ebay scam?!?

vchizzle

vchizzle

Zomb!e Nine, DFZ
Joined
Apr 28, 2012
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8,354
Location
WI
http://www.ebay.com/itm/PRS-TONARE-GRAND-w-PICKUP-/172666378224?&_trksid=p2056016.l4276

This seller has a BUNCH of items listed like this. Don't bid, pay $1500 through some invoice outside of ebay? Every high dollar item(lots of guitars) is $1500. There are lots of bids up on these items, which the seller claims will be removed. I went through their feedback which is 100% positive and it's all low dollar items, most less than 20 GBP.

I'd love a $1500 Tonare Grand or PS Santana.
 
The listings violate eBay rules because he says that all selling is through his outside website, not through eBay which is specifically not allowed. eBay is not an advertising only site. He is trying to avoid paying the eBay seller fees.

I hit the 'report item' button at the right on the listing even with the 'description' headline.

Report Category: Listing Practices
Reason for Report: Offer to buy or sell outside eBay
Detailed Reason: Listing states a buyer can purchase the item outside of eBay

I detest cheaters.
 
rugerpc said:
The listings violate eBay rules because he says that all selling is through his outside website, not through eBay which is specifically not allowed. eBay is not an advertising only site. He is trying to avoid paying the eBay seller fees.

I hit the 'report item' button at the right on the listing even with the 'description' headline.

Report Category: Listing Practices
Reason for Report: Offer to buy or sell outside eBay
Detailed Reason: Listing states a buyer can purchase the item outside of eBay

I detest cheaters.
Click to expand...
That's kinda what I initially thought. The listings look fine with plenty of pics and correct info. The pricing thing just freaked me out a little. Lots of big money items all at $1500?
 
Good place to tell my Craigslist story. It's been a few years now but I found a listing in Chicago for 2 SE's and a core Tremonti for $800 total with pictures and all. I felt just like you are now...this has got to be bogus, but I figured I'd see what I could find out. I sent a response and the guy answered back. I got the whole backstory. He wanted the money for a film he was making blah blah blah. I just flat out asked him "You know they go for a lot more, right?" He assured me he did but he wanted to buy some camera and that was all he needed and didn't want to wait for someone to buy at the going rate. Well, it still seemed crazy, but I tried it. I sent the money by PayPal and he sent me email messages saying they were boxed up and he would send them Fed Ex the next day. When I didn't get a tracking number the next day I sent an email. He would say he was traveling and his wife was supposed to mail them. Always some excuse. After a couple times of this I just had PayPal return the money. When they did he was all angry and telling me how I blew it and I lost out on an amazing deal. What he didn't know when he was flapping his gums about me being wrong, was that while PayPal was investigating the claim, I found his same exact CL ad in Houston Texas. I forwarded that to PayPal help them make the right choice. Then I just asked him why his ad was also in Houston? Silence for a time and then he hung up.

We all would like to find a super deal and that is what these predators are counting on.
 
My most recent disappointment was that I was promised first crack at a guitar a guy was thinking about selling only to get a message that he sold it to someone else without ever finding out if I still wanted it.

It's the internet. It really is true that you shouldn't trust anyone unless you have met them personally. That's difficult for me because i really want to take people for their word.
 
rugerpc said:
My most recent disappointment was that I was promised first crack at a guitar a guy was thinking about selling only to get a message that he sold it to someone else without ever finding out if I still wanted it.

It's the internet. It really is true that you shouldn't trust anyone unless you have met them personally. That's difficult for me because i really want to take people for their word.
Click to expand...

Sh!t Bill, I forget a lot of stuff. Wasn't me, was it?
 
That seller's pics look very familiar, been around for years. The grassy yard background, always a woman holding the guitars... usually private stock stuff that looks pretty rad. Is it really a full on scam because he's trying to avoid some eBay fees?
 
The website he linked in the eBay listings (yes multiple listings for lots of different things) ALL listed the same website where you could buy instead of bid. The listings were for everything from guitars to sewing machines and Viet Nam photos.

Everything, EVERYTHiNG had a selling price of $1500. You were supposed to put in the eBay auction number, the description and pay.

Still sound legit?

All the eBay links are now broken as they remove his listings - over 2000 of them.
 
rugerpc said:
The website he linked in the eBay listings (yes multiple listings for lots of different things) ALL listed the same website where you could buy instead of bid. The listings were for everything from guitars to sewing machines and Viet Nam photos.

Everything, EVERYTHiNG had a selling price of $1500. You were supposed to put in the eBay auction number, the description and pay.

Still sound legit?

All the eBay links are now broken as they remove his listings - over 2000 of them.
Click to expand...

That damn Prince from Nairobi, at it again!
 
The Prince of Nairobi tells me that I am descendant from British Royalty and that they are looking for heirs to a fortune in a Nairobi bank....
 
LJD said:
That seller's pics look very familiar, been around for years. The grassy yard background, always a woman holding the guitars... usually private stock stuff that looks pretty rad. Is it really a full on scam because he's trying to avoid some eBay fees?
Click to expand...
Different ebay seller. The one I linked was from CA, the one you're talking about is NJ. I didn't see any auctions with those pics, I would've recognized instantly and contacted to see if they'd been hacked. Unless I missed some auctions that you speak of? All of them that I viewed were super short sales - with around 6 hours left on pretty much all the auctions.
 
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I'm not going to say one way or another, but the scammer in question posts some very familiar pictures.

The guy in California that carries a lot of high end gear (http://www.ebay.com/usr/cwh1?rt=nc - I'm not promoting him, I have not done business with him, but you can look for yourself) has had very similar surroundings in his auctions. However, he embeds them in his auctions instead of attaching them all. The grass is very similar, as are the structures. The woman appears to be the same as well (she stopped doing pictures for his auctions....he used to have a disclaimer about people asking about her).

I'm leaning towards scam....but I might be wrong.
 
BMiller said:
I'm not going to say one way or another, but the scammer in question posts some very familiar pictures.

The guy in California that carries a lot of high end gear (http://www.ebay.com/usr/cwh1?rt=nc - I'm not promoting him, I have not done business with him, but you can look for yourself) has had very similar surroundings in his auctions. However, he embeds them in his auctions instead of attaching them all. The grass is very similar, as are the structures. The woman appears to be the same as well (she stopped doing pictures for his auctions....he used to have a disclaimer about people asking about her).

I'm leaning towards scam....but I might be wrong.
Click to expand...
Just so there's no confusion, the link you posted above is not the name of the seller I originally questioned. Also a different seller than the NJ seller I mentioned earlier who also has a blonde female holding guitars at an outdoor photo location. As far as I know this one and the NJ seller are both following eBay rules and legit. I think the offending sellers listings are all done and/or pulled. The guy you linked, I think I've bought from on TGP before and had zero issues.
 
The original seller has had his 'auctions' removed by eBay.

The others sellers that members are posting here are legit as far as I know. Lots of people take pics outside because the light is better. One guy's grass looks like other grass. There are only so many ways to hold or display a guitar. Things will look similar.

If we're going to tar and feather scammers (and we should), let's concentrate on things that really look suspicious, not just similarities in photos to other listings. Things like (but not limited to):

• Obvious flaws not mentioned in the listings
• Fakes of branding
• Errors/illegal practices in listings.
 
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