Scammed??... well, almost.

[trev2401]

I don't know if this is the right forum to be posting this but...


ok, so i won an M6 .85 ttl on beebay recently by accident through the "best offer" thingy.

Here's the item number: 150174377234

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=150174377234&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=005

The asking was around 1300$ (after shipping) and i countered with 1100$, and within 2 mins, the seller accepted the offer. (1st alarm bell)

So ok, fine... i received the usual email invoice thingy, with the seller asking me to pay immediately as the sale was originally a "Buy it now" with an 'Immediate Payment Required' tab. I didn't agree, as it had become a 'best offer' auction with payment not required to be sent immediately. (2nd alarm bell)

I proceeded to do my usual homework on asking him for his payment details, and most importantly a landline where i can contact him before making the payment. (to do the 411 trace, etc etc. )

I received 3 more emails asking me to pay immediately to his paypal address, with no word on his contact details. I replied that if he wished to receive the money, he would HAVE to provide me with some legitimate info on the camera, together with a picture of the serial # and a local newspaper dated within the week. To add to that, i also noticed that his last transaction was almost a year back. (3rd alarm bell)

Lastly, the item location was in Newton MA, but the paypal id showed a user who was located in calcutta. (searched his email, found his currently dated CV linked to the HR dpt of a company in India.) I then emailed him for an explanation and forwarded the email to his company's HR department. 😀

I've yet to receive a reply from him since and it's been almost a month. I've been monitoring his account and the account was originally registered in India, but has since gone through a name change.

Here are his details: lionking326

Just 3 days back, i noticed the same camera come on the auction site under the new nick and a new location, this time in SD, Socal. Did the usual report thingy to ebay, and the auction was removed.

To those looking for M6 .85s on ebay, take a look at the link above, and watch out for any M6s looking similar to that.

On a parting note, as they usually say, "if it's too good to be true, etc etc". I for one, am done with ebay, am trying to find out how to shut my account down.


Sorry for the long post.

Thanks guys.

Trevor

 

[M. Valdemar]

The only flaw in this is that your insistence on photos with the newspaper, phone number etc, is entirely wrong when you want these things AFTER bidding and winning the auction.

If you have requirements like this, you are completely wrong to insist on them after the auction. This should all be asked first, before bidding.

You don't close an auction with a bid and do your due diligence afterwards, even if you have the best intentions.

 

[M. Valdemar]

Well, you feel self righteous because you avoided being scammed. You came out OK.

But as a seller, if someone bid and won on some item of mine, then gave me a laundry list of tasks to do such as taking a photo with a newspaper, etc., I would not want to cooperate.

If he asked before bidding, depending on my feelings about him, then I might or might not.

But you were wrong, even though the outcome turned out to be in your favor. It is not correct behavior.

 

[trev2401]

The only flaw in this is that your insistence on photos with the newspaper, phone number etc, is entirely wrong when you want these things AFTER bidding and winning the auction.

If you have requirements like this, you are completely wrong to insist on them after the auction. This should all be asked first, before bidding.

You don't close an auction with a bid and do your due diligence afterwards, even if you have the best intentions.

Well, my bad... i did ask him for further information about the camera, make,age, ownership, etc etc before the auction. The only reply he gave me was to submit and offer, and we'll talk about it after as the camera was "with his mother." (i kid you not.)

I guess i bit down on the bait a bit too quickly. 🙁

 

[trev2401]

Well, you feel self righteous because you avoided being scammed. You came out OK.

But as a seller, if someone bid and won on some item of mine, then gave me a laundry list of tasks to do such as taking a photo with a newspaper, etc., I would not want to cooperate.

If he asked before bidding, depending on my feelings about him, then I might or might not.

But you were wrong, even though the outcome turned out to be in your favor. It is not correct behavior.

No i do not feel "righteous" in any way. In fact, i still feel kinda upset.

Normally, i would have paid almost immediately, but some of his actions did indeed prove to be suspicious only after the auction was closed.

Yes, i guess i was wrong to have closed the auction prematurely. But i'm happy that we've all discovered another hijacked account and saved someone some money.

 

[Pablito]

wow this is creepy. the auction looks totally legit on the surface.

 

[M. Valdemar]

Well, it's better to be wrong than to get gypped.

I wouldn't pay after I won an auction if I smelled a rat either.

 

[trev2401]

Well, you feel self righteous because you avoided being scammed. You came out OK.

But as a seller, if someone bid and won on some item of mine, then gave me a laundry list of tasks to do such as taking a photo with a newspaper, etc., I would not want to cooperate.

If he asked before bidding, depending on my feelings about him, then I might or might not.

But you were wrong, even though the outcome turned out to be in your favor. It is not correct behavior.

and btw,

i did NOT ask for a "laundry list" as you mentioned. I merely asked for a landline to contact him prior to me sending 1100$ to his account. This, from what i gather, is quite a common practice amongst everyone i know who does business on eboy or even here at RF.

 

[rich815]

>>>>I for one, am done with ebay...

Why? What did they do?

Best be careful. There are scammers in the real world too. Gonna leave that as well?

In seriousness though, thanks for the head's up on this guy and the M6's.

I've done hundreds of deals on eBay both buying and selling. Avoided a couple of scams but with proper prudence and a "if it's too good to be true..." mentality I get by just fine. Just like I do in the real world, offline of eBay, where I see and hear of scams all the time.

 

[trev2401]

my pleasure Rich...

