Has anyone bought gear off E-Bay?

[ducklite]

I'm looking through E-Bay at some gear, the prices are about 80% off list. That makes me wary. But there are a couple of sellers who take Paypal and have over 50 positive feedbacks and no negative in the past year.

Tell me what I'm missing here? There are D2X's listed, I could probably pick one up for under $1000 NIB. They offer "World-Wide Warranty" which is possibly grey market, but for that price, even if I needed to pay $1000 out of pocket for a repair, I'd still be ahead.

So what am I missing? Why wouldn't I go ahead and bid on one? Most of them come with an assortment of lenses, none of which I'm interested in, but I could trade them plus my D-70 kit lens and some cash for the $2000 lens I really want at the place I buy most of my gear. It just seems like a win-win situation...

Why should I or why should I not do this? I'm very torn...

Anne

[MICKEY88]

I'm looking through E-Bay at some gear, the prices are about 80% off list. That makes me wary. But there are a couple of sellers who take Paypal and have over 50 positive feedbacks and no negative in the past year.

Tell me what I'm missing here? There are D2X's listed, I could probably pick one up for under $1000 NIB. They offer "World-Wide Warranty" which is possibly grey market, but for that price, even if I needed to pay $1000 out of pocket for a repair, I'd still be ahead.

So what am I missing? Why wouldn't I go ahead and bid on one? Most of them come with an assortment of lenses, none of which I'm interested in, but I could trade them plus my D-70 kit lens and some cash for the $2000 lens I really want at the place I buy most of my gear. It just seems like a win-win situation...

Why should I or why should I not do this? I'm very torn...

Anne

I've bought a lot of stuff off ebay, 2 years ago I bought a Minolta 8000I with 2 lenses,the one lens was a 100-300 which I had a buyer for, sold the lens for what I paid for everything...grin..... 2 weeks later I bought a Minolta 800SI with 2 lenses and a lowepro backpack, then 2 weeks later I decided to go digital and bought my Minolta A2 off ebay, I never used either of the 2 Minolta 35mms...LOL


sold the 8000i to a friends daughter


last month I bought my MInolta 7D off ebay, as well as the vc-7d:vertical battery grip}different sellers, no problems at all

I checked feedback scores, and tried to buy from sellers that accept paypal, for the extra paypal protection...

the seller that I bought the 7D from actually bonded the transaction for free....


one thing you might want to consider if they have international warranty, is picking up a 5 year macke warranty...that's what I did with my A2 and my 7D

[MICKEY88]

I just looked on ebay, some of those adds just don't sound right, such as bid starting at $1 with no reserve...

[rileysmommy]

I have purchased camera gear off of ebay before and am looking to do it again. I always look at the sellers rating and feedback and look very closely at the description and shipping charges. I have never been burned yet fortunately. You are taking a chance and only you can decide if it's worth it.

[ducklite]

I just looked on ebay, some of those adds just don't sound right, such as bid starting at $1 with no reserve...

Yeah, that's my concern. The ones that are in the $1000 range I can see, but $1 NR for a D2X? I'm very leery.

Anne

[MICKEY88]

Yeah, that's my concern. The ones that are in the $1000 range I can see, but $1 NR for a D2X? I'm very leery.

Anne

perhaps shipping charges are $2000

[MICKEY88]

Yeah, that's my concern. The ones that are in the $1000 range I can see, but $1 NR for a D2X? I'm very leery.

Anne

view sellers other items,,everything is $1

even a 50 inch flat screen tv....????

what a great deal I think I'll buy one.....NOT

[ducklite]

perhaps shipping charges are $2000

:lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

Anne

[MICKEY88]

:lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

Anne

the one seller mentions in the middle of his add, that if you contact him he'll give you the lowest buy it now price of 1000

[Kelly Grannell]

sometimes they sell stolen goods. I know and reported one of them. I bought a $2,000 MSRP laptop and the bid started at $1 NR, I won the bid for some reason for only $600. However, when I tried to register the laptop (it's a Dell), the screen told me that I can't register the machine and I have to call a certain toll-free number. Turned out that the laptop was stolen. So I ended up dealing with the police and everything (RCMP works together with Canadian and US Customs and US law enforcement). Almost a year later, I get my money back - from the seller (the laptop was confiscated by RCMP a week after I got it).

Just be careful.

