R/E/P Community

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  

Pages: 1 [2]  All   Go Down

Author Topic: eBay: How To Avoid Becoming A Scam Victim  (Read 35269 times)

karl_lohninger

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 18
Re: More and More Scams On EBay
« Reply #15 on: December 22, 2006, 10:07:41 AM »

This is how IMO a classic fraudulent auction looks like:

* It's a 3 day auction,

* it has to be paid via wire-transfer,

* it's a nice U-47,

* it's on an account that was inactive for a long time and never had anything to do with microphones so it seems, and

*  bidder's IDs are kept private.

Looks like the ebay ID was hijacked and somebody is likely going to lose money! (should ebay not react in time - I've notified them)


Update: Auction was deleted by Ebay already. Account was hijacked.

Karl Lohninger
Los Angeles
Logged

David Satz

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 661
Re: More and More Scams On EBay
« Reply #16 on: December 22, 2006, 10:55:04 AM »

My eBay account was hijacked in 2003--I woke up one morning and found myself supposedly in the business of selling high-priced Apple computer equipment. When I called eBay security about it, they fixed the problem within minutes. Of course I had contacted them and could prove my identity, so they didn't have to investigate very far.

If I were to report a suspicion that someone else's account had been hijacked, the situation would be more complex. For all they know I might be a malicious person trying to interfere with someone else's legitimate auctions, so I wouldn't expect them to take any strong action right away.

They don't seem to follow any clues with regard to the specifics of "vintage" microphones--if someone were to post an ad offering 100 never-taken-out-of-the-box U 47s from his grandfather's attic, they wouldn't consider that suspicious on its face.

I once tried to get a refund for a used KM 84 with a defective capsule, where the auction description had said only that the microphone's amplifier (body) was defective;
I had bought it for the capsule, but explaining this to them was hopeless. Half of the KM 54s that you see listed have K 64 capsules with no remark; many of the old Schoeps tube microphones (particularly with sellers in Europe) are speech cardioids, but are listed simply as "cardioid," and they allow reskinned Neumann capsules to be listed like original products with only a bit of fine print. (... or sometimes none! See my second post in this thread)

But they do look askance at sellers who require untraceable payment methods; that alone can be grounds for terminating an auction. See      http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/accepted-payments-policy .html .

--best regards
Logged

yhomas

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 18
Re: More and More Scams On EBay
« Reply #17 on: December 22, 2006, 03:53:42 PM »

As someone who has been a victim myself, I have a few common sense comments:

#1. Never, pay for any online purchase with a money order (or cash in an envelope).

#2. We are all looking for a good deal, but the fact is that very few people are stupid enough to sell an item far below its market value.  If you find an exceptional "deal", your first instinct should be intense skepticism.

#3. If you have the slightest suspiciousness of the seller, simply ask that the seller send you the item first, and you will pay for it afterwards.  (I actually did this on a $900 laptop when the seller had low feedback on ebay.)  If the seller won't agree, just require the use of an escrow service.

#4. Do not place too much trust in a seller's opinion about the condition of an item (especially if the cost of return shipping might be roughly equivalent to the difference in value between the excellent condition claimed by the seller and the average condition that the item is actually in.)

#5. Use an internet search, and personal contact (phone, email) to find out a bit about the seller before sending money.

#6. If you do get scammed, post about your experience on scam.com so that other people can be warned by a simple google search.
Logged

Klaus Heyne

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3154
Re: More and More Scams On EBay
« Reply #18 on: March 13, 2007, 04:49:50 PM »

From a recent exchange between J.J. Blair and Barry Hufker:

poster: I assume it's a hijacked ebay account (no transactions for over 5 years).

J.J.: You're right. The auction is a fraud. And since it is, I'm doubting the info in the mic is even accurate.

Barry: You're saying this is a fraud because the guy wants a bank check or money order?

J.J.: That, and the fact that the bidder ID is hidden (big hint), and the account hasn't been used in several years. All tell tale signs of a hijacked account.
Logged
Klaus Heyne
German Masterworks
www.GermanMasterworks.com

Klaus Heyne

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3154
Re: More and More Scams On EBay
« Reply #19 on: April 12, 2007, 12:58:37 AM »

New e-bay developments (reported by J.J. Blair on April 11, 2007):

eBay has just changed a policy that makes it now harder to identify fraudulent auctions, and impossible to notify unsuspecting bidders:

A hallmark of fake auctions was the "bidder ID kept private" option, so that you could not warn bidders. But now, eBay has changed their policy to not list bidder IDs at all, and the original option to do so has been removed: all bidders are listed now as "Bidder 1", "Bidder 2", etc.

