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whats with these strange new ebay listings that are popping up everywhere


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Hey guys,

I spend a fair amount of my time on ebay, and lately I've been seeing alot of very strange listings. They have an item up for auction...generally a big time item like powermac quad G4 and a 30" display going for really cheap (like 1/3 the normal price). They always want you to e-mail the seller to find out about the deal. So I did, not because I would risk my money with it but because I wanted to find out what these guys are doing. The thing that makes it really fishy is that its from accounts which usually have a really high number of good feedback. However, none of the feedback is ever on a sale like the one they've listed, always some smaller sale. Here is a link to one so you can see what I mean

http://cgi.ebay.com/Apple-Power-Mac-G5-Dua...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

Like I said I emailed one of the sellers to find out how it works. Here was his reply

 

 

Because i am in Europe I will ship the unit in advance using Online Transportation Company ( www.shipp-line.com ) .My price is 800 usd.The unit is brand new with full warranty from the manufacturer.

1) First you have to send me your shipping informations (your name and address)

2) I go to the Online Transportation Company store and leave the product onto your name and with your address as the intended

 

receiver .

3) Online Transportation Company checks the product , also the legal papers to see that everything is OK with it .

4) Online Transportation Company sends you a delivery notification to let you know they have the product , that all is in

 

order with it and that the unit is packaged and ready to be delivered to you .

5) They send you thye information regard shipping and where you make the payment.

6) Online Transportation Company will verify the payment informations and if everything is in order they will deliver the

 

package to you .

7) After you receive the product, check it and see that all is in order you will instruct Online Transportation Company to

 

send me the informations about the money deposit and I will be able to receive the funds .

I will pay Online Transportation Company for the shipping

Let me know if we can do this.

 

I went to the site he linked to and looked around. Seems like a decent setup, but I'm guessing its a face company. I've e-mailed the company and asked them how things work. Once they get back to me I'll see if what they say and what he says match.

 

Anyone have any idea what these guys are doing? I hate seeing people get ripped off which is why I'm trying to figure this scam out so perhaps ebay can be pressured to stop it.

 

pedro

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Thanks Romey-Rome :dev:

I read that whole friggin' article. Great!

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The amount of scamming going on out there is crazy.

 

I sell stuff on Craigslist sometimes (so I can just have someone drop by and pick up the goods and pay cash). But even though I say local only, I always get the same sort of form email from people saying they will give me a fedex account# and pay via bidpay or some fake escrow site.

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Loved the scam story ... getting the guy to cough up $500 for taxes lol!

 

I did some research into 'Online Transportation Company' and 'shipp-line' - there's a bunch of stuff on the web in German about it being a scam with a fairly professional front-end website. Domain registration is through an anonymous proxy registrant service, which is a strong clue to it being dodgy.

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  • 10 months later...

let me tall you a tale about a powermac g5 2.0 ghz dual w 2 30"displays.

 

i was on ebay when i came across a powermac g5 2.0ghz w 2 30" displays, w/ 2 min left and 1 bid @ $20, i bid 40, and win. i was like 12 @ time, and i convinced my mom to buy it. i send the money thru paypa, and i get message frum seller saying that he cant get paypal, in uk, and his price is 400usd western union. me being stupid, payed, i get email next day, saying he needs more $$ to ship. we say no, report him 2 police and they did {censored}. lesson learned: only buy on ebay if it is within actual price range

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Guest Koh-i-Noor

All this {censored} is a scam. Let me explain:

 

1) They say they are from some stupid country like Nicaragua or something.

2) They ask for the money in check, and they will send it when they get the money.

3) You pay them.

4) They contact you back saying they couldn't ship the product and you will get a full refund.

5) They send you back counterfeit money, and they keep the real stuff.

6) You just got owned.

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