Don't even think about bidding onthis Edeophone. The pictures and the description have been ripped off from my original listing in September of this year. The concertina is currently in Australia, with a very happy new owner.

Have you reported it to ebay David?

First thing I did. Posting a warning here was the second. Even if eBay remove it promptly, it may be back. The last time this happened to one of my listings, it showed up four times more in quick succession, with a new user ID every time.

Hi David,

That is my Edeophone and yes it is still "In the Land Downunder". Notice that the seller has not quoted the SN.

Sadly there are currently seven people bidding for it. Ebay should have stopped it by now.

Cheers!

Andie

Still there, but I have reported it as well.

I bid £7,000. That should preempt other bids, I'd imagine.
In any case, the scam having been reported, EBay will probably remove the auction.
And if it goes through I can always claim that I meant to bid only £700.

Nice one!
I have just asked the seller if I can call in and see it tomorrow.

You are not going to pay £700 to the scammer are you?

Hah-- not likely. Unless I get an Edeophone...
I do wish EBay would cancel the auction.

Hi,
Just looked at EBay. It is still up for auction. Must be 24 hours at least since it was reported
Hope nobody pre empts the auction and nips in with a cash offer.
Mike.

Hi there.

Having popped a bid on this super looking 'tina, I thought that I would wander over to these fine pages to see what was new.

It would appear just as well that I did!

Though having emailed the seller earlier he has sent me some very nice pictures of the the reed pans etc.

Sadly he declined to make me a video so that I may hear the tones.

Though he did ask if I was interested in a quick cash sale.

The serial number from the outside label reads 48877 with this number being repeated on the inside.

I only hope eBay pulls it soon as my bid was quickly surpassed probably by someone who may not have the benefit of this site.

I would imagine your bid was outdone by cocusflute so I wouldn't worry too much unless you bid 8 grand and were outbid ...

Assuming that Cocusflute is the current high bidder at £4100, the distressing thing from my point of view is that someone out there was prepared to bid £4000. Given that I sold it for £1500, I'm starting to feel a little hard done by! Of course, it may just be that someone else from this fine community has also put on a silly bid!

The serious point is that the listing is still there more than 36 hours after at least two people have told eBay that it's a scam. Really disgraceful.

A couple of us should bid really high- over £100,000. Push it insanely. Make it clear that this is a scam.
Then perhaps Ebay will get serious regarding the scammer.
But how did the scammer get pictures of the reed pan?
I'd love to read what the scammer's responses have been.

No reply to my request for a private viewing.

He did answer my request for a private viewing and sent me pictures of the reed pans:

hi,

i have attached alot of pictures to see it.

i will prefer to send you the concertina.

also are you interested in a quick sale?
please let me know!

Greg

Perhaps in the forlorn hope of a big Final Value Fee???

MC

Here is the reply I received:

hi,

here are the pictures.
sorry i can't make a movie!! but play GREAT!!
also are you interested in a quick sale?

Greg

Also interesting to note that "Greg" has zero feedback, always a worry.

Good point. Dave R. or Andie, is #48877 indeed the serial number of the original instrument? If so, did your (Dave's) original eBay listing include those additional photos? Or did you email them to individuals who asked for more pics?

Bidding has gone back down to £255 - anyone know why?

[quote
But how did the scammer get pictures of the reed pan?
I'd love to read what the scammer's responses have been.
[/quote]

They were in my original listing - the scammer didn't use them all. Too expensive for him, perhaps?

The pictures were in the original listing.

Can't explain it, but I have just complained once again to eBay. If they have unilaterally removed the spoof bid(s), all they have achieved is to give the scammer a much better opportunity to offer a quick "sale" for cash.

I just noticed that the copy of my complaint sent to my own address came from "eBay Member: bramblejam" rather than from the eBay Safety Centre. Does this mean that someone is intercepting complaints, or am I just being paranoid? I forwarded it to the spoof@ebay address to check it out. Watch this space!

Hi
All this reinforces my feelings that I wouldn't touch ebay with a barge pole-let alone money
chris

Reason why the bidding dropped down: the following message ended up in my bulk mail and I didn't see it till just now. I will let somebody else bid to spoil his auction, having done my part for truth and justice. If we all bid lots and lots he'd have a hard time canceling us all.

David's original listing:http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=280150193536

If you haven't already, maybe you should reply with something like:

"You doubt me?
I'm sure, sir, that I'm just as real as you."

Yes, that was me. I bid £4000. My bid has now been cancelled by the seller because I'd previously sent him a rude email. I am now barred from bidding on the item. If he turns a bid of £4000 down, which pushed the highest bid by Cocusflute up to £4100, then he knows it is a scam! As I write this, the listing is still there at 22.27GMT. Sorry to get your hopes up David that a genuine bidder might be prepared to bid that sort of money for a Lachenal Edeophone and especially that far in advance of the end of the auction.

Chris

I would love to mess with this guy, and I'm not banned from bidding, yet. However, the possibility remains (does it not?), that if this auction closes full term, I win, and do not pay, that this wingnut could give me negative feedback, right?

It's gone!! And about time too.

"...if this auction closes full term, I win, and do not pay, that this wingnut could give me negative feedback, right?"

No- EBay allows for bids placed in error. I was prepared to say, if I had in fact won, that I had only bid £700 but a bid of £7,000 had been entered in error. Next time we see something like this we should all bid ridiculous figures.

I sent EBay the numbers both for the real and the scam auctions. Three hours later the auction was disappeared.

Thank you all for your help and support. It's good to know that we can beat the scammers!

I reported it to Ebay as well last night, on the basis that even if he did have a genuine concertina for sale, it's still an Ebay offence to copy the text and pictures from another person's listing, which he clearly has done. Seems our combined efforts have worked.

Chris

Hi again,

Jesus! I didn't think my concertina could cause so much trouble David!

Thanks to everyone for keeping the game straight!

Cheers!

Andie

You don't want to sell it by any chance, Andie?

Chris

Sorry to disappoint you Chris but I will be hanging onto this baby for a while to come. Unlike some, I am an avid concertinist in search of quality instruments to perform with.

Don't give up on eBay! If it wasn't there we would miss it. And If it wasn't for the idiosyncratic nature of the online auction, things would be alittle boring.

Cheers!

Andie

Is this back again? Last week I got an email offering to sell me this instrument at what seems an attractive price. The seller calls himself David Wilson. Does any one have any information or follow-up to last November's postings?

Look at this thread - same name.
http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php...rt=0#entry76953