[mhutchinson]

I have picked up some camera gear off eBay as well, mostly primes and bags. And yes, you need to be very careful due to scams (such as $.01 NR starting bids that carry a $1,000.00 shipping charge). Although there are valid sellers that will inflate shipping to keep eBay from taking too much of a cut in the profits pirate: . Before I bid I typically do as much research as I can on a seller through the feedback and see what people have bought from them in the past.

Is all the positive ratings they have due to buying $1 trading pins or have they actually sold stuff and are a valid seller. The usual advice, try to cover yourself. But there are some deals to be had on eBay and there are also many opportunities to buy something for more than you can at a reputable online website...not to mention all the time and frustration that can go in to buying off eBay.

Also there are reputable businesses that sell on eBay instead of investing in their own web sites and all the expenses and overhead in that realm as well.

[captaincrash]

I've bought and sold about 800 "sides" on ebay through a couple of Ebay IDs - two are mine and one ID is mostly my spouses'. In that time I have seen all sorts of nonsense - and ocassionally been a potential victim. In fact, recently I bought a Canon zoom from a seller with everything looking right. You know... moderately high feedback in excess of 98% positive, listing with refund offer, proper english in listing, paypal, and other sales listed that fit the ordnary profile. Only to find that right after winning the auction I got a TKO email from ebay warning me NOT to complete the sale because the seller has had their account suspended for potential fraud or otherwise?

I have TURNED IN numerous suspicious listings where the seller apparently has stolen someone else's account (through PISHING most likely). Those listings try to bait a would be buyer into communicating OFF EBAY to make an irresistable offer... if only they could get the money WIRED to them in Nigeria or the Netherlands (or someplace similar). Also, those sellers often have many out of character items listed at too low to be possible, no reserve bid levels. Plus, these listings often are 1 day listings. AND, amusingly they change the ID location to places all over the globe from China to the UK to otherwise...and a quick check against their feedback on past sales shows their location WAS previously listed in the US or somewhere else in Europe. It seems a lot of Europeans are falling prey to PISHING because more and more of these scams seem to use stolen European accounts.

If you like - search Ebay's security pages for discussions on how to recognize and avoid being a victim of fraud.

SO - after having this one purchase TKO'd by Ebay... I went out and bought another identical Canon Zoom the next day. It came with a 7 day refund option stated in 3 places, nice photos, good feedback history with extended Paypal protection and so on. On reception of the lense - 10 days after the sale - I immediately noted 2 problems... a frozen manual focus ring and a radically shifting image as it focused! I emailed the seller to suggest there was a problem and to please confirm that I am invoking the refund option. About 4 days later it was obvious the seller was in denial and refusing to honor his/her terms. SO - I filed a claim with ebay - who in turn switched it to paypal to manage. Paypal froze the funds in question and took just one initial statement from each of us - and in about a week they asked me to provide PROOF of damage with a professional repair appraisal. Coincidentially, there was a professional camera repair shop just a mile from here who rendered a statement. I faxed it back to Paypal. 1 day later they approved me for the refund and instructed me to ship it back with on line tracking to arrive in less than 10 days. I sent it on the 4th day and it arrived on the 8th with FedEX ground. Simply on arrival reported via FedEX they refunded the full amount paid. No confirmation with the seller was apparently required ... as the seller was mildly belligerent and did not indicate he had to confirm that the contents were correct. I could have shipped a box of rocks?! I was impressed with the process and outcome. :thumbsup2

Now on another amusing note... I did in fact neglect to enclose something in the returned package. I missed the front lense cap - so on the day I shipped the lense back I emailed the bad seller that I honestly missed the cap but would send it. I put it in an envelope and it fell to the floor of my car where it sat un-noticed for a week unshipped. In that week I fell ill to stomach flu - and the illness swept through the family - kids an' all. Plus the younger one had more symptoms from hand foot mouth and my spose went out of town for work. That was very disruptive as you can imagine. But at the end of this interval - the bad seller sent an email declaring I might as well keep the cap. SO - being amused over his angry offer I decided I would keep it. Then a week later he emailed asking for it? I sent him a reply asking whether he knew what he had been saying in his printed communications - since he kept changing his mind from he wrote to what he wanted. At one point his excuse for not honoring a refund in the original listing was that he had NOT intended to offer the refund - even though he wrote or marked that a refund would be honored in 3 places (2 places required he keystroke the instructions for a refund and the 3rd was a checked box). SO - here he was claiming to have not intended to offer the cap when he had offerred the cap free already ... just like the error he claimed in the listing as the excuse to not honor the 3 refund offers.

