[kramer5150]

Not sure where to post this...  Mods I am sorry if this is off topic, please just delete if it is against rules.  I just wanted to give a heads-up that this at least appears to be a scam of some sort.  Possibly a chinese coin-scam.  Definitely pay with paypal and do not wire transfer the $$ !!!
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Little-Dot-MK-III-Headphone-Tube-Amplifier-Stereo-Amplifier-/171035236990?pt=US_Wholesale_TV_Video_Home_Audio&hash=item27d27e9a7e

 

[szwety]

But what if it's real! LOL, that's so sketchy.  Dude also has a Matrix Mini-i dac as well as the little dot dac...

 

[kramer5150]

Thats a big part of how the scams like this work, IF this is indeed one.  They get people thinking it is real, or get people to bite on a chance that its real.  Users start to justify it mentally "Its only $60, I can take a risk on it.  Who would bother running a scam over $60?"
 
Looking at the seller history, his feedback profile is mostly  low value "junk".
 
beware

 

[evilhippie]

It looks to me to be a hacked account most likely.  I already went through the refund process once buying a fake colorfly c3 some months ago, and it wasn't as painless as I thought it would be.  I had to wait twice as long for a refund because the seller decided to send me a tracking number to delay the resolution a few weeks.  When I received the package all I got inside was an empty sd card case.  It could have been anything I imagine, the point was just to print up a tracking number so the resolution process would be delayed.  I also don't think ebay will refund the shipping fee, just the principal auction price.  I see that people are still falling for this scam, so buyer beware.  If its too good to be true it only means that it isn't.

 

[cheuh]

Don't waste your time... anything that costs $10 + $50 shipping on ebay from China is a scam.

 

[kramer5150]

Quote:

It looks to me to be a hacked account most likely.  I already went through the refund process once buying a fake colorfly c3 some months ago, and it wasn't as painless as I thought it would be.  I had to wait twice as long for a refund because the seller decided to send me a tracking number to delay the resolution a few weeks.  When I received the package all I got inside was an empty sd card case.  It could have been anything I imagine, the point was just to print up a tracking number so the resolution process would be delayed.  I also don't think ebay will refund the shipping fee, just the principal auction price.  I see that people are still falling for this scam, so buyer beware.  If its too good to be true it only means that it isn't.

Thats also part of how the scam works.  The seller packs and ships any low value piece of junk, and sends the tracking number.  Shipping needs 1-3 weeks from China to the rest of the world to delay the process.  I was lucky, when I was a victim of a coin scam in that the price of tracking + return shipping + packaging materials was almost as much as the item auction itself.  So Ebay sided with me and issued a charge-back immediately.  But I had to make a phone call to an ebay resolution center agent.  I was able to escalate my claim as a case of "False representation, item not as described".

 

[szwety]

Quote:

It looks to me to be a hacked account most likely.  I already went through the refund process once buying a fake colorfly c3 some months ago, and it wasn't as painless as I thought it would be.  I had to wait twice as long for a refund because the seller decided to send me a tracking number to delay the resolution a few weeks.  When I received the package all I got inside was an empty sd card case.  It could have been anything I imagine, the point was just to print up a tracking number so the resolution process would be delayed.  I also don't think ebay will refund the shipping fee, just the principal auction price.  I see that people are still falling for this scam, so buyer beware.  If its too good to be true it only means that it isn't.

 
Yeah that's some craziness.  I've never had to dispute anything on ebay, but I'm surprised they wouldn't refund your shipping too... especially if that's the bulk of the price.  I mean you clearly didn't get what you were bidding on...

 

[evilhippie]

Quote:

 
Yeah that's some craziness.  I've never had to dispute anything on ebay, but I'm surprised they wouldn't refund your shipping too... especially if that's the bulk of the price.  I mean you clearly didn't get what you were bidding on...

