[F1GTR]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ADME:B:SS:US:1

Why are people so damn stupid?

Here's the link to the real auction for this pair of 010's.

http://cgi.ebay.com/SONY-QUALIA-010-...QQcmdZViewItem

I mean seriously now. If you were going to try and pull this kind of completely amateur night crap wouldn't you at least wait a few more weeks for the official completed auction to leave the archive so that people can't backsearch it to see that you're a total fraud?

I'm just astounded by the massive amount of ignorance some people exhibit.

 

[Edwood]

This is not at all surprising.

There are have been so many R10 eBay scams. Completely cut and pasted too.

-Ed

 

[)v(ajin_R_]

yet theres still bids for it

 

[socrates63]

so when you guys spot these obvious scams, what do you do beside post here? Do you alert the bidders or report them to ebay? Sorry if this question has been asked before.

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by socrates63 so when you guys spot these obvious scams, what do you do beside post here? Do you alert the bidders or report them to ebay? Sorry if this question has been asked before.

Yes.

Report report report.

-Ed

 

[cheechoz]

How can ebay not have some sort of rules for this. I just don't see how it can be that easy for someone to put up an identical, fraudulent auction like this!

 

[Carl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheechoz How can ebay not have some sort of rules for this. I just don't see how it can be that easy for someone to put up an identical, fraudulent auction like this!

The ebay staff work on the following three principles: See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.

 

[gpalmer]

I reported a scam to them where someone was trying to sell a set of headphones and an amplifier I bought. At least when I checked back the fraudsters account was closed...

 

[nspindel]

I've been an eBay'er since 1998, never have been involved in a scam until now. To be honest, I'm real turned off to the whole eBay way of thinking that they are hands off from the transaction, which completely opens the door to this kind of fraud. I've been selling a lot on Amazon lately, and while their fees are MUCH higher, the fraud possibilities are much, much less because they handle all the finances. By the time I've found out that something has sold, the money is already in my account. When buying of course, you can still encounter fraudulent sellers, but that's why you count on the feedback - not foolproof but better than nothing.

Check out this thread:

http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=157072

 

[nspindel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gpalmer I reported a scam to them where someone was trying to sell a set of headphones and an amplifier I bought. At least when I checked back the fraudsters account was closed...

The fraudsters almost always have an account that was created the day the fraud began, with no feedback.

So what does shutting the account down accomplish? The low-life just goes and opens another account with a new free email address....

 

[Sugano-san]

Quote:

Originally Posted by socrates63 so when you guys spot these obvious scams, what do you do beside post here? Do you alert the bidders or report them to ebay? Sorry if this question has been asked before.

I would be interested in the answer to this as well.

Btw, I am currently having a lot of fun with a scammer who's trying to sell me a guitar (in Europe) that was offered on US eBay in December and which is apparently located in LA. My friend, however, tells me it is in Spain and he's going to DHL it to me as soon as I pay him the purchase price (which is about 1/4 to 1/3 of the US price). I am sorry I can't see his face when I finally confront him with the facts...

 

[TLC]

Unfortunately, internet sellers and so-called internet auctioneers are generally not held to a licensure standard. I am a licensed auctioneer in the State of Texas, and this is a big issue for traditional auctioneers. A state license is required here because auctioneeers handle large quantities of other people's money, and there is the opportunity for fraud. They key, of course, is other people's money. There really isn't a way to regulate someone selling their own property. However, the moment someone trusts you with assets, in some cases everything they ever owned, you must be accountable and personally responsible.

In the view of many auctioneers, and even in the eBay policy statements and user agreements, eBay isn't an actual auction. They aren't actual auctioneers because they hold no real responsibility for the transaction. In the outside world, if a deal goes bad the auction house takes responsibility. Of course, that costs money, but you fix it because your name, and your ability to continue in business (the license) are on the line.

I have always thought eBay has the ideal business model: no product, no inventory, take a small fee from millions of people, accept no responsibility. Perfect.

Over the years I have reported a few suspected scams. Like others have said here, the warning signs are always the same: low price, no selling history, cash payment methods, stock photos, no answers or impolite answers to questions, and suspicious bidder activity on an item.

Caution is the word of the day. If it's too good to be true, then it's too good to be true. There's no such thing as the $5 Mercedes, unless its bullet-riddled corpse caught fire, sank in a toxic lagoon, left an oil spill, and you are now responsible for recovery, cleanup, fines, and site restoration - all for the low opening bid of $5.

Be careful out there!

TC

 

[Bostonears]

Quote:

Originally Posted by )v(ajin_R_ yet theres still bids for it

The bidding could be from another account held by the seller himself, to kick start other bids (a practice that violates eBay's rules, by the way).

 

[cazoo]

http://cgi.ebay.com/SONY-QUALIA-010-...QQcmdZViewItem

the scammer posted the same auction twice! this one says the item is located in germany.

 

[F1GTR]

You know...possibly because it was spaced out differently but I just now noticed that the guy even copied and pasted the description from the original auction word for word.

The guy is a serious contender for the 2006 Darwin Award and we're still in January.