WATCH OUT! New Ebay scam!

[Gary - K7GLD]

I've been watching Ebay for diesel pusher Motorhome listings, and yesterday saw one that looked too good to be true - a 36 foot Winnebago Chieftan, supposedly offered by an east coast doctor - the selling price was $16,900!



The giveaway was the note in the listing that instructed responders to contact the seller DIRECT at an email address provided in the listing. I emailed the address given, and was given this response from the "seller":



Hello there,

Thank you for your interest in my Winnebago Chieftain . I want you to know that I closed my auction earlier because someone offered me the buy it now price, but didn't have all the money available and I cannot accept financing. The price I want to obtain for the car is $16,900 US (this price includes shipping and insurance charges).

The RV is like new, completely working, perfect running condition,with no hidden damages or accidents,it has always been garage kept, low miles, non-smoker no flood or storms. It is a US model with US specs and passed the US test emissions. It will be as if purchased locally. The Chieftain is insured in case of damage and you will receive it to your address in 5 working days . It will come with all the necessary papers (clear title, bill of sale, warranty documents, user's manual,insurance etc). The title is clear and you will be able to register the RV in your state without any problems.

I am requesting a $2,900 refundable deposit at the beginning of the shipping and the balance to be paid after delivery and inspection. If you are not 100% content with the Chieftain you will be able to ship it back on my expense to get your deposit back. I am sure this will not happen, because it is a state of the art vehicle and you will have no reasons not to be content with it.

We will use eBay Motors as third party. First you will pay the down payment to eBay and you will send the receipt proving your payment to eBay. Please note that eBay will hold your deposit of $2,900 until you will confirm that you received the RV and you transferred the title into your name.

If you agree with these terms, please send me your full name, home and shipping address, eBay ID so I can register the transaction with eBay asap.



... waiting for your fast answer, Dr. Alexander Johnson.

Since this too sounded funny, I ran a search on the email address of the guy supposedly selling the MH - and got a lengthy list of other scams of this same sort, with the following explanation:

Thank you feedbite.com for this fantastic RSS tool! This RSS feed bundle is designed to warn eBay shoppers of Fraud and Scam auctions on eBay. The auctions are uploaded to hijacked seller accounts, but the auctions are fake. How does this happen? - seller falls for phishing email and gives his login credentials to scammer - scammer takes control of legitimate sellers account, quite often with very good high feedback and uploads anywhere from 1 to 1000 scam auctions for high end popular items : vehicles, antique cars, motorcycles, tractors, cameras, expensive electronics, popular event tickets such as Disney or Season Tickets... . anything that sells for over $500 ... - one thing the scammer usually does not do is change sellers contact email address because eBay would alert the account owners original email address that there was a change. - SO THE FAKE AUCTIONS ALWAYS ADVERTISE CONTACT TO SOME EMAIL ADDRESS... usually disposable free email accouns at gmail.com hotmail.com msn.com aol.com and yahoo.com

YUP - it all fit my situation perfectly - be warned, if something looks fishy, or too good to be true on Ebay - STAY CLEAR!

 

[bighammer]

I've seen a very similar thing under tractor listings-- Nearly new tractor $6000 w/free shipping.

 

[Boondocker]

You'll find the same kind of scams on craiglist. Certain tip-offs are: the seller being in a rush, odd grammar, any kind of 3rd party involvement. The scams are nearly the same when you are the seller. Watch out for anyone wanting to overpay and have you wire the difference to the "shipper". You get bogus money and send your own somewhere. End of deal.

 

[MStrain]

You should probably report this to ebays customer service, this guy is probably ripping people off all the time.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

You should probably report this to ebays customer service, this guy is probably ripping people off all the time.

YUP - already done...

 

[MoparBob]

Lots of scams on EBay these days... though it don't bother me much anymore. EBay (PaypPal too of course) has taken an even more anti-gun stance and really hammmering people because of it. I have closed my accounts with both because I will not put money in the pockets of those who treat gunowners the way they do. Too bad... I did a lot of business on Ebay but no more.

 

[HighRanger]

FBI doesn't look to kindly on these reports either. Filed on on a similar listing for a hayabusa a few years ago.

 

[Grizzly]

I have have never trusted eBay and I choose to stay completely away from them.

 

[MoparBob]

I received a couple PMs concerning my above comment. For those of you who want to verify my comments from the above post here are a few links...



Check out the first post in this link GunBroker.com News and Announcements and you can verify it on Ebay Message from Matt Halprin – New Listing Restrictions on Gun Parts



Hope this helps.

 

[HEMI®Dart]

Lowest pricing on the web @ FleaBay or eBag....

I have have never trusted eBay and I choose to stay completely away from them.