They said they did this to eliminate fake second chance offerings, but it's opened up another can of worms, IMO.

So, anybody who took comfort in bidding on auctions that didn't use this option, beware. Make sure to look at other tell tale signs, such as zero feedback, or no activity on the seller's account for an extended period of time.
Logged
Klaus Heyne
German Masterworks
www.GermanMasterworks.com

midnightsun

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 39
Re: More and More Scams On EBay
« Reply #20 on: May 03, 2007, 03:36:16 AM »

Here is something I suspect was a scam--    On the GearSlutz Classified forum the seller made reference to the item for sale on eBay.  I corresponded with him and he sounded legitimate.  

He warned me that the real bidding would take place minutes before closing. He was right. The bids went up by the thousands.  

I was initially caught up in the frenzy but came to my senses. There had been an annoying bidder who was always neck and neck with me. I finally let him take the item when the price became ridiculous.  

Several days later the buyer notified me and said that the winning bidder had pulled out and he was willing to sell it to me for my top bid.  I felt that my bidding opponent was a shill and they got too greedy.   I reported the incident to eBay but I have heard nothing back.    
Logged

J.J. Blair

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 12809
Re: More and More Scams On EBay
« Reply #21 on: July 02, 2007, 05:35:31 PM »

I came across this guide, that I thought would be helpful:

http://reviews.ebay.com/Ebay-Scams-14-things-you-MUST-know_W 0QQugidZ10000000001410441?ssPageName=BUYGD:CAT:-1:SEARCH:4
Logged
studio info

They say the heart of Rock & Roll is still beating, which is amazing if you consider all the blow it's done over the years.

"The Internet enables pompous blowhards to interact with other pompous blowhards in a big circle jerk of pomposity." - Bill Maher

"The negative aspects of this business, not only will continue to prevail, but will continue to accelerate in madness. Conditions aren't going to get better, because the economics of rock and roll are getting closer and closer to the economics of Big Business America." - Bill Graham

animix

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 9
Re: eBay: How To Avoid Becoming A Scam Victim
« Reply #22 on: September 04, 2007, 02:21:48 PM »

I recently had an interesting experience buying a pair of sequentially numbered KM84i's on EBay. It wasn't a scam, per se, as the mics were actually delivered, but they were not as represented. I don't mean to hijack this thread to another forum, but the entire sequence of events and final resolution is at this thread.

http://www.3daudioinc.com/3db/showthread.php?t=11512

There may be some information there which will help buyers who end up purchasing an item with the "Catch 22" wording that a mic is working but is offered "as is".

If time and effort can be equated to money, after this experience and the time and effort it cost me, I might have been better off buying the mics from a reputable reseller.

Hope this helps someone....and thanks to Klaus, who was helpful with some initial inquiries that eventually led to my getting this situation resolved.

Logged
Doug Joyce
Animix Productions
Durango, CO
ADK Q9450 @  3.2GHz, GA-EP35-DS3, PNY Quadro, 4G RAM, UAD-2 Quad, Magma x 13 w/ 4 x UAD-1 cards, Magma x 13 w/ Multiface, RME MADI, and AES 32, 2 x RME ADI 8-DD, 4 x RME ADI8-DS, 1 x RME ADI-2, Mytek Stereo96 AD/DA, Benchmark DAC-1, Houston, CC121

Eric H.

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 557
Re: eBay, Anyone?
« Reply #23 on: February 16, 2009, 04:46:54 PM »

Rocket17 wrote on Mon, 16 February 2009 15:00

Total rubbish, your interpretation, Klaus - as said before: You are NOT the mile stone all things are measured by! You have an opinion. And here is mine:

KH,  shades of  arrogance with every step on the path with no humor present – whatsoever. Some say, the worst combination in German mentality. Some say, they just can’t help it. Here, ironically & metaphorically engraved in stone as German Masterworks. Issue vintage craze/vintage capsules: Some believe that a vintage K67 is generally superior to a K67/870 of recent production and therefore demand the vintage version. To have spitted on the vintage craze: The hypocrisy of one Herr Heyne, as indulging in the vintage craze himself - his very livelihood – here manifested, like a halo above his head! Best for himself to follow his own advise by showing some class (and to shut up)!  Be 5:45 o’clock the other metaphor. It could be an hour sooner or later. Seize fire means seize fire when the intrigant seizes fire! After that, some ricochet still flying around.
Sitting in a glass house...
Logged
eric harizanos

Pages: 1 [2]  All   Go Up