Scary buying on eBay

[Iceaxe]

How many of you buy on eBay?

Checkout how much money this dude scammed...

http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAP...&iid=-1&de=off

Ho Ho Ho.... Merry Christmas...

Best I can figure from doing a little quick arithmetic the guy scammed over $50,000. And that's just from the folks who have bothered to post a message. Bet he got at least double that.

Dang....

[rockgremlin]

Wow! Shocking!!

I don't think this is a common ebay experience. I shop on ebay all the time. I've bought an expensive camera package and an ipod on ebay and never gotten screwed.

I hope they catch that guy. That sucks!

[Iceaxe]

Yeah... I also buy a lot on eBay. The part that is scary was this guy had perfect feedback for two years and then started scamming at Christmas. Funny thing is I was talking with my dad a couple months ago about how just such an eBay scam could be successful.

[cachehiker]

That makes me wonder if it was the same person who built up all the positive feedback. Someone hijacks the account, changes the email, and the original owner just gives up and starts a new account after a dozen or so negative feedbacks pile up.

I'm continually prowling ebay for difficult to find or discontinued parts. When I wanted a 2003 Duke Race fork for my 2003 GT Zaskar frame, it was the only place I could find one. It's also about the only place I can expand my collection of antiquarian pocket books. If I could find some near new Shimano M750-5 cranks with 167.5 arms for my cross/touring bike I'd probably wet myself.

That said, I don't look to ebay for stuff I can buy from reputable retailers. It rarely saves me more than a few bucks from the best prices I can find, and that extra few bucks is worth the extra peace of mind.

[PunchKing]

That is insane. That is why you have to pay in some sort of secure way I guess.

I wonder how many times something like this has happened and what ebay does about it.

I use ebay all of the time but only will pay through paypal. Could this happen to me?

[Iceaxe]

I use ebay all of the time but only will pay through paypal. Could this happen to me?

eBay owns PayPal and offers some type of protection.... but I think the protection is only good for $150.

This scam artist refused PayPal. Had to send a cashiers check.

[derstuka]

Why in the hell would somebody buy from this guy after SO MANY negative feedback issues? That just boggles my mind...

I just got screwed on ebay, and am in the process of trying to get my money back thru paypal. Good thing it was only for 20 bucks or so. Still, ya pay for something, you should get it, especially after a month of waiting and e-mailing. An ex gf was scammed as well, and never got her money back.

[Iceaxe]

This guy worked for two years at setting this up and had an excellent rating until he went into scam mode.....

I got hosed once on eBay from a guy in Canada. I no longer buy from out of the country, I only pay through PayPal or sending a check through the US mail, and I only buy if the guy has excellent feedback. Probably still would not have helped in this case cause the guy covered all those bases. Folks didn't know they were getting scammed in this deal until the feedback suddenly went negative.

A little note... if you send the funds through the US mail and are cheated its a Federal crime. Bigger penalties and more options. If you pay with a credit card you also have some protections from your credit card company. I also know Paypal offers some type of insurance.

Crooks suck!

[derstuka]

Folks didn't know they were getting scammed in this deal until the feedback suddenly went negative.

That is what is worrying me. This guy had tons of positive feedback, then all of a sudden, I go to give him feedback, and two other people gave him negative feedback and said the same thing as I. They paid and never got the product. Now he has three negative feedbacks in the past week.

I am currently awaiting PayPal Resolution to finish my case. They are giving the guy until January 12th to respond and explain. If he doesn't do so, I get my money back. Weird!

[Iceaxe]

Good Luck.... let us know how it turns out. I'd like to know how PayPal handles it.

And.... I had a similar problem once. In the end the guy had got hurt and was in the hospital and couldn't send my stuff. He fixed it ASAP but it was 2 months before it was handled.

[derstuka]

Wooo Hooo! Paypal decided in my favor! Whoooooop deeee whooooop! Hope the guy isn't dead or something. In case anyone is interested. Here is some of what Paypal sent me. Sure, it was for a relatively small amount, but, how would you feel if you paid someone money for something and was given nothing in return?

Dear Jason,

We have concluded our investigation of your Buyer Complaint. The
details of
this claim are listed below.

We have decided in your favor, and as a result, have attempted to
recover
funds from the seller.
The maximum amount we were able to recover was $17.99 USD. This amount
has
been credited to your PayPal account. Please allow up to five business
days
for this adjustment to be reflected in your PayPal account.

If you are due any additional amount from the seller, we will make our
best
effort to recover the balance from the seller.


If the seller's account has insufficient funds to complete the refund
owed
to you, please be assured that we will take appropriate action against
the
seller's account, which may include limitation of the seller's account
privileges.