations when we buy higher end cues, BUT- with F&F- going forward, you need to start making sure the cues are insured for mail damage/loss and you need to be sure the seller will accept a return if you happen to fall into dispute as to the stated condition of a cue.
Click to expand...
If i take my hard earned paycheck that's taxed already & use my net funds towards a purchase, I have goods. If I take the same goods & sell them , I get my already taxed money returned. Its not profit, and taxing it again is bullshit. They sure as hell don't tax my ex wife a 2nd time on the child support she receives. And the reason is that the money was already taxed. So there's a complete double standard from our lovely IRS
 
I had a friend who purchased a set of motorcycle rims on eBay, using PayPal. After he sent money the other guy went ghost on him. He had paid G&S and eventually got his money back. Well several months later the rims showed up. The guy was put in jail shortly after the deal happened but before he could ship the rims. Eventually his girlfriend shipped them out. Not saying that is what’s happening here or anything like it, but I certainly hope you get either the cue or your money back.
 
juggernaut0629 said:
If i take my hard earned paycheck that's taxed already & use my net funds towards a purchase, I have goods. If I take the same goods & sell them , I get my already taxed money returned. Its not profit, and taxing it again is bullshit. They sure as hell don't tax my ex wife a 2nd time on the child support she receives. And the reason is that the money was already taxed. So there's a complete double standard from our lovely IRS
Click to expand...
Agree, that is where your vote comes into play- what else can we do?
 
juggernaut0629 said:
If i take my hard earned paycheck that's taxed already & use my net funds towards a purchase, I have goods. If I take the same goods & sell them , I get my already taxed money returned. Its not profit, and taxing it again is bullshit. They sure as hell don't tax my ex wife a 2nd time on the child support she receives. And the reason is that the money was already taxed. So there's a complete double standard from our lovely IRS
Click to expand...

Taxes get taken out multiple times on everything. You get money from your dad as an inheritance? Taxed, even though he paid taxes on the income to get that money. Buy a car new, taxed on sales tax. Buy that car used from someone, taxed again. Then you pay more "tax" in form of registration fees, license fees, excise tax, insurance requirements, inspections, tolls to use that car.

Sell something on eBay you already bought with money you were taxed on when earning and paid sales tax on already, they take out more tax on it. That's why I like to do simple cash or PayPal FF transactions in person with people. You hand them the item, they can see it, test it, you get the PayPal transfer right there or money in your hand.
 
yrp you get taxed on everything over and over. the one that bites me , in nc i buy brand new car ,taxed!! then its taxed every year . and you dont put how much its worth the county decides oh that truck is 5 years old but still worth so and so , taxed !!!! food !!! taxed .

people in some states brag bout not having alot of taxes , well i hate to tell you they are making it up somewhere , everyone gets taxed either out in open or hidden in a pork barrel .
 
In Illinois PayPal has been doing this for a couple years. If you bring in more than $1k and do more than 4 transactions in a year 1099-k time 🙄
 
This is really just another inconvenience. If you get a 1099 for merchandise sales you probably have a basis in what you sold. You may even have sold at a loss. It will be either a long term or short term gain or loss. Schedule D on your 1040. You are not required to claim occasional small sales of personal items if you are not in the business of selling, like garage sales. If you get a 1099 though, your will have to go through the exercise of running it through your return. The IRS isn't looking for the occasional seller with a few dollars of sales. They want those large sellers that haven't been claiming their profits and businesses excluding certain types of payments.
 
Last edited:
cueaddicts said:
Starting next year PayPal will 1099 you selling anything via goods and services over $600, so virtually everyone will be doing f&f only
Click to expand...

Not me, I will never buy OR sell anything of "real value" (that's a personal preference, my limit is probably around $50) and use F&F. My last cue purchase price was small enough (sub $200) I didn't even bother asking, I just paid the fees. My largest cue sale ($1000+) we split fees or I wouldn't have sold it.

There are four options for me:

1 - I pay fee if it's reasonable
2 - We split fee
3 - Buyer or seller pays fee
4 - I don't buy

It's not being a dick, it's protecting yourself and the other person, regardless if you're selling or buying ;)
 
ericdraven said:
yrp you get taxed on everything over and over. the one that bites me , in nc i buy brand new car ,taxed!! then its taxed every year . and you dont put how much its worth the county decides oh that truck is 5 years old but still worth so and so , taxed !!!! food !!! taxed .

people in some states brag bout not having alot of taxes , well i hate to tell you they are making it up somewhere , everyone gets taxed either out in open or hidden in a pork barrel .
Click to expand...

I'd be interested to know how you get taxed twice for the same vehicle. When you purchase a vehicle you have to pay sales tax on said vehicle, then you have to pay road taxes to drive on the road (clearly there are more details than "road" wrapped up in these fees) and that's done via your registration ala license plates (this is why some people push for toll roads - why do I have to pay for a road I don't drive on?). Although, it seems you're getting taxed twice for the same thing you're really not.

I do agree with your assessment of the grand scheme of taxes though. In my opinion, X number of people require Y number of dollars to properly support a city or state and that money comes from somewhere whether it's sales tax, use tax, road tax, beer tax, etc. - it comes from somewhere.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top