How does this suspicious Ebay scam (I think) work?
I just saw an Ebay item was too good to be true. It was for a new electric generator worth at least $2,000. It had about 10 hours to close. The starting bid was about 25 GBP ($42 US dollars). No bids yet. Item location was in Illinois but seller was in Germany. Almost all of the seller's feedbacks were in German and 100% positive. Free shipping but must contact seller via email prior to bidding. How does this work and still the seller make money?
Other - Computers - 24 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
The bid price has not reached the minimum yet. Check to see if the reserve has been met. If not, then they are not really selling it for that.
2 :
i don't know
3 :
It's probably legitimate, but is the cost in US dollars? as for free shipping, just check past purchases from other buyers. Duty on imported goods is not shipping and handling. you pay that and it is usually expensive!GL
4 :
I wouldn't do it. If it sounds too good to be true ..guess what .. IT PROBABLY IS
5 :
Should have posted the item# and we could have looked
6 :
Good Deal...you should buy it...
7 :
email the seller with that question.
8 :
A must read for craigslist/ebay Buyers/sellers!!! http://pirsquare.letzebuerg.org/scams.html
9 :
I wouldn't say it was a scam - it could have been. But the auction did have 10hrs to close and the price can go up a ton in that amount of time. You don't know what this person does for a living - for all you know they could own a generator plant in Germany and distribute from Illinois.
10 :
Thats doesnt sound like a scam...thats how ebay works. its possible the bidding could get up to $2000, but the seller decided to start the bidding at $42US. If there is NO RESERVE, and no one else outbids you, then you could quite possibly and rightfully win the guitar for that amount. Just make sure you read all of the fine print very carefully BEFORE you bid. Happy Bidding.
11 :
Maybe they bought it for themselves and decided not to keep it, or they might work for a company that designs or distributes them (I do), and can occasionally get them free. Or maybe it is a scam, you have to be careful!
12 :
he probably has you transfer the money using western union instead of using check or money order and once you do that theres no way you get the money back and yeah, you don't get anything. But maybe it wasn't a scam maybe he was selling the item for someone in Illinois and the member was located in Germany, but I don't understand why anyone would do that?
13 :
Just do what the seller tells you to: e-mail him/her and work it out from there. Remember that 'too good to be true' usually means exactly that
14 :
maybe he has a shill waiting in the wings to bid up to a certain dollar amount. Maybe the item is not what you think it is.
15 :
Send me $42 and I will give you a full report.
16 :
Once in awhile, you can get great bargains on ebay. And it's a great place to find things you're looking for. On the other hand, remember the old rule "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is". If there's a scam involved, you'd probably figure it out in the required email exchange before shipment.
17 :
you have to watch EBay i got scam from them it was a Xbox for my son. It was going for 50$ so i thought that is a good deal . but the person that was selling it did not say it was links to on how to get it free this was back in May and i have not still seen the 50$ from them back
18 :
I can't comment on this one individual seller. The only way to check is through feedback, but even that could be bogus. Just be wary.... As to being "too good to be true", I bought a brand-new double oven for $1 last month; an almost new $2500 fridge for $45 last week. Picked up both of them... No problems. Sometimes you actually can get a great deal on e-bay.
19 :
I think it's the real thing.. If you like it, then buy it.. if it's fraud, you can report it here,m and get your money back... http://www.ic3.gov/ or, just aks your bank to reverse charges..
20 :
wow... that is a good deal. check the shipping and handling. that should bring you back to earth.
21 :
I wouldn't touch that deal with a ten foot pole. This is way too good to be true and the email before bid sounds like to me they are going to rip you off. I saw a case like this on tv a while back, they get the money but the item doesn't exist.
22 :
If you do not check a company before entering into a transaction, you could lose your money, time and credibility. Some widely used resources are the Better Business Bureau (www.bbb.org) and the national fraud center ( www.fraud.org) These days, you can easily find out more about a company using the internet in a few minutes. From a company's website, you can details about its ownership, how old the company really is and feedback from the company's customers. You can find more detailed information about a company at http://tinyurl.com/gtb89
23 :
eBay is the largest online marketplace and one of the most popular ways to earn an income from home with a PC and internet connection. Selling on eBay is inexpensive and easy to start. Ebay has a number of tools for sellers to maximise sales. These are eBay Pulse, Hot items report, merchandising calendar. By sourcing products at a low price, you can increase your profit. Check out http://tinyurl.com/rygsh for more details.
24 :
What they do is to get you to agree to payment arrangements outside of ebay, and then you are screwed. Ebay has some protections in place but if you go outside the system (this is the reason for email) you will lose everything and get nothing. Drop it like a hot potato.