Well.... because he was so amusingly confused over what he wrote versus what he now demands... I went back to examine the listing carefully for annomalies and coontradictions. It was at this point I discovered ...he had been using FAKE duplicate ebay identities to bid on his own auction to push my bids higher! This is strictly forbidden by Ebay and referred to as SHILL BIDDING (look it up on Ebay). You see... one of the bidding IDs actually used his real surname and first initial with a number behind it!!!! On closer examination of ALL his sales I noticed that he actually had TWO IDs where he had been pushing up the bidding on EVERY SALE with multiple bids with 2 obvious fake IDs and possibly a 3rd suspicious ID. On a couple of listings he ended up winning his onw auction and leaving feedback to himself! Dumb.

I turned him into Ebay security. Then I posted negative feedback asserting he used fake IDs to manipulate bids AND had refused to honor a refund offer in the listing. He immediately changed the fake ID with his name in it - but I guess he did not realize that this would appear in the permanent ID public record for all to see! His guilt was obvious! He then emailed me to say I should keep the cap and please leave him alone now. So I sent duplicate emails to all the buyers who were defrauded to advise them of being cheated. About a third of them emailed back asking what to do or other queries. At this point the seller responded to my negative feedback entry denying some of the allegations I posted. The fellow did not realize that once he posts a feedback reply that entitles me to post an additional responce to his response. SO I added more details of his dishonesty. Also - I just noticed that EBAY just suspended one of his fake IDs.

I noticed he had 3 sales listings that prior to my ebay security complaint were already using his fake IDs to push the bidding up - and they abruptly disappeared after I filed the complaint. They do not even show in his history under advanjced search. I've seen this happen with some stolen account litings before. But not always. If I were a bidder on the listing then a page would come up from my point - but if searching externally it does not come up. Apparently Ebay canceled them and must have issued a formal warning... but no suspension (it takes 3 complaints to apply a extended or semi-permanent suspension). I did receive an email from ebay thanking me for flagging the shill bidder - and for privacy reasons they could not directly reveal te findings or actions they took. But - of course I can see one of his accounts was suspended and his listings were taken down abruptly.

His newest listings are now boasting admonishments for NO PAYPAL and only CASH or MONEY ORDERS only... plus they had a number of ZERO FEEDBACK bidders. More so then I think are typical for any auction. I suspect the seller is up to his old tricks with new identities. He does not realize that it takes no effort for ebay to check URLs to see if the users of these IDs are at the same terminal or possibly using the same credit card or bank info. OF course, ebay will not check anyone unless someone turns them in with good suspician or evidence. SO I am watching... with amusement. Good thing I am sort of semi-retired with a little time to watch this - and cross search if the same items he typically sell appear under another identity. He is a repeat seller of certain items.

I don't think ebay does enough in the way of managing a fraud free transaction. I think they could do more - a lot more - but since it is not a total epidemic they are leaving things as is. Letting a few people get ripped off is OK so long as the total volume of sales remains high and no one hears about who and how many get ripped off. I suspect that many uninformed people are being made victims - and those who are agile and knowledgible are in the minority. HECK, even being informed like myself I had ONE transaction TKO'd... that was sort of annoying.

At any rate, I would have to say that I have become a bit disillusioned with buying above a certain dollar level through ebay. I have always been able to buy full price at retail - but thought it would be prudent to try and get the lowest price where reasonable. And Ebay seems less reasonable to me after these recent experiences. It is just not worth it anymore to buy used or near new on ebay to only save 20-40%. I bought my 70-300 IS new from B&H and figure it cost me 20% more - but it is brand new and fully GUARANTEED! The zoom I was shopping for will now be bought new - probably from B&H when I get around to it.

I have sold a G-1, an SD10 (new in sealed box~ a business gift), a digital rebel, a Canon 28-200 and a Tamron 18-200. Every buyer I sold to was happy as a puppy with a milk bone. In turn I have bought a Canon G-1, Canon 10D, Tamron 18-200, Canon 28-200, Canon 20-35 and several filters and memory cards without incident. The bad purchases were only a battery operated breast pump, a purse saturated with smoke (undisclosed but returned OK), a pair of ladies shoes that were never shipped and the last two attempts at Canon Zooms. On my sales I had 2 psychotic buyers who were simply rude and strange. SO - I must have had more than the 7 bad episodes I can recall - so lets' say I had 14 out of maybe 800 transactions - and I guess that's not so bad (less than 2%). I would rather have had NO bad transactions though.

