why'd i have to be so careless (ebay scammer)

[uncle_el]

so, as some of you may know, i've been attempting to acquire a digital camera. i have/had my eyes set on a sony dsc-f717.
in any event, i figured i'd try on ebay. i have been keeping my bids low, but to no avail over the last few weeks.

well, low and behold, today i found an auction that was ending in under 2 hours, with the max bid being only $125.00! so, i figured what the hell, i'll bid 127.50 and see what happens. to my surprise, i was the current high bidder. literally 10 minutes later, i won the auction (i assume it was ended early by the seller). then, i received this e-mail from the seller:

Dear elwademd,
Thank you for your purchase. The total for your item below is $127.50.

Please send payment for your eBay purchase
You can pay me securely with any major credit card through PayPal. I accept the following payment methods: PayPal.

You have bought information to obtain the camera f717, in case this was not what you bid for, contact me as soon as possible.
[ http://pics.ebaystatic.com/aw/pics/spacer.gif ]


Please email me at [ mailto:mbajpai@purdue.edu ]mbajpai@purdue.edu if you have any questions.
[ http://pics.ebaystatic.com/aw/pics/spacer.gif ]
If you want to mail your payment, please send it and include a copy of this email to:
Manish Bajpai
Tarkington Hall,
West Lafayette, IN 47906
United States


Thank you again for your purchase.

mbajpai

in any event, i sent an e-mail to the guy saying i was under the impression that i was getting a camera, not information to a website that i could buy a camera from.
i also sent an e-mail to ebay:

Reporting member: elwademd 3
Member being reported: mbajpai 12
Buyer Status: 1

Item number: 3806213409; US !12300! 101903

Payment Method: Other Payment (specify in your note below)
Date of Payment: 03/26/04

Customer concern: I recently bid and won on item# 3806213409, for a Sony CyberShot DSC-F717 digital camera. The item was described as such:
"Get a brand new sony dsc f717 camera for only $100, the system is relaible and fast. I will give you a weblink to a site, that is tested and works!!. You will also get bonuses along with the camera, you'll get a gold package for the website, that has various other advantages. You can even make money of the site."

I was under the impression that I was getting a great deal on a camera. However, I was informed through e-mail by the seller that I had not won a camera, but rather information to buy the camera:
"You have bought information to obtain the camera f717, in case this was not what you bid for, contact me as soon as possible."

I believe this to be a fradulent use of Ebay's services, as the item description is that of a camera, but the seller is saying the item is information to obtain a camera.

Thank you for your time.

the only thing i know that will happen, is that i will not pay for this auction. if i get a negative remark, oh well. i should have ben more careful, and actually read the item description, as it is a bit vague. ah well, you live and you learn.

if anyone else wants to send in alerts to ebay about this guy (he's selling another camera where the description is a bit more to the point about it not being a camera, but rather information) be my guest.

[uncle_el]

here's a link to his newest "camera" right here where he's made sure to put in bold that he's not selling a camera, but rather, information.

if you wouldn't mind, just send an e-mail to ebay alerting for possible fraud, thanks.

[91accord4door]

damn that sucks man,nice camera though,i cant believe hes selling info to get to a site that has that camera...lol,sounds stupid to me.good luck.

[AccordWarrior]

Yeah...ebay can be really sketchy like that...it was kinda like the headlight debate that was on the board a few weeks ago...calling them real jdm blackhousings...but you've def got a legit gripe...its almost like the people selling the diy instructions...some people will do anything for money...

[uncle_el]

yea, we'll see. i figured i would see what my bid did, and it was leading, but there was still about an hour and 50 minutes left. i began to look more carefull at the wording, and got suspicious, but i figured i'd get outbid anyway. then the auction ended.

i'll keep you updated on what ebay does or doesn't say, as well as this guy.

[h22sparkle]

Yeah you have to be really careful before you bid on anything . Check out the star on the persons name and do the backround sellers checklist . Be sure to check out their popularity list. See some of the things that people said about them and what they have to say about it Negatively and positively. I say anything lower that 95 doesnt deserve your money. death to scammers

[uncle_el]

Originally posted by h22sparkle
Yeah you have to be really careful before you bid on anything . Check out the star on the persons name and do the backround sellers checklist . Be sure to check out their popularity list. See some of the things that people said about them and what they have to say about it Negatively and positively. I say anything lower that 95 doesnt deserve your money. death to scammers

did that. 12 transactions, 100% positive rating. no negatives. i just didn't look too closely at the item description, esp. since i figured i wouldn't win the auction with a bid that low any way (i believe the camera retails for over $500; when it came out a year or 2 ago, it was $899).

[uncle_el]

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

i guess it all worked out. not so bad. only took ebay about 5 hours to come through:

We are writing to inform you that we recently ended all listings for seller mbajpai on eBay. The seller’s privileges to trade on eBay have been temporarily suspended while we investigate this matter further. (The current account status can be viewed next to the user ID of the seller on the eBay site.).

Our records indicate that you were a participating bidder or buyer in this seller’s listing. You will need to use your own personal judgment in deciding whether to complete this transaction.

As described in our User Agreement, eBay is only a venue, and we cannot guarantee that sellers will complete transactions nor can we guarantee the delivery or quality of bought items. As a basic principle, a buyer should know with whom he or she is dealing before sending a payment to a seller.

Depending on the circumstances, you might decide to delay payment to a seller until completely confident that the transaction will be completed safely.. If you decide to delay payment but already paid by personal check, you may wish to contact your bank to discuss whether it would be possible to stop payment on the check. If you paid with a credit card, you may wish to contact your credit card company’s security department to discuss this payment – many companies provide protection in certain circumstances. If you paid by money order, you may want to contact that money order company for information on how to stop payment.

Please note that the ending of the listings for this seller is a precautionary measure. The grounds for this suspension may be the result of a mistake or misunderstanding.

Some countries have laws that might prevent you from retracting payment by check or otherwise; please inform yourself of applicable laws before acting.

There are many tips on how to protect yourself with any Internet transaction on our help page located at:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/buyerguide/bidding-tips.html

If you have any questions, please reply directly to this email.

Regards,
Customer Support (Trust and Safety Department)

serves that guy right. and teaches me to look just a little more careful before making a bid.

[91accord4door]

happy for ya.see it is worth it to take time and let people know when somethings wrong.good job.

[cp[mike]]

im sure thats the last time he ever writes up an auction like that... good job!

[akkordlayinkit]

Sorry to hear about your mishap Uncle. People like that guy are the reason I have never, and will never buy anything off ebay. What things people will do just to make a few bucks But glad to see that E-bay seems to be taking correct action on this matter.

Jay

[uncle_el]

Originally posted by akkordlayinkit
Sorry to hear about your mishap Uncle. People like that guy are the reason I have never, and will never buy anything off ebay. What things people will do just to make a few bucks But glad to see that E-bay seems to be taking correct action on this matter.

it's all good, you live and you learn. this just really shows that you need to read the item description before making a bid, since you never know what will happen after that.

i've purchased my rims, some diesel jeans, and some belts on ebay. and i sold my rims on ebay. so, i'll continue to use the site, i just need to be more careful.

once i got that e-mail, there was no way i'd be paying for that b.s. i just wonder if other people before me got scammed.