Very Serious Warning To All

[O'Shag]

Two days ago I bid on several audio items on EBay. The seller looked legitimate, with excellent feedback, and a long history. The items in question were Sequerra FM Reference tuner, Marantz 7C preamp, Threshold SA-1 Stasis monoblocks and a rare and beautiful set of monoblocks and preamp. I was drawn in because of the seemingly great deals, and actually won the Threshold SA-1s for $1,500. The Marantz I lost to someone else, and it sold for 2,400.00, while the winning bidder won the sequerra tuner for 1,800.00Looking at this you'll probably realize these are low prices for such desirable components, and it was this that began to concern me, despite the fact that the seller seemed very legitimate. The warning signs increased when he sent an invoice that found its way into my bulk-mail folder. I sent an email, requesting that the seller call me on my phone to work out the details - really what I was doing was seeing if this was some offshore scam. Sure enough the response was that he was currently at work and couldn't call. His manner of words was also strange, suggesting very broken english (although this in itself is not always an indicator). Furthermore he offered to ship the items for free - I knew something wasn't right. I then got an email from one of the other bidders kind enough to reach out and tell me that this was a scam and that ebay had advised her the invoice was not genuine.

Apparently what had happened was the original user's account had been 'hijacked' ie the scammer was using a legitimate user's file. I don't know about you, but this scares the living s**t out of me, because it becomes very difficult to tell whats on the level and what isn't.

I wanted to reach out to tell all the folks here, because I very nearly fell for it. Ebay seems a very risky proposition these days. To tell the truth I've lost several hundreds of dollars to bad sellers.
Does anyone else have bad experiences such as this. I would like to know, and perhaps learn how to avoid being shafted in the future.

Cheers

[kexodusc]

Two days ago I bid on several audio items on EBay. The seller looked legitimate, with excellent feedback, and a long history. The items in question were Sequerra FM Reference tuner, Marantz 7C preamp, Threshold SA-1 Stasis monoblocks and a rare and beautiful set of monoblocks and preamp. I was drawn in because of the seemingly great deals, and actually won the Threshold SA-1s for $1,500. The Marantz I lost to someone else, and it sold for 2,400.00, while the winning bidder won the sequerra tuner for 1,800.00Looking at this you'll probably realize these are low prices for such desirable components, and it was this that began to concern me, despite the fact that the seller seemed very legitimate. The warning signs increased when he sent an invoice that found its way into my bulk-mail folder. I sent an email, requesting that the seller call me on my phone to work out the details - really what I was doing was seeing if this was some offshore scam. Sure enough the response was that he was currently at work and couldn't call. His manner of words was also strange, suggesting very broken english (although this in itself is not always an indicator). Furthermore he offered to ship the items for free - I knew something wasn't right. I then got an email from one of the other bidders kind enough to reach out and tell me that this was a scam and that ebay had advised her the invoice was not genuine.

Apparently what had happened was the original user's account had been 'hijacked' ie the scammer was using a legitimate user's file. I don't know about you, but this scares the living s**t out of me, because it becomes very difficult to tell whats on the level and what isn't.

I wanted to reach out to tell all the folks here, because I very nearly fell for it. Ebay seems a very risky proposition these days. To tell the truth I've lost several hundreds of dollars to bad sellers.
Does anyone else have bad experiences such as this. I would like to know, and perhaps learn how to avoid being shafted in the future.

Cheers

Yikes,

Knock on wood, I've been lucky so far - I always contact the seller prior to the end of the auction or purchase. You can get a feel for the seller that way usually.
But the ol' "buyer beware" sentiments sure come to mind an aweful lot when I'm browsing.

Better luck next time!

[Feanor]

...

Apparently what had happened was the original user's account had been 'hijacked' ie the scammer was using a legitimate user's file. I don't know about you, but this scares the living s**t out of me, because it becomes very difficult to tell whats on the level and what isn't.

I wanted to reach out to tell all the folks here, because I very nearly fell for it. Ebay seems a very risky proposition these days. To tell the truth I've lost several hundreds of dollars to bad sellers.
Does anyone else have bad experiences such as this. I would like to know, and perhaps learn how to avoid being shafted in the future.

Cheers

The situation of a hijacked ID is one of the most difficult to detect scams on eBay, obviously because the scammer looks like the legitimate seller. It's always wise to look out for the too good to be true deal, whether the item, the shipping terms, or whatever. Stock, pirated, or inaccurate (not of the right product), photos are suspicious. Unfortunately, bad or ackward English must be treated as a suspicious sign, especially if the seller is supposedly in an English-speaking country.

[O'Shag]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'll have to be more careful in future...

[bobsticks]

One of the things I do is to e-mail the seller to request local-pickup as an option. I do this in all auctions as a standard operating procedure. Whether I actually intend on picking up the item is irrelevant, the seller might be in LA (I'm in Indy) but that's not the point. If the seller says "no" there's probably something amiss and I'll steer clear.

[jrhymeammo]

Great post Shaggy,

I never trust ebay for anything.....well I did trust this one seller but I couldnt trust myself with him no longer.... No Comment!!

But that doesnt make Agon any safer either. I always make sure to phone the sellers. I ask them questions and never really listen to him. I just listen to how much he knows about audio by asking about tweaks and if he actually uses audio lingo. I think anyone selling gears costing more than $1000 should know a thing or two about stuff we talk about here. It's easy for me cuz everyone I buy stuff from has much nicer gears than I do, so they always love to brag on and on about their gears. That makes it easy for me to determine if they are legit.

JRA

[hydroman]

How about 'don't buy stuff more expensive than you can afford to lose' on Ebay or from any other stranger?

[tbcyberzom]

i had that experienced the buyer want me to ship to nigeria....i email the ebay and told me that is not coming from ebay......

[PeruvianSkies]

One of the things I do is to e-mail the seller to request local-pickup as an option. I do this in all auctions as a standard operating procedure. Whether I actually intend on picking up the item is irrelevant, the seller might be in LA (I'm in Indy) but that's not the point. If the seller says "no" there's probably something amiss and I'll steer clear.

Now that's a really great idea! It's practical, easy, and effective. Great idea!

[GMichael]

I don't like buying stuff at a flee market.

[topspeed]

Great post, O'Shag. I've never bought anything from ebay, just don't trust it. Audiogon does seem to be a bit safer, although as jr pointed out, you still need to use common sense.