Jack Bradshaw Posted October 21, 2004 Share Posted October 21, 2004 ???? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...3756570570&rd=1 Thanks Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theo Posted October 21, 2004 Share Posted October 21, 2004 It looks suspicious to me. The details appear to be identical to an auction on ebay UK which finished about a week ago. Text and photos appear to have been lifted directly. Would you buy anything from someone who chooses Sideshowbob as a trading name? Theo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted October 21, 2004 Share Posted October 21, 2004 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...3756570570&rd=1 Instrument looks great, but auction terms seem very unreal. I can understand your suspicion. Has anyone else seen this particular instrument for auction before? I might have missed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted October 21, 2004 Share Posted October 21, 2004 Would you buy anything from someone who chooses Sideshowbob as a trading name? The name doesn't bother me. I've known some pretty interesting people with some pretty interesting names. The details appear to be identical to an auction on ebay UK which finished about a week ago. Text and photos appear to have been lifted directly. This, on the other hand, is the connection we need. Scam. Fraud. Even if it were the original buyer reselling, they shouldn't be using the same text, saying, "AMAZINGLY, IT IS THE SECOND JONES 35 BUTTON ANGLO THAT WE HAVE FOUND THIS YEAR!" Thanks, Theo. Do you have the number for the earlier auction, so we can all tell eBay? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theo Posted October 21, 2004 Share Posted October 21, 2004 Do you have the number for the earlier auction, so we can all tell eBay? Unfortunately not, it was something I looked at briefly, but did not follow. Theo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theo Posted October 21, 2004 Share Posted October 21, 2004 The original was item number 3753304974. I have reported it to ebay. theo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Bradshaw Posted October 21, 2004 Author Share Posted October 21, 2004 Great ! Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Reid Posted October 22, 2004 Share Posted October 22, 2004 I see that this auction ended with no bids ... and without eBay having taken action. Now I kind of wish I had bid a token amount, just to see what would have happened. One thing (beyond the obvious factors) puzzled me about this listing. I believe all the scam auctions previously reported here have specified payment by money order or some other method in which the buyer has no recourse. This one said the seller would take PayPal, which affords some level of protection to the buyer and, I think, requires the seller to have a traceable bank account. Could the scammer just be that stupid, or is paying via PayPal just as risky as a money order? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Dickey Posted October 22, 2004 Share Posted October 22, 2004 Or could the real scam be that he was using this as a means of getting hold of other people's ebay account details in order to operate more scams? Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted October 22, 2004 Share Posted October 22, 2004 Or could the real scam be that he was using this as a means of getting hold of other people's ebay account details in order to operate more scams? Or just to contact potential marks outside of eBay? Absolutely! I sent an email asking how to become an "approved" bidder, and also asking two technical questions. I just received the response, well after the "auction" ended. It's a stock response, probably automated, which doesn't answer any of my questions: Dear buyer,as you can see i`m a serious seller with feedback! In order to be approved please inform us if you are a serious buyer. We also need to know if you have negative feedback. I apologize for asking these questions but I had a lot of problems with non paying bidders in the past. All our products are available for 5 days shipping The buy price is $2200 incl shipping (the price is not negotiable). The payment will be made by escrow. Regards, I suspect that the reason there were no bids is that no bidders were ever "approved" by the seller. That guarantees that there's no winner, which means there's no payment, which means that "accepting" PayPal is perfectly safe for the "seller". He has only said that he'll accept PayPal; he hasn't demonstrated that he is actually registered with them. Note that in the above quoted email, neither PayPal nor credit cards are given as options, and I have my doubts about the "escrow" if payment were actually made. I can certainly believe that he has had trouble getting people to pay. As for being "a serious seller with feedback", all his 5 feedbacks are for things he bought. He has no feedback as a seller. Of course, if he never actually sells anything through an auction, then he can't get any feedback. And if he doesn't get any feedback, he can't get any negative feedback. Meanwhile, if he uses eBay only to establish contact, but perpetrates his actual fraud outside of eBay, they may be less motivated to do something about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandy Winters Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 I emailed the seller/scammer/thief asking if I could stop by to see the instrument. I live about 30 miles from where he *says* he's located, Waukegan, Illinois. Of course, no response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 I emailed the seller/scammer/thief asking if I could stop by to see the instrument. I live about 30 miles from where he *says* he's located, Waukegan, Illinois. Of course, no response. A pity, considering that in Illinois you probably don't need a license to carry a gun with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandy Winters Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 Ouch!! I don't know of any states where you don't need a license to carry a 'concealed' weapon, and Illinois doesn't allow it at all (they don't offer a concealed weapons license). In fact you must have a Firearm Owner's Permit to own any sort of gun. All that being said, your point is well taken. Not to worry, a baseball bat would have sufficed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now