|
|
Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10581
Location: NJ | Wow I remember when selling from a second chance offer was legit. I sold a ton of stuff that way.
I also remember when contacting people off of e bay would sell items too. sold a ton of gear that way too.
Funny as a seller I have actually told potential customers to go elsewhere when I did not get a good feeling about it. Maybe if I was a multibillion dollar conglomerate, I could just write it off, but I am just an idiot who sells gear for a living and I spend probably as much time protecting myself as a buyer does themself. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 13984
Location: Upper Left USA | Ebay is like meeting people at a Bus Station. Most are honest, nice people that just want to get somewhere. There are those that would club you, take your possesions and remove one of your kidneys! You wake up in a tub of ice and hope that Paypal or Visa will cover your medical expenses!
The biggest threat I find is the uninformed, clueless POS's with a hotmail address that don't have the resources to finalize a decent sale. Fortunately, there are some clues that will give them away. I tend to not notice these however, when I really, really want the item and it just seems too good to be true! |
|
| |
|
Joined:
January 2004
Posts: 338
Location: SE Michigan | The problem with 2nd chance offers is that these usually occur in conjunction with "schrill bidding"; in other words the seller's buddy who was jacking up the price accidentally won the auction. Then they email you with a 2nd chance offer.
As far as deals on the side are concerned, If you go for these I know a Zulu Prince in Nigeria who father's is the former Sultan of Boogawomp-Wampalli. He needs help getting his father's money out of the country, he'll pay you a good bonus for your assistance. You should check into it, easy money. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10581
Location: NJ | btw did I mention that most of my problems occur with sales under $50??????
anything that is a large ticket item always goes smoothly.
I have no clue why |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12750
Location: Boise, Idaho | I got a fake second chance offer on a 1537. Boy, talk about going from a low to a high and back down again. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 400
Location: North Texas | Some good observations, these last few posts. There are phoney ebay and paypal mailings. You can go to "properties"(without even opening the email) and navigate to "message source". There, you can see a trail of addresses and get an idea of the validity of the mailing. My policy is that if an email is not directly related to a pending, or completed sale, it gets deleted. Any legitimate messages will be found in your "my ebay" page. I don't merely delete unwanted email anymore, I block the sender for all unwanted emails. That's a more thorough deletion, and helps get rid of hidden files. Buck |
|
| |
|
Joined:
February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Important note to Buck's post - Ebay and Paypal will NEVER send you an email concerning your login, account status or anything asking you for login credentials. These are 'spoof', or 'phishing' emails. In the most prevelant one purporting to be from ebay the entire message body is one big html link, if you click anywhere on the body it opens thier fake login page. It all looks very real and official, but it's not. They're after your login info.
Ebay and Paypal will only communicate this kind of message through thier own servers, via thier own messaging systems.
Don't take the bait and get 'phished'... |
|
| |
|
Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 13984
Location: Upper Left USA | Phe-e-e-w-w! |
|
| |
|
Joined:
January 2004
Posts: 338
Location: SE Michigan | "Ebay and Paypal will NEVER send you an email concerning your login, account status or anything asking you for login credentials."
Good advice, unless you are corresponding with Prince Iggywamp, son of the former Sultan of Boogawomp-Wampalli. He will need your Visa card number with security code along with your bank account number, routing code and your ATM PIN number. He needs this information because the former finance minister will have to set up a trial bank wire transfer, and also he has to bribe the palace guards to release his father. Once he has this data, he will circumvent the Nigerian Goverment's Comptroller office deposit 37 million dollars into your account. In this case you will have to give him the information. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15654
Location: SoCal | anything that is a large ticket item always goes smoothly.
Yeah, right Al.... do I need to remind you about that Adamas you spent a year tracking down? |
|
| |
|
Joined:
February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Well, Brian, I suggest you don't use Paypal when you send your money to Prince Iggywamp... |
|
| |
|
Joined:
January 2004
Posts: 338
Location: SE Michigan | Prince Iggywamp says I should have the 37 million in about a week, once it clears Nigerian customs. Then I'll buy everyone on this forum an Adamas.
He also said to be agreeable and play along if my bank calls, that's just the finance minister making a test bank transfer. He said banks are paranoid and I need to reassure them that this is all very legitimate! I am so lucky! |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12750
Location: Boise, Idaho | One of my senior partners, recently retired, actually sent around the Nigerian bank account email wondering if it was legit.
My dad, of similar age (78) had some similar scammer answering his ad for a motor home. The guy was supposedly in England and needed my dad's bank account number so he could wire money to it to buy a 40 foot motor home. My dad thought it was a little strange that a guy in England would want to buy a motor home in Oregon. Duh. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | While I fully agree with BrianT on his 2nd and 3rd cardinal rules, I tend to disagree with the first one.
I have cut many side deals on ebay from both the seller and the buyer end of things. If I see that the seller runs a storefront and has a phone number, I will not hesitate to call him, discuss the items and then try to cut a deal. I have also had buyers contact me to end an auction early and on occassion I have done so. Do you homework when dealing offline and there should not be any problems. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10581
Location: NJ | Originally posted by moody, p.i.:
anything that is a large ticket item always goes smoothly.
Yeah, right Al.... do I need to remind you about that Adamas you spent a year tracking down? |
|
| |
|
Joined:
January 2004
Posts: 338
Location: SE Michigan | I guess I'll concede your point stephent28 about rule 1, provided that you are sure it's a legitimate trace-able verifyable business. But never deal on the side with a private individual. I get a constant barrage of emails offering to sell me a similar item to what I just bid on for a lower price. I am sure the majority of these offers are scams. If it's a legitimate verifyable business then I would agree.
I also like the analogy of Ebay being like a Bus Terminal, but it's a really really really big Bus Terminal full of hungry scammers.
And I also agree with alpep, larger more expensive sales usually go smoother, maybe because the parties involved are more serious. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
May 2004
Posts: 2850
Location: Midland, MI | Originally posted by alpep:
...The smaller the item for the seller the bigger the pain in the butt. IMHO your mileage may vary. This is not limited to eBay, IME. YMMV. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12750
Location: Boise, Idaho | I got my Collector's edition off ebay after it received no bids on ebay. It happened to be a local seller, the picture was terrible, with a bunch of dirty clothes in the background, and the kid admitted he didn't know what he was doing and listed his phone number. He didn't even identify the guitar as a 99 Collector's.
I called him up after the auction ended with nobody offering his minimum bid and worked out a deal, trading my Celebrity and some cash. Nothing wrong with that. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
May 2003
Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | True, as a seller, things under 50, there are more problems. Things over 50, never a problem. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
June 2004
Posts: 580
Location: NW NJ | Originally posted by Buckaroo:
Robbie, you can never bid more than you are willing to pay. Buckaroo - I disagree. I think that bidding more that you are willing to pay means that sometimes you get caught up in the frenzy of bidding and suddenly realize that you are the high bidder on a brand new Ovation-style Legato guitar for only $1,375 USD. I'm not willing to pay $13.75 for the guitar, but I bid more because my emotions got the best of me. In that case I either live with my actions (the right thing to do) or I retract (the wussy was out). |
|
| |
OT - Ebay Question
