Ebay scammer

[gus]

See how easy it is done ? Have a look at 'Read feedback comments'

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=43454&item=3874073202

Whilst most of us here would smell a rat ...i thought i would post it up to so any newbies to Ebay in this forum can see how easy a scammer can get it from you.

This poor chap lost over $4000 0z.

[gubbs]

With expensive items on ebay I'll pretty much only go for it if I can collect & pay cash.

I have to say this is one of the less obvious ones, he has history as a seller for a number of reasonably priced items (I'd never trust a ticket tout though!)

[DavidTO]

eBay is evil. I refuse to use it.

[Seymore]

Looks more like an account that got hijacked? In less than a month, sells 25 tickets, 2 high dollar items and promptly leaves... Hmmmmmmmmm...

[Nee7x7]

I've been pretty leary of ebay, but my husband buys stuff there all the time. How can you tell a ripoff con from a valid seller? Was it the payment type, the price, or something else?

Also, what does it mean that an account may have been "hijacked"? Can online payments to valid sellers be hijacked in the same way? Sheesh...scary stuff!!!

I was just about ready to buy a new camera from one of their online stores (Cameta Cameras...I checked them out on a different ratings site...they're legit...or seem to be!). Now, I'm having second thoughts...

Thanks,
~Nee

[wxwax]

Good one, 'gus. :thumb


The two negative feedbacks were left after this auction closed, so no help there.

One way to sniff out potential trouble: what has this identity sold in the past? In this case, there's an unbroken string of low price tickets sales. And then suddenly, two high price consumer electronics items. Does not compute.

I don't know much about Bank Deposit Express - wonder if there's any protection for the buyer?

Also, you'll see a question asked at the bottom: 'Why is it at such a cheap price?" That's another warning sign - oddly low initial prices.

Something else to look for: check other eBay auctions for the identical item. Does the same photograph appear in more than one auction? If so, it's a scam and steer clear.

I hate eBay. Way too easy to get ripped off. And the final prices for photography gear are usually ridiculously high. Far better to go through our Flea Market or Fred Miranda's Buy/Sell forum.

I must say that you have to have finely tuned radar to spot ripoffs. If you do play on eBay, I reckon you should have to be convinced that it's safe to make a bid, rather than waiting to be convinced that it's a fraud.

[Seymore]

I've been pretty leary of ebay, but my husband buys stuff there all the time. How can you tell a ripoff con from a valid seller? Was it the payment type, the price, or something else? A combo of red flags to watch for. wxwax covered them...

Also, what does it mean that an account may have been "hijacked"? Can online payments to valid sellers be hijacked in the same way? Sheesh...scary stuff!!! To be "hijacked" takes a someone who is Phishing as DavidTO linked. They get your login info, and use your acct to steal. I don't think they can take your money from a legit sale (yet), but I don't sell on EBay, so I can't really talk to that aspect.

[Andy]

eBay is evil. I refuse to use it.

then, yer missing out on some great opportunities.

to wit:

* i recently sold a 3year old espresso machine for 90% of what i paid for it

* i recently bought three $1000 machines for $480 each off of a seller on ebay

* i recently sold en masse entire collection of thomas the tank engine wooden trains, tracks, buildings, etc. my 5 year old was over it... sold complete set for buyitnow price of $900 - approx 85% of what we paid for the items

i've been using ebay for a long time. never ever ever had a problem. i buy and sell stuff all the time. sold my oldest son's car even, via ebay motors! the thing about ebay, is you have to know how to avoid the scammers:

* guys who insist on western union money transfer
* they are from nigeria, eastern europe, or similar
* they are running 1-day or 3-day auctions
* the price is rediculously low

as with anything, caveat emptor. but don't fear ebay. embrace ebay!

[DavidTO]

then, yer missing out on some great opportunities.

to wit:

* i recently sold a 3year old espresso machine for 90% of what i paid for it

* i recently bought three $1000 machines for $480 each off of a seller on ebay

* i recently sold en masse entire collection of thomas the tank engine wooden trains, tracks, buildings, etc. my 5 year old was over it... sold complete set for buyitnow price of $900 - approx 85% of what we paid for the items

i've been using ebay for a long time. never ever ever had a problem. i buy and sell stuff all the time. sold my oldest son's car even, via ebay motors! the thing about ebay, is you have to know how to avoid the scammers:

* guys who insist on western union money transfer
* they are from nigeria, eastern europe, or similar
* they are running 1-day or 3-day auctions
* the price is rediculously low

as with anything, caveat emptor. but don't fear ebay. embrace ebay!

The scariest part of your message:

When I was a kid, and I'm sure you had a similar experience, the most expensive toy my parents ever bought me was an Erector Set. Even Lego was too expensive, and it was cheap in comparison (and boring in comparison) to Lego today. The things we buy our kids now. Even birthday parties. Used to be cake, ice cream and pin the tail on the donkey. Now if you don't get a Jolly Jump (moonbounce, whatever you call it), you're traumatizing your kids. Things have change a lot, and so has how money is spent on children. My 10 yo daughter has a 12" Powerbook and a 15 gb iPod...

