Following is a very fishy e-mail exchange I had a while back with someone who had found me through the eBay Trading Assistant portal. He disappeared when I insisted that I'd only be able to work with him if he signed my standard contract agreement and provided verifiable ID. I'm not quite sure what exactly he was up to ... but something! Any eBay TA's here who've encountered anything like this? What exactly is the scam?

First e-mail:

Dear ,

Hello, I am looking for a trading assistant and I've found your ad. I work at the warehouse and can buy some of electronics at manufacturer's price. Just want to ask if you can sell on ebay instead of me. Please email me how much do you charge for your service and any other necessary information. Thanks Max Merr

Thank you,
Max Merr

Second e-mail (after I responded):

Hello,

Thanks for your reply. I work at the warehouse in CA and can buy some of the electronics at manufacturer's price. However I am very short of time to sell something on ebay by myself. I need a person who can list the items, answer buyer’s questions and receive payments. We have our own shipment department so I can ship the items directly to the buyer to save our time and money.

This is how I see our business relationship:

1. I will email you the list of the products I have for sale. You list the auctions and receive payments for the items. All products are brand new and you can use stock photos. After that you email me buyer's shipping information including phone number (for shipping company).

2. I will ship via UPS Ground within 4-5 business days and will email you all the tracking info.

3. Once the product received and inspected by the buyer you will forward payment to me. Of course less your commission and ebay fees.

I accept e-gold (www.e-gold.com) as a payment method. This is absolutely the same as paypal but cheaper and more convenient for me.

I am ready to pay 15% commission since I will ship myself and all items are brand new so you won't need to write description and can use stock photos.

I welcome any offers and comments regarding above terms!

Thanks
Max