 


Well on another item I bought that was cancelled by the seller (a noppoo choc mini keyboard) ebay reported that I would be refunded the auction price with no mention of shipping, but the seller gave me a full refund.  I think its up to the seller's discretion whether to refund your shipping, so chances are ebay doesn't cover it.  I was lucky on that C3 auction since it was listed at 30GBP with free shipping, but it seems the scammers have changed up their game.

 

[goodvibes]

It's so when they accept the return, you're still out $50.

 

[snakeeater692]

The scam is to ship people junk item and then refund cost of item only (which is $9.90) when a dispute is made. Their scam is to make money off of shipping and handling. This seller has scammer written all over. There are 35 pour souls out there that fell for this scam and lost at least $50. Shipping from China is going to be at least 3-4 weeks giving the scammer enough time to get the money and disappear. Ebay/PayPal won't be able to do crap and since the money is gone. The buyer is out of luck. The Chinese authorities won't go after the scammers for sure.

 

[szwety]

http://pages.ebay.com/coverage/index.html
 
As an FYI, their buyer protection page says a bit different regarding the refund of shipping:
 
Quote:

3. We'll work quickly to get your money back We'll review the issue and get back to you within 48 hours. If you haven't received your item or received something that wasn't as described, eBay will refund your full purchase price plus original shipping.

 
Obviously this doesn't mean I would go off and buy this obvious scam, but if you did happen to, according to ebay, you should be entitled to the full sum of your purchase.  Now obviously there are caveats to this protection and I'm SURE it's not as easy as click a button and get money, but I feel like ebay has the buyers back in most cases.  Hopefully I (or anyone else for that matter) will ever have to find out!

 

[kramer5150]

Quote:

http://pages.ebay.com/coverage/index.html
 
As an FYI, their buyer protection page says a bit different regarding the refund of shipping:
 
Quote:
 
Obviously this doesn't mean I would go off and buy this obvious scam, but if you did happen to, according to ebay, you should be entitled to the full sum of your purchase.  Now obviously there are caveats to this protection and I'm SURE it's not as easy as click a button and get money, but I feel like ebay has the buyers back in most cases.  Hopefully I (or anyone else for that matter) will ever have to find out!

x2... Yeah buyers are protected in writing.  But its up to the buyer to research the terms and pursue justice.  Ebay will not take initiative to voluntarily give up the $$.
 
I don't know what happens if the scammer withdraws funds, closes the associated bank account and locks out ebay  / paypal from the funds.  In my case the scammer was still scamming and taking orders by the time my case was handled, so the paypal CS clerk just issued the charge-back.  IE he hadn't actually closed shop yet.  The other thing I had going for me was that shipping / handling / tracking the item back was almost as $$$ as the item itself.  So the paypal CS clerk sided with me in thinking it was pointless to ship it back.  At the time I got shipping quotes from USPS, fed-ex and UPS.  UPS was 2x the price of the others so thats the quote I used for the case.
 
In all it was a ~3 week turnaround in my case from order placement to refund received.  Even after my case was closed, EBAY / PP STILL HADN'T CLOSED THE SALE AUCTION, OR SCAMMER ACCOUNT!!!  So the scammer was still taking orders.
 
I have heard / read others on other gear-centric forums say things like..."I 'll take a gamble on it anyways... I can just pursue a refund through paypal."  IMHO its wise not to think this way... its not worth the effort.  I do not believe PP is willing to let go of the funds so easily if its a high $$$ item thats significantly more than return shipping charges.

 

[snakeeater692]

This seller is definitely going to run away with people's money and soon. All his more expensive item sales are all in May 2013. A perfect lump sum of $10K+ and growing. He's selling $200-400 stuff for $50-90 dollars with shipping. Even crooks with stolen goods do not sell stuff this cheap. One thing folks need to remember about ebay is when they can not take money from seller's account (because the account has been closed) then the buyer is screwed.
 

 

[jose_marti]

Thanks for the info

 

[DefQon]

All sold. Looking a the sellers feedback history, he sold a Fiio E17 amp/dac for the same price and received positive feedback from the buyer that they actually received it.