As for eBay, Andy, I'm sure you're right. I'm just not gonna touch it. But then again (even though I work in the entertainment industry) I haven't had TV for 6 or 7 years.

[imax]

I've been pretty leary of ebay, but my husband buys stuff there all the time. How can you tell a ripoff con from a valid seller? Was it the payment type, the price, or something else?

Also, what does it mean that an account may have been "hijacked"? Can online payments to valid sellers be hijacked in the same way? Sheesh...scary stuff!!!

I was just about ready to buy a new camera from one of their online stores (Cameta Cameras...I checked them out on a different ratings site...they're legit...or seem to be!). Now, I'm having second thoughts...

Thanks,
~Nee
Hey ~Nee, I purchased my first Rebel from Cameta. They are out of Amityville NY if I'm not mistaken. Paid by CC and had the camera within two days exactly as described. No problems and whenever I had a question all I had to do was call and they would always answer my questions.

As for e-bay, I have been buying and selling things on e-bay for years. Never had one problem, but that's just me. Hope that helped.

Joe

[Nee7x7]

Hey ~Nee, I purchased my first Rebel from Cameta. They are out of Amityville NY if I'm not mistaken. Paid by CC and had the camera within two days exactly as described. No problems and whenever I had a question all I had to do was call and they would always answer my questions.

As for e-bay, I have been buying and selling things on e-bay for years. Never had one problem, but that's just me. Hope that helped.

Joe

Appreciate all the helpful info from everyone about ebay...and esp. the reassurances about Cameta, Joe!!! (Whew! that was a huge relief!) Now to go empty my pocketbook, LOL! :giggle

Cheers!
~Nee :rolleyes

[gus]

The shame of all this is that a chap here (camera re-seller) saw this auction taking place & emailed the highest bidder at the end of the auction to warn them that this was super stinky. No reply. I find it hard to think that someone buying a camera of this value couldnt see through the smoke & mirrors. But everyones new at some stage.

Nee there are a lot of very safe places to buy on Ebay its just that there isnt any huge savings to be had in the super safe stores. Have a look here at an example....

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=43456&item=3876957557&rd=1

This is one of our (0z ebay) sellers from Hong Kong that i have used. On the right you can see that he has been here since May 00 with over 3000 sales. You can also click on 'visit this sellers store'. Now this isnt 100% going to protect you from hijackers but i know this chap is ALWAYS here....so its like dealing with a local. If his site was lifted i would expect he would be onto it realy fast.

Gus

[Nee7x7]

The shame of all this is that a chap here (camera re-seller) saw this auction taking place & emailed the highest bidder at the end of the auction to warn them that this was super stinky. No reply. I find it hard to think that someone buying a camera of this value couldnt see through the smoke & mirrors. But everyones new at some stage.

Nee there are a lot of very safe places to buy on Ebay its just that there isnt any huge savings to be had in the super safe stores. Have a look here at an example....

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=43456&item=3876957557&rd=1

This is one of our (0z ebay) sellers from Hong Kong that i have used. On the right you can see that he has been here since May 00 with over 3000 sales. You can also click on 'visit this sellers store'. Now this isnt 100% going to protect you from hijackers but i know this chap is ALWAYS here....so its like dealing with a local. If his site was lifted i would expect he would be onto it realy fast.

Gus

What a shame that poor fellow didn't get the warning in time. Hope they nail the little slimeballs who did that! Really makes me want to go commando!!! :toni

What I'll do is probably call the toll free number for Cameta Camera to deal with them directly over the phone. They have been in business and on ebay for a number of years, (with a very high approval rating)...so I feel I should be OK buying from them, esp. after hearing what Joe had to say about his experience with them.

Amazing how the little nasties out there keep coming up with new ways to lie, cheat and steal from unsuspecting folks! My hubby buys from individuals on ebay...something that makes me sort of cringe a bit, but it's usually only cheaper stuff so it won't kill us if it's phony baloney! He once bought an "authentic" NFL team hat for really cheap on ebay...turned out to be a fake, poorly made imitation one, LOL! I haven't let him live that one down yet! :rofl

Cheers!
~Nee :rolleyes

[JohnR]

I have bought and sold on ebay for awhile now (Member since: Jun-18-02) and have had 0 problems so far.

A great search engine for Ebay is
http://www.vivisimo.com

[wxwax]

One thing I like about the FM buy/Sell group is that they are pretty good about spotting a scam.

Here's the sale on ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=4687&item=3879413739&rd=1

And here's their response.
http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/193227

Good points made.

[Shay Stephens]

Same here. I use ebay to buy and sell photo equipment. I only sell to people in the same country I am in. Don't accept the money transfer stuff wither, no closing auctions early, etc.

Only had one situation where I got a flash that was DOA. Was able to work out returning it and turned around and bought another one. a few day later that I have been very happy with.

Sell high and buy low :-)

I want to get a slide scanner next.

then, yer missing out on some great opportunities.
as with anything, caveat emptor. but don't fear ebay. embrace ebay!

[TOF guy]

I want to get a slide scanner next.
Shay
Which one are you considering ? I've been told that Minolta and Nikon make the best slide scanners. Do you have some idea ?

Thierry