I'm still a tad shaken by the thought of nearly being scammed though..

btw, how's it going in SF?

 

[rich815]

btw, how's it going in SF?

Very nice. We're finally having our "indian summer" now. BTW, I live in Albany and went to UCB.

Bet Tokyo is nice, eh?

 

[trev2401]

Very nice. We're finally having our "indian summer" now. BTW, I live in Albany and went to UCB.

Bet Tokyo is nice, eh?

Go bears!

hahaha... tokyo's just toooo !"#!"# crowded... I get squeeeezed, molested, beaten and bruised at 630am on the way to work daily.

I miss UCB, i miss the asian ghetto, i miss albany bowl.... and most of all,

I miss Looking Glass Photo where i used to work and print on the weekends.

🙁

 

[peterm1]

There are plenty of scams on eBay.

A week or so ago I saw some M8s one eBay at ridiculously low buy-now prices - I cant recall what they were but I do recall at the time thinking that it was only a fraction of their retail price. The location was somewhere in Asia from memory. I had to smile and wonder if anyone was silly enough to send money for such a questionable purchase.

I think you were right in being so careful. I would not pay in these circumstances. I doubt that you are risking bad feedback - a scammer would not risk it.

 

[trev2401]

There are plenty of scams on eBay.

A week or so ago I saw some M8s one eBay at ridiculously low buy-now prices - I cant recall what they were but I do recall at the time thinking that it was only a fraction of their retail price. The location was somewhere in Asia from memory. I had to smile and wonder if anyone was silly enough to send money for such a questionable purchase.

I think you were right in being so careful. I would not pay in these circumstances. I doubt that you are risking bad feedback - a scammer would not risk it.

Thank you .... 🙂

 

[Krosya]

wow this is creepy. the auction looks totally legit on the surface.

Not Really - it calls for a TTL, but seems to be a "Classic" M6 in the photos.

 

[Krosya]

Well, you feel self righteous because you avoided being scammed. You came out OK.

But as a seller, if someone bid and won on some item of mine, then gave me a laundry list of tasks to do such as taking a photo with a newspaper, etc., I would not want to cooperate.

If he asked before bidding, depending on my feelings about him, then I might or might not.

But you were wrong, even though the outcome turned out to be in your favor. It is not correct behavior.

I totally agree!
Also as a seller, I couold answer some of those issues while listing was still active, yet once auction is over - my understanding is that the winning bidder knew all they wanted to know prior to that and are ready to complete the transaction. I'll work with buyer within a reason, like a wait a few extra days to come up with the payment, etc, but give out my phone number, etc - no thank you!.
I suppose it's better to be safe than sorry and it paid off in this case, yet you can scare some sellers off, and create a bad rep for yourself as a difficult buyer.

 

[trev2401]

I totally agree!
Also as a seller, I couold answer some of those issues while listing was still active, yet once auction is over - my understanding is that the winning bidder knew all they wanted to know prior to that and are ready to complete the transaction. I'll work with buyer within a reason, like a wait a few extra days to come up with the payment, etc, but give out my phone number, etc - no thank you!.
I suppose it's better to be safe than sorry and it paid off in this case, yet you can scare some sellers off, and create a bad rep for yourself as a difficult buyer.

Duely noted.

I guess i've just been used to most of my buyers and sellers on ebay for big ticket items, linking up with me through the phone prior to the sending and receipt of payment. It's been almost 3 years with all positive comments so far with phone contact for 90% of my transactions.

Yes, perhaps I'm a difficult buyer. But i do ask all my questions before the auction closes. In this case, the alarm bells were ringing, and i decided to poke futher.

but thanks for your view on the phone call thingy... much appreciated. 😀

 

[Mike Ip]

As I buy a decent amount of stuff on ebay (>$100) I personally set some guidelines for myself. I've been using ebay since 1998 and haven't been ripped off once yet. The guidelines I follow are:

- I will not buy a high priced item from ANYONE that doesn't have a verified paypal account (i.e. the $2000 protection vs the $200 one)

- I will not buy a high priced item from anyone who hasn't sold another high priced item in the last 6 months.

- I will not buy a high priced item from anyone with feedback less than 25

- I will not buy a high priced item from any international (Canada excluded) seller unless they are reputable (i.e. Matsuiyastore (sp) or digifan).

- I will only pay credit card through paypal (never ever bank account)

- I will never 'buy it now' a good deal if the item's description or picture leave any critical information out

 

[trev2401]

thanks for the tips mike. 🙂

 

[peterm1]

I should add - always check feedback details.

Not just the all up score either. Make sure it's for selling similar goods and if the value of the sale is high make sure both the number of selling tansactions is high and the satisfaction score is high. If there is negative feedback read it carefully. I do not necessarily let a few negative comments deter me , if there are lots of transactions, especially if the comments / criticisms do not sound reasonable but I would be very wary of bidding on an item where the positive feedback is below say 99%. Anything less is too risky in my book.

Having said this as most people apply similar rules of thumb you will occasionally pick up a bargain by bidding on a moderately priced item being sold by someone with a low number of transactions simply becuse you will have few competitors.

If I have any doubts I usually email the seller with some questions. Even if I am not serious about the questions, what I really want is to see if the seller responds and how quickly he responds. My view is that if a seller cannot be bothered responding to a reasonable inquiry before he has successfully made a sale then you can count on him being uncommunicative and uncooperative if something goes wrong after a sale. I say this from bitter experience. A lack of good resonse will deter me from bidding like nothing else.