BEWARE - lots of Leica ebay fraud at the moment

[jackal2513]

A number of individuals have been 'had' recently by a seemingly mounting glut of fraudulent ebay auctions.

There is a thread on the Leica M8 forum for all to see but just to skim over the essential signs:


item located in austria
bank transfer only
possibly free postage
possible short auction
users email could well be xxx@gmx.at
bank name does not match with ebay name or original email name
sparse wording and poor english
possibly responds under the name of J. Nepp or Andreas Distel



If you watch the listings closely these things are springing up every single day. They have also set up a 'webshop' where presumbly they hope to further their activity with teh possibility of greater looking authenticity and transactions extranoues to ebay: www.photogear-at.com


Be very careful people.

 

[findwolfhard]

Fraud

Fraud

Yes, there were 2 Noctilux recently on Ebay!
In January and December some black enamel M2 , M3 bodies, - fotos obviously stolen from one of the Westlicht, Vienna auction catalogues.
Just check feedback carefully,- low number in the 20ties, all received as buyers of cheapo junk, NONE as seller! Very fishy!
Best regards Wolfhard

 

[nobbylon]

I reported 2 items yesterday, both from Austria, M4 black paint and a seperate lens listing. :bang: We should set up some fake evilbay accounts and just play them!

 

[Peter_Jones]

Tell them a friend in Nigeria will sent them a cheque for much over the amount if they will make a payment of the difference :angel:

 

[oscroft]

Ah, thanks for that. I'd noticed a few Leica items from Austria popping up recently, but I hadn't thought much of them as there is a genuine seller from Austria who sells Leica stuff from time to time.

But yes, all different sellers with low feedback, all either asking for bank transfer up front, or not including any payment details.

 

[jackal2513]

yep, they are 'selling' hasselblad gear as well
many of their auctions are being taken down though which is good

 

[branki]

In these cases bidding up to really high prices might help.😀

I remember people doing that a couple of years ago on a 7" record collector seller: after some investigating and asking around (in forums like this one) potential buyers/ record collectors found out the seller was a scammer and the sought-after copies of the records were only virtual.
I seem to remember everyone "contributed to the cause" and placed a fat bid, bringing the final price to an outrageous amount.
Isn't the buyer to pay a % of the final selling price to ebay?

 

[oscroft]

Isn't the buyer to pay a % of the final selling price to ebay?

Only if they actually get paid - if you don't get paid and make a "non-paying bidder" claim you either don't get charged or you get it refunded.

 

[Photon42]

[...]
possibly responds under the name of J. Nepp or Andreas Distel
[...]

"Nepp" in german means fraud. Tell these heros brother Antonio will take care ...

Rgds
Ivo

 

[Digital Dude]

I have a 100-percent rating on ebay but the one item I purchased on there, I got screwed. I will continue to sell although I will never buy anything on there ever again. Ebay is simply too damn risky these days’ and I believe this especially true when it comes to expensive camera gear.
Regards,:bang:

 

[Eric T]

I have done many purchases on eBay - mostly camera gear. I have to say that I have had nothing but great experiences. Of course, I am careful. I check the feedback and I like to see many transactions. I only purchase if the buyer uses paypal and has a reasonable amount on the paypal protection system. And I usually only purchase from sellers in my home country (USA). That is not a criticism of other countries at all. It's just that I feel I have some recourse if it is a seller in my country. If I lived in the EU, I would probably restrict myself to EU sellers.
With a little care, eBay is a great place to shop.

 

[Imagestreet]

Fraudulent eBay Leica M7

Fraudulent eBay Leica M7

Yikes

Thanks RFF members for the warning! I am currently bidding on an eBay Leica M7

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330219674529

Which has a suspiciously low price, no reserve and a seller who is based in UK but is selling it in Austria.

Thought it was too good to be true! I've reported the entry to eBay and emailed the UK based seller (he has his email address buried in a sale he made in Feb this year) to confirm this is a fraudulent entry.

I have to say I've bought about £4000 worth of camera gear over the past 2 years on eBay and not had any problems. If you stick to powersellers and high feedback account owners you are usually OK.

Cheers