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The TOTEM Poll: Totally Off Topic, Everything Media
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Old February 12th, 2006, 07:08 PM   #1
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eBay

I really think eBay has lost all credibility as a safe place to shop.

I was just looking at GL2's for $12.00, $100 etc. All scams. They are from a seller that tried to scam me a couple weeks ago that I reported to wBay...and he is still allowed to post GL2's for ridiculously low prices.

With a please send money by Western Union to Romania no less.

How can this get past the eBay security? Same seller, same ads, everything.
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Old February 12th, 2006, 07:16 PM   #2
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In the past, Ebay has been pretty quick to pull these auctions, Same type of seller with hijacked ID selling FX1.

I am skepical of buying electronics or cameras from Ebay. I have had a problems with items damaged in transit or an unusual intermittent problem in electronics. Have found good deals also, but it is always a risk.
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Old February 12th, 2006, 08:37 PM   #3
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Old February 12th, 2006, 08:53 PM   #4
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That's where I got my FX-1, tri-pod and head. Plus made the decision to buy based on posts from DVi users. Thanks Chris!
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Old February 12th, 2006, 10:24 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Hurd
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I have in the past. And will in the future.

Just as an up date to my original post...and some amusing reading for you all, here is a letter I received from this guy...

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I really appreciate that you are interested about my item. I will sell it for only 750 US dollars and I will pay the shipping and handling fees. I have a big drawback, I am located in Romania for the moment and that's the reason that I can accept only western union wire transfer as payment method. I assure you that our deal will be 100% secured. We will do this deal under ebay and you will be 100% protected against fraud and description error. No need to be afraid that you will lose your money. If something goes wrong just ask ebay for full refund and you will receive all your money back including western union fees. I always search to do business for a long time and I try to keep my client's close. For shipping I usually use UPS 3 days select for US clients. In 3 days you will have the package at your door (Sunday UPS is closed here and I cannot use it). Please do not bid on my item. If you want a fast and secure deal just let me know and I will set up a private deal.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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Old February 13th, 2006, 12:00 AM   #6
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This makes me feel so sorry for the person who actually falls for this scam. It's so obvious its sickening!

I try not to buy things from eBay, but there are some very reputable sellers out there just trying to make a decent income selling quality parts in a huge open store like eBay... then someone has to come around and f it up... so sad
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Old February 13th, 2006, 03:25 AM   #7
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I use ebay regularly with 300 feedbacks at 100%, iv'e bought some expensive stuff like a gibson hummingbird acoustic ,amplifiers ,FX pedals ,sound mixers I even bought my JVC HD100 from ebay.

You can tell a dodgy deal a mile away, check the persons feedback to see if he's just been selling hundreds of small things like badges to get his feedback % up and then suddenly has a £10,000 item for sale.

When I bought the HD100 i was very cautious and did my homework .The camera was brand new with waranty and the seller was an established AV store so I went to their website (where the same camera was £400 deerer) I sent the guy an e-mail through his web site address and then one through the ebay item address to see if they matched and were the same person which they were. I then phoned the guy and had a chat with him before I made the Bid and about two days later I had the camera no problems.

The more you use ebay the better you get at spotting a bad deal.Iv'e bought 300 items alot of them over £500 and some over £1000 - £3500 and not once has the item not turned up at my door.

some good tips:
1) check his feedback and items sold
2) make sure he hasn't changed ID
3) make sure he uses paypal
4) check item location (i only buy from 1st world countries)
5) If the item is stupidly priced i.e varicam for $1000 it's obviously a scam (use common sense)
6) do more research for more expensive items
7) look at the way the item is listed, I prefer a personal account of the item rather than a stolen ad from google.I also avoid pigeon english (its just some sellers from say Romania or somewhere can have a friend or relative in your country doing the scamming)
8) check the other bidders on an Item, make sure the other bidders are not the same location as the seller. Sometimes the seller is in cahoots with a friend or relative to bid you up.

There are some very good deals on ebay if you know where to look.

Andy.
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Old February 13th, 2006, 07:31 AM   #8
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Very informative post, Andy! Maybe you should ad this with the 'how not to be scammed at ebay' sticky that's over here at the boards, I think at the Private Classifieds.
Maybe you could ask it to Chris. Or just add your post and/or advice to the sticky yourselve.
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Old February 13th, 2006, 01:33 PM   #9
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I had a look at the private classifieds but don't see a sticky about ebay scams. While I was there I noticed that ebay is a bit of a touchy subject here at dvinfo so i think i'll leave it well alone, don't want to anger the powers that be.

