Spam emails like the one below seem to be common. I normally just delete them, but occasionally I decide to have a bit of fun - as I did with the one below:

Email as I received it:

Hello Sales, I am interested in purchasing some of your products, I will like to know if you can ship directly to Australia, I also want you to know my mode of payment for this order is via Credit Card. Get back to me if you can ship to that destination and also if you accept the payment type I indicated. Kindly return this email with your Website. I await your quick response. Kind Regards. Dale Miller 1-7 CNR Ashem Park Drive & Wells Road, Pershing Heights, VIC 3896 Tel :- +61 7 3296 1626 Fax:- 61 7 9953 6810

My Reply:

Hello to you too, Dale Miller,
It is indeed your lucky day! As a matter of fact I do ship directly to Australia.

I can see from your email that you have spent a lot of time on my website and know my product line well. I am always pleased to do business with such a discriminating consumer. It is in fact rare clients such as yourself, that makes my chosen profession worthwhile.

I do not take credit cards directly, but that is a minor point as I am sure you will soon agree. I have a more than reasonable workaround that will allow you to use your credit card to purchase my products.

Being the fair businessman that I am, I only charge for my labor performed and do not take advantage of what the market will bear. With that in mind, my rate for labor is two chickens per day. I believe this is the going rate in much of the world and you must agree this could not be considered gouging.

If you would just let me know which of my products you would like to purchase, I will email you with the price in chickens (including shipping costs to Australia) and assign your order a number. I will then direct you to a website where you can purchase the required number of chickens with your credit card. Please send said chickens directly to me with a note indicating the order number. Please also be aware that I do not deal in fractions of a chicken. Therefore please round the price up to the nearest whole chicken.

Yours truly,
Mr. S. Sales