Ebay fraud??? Report worthy?

[Cory_Dylan]

I've been looking for a bass on Ebay for about a month now. I have an '87 MIJ '57 Reissue strat that I'm in love with. I saw this '87 MIJ Jazz bass on Ebay and I had to have it. I've been watching it for about a week and started bidding today. I was certain I could win it for 500-550.

Take a look at the auction...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=150191223763&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=005

Take a look at eh Q&As. The seller mentions the item is a "relist," since the last winner of the bass never came through. The seller only has 20 feedback.

NOW... take a look at the bidding history. (not sure if you can see it since it's logged into my name)
http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=150191223763

If you can't see it, here's the funny thing. There is a handful of bidders throughout the auction, steadily bidding up to the 400s. I through my bid out for 500 and was in the lead with 2 minutes left to go. Out of nowhere, a new bidder comes in and bids 2000, and another new bidder follows immediately after and bids 2025. FRAUD!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is obviously a fraud right? I've really had my hopes up for the last week to win this bass. It was going to be the perfect companion to my Strat.

Should I and how do I report this? Is there really anything you can do?

:gurmpy:

 

[Cory_Dylan]

Re: Ebay fraud??? Report worthy?

I assume the deadbeat seller was his own self upping the bids and noone bid over him. Same in this case. If anyone sees this is another auction, BEWARE!

 

[Cory_Dylan]

Re: Ebay fraud??? Report worthy?

OKK.... So...

I JUST got a message from the seller through ebay. He sais "Message from seller: Something weird just happened to the auction. Do you want the bass? There's no way I'm going to get > $2000 for a Jap Fender Jazz Bass."

He is offering to sell me the bass for $500. This is totally a fraud. What should I say to him? The thing is... I would be more than happy to buy this bass for $500. However, I KNOW he set up that auction. What should I do??

Thanks bros!!!

 

[scottish]

Re: Ebay fraud??? Report worthy?

dont do it. the ONLY possible reason he can have set this up is so he can rip you off. you do the deal outside of the ebay auction and you dont have the ebay fraud guarantee. its my bet he hosted the auction to find potential buyers and is gonna email them one by one hoping for a fish to bite

unless you can do the deal in person then write it off as one that got away and report the whole situation to ebay so they can keep an eye on him...although im sure they wont.

other option is to tell him to relist the auction with a buy it now of 500 and you will take it. when he refuses to do that then you know he is trying to scam you

 

[Ayrton]

Re: Ebay fraud??? Report worthy?

Shill bidding is nothing new on ebay, but if you want the bass, have the seller set up a buy it now for whatever price you agree upon.

It the seller seems shady, I would advise you to pass on the deal entirely.

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: Ebay fraud??? Report worthy?

Don't give him a cent and report him!

 

[tone4days]

Re: Ebay fraud??? Report worthy?

walk away
too fishy
find another
good luck
t4d

 

[3'scompany]

Re: Ebay fraud??? Report worthy?

Hmmm...

I second asking him to set it up with a buy it now. He may not entirely be trying to fraud you though. When I was selling my motorcycle I put it on Ebay and someone came in a sniped the buy it now price, only to cut and run. They never emailed me, never contacted me, nothing. They just ended the auction with their antics.

It may not have been him to up the bid actually, it may have been some douche bag that did something stupid (for no known reason) much like happened with me.

Either way, have him set up a 'buy it now' if you want it.

 

[Cory_Dylan]

Re: Ebay fraud??? Report worthy?

He had actually set up an another auction with a BIN of $500. I sent him a message letting him know I believe he is a fraud and he immediately cancelled the listing.

This buyer is definetly shady and I think I'll take your advise of passing it up. It's hard becuase I REALLY want this bass. How do you go about reporting frauds to Ebay?

 

[Cory_Dylan]

Re: Ebay fraud??? Report worthy?

It may not have been him to up the bid actually, it may have been some douche bag that did something stupid (for no known reason) much like happened with me.

Either way, have him set up a 'buy it now' if you want it.

The thing is... It was two douche bags who did the same thing at the exact same time. You all are right I will not give him one cent.

Thanks for the support bros!!! I will report this dude.

 

[Artie]

Re: Ebay fraud??? Report worthy?

Man . . . you've got all the warning signs looking you in the face. Walk away from this one. These things can't be that rare. Another will show up.

 

[Cory_Dylan]

Re: Ebay fraud??? Report worthy?

Man . . . you've got all the warning signs looking you in the face. Walk away from this one. These things can't be that rare. Another will show up.

They are fairly rare to find in the earlier years. Also (from what I've researched) all the later (post export) MIJs and CIJs are basswood bodies 99% of the time and in the 80s they were always alder.

That is also to the exact specs I want. Same color and everything. I love the neck finish on those models. I think the satin poly finish on the MIM fenders and some MIA is cheap looking, and the clear closs finishes that are only on the MIA models is very sticky and plastic feeling. The gloss on my Strat is very fast but also looks great.

I HATE these kind of people!

 

[Cory_Dylan]

Re: Ebay fraud??? Report worthy?

