| Author |
Topic: An eBay Scam |
Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 14 Feb 2014 6:01 pm |
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I recently bought a Hipshot Trilogy on eBay, but it never turned up. I contacted the seller and he insisted he had mailed it, and that he had had a lot of trouble with parcels disappearing. This was over the Christmas period, so I suggested that we wait a little longer and see if it turned up after the rush, which it didn't. So I called him and he said that he would give me a refund via PayPal. Again, no refund, so I called him again and left a message on his machine. He eventually called me back and said that his PayPal account had stopped working, so he was writing me out a check there and then. Another week passed and nothing, so I contacted eBay. They found that he had no evidence that he's ever mailed it. He'd had the documentation printed up, but the USPS had no record of having ever received it.
eBay found in my favor and issued me with a refund via PayPal.
Evidently he'd been annoyed to find that the unit had sold way below what he expected it to go for, so, being the owner of a music shop, he had sold it to someone over the counter for a better price and then blamed it on the Post Office. |
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Douglas Schuch
From:
Valencia, Philippines
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Posted 14 Feb 2014 7:58 pm
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Alan, you should give the Ebay user name and the music shop name for this, otherwise the post is kind of meaningless except as a general caveat emptor.
_________________
Bringing steel guitar to the bukid of Negros Oriental! |
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Lefty
From:
Grayson, Ga.
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Posted 15 Feb 2014 4:20 am
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Alan,
I have had a similiar experience a couple of times.
One for a Evan's amp. The seller did not set a reserve, and I was told he was selling the amp for a friend who refused to sell it for the winning bid.
Also another time for a Rickenbacher lap steel for which I had promptly paid via paypal.
Unfortunately you can only post negative feedback.
I consider the auction a legal contract, but who is willing to pursue that through a lawyer?
Sorry, I have been there too.
Lefty |
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Kevin Raymer
From:
Chalybeate, Kentucky, USA
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Posted 15 Feb 2014 4:30 am
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Unfortunately, eBay, like life, is populated with good sellers and BAD ones.
Check those feedback ratings before you buy.
And keep an eye on the percentage positive feed backs too.
Big sellers can have a high numerical feedback rating and even a percentage in the 90es, but be making lots of people unhappy monthly..
Likewise small sellers can have a low percentage with only one neg hit..
The feedback tool is largely what keep a lot of he crooks at bay.
No pun intended.. 
_________________
Kevin Raymer
Zum / Knaggs / Breedlove
Fractal Audio |
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Brad Little
From:
Connecticut, USA
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Posted 15 Feb 2014 5:20 am
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| Douglas Schuch wrote: |
| Alan, you should give the Ebay user name and the music shop name for this, otherwise the post is kind of meaningless except as a general caveat emptor. |
You should let the Post Office know. Postal inspectors take mail fraud seriously and this may constitute mail fraud.
Brad |
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Ray Thomas
From:
Goldsboro North Carolina
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Posted 15 Feb 2014 10:21 am Ebay
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I have used ebay many years, sometimes as many as 100 items listed, many things to be considered but two as primary, first, don't deal in high dollar items unless you have first hand knowledge of the person you are dealing with, second pay close attention to the feed back section
_________________
Ray Thomas
Livesteel Strings Dealer
Call 919-920-5482
Text rayssteel@gmail.com or email |
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Mike Wheeler
From:
Delaware, Ohio, USA
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Posted 15 Feb 2014 11:32 am
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And also ask probing, pointed, questions. The answers, or lack of them, can tell you a lot about the seller.
_________________
Best regards,
Mike |
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Don Griffiths
From:
Steelville, MO
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Posted 15 Feb 2014 9:55 pm
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Yes Alan, I want to know who the ebay seller is and what music store he works out of.
_________________
Shobud Pro1,BMI U12, Santa Cruz F, PRS Standard, Fender Twin Reverb, ‘53 000-28 |
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Damir Besic
From:
Nashville,TN.
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Posted 18 Mar 2014 9:33 pm
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| Lefty wrote: |
Alan,
I have had a similiar experience a couple of times.
One for a Evan's amp. The seller did not set a reserve, and I was told he was selling the amp for a friend who refused to sell it for the winning bid.
Also another time for a Rickenbacher lap steel for which I had promptly paid via paypal.
Unfortunately you can only post negative feedback.
I consider the auction a legal contract, but who is willing to pursue that through a lawyer?
Sorry, I have been there too.
Lefty |
if you don't receive your item, you need to contact the PayPal, they will return your money to you, even if the seller has no money in his bank account, they will send his bank account in red...
Db
_________________
https://steelguitarsonline.com/ |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 19 Mar 2014 1:22 am
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I didn't mention the name of the music store because this is a public forum, to which everyone has access but only members can post. As such, since I had no absolute proof of the seller's intentions, I could be sued for libel. Since my last post I posted a grievance with eBay, who investigated the case, and, finding no evidence that the item was ever mailed, issued me with a refund.
Then, completely out of the blue, the seller sent me an international money order for $100, which was more than the amount of the transaction plus postage. I then emailed the seller saying that I was completely confused, and have had no reply to my email.
Logic would therefore suggest, that, in this case, it was a matter of total incompetence on behalf of the seller, rather than intentional fraud. The only other conclusion is that the seller did indeed sell the item over the counter after having accepted my money, and then tried to cover it up by saying that he had mailed it, and eventually tried to retain his reputation on eBay by issuing a refund for more than the transaction.
Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practise to deceive. |
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