I'll leave it up to Chris to decide wether to make my tips on how not to get scammend on ebay a sticky in the classifieds or not.

Andy.
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Old February 13th, 2006, 01:50 PM   #10
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Western Union

Don't ever pay by Western Union. Sure sign it is scam, especially, and usually from outside the continental U.S. I got nailed for $750 for a Sony Clamshell that never showed up.
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Old February 13th, 2006, 02:23 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Andy Graham
I had a look at the private classifieds but don't see a sticky about ebay scams. While I was there I noticed that ebay is a bit of a touchy subject here at dvinfo so i think i'll leave it well alone, don't want to anger the powers that be.

I'll leave it up to Chris to decide wether to make my tips on how not to get scammend on ebay a sticky in the classifieds or not.

Andy.
Yeah, I searched it too, didn't find it back. Maybe they removed it.
Well anyhow, very informative post!
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Old February 13th, 2006, 04:28 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mathieu Ghekiere
Maybe you should ad this with the 'how not to be scammed at ebay' sticky that's over here at the boards, I think at the Private Classifieds.
We try to keep as much distance as possible from Ebay, as already evidenced by our policy which forbids posting Ebay auctions in our Private Classifieds forum. Ebay doesn't really come into the picture at all in our Private Classifieds forum. Therefore there really isn't a need for an Ebay sticky there.

For several years we've hosted an Ebay Buyer's Guide on the articles side of our site. That link is:

http://www.dvinfo.net/articles/buyersguide/ebay.php

Hope this helps,
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Old February 13th, 2006, 04:53 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Hurd
We try to keep as much distance as possible from Ebay, as already evidenced by our policy which forbids posting Ebay auctions in our Private Classifieds forum. Ebay doesn't really come into the picture at all in our Private Classifieds forum. Therefore there really isn't a need for an Ebay sticky there.

For several years we've hosted an Ebay Buyer's Guide on the articles side of our site. That link is:

http://www.dvinfo.net/articles/buyersguide/ebay.php

Hope this helps,
Yes, you're definately right about the fact that this place is much better then Ebay, and it's nice to do deals here far from ebay.
I will just have mixed up that article with a sticky. Sorry about that.
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Old February 13th, 2006, 05:26 PM   #14
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Perhaps Andy can review our article, and suggest any amendments... it might be due for an update.
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Old February 13th, 2006, 09:03 PM   #15
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I had a look at the article which mentions alot of what I said .I have expanded on two of my ponts which aren't mentioned that you may consider adding to the article.

You should check the sellers feedback even if it is 100% to make sure he has not been selling hundreds of small items like badges to boost his percentage rating. Once he is satisfied with the amount of posotive feedback he will begin an auction for say $2000 or upwards and lure someone to win with his flawless feedback and then is never heard of again. To find out what he has been selling you simply click on the sellers feedback you should see a list of his previous sales, if you can click on the item number at the right hand side they will be highlighted in blue and you will be able to see exactly what he has been selling, if they are not highlighted in blue and you can't see what he was selling then stay away because it is most likely small items that he doesn't want you to see when you are bidding on an expensive item.



When you find an auction you are interested in it's a good idea to check up on the other bidders. Look to see where the other bidders are from because sometimes it can be one or more of the sellers friends or family who are bidding you up. If both the seller and bidders are from say NY or LA then it is less likely although still possible that they know each other because of the size and number of people. However if the seller is from say Chesterville Iowa and one or more of the bidders are from Chesterville Iowa then the chances are they know each other and are bidding you up more than you would normaly pay.This is not always the case but it does happen regularly and is just another good tip to keep you safe.To find out the other bidders location you simply click on their name and on the right hand side of the page in a light blue box it will tell you where they are from and how long they have been a member. You can also go one step further and click on "advanced search" at the top right hand side of the ebay page where you can "search by bidder" to see exactly what that person has been bidding on.If you do the "Advanced search" on both bidder and seller and their names come up regularly together on difirent auctions then they are most likely in cahoots and you should stay away.


Chris I'm not sure what to do with this wether you can update the article if you wish or if I do it somehow?

Anyway I'll leave it to your good judgement.

Andy
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