Grizzly,



If you are looking for something, say saddle bags for the dog to help carry stuff (Petco & Tractor supply don't carry them), '68 Dart seat foam($30 less than Year One- Same thing), 26" Crossflow Aluminum radiator w/ mount flanges & petcock ($60 less than Summit-Better quality too) eBay tends to have the lowest prices you can find to-the-door.



I have never bought a motor vehicle.



I buy lots of stuff because of the lowball pricing.

 

[TWilkening]

A good indicator on ebay is if they give you an email address to contact them instead of using the "ask seller a question". That way the person whose account they hijacked won't know.

 

[MStrain]

I have have never trusted eBay and I choose to stay completely away from them.

I have done probably over a hundred transactions on ebay and never had a problem, I save money and time since the stuff just shows up at your door. I only buy from sellers with perfect or near perfect feedback and I only pay with paypal, never been ripped off. I also never make big purchases, probably the biggest being around $500, I know people who have bought vehicles and land on ebay without a problem though. Heck most of the parts on my truck were bought on ebay at a price better than any local store or even online website. You can find EXACTLY what your looking for at a great price most of the time, and I have made a couple grand selling junk in my shed and old parts etc, alot of stuff I was gonna throw out I ended up selling on ebay, it is surprising but there is someone out there who wants or needs your old junk.

 

[Grizzly]

Well to each his own. If eBay works for you, go for it. As for me, I'd rather pay more and have piece of mind.

 

[CSnyder]

Im with MStrain on this. I do ALOT of stuff on Ebay and have bought and sold many 10,000 dollar plus items there. You MUST be careful on how you handle any transaction there but normally things go well. My only 2 negative feedbacks ever on there came from Harley Davidson parts sales. First guy used buy it now on a seat rest and called me that night and asked for immediate shipment cause he HAD to have it right away. He sounded nice so I dropped it off at the post office in the am and didnt put tracking on it... 2 weeks later he claimed he never received it and was refunded his paypal payment... 2 weeks later the jerk relisted my item and when I pointed it out to Ebay they removed my negative feedback he left me, refunded me back, and suspended him for a week. Hes still on Ebay though. Next guy bought a 10 dollar Harley ignition and then it wasnt the right one for him so he wanted a refund. No refund or return was offered in my auction but I did it anyways. He sent it back and I refunded him and then he gave me negative because I wouldnt refund return shipping of 1. 73.

Ive bought 4 Freightliners off there now and I will make a 1000. 00 dollar deposit through Paypal and let the seller know Ill bring cash only for the balance. On 2 of the 4 I have gotten a substantial discount when I got there and looked over the rig and pointed things out that were not mentioned on Ebay. I complete the deal and tell them that I will leave them positive feedback once mine is received. Only the honest people do this!

I recently sold my 98. 5 dually and after 2 monthes the guy comes back whining about imperfections on a truck sold as is and needing attention. I even stated in the auction it needed an AC condensor and he wanted to know why I never fixed that before he got it... . LOL



Take each individual who is buying or selling with a grain of salt and you will be fine.

 

[CSnyder]

one more thing that does burn me is the new seller rating they have. I have in all my auctions that I specifically only ship once per week and will always ship within 5 business days but buyers have all given me poor ratings for ship time because I dont stop my life and beat down to the post office first thing Monday morning to ship their item out. I always have my auctions end Sunday evening and I try to get all funds collected from all auctions before I make the trip to the post office to save myself time. But I also make sure I stick within the 5 business day ship time and slow payers have to wait til the end of the following week.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Well to each his own. If eBay works for you, go for it. As for me, I'd rather pay more and have piece of mind.

Well, for sure, when the item is a high $$$ one, and far away - Internet photos are unreliable for seeing all the smaller but important details, and the higher the cost, the greater the need for caution in dealings.



I'm sure glad to have caught on to this one right from the beginning!

 

[FATCAT]

I thought everything on EBay was a scam. I woundn't buy a paper bag on that phony baloney ripoff website.



Buyer-beware ... . or better yet ... . a sucker born every minute.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

I thought everything on EBay was a scam. I woundn't buy a paper bag on that phony baloney ripoff website.



Buyer-beware ... . or better yet ... . a sucker born every minute.

I've bought my share of good and hard-to-find stuff off Ebay - and usually at very decent pricing - every individual has to make their own choice as to what and where they will buy. I don't in the slightest regret previous Ebay purchases - but this latest incident underscores the need for caution, even SUSPICION when dealing with other than trivial items...

 

[dpuckett]

YUP - it all fit my situation perfectly - be warned, if something looks fishy, or too good to be true on Ebay - STAY CLEAR!

I think that is good advice, only need to broaden it to ALL aspects of one's life.



I cant count how many people who have tried the old "I'll pay doube your asking price, if you give my shipper the other half on pickup... . " line. I just delete the emails and hit the "spam" button. I have tried messing with the people, but that can only be fun for so long without seeing their reactions.



DP