I presume this discussion might help some - or at least amuse a few. In time I might return to buy a few things of significance. Just 2 weeks ago I bought a pair of $120 "Master Replica" LOTR collectible swords for $11 each and yesterday a new $250 chronograph alarm watch for $22. Shipping added about $8 to each. I already received the swords and they're new, amazing and beautiful - and the watch shipped today (email confirmed shipping one day after the sale)! That is the way it should be.



Cheers!

[Kelly Grannell]

captaincrash, what is your ebay username, I'm interested in buying from you (if you have something I need, of course). If it is not allowed to post eBay username here, kindly PM me with your username.

If you don't mind, of course.

[captaincrash]

Anyone want to see a highly suspicious ebay listing? In routine shopping I found an obviously FAKE listing for a Canon EOS 1 kit with several nice SIGMA lenses that starts at $100 with no reserve. 1 day listing with all the bidder IDs kept private and secret (to prevent warnings being sent directly by folks like me to the ill informed bidders). The listing offers to sell directly to you on the side for $1000 (what a laugh? $1000 for a package that could sell for $7000~9000 for the EOS 1 alone?!?) ... if you will wire the money via western union to them in europe "right away!". The email I got by contacting the thieving seller asks me to deal with them in europe. At the bottom of this posting I have quoted the email message they sent me asking to wire money....

Plus the seller has 36 other listings of unlikely products. :rolleyes: IE, plasma TVs, other DSLRs, high end electronic equipment, etc..... The feedback history of the poor young lady who had her account ID stolen shows she is new to Ebay and has bought 12 Louis Vitton (misspelled cuz I'm a guy who doen not buy those sort of expensive hand bags) hand bags. SO there is no matching history to the items listed for sale.

The Ebay item number is available to you to examine IF you send me a private message requesting it. I think DIS rules disallow posting EAY IDs or item numbers and it is good only for as long as EBay security does not pull it down. I have already contacted ebay security to have them investigate it. I found it only 35 minutes after it went up - so with luck these suspicious listings will get suspended with a "TKO" BEFORE any inocent people become victims of their own greed.

As a matter of interest - I copied the top part of the listing to show how the perpetrators ask up front to pull you off ebay to communicate directly with them BEFORE shuts them down. I left OUT the email address of the suspected thief.



<partial copy of the ebay listing>

CANON EOS-1Ds MARK II 2 Digital Camera Pro PKG EOS-1 Ds

+2 PRO LENSES +4GB +2 3PC FILTER KIT! FREE DVD PLAYER!



WE WILL SHIP INTERNATIONALLY!
! NOTE: Please contact us before bidding or buying. Any eBay action as bidding or buying made without contacting us will be cancelled .
mail me now if you want to buy it now for only $1000us

"......."@gmail.com



Below is a copy of the emailed message asking folks to WIRE money to them somewhere in EUROPE or to "check out" usig their fake ebay chack out page... which would be really dumb sice you are likely to sign in with YOUR ebay identity and not only will they go for money from you but they will gain access to YOUR Ebay account to start another round of fraud with YOUR Ebay accout - and possibly open credit cards with your personal info!


<full text of the email request for wired funds from the ebay thief>

First I am going to tell you some things I think you should know before
ending this deal.I travel a lot and now I am in Eastern Europe. The item is going to be shipped from Europe also.My item is brand new, unopened box all accessories included and also an international warranty.
Now, I can ship through UPS air next day delivery. I will pay for all
taxes. If you wish you can also send me your full shipping info so I can
make a reservation on your name .
The price of the item is $1000 (as I said earlier with shipping and
insurance taxes included). Here I am stuck to western union wire transfer.I can't use paypal because it's not available yet. Just because of this I set up an insurance
with ebay which guaranties 100 % of this deal. If you wish I can contact
eBay right away and have them send you an invoice with my insurance.
If you agree on my terms I am sure we can close the deal right now.
Please reply after you think it over. :lmao:
Best regards.


On 5/16/06


Be careful of anyone asking you to buy outside of normal channels - or without recourse. Or with suspicious lists of items for sale - etc...

[ducklite]

Just as an FYI, I decided that when I buy my D2X, I'll be purchasing it from the same guy I've bought all my gear from. It's just not worth the risk.

Anne

[handicap18]

I've bought off ebay and have always checked though feedback research and also will watch a few autions then check them a few days/weeks afterwards to check that feedback and see what the price ended up as. I'll also sometimes check what the other winners have bought.