Lets say even if this guy is a fraud (which I have my mind made up that he is) and he did set up the auction to raise the bids, I still want this bass for $500 even if I could have gotten it cheaper if the auction was legit. What do you think the chances are of him actually sending me the bass if we finish this out in a regular Ebay transaction?

or am I stupid for even considering this?

 

[3'scompany]

Re: Ebay fraud??? Report worthy?

The thing is... It was two douche bags who did the same thing at the exact same time. You all are right I will not give him one cent.

Thanks for the support bros!!! I will report this dude.

The thing that doesn't make sense to me is why he would bid sooo high and do it twice under two different accounts. I mean, I understand essentially killing the auction would allow him to email the higher bidders and deal outside of ebay, but if that were his goal, why would he list it again with a BIN price? I mean, he has to pay to put auctions up, right? And why would he bid $2000 and then $2025? Seems a bit strange for him to do that... unless for some reason that makes it look less like a shill bid to ebay.

I do agree, things sound weird, but unless the guy is just crazy, dumb, or crazy dumb, I don't see how this pans out to be an attempted fraud on his account. What does he have to gain when looking at the trajectory of events? What am I missing here?

But most importantly, if you don't feel comfortable doing the deal, then don't. Its not the only bass out there like that.

 

[Ayrton]

Re: Ebay fraud??? Report worthy?

The ONLY way I would ever consider buying this is with a credit card through paypal. That way if the guy never sends it or the bass is jacked up, you can reverse the charges to paypal, then let them fight the guy for the money.

 

[edsmith]

Re: Ebay fraud??? Report worthy?

I just clicked on the links and the auction has been removed and the seller doesn't exist.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Ebay fraud??? Report worthy?

I've been looking for a bass on Ebay for about a month now. I have an '87 MIJ '57 Reissue strat that I'm in love with. I saw this '87 MIJ Jazz bass on Ebay and I had to have it. I've been watching it for about a week and started bidding today. I was certain I could win it for 500-550.

Take a look at the auction...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=150191223763&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=005

Take a look at eh Q&As. The seller mentions the item is a "relist," since the last winner of the bass never came through. The seller only has 20 feedback.

NOW... take a look at the bidding history. (not sure if you can see it since it's logged into my name)
http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=150191223763

If you can't see it, here's the funny thing. There is a handful of bidders throughout the auction, steadily bidding up to the 400s. I through my bid out for 500 and was in the lead with 2 minutes left to go. Out of nowhere, a new bidder comes in and bids 2000, and another new bidder follows immediately after and bids 2025. FRAUD!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is obviously a fraud right? I've really had my hopes up for the last week to win this bass. It was going to be the perfect companion to my Strat.

Should I and how do I report this? Is there really anything you can do?

:gurmpy:

This isn't the seller scamming, somebody is scamming the seller.

People have stolen ebay accounts via Trojans (stupid WIndoze...). They win auctions by just putting a million bucks, thereby beating all serious bidders. Then they send a fake payment confirmation to the seller and the seller is supposed to follow a link. The link is a fake ebay or paypal site and tries to convince the seller to enter their ebay or paypal password. Which is the whole purpose of the show.

This is very common right now. It's the first time that I have seen two of these idiots hit the same auction, though.

 

[GuitarGuy503]

Re: Ebay fraud??? Report worthy?

Red flags everywhere! The guy has deleted his account or accounts because you caught on to what he was doing. I wouldn't send him a dime. For all you know the seller doesn't even own the product he is supposedly selling and is using it to rip people off and take peoples money. Don't do it seriously...

 

[uOpt]

Re: Ebay fraud??? Report worthy?

The ONLY way I would ever consider buying this is with a credit card through paypal. That way if the guy never sends it or the bass is jacked up, you can reverse the charges to paypal, then let them fight the guy for the money.

That might be easier said than done.

In the U.S. Mastercard and Visa have agreements with Paypal that you cannot normally pull your money back. They have convinced Master and Visa that ebay deals are a "trust" based thing, you knew the risk when paying and the loss is yours if it blows up. American Excess and Discover do not have such agreements, not to mention Amex usually pays this stuff out of their own pocket anyway.

Disclaimer: this info is a few years old, the situation might have changed.

Foreign cards can generally pull back very easy, even if Master or Visa. One reason to only send items to sellers with confirmed addresses (then it's backed by a bank account, not a credit card).

 

[uOpt]

Re: Ebay fraud??? Report worthy?

Not to spam the thread but I'm reading it backwards...

I JUST got a message from the seller through ebay. He sais "Message from seller: Something weird just happened to the auction. Do you want the bass? There's no way I'm going to get > $2000 for a Jap Fender Jazz Bass."

He is offering to sell me the bass for $500. This is totally a fraud. What should I say to him? The thing is... I would be more than happy to buy this bass for $500. However, I KNOW he set up that auction. What should I do??

I don't know the seller, obviously, but as I just explained this is almost certainly the seller being scammed.

What city is he in? Maybe a forum bro can help?

Myself, I have gone though precisely the same situation, I've been a high bidder beaten by the scammer and ebay nuked the whole auction (no second chance or anything). The seller was angry at Ebay (why not let him offer second chances to whoever he likes?) and we went through the deal offline and I payed my original bid. However, I had a very good feeling about the seller to start from, you gotta go with your stomach here.