I haven't had any issues thus far. It is always best to check things out. Most of the ones I buy from have feedback well over 5000 (a few over 15,000).

[captaincrash]

So Ebay removed the fraudulant listings - I expected it and had placed a bid on the bad listing. In response - when Ebay canceled the listing they sent me the following email (partially quoted below):



Subject: Important Message from eBay Loss Prevention Department Received: May-16-06
The following is a notice from eBay Trust & Safety regarding:

Item Number - xxxxxxx

Item Title - CANON EOS-1Ds MARK II 2 Digital Camera Pro PKG EOS-1 Ds


Our records show that you were a bidder or buyer of one or more of this seller's items. We recently removed this seller's active listings and suspended the seller's trading privileges. Due to privacy concerns we cannot share further details about this seller.

If the seller asks you to complete this transaction outside of eBay, we strongly recommend that you do not proceed with the transaction. Transactions for items listed on eBay but then completed off of the eBay platform are not covered by buyer protection programs offered by eBay and can be highly indicative of fraud. For more information on Offers to Buy or Sell Outside of eBay, copy and past the following Help Page link into your browser: http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/rfe-spam-non-ebay-sale.html.
If you have already paid for this item but have not received it, you should take all possible steps to receive reimbursement.

1. Stop payment with your bank if you paid by check.
2. Contact the Security Department of your credit card company to file a chargeback if you paid via credit card.
3. If you paid via Western Union or MoneyGram, contact the company directly (Western Union 800-325-6000 or MoneyGram 800-926-9400).
4. If you paid with PayPal, you may be eligible for up to $1,000 USD coverage at no cost. To file a claim with PayPal, login to your PayPal account and copy and paste the following link into your web browser:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_protections-buyer-outside Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the File a Claim link. PayPal claims must be filed within 45 days of the close of the listing. It may take at least 30 days to complete the investigation and resolve the dispute.
5. If you did not pay with PayPal and would like to file a claim with eBay, please initiate the Item Not Received Process online directly from the Security and Resolution Center at the bottom of the eBay.com page.
6. eBay claims must be filed within 60 days of the end of the listing.

Our goal is to ensure that your eBay experience is safe so that you can buy confidently. It is rare that something goes wrong with a transaction on eBay. However, in the event it does, we would like to provide as much assistance as possible to help resolve the issue.

Please do not respond to this email, as your reply will not be received.

Regards,
Customer Support (Trust and Safety Department)



Today I bid and won a couple more auctions on small stuff and I found a lense listing that had my interest. I would have bid on it if it looked like it was going to close in my "target bargain" price range. It went up over my "limit" so I did not bid. I figure if it costs above a certain point then I might as well go and buy it at retail via mail order from B&H or locally at Canoga Camera.

Buying from sellers with 1000s of feedback history is good - but I have seen an ocassional seller with 1000s of feedback get their accout stolen and used for fraudulant listings. Grated - that is rare - but I have seen it happen before. :confused3

[CheshireVal]

DH bought an SLR (film) off of Ebay a few years ago. It lasted about a month before it went kaput. He brought it to a camera shop and it would have cost more to fix than to buy another.

I don't think he's really all that keen to buy expensive camera stuff off Ebay again. :rolleyes:

[Geoff_M]

I'm looking through E-Bay at some gear, the prices are about 80% off list. That makes me wary.As it should... You can find some good deals on equipment on eBay, but you can be sure that 99.99% of the time the seller of a high-end piece of equipment like a D2X has a pretty good idea of what its resale value is. Given that, they aren't going to let it go for a few dimes on the dollar. A red flag should go up on anything that's more than a 20% savings over other means of buying it.

Also, I can assure you that "International" or "World-wide" warranty IS gray market. As such, Nikon USA won't touch the equipment for repair, even for a fee. You'd be forced to try and send it back to Japan for service.

I have had good results with eBay camera sales, but I usually stick to listings from REAL camera dealers like Cameta Camera (Nikon's "preferred" seller of refurbished equipment, eBay store name: cametaauctions) or other outfits like Roberts Imaging (eBay store name: Roberts Distributors).

[captaincrash]

As it should... You can find some good deals on equipment on eBay, but you can be sure that 99.99% of the time the seller of a high-end piece of equipment like a D2X has a pretty good idea of what its resale value is. Given that, they aren't going to let it go for a few dimes on the dollar. A red flag should go up on anything that's more than a 20% savings over other means of buying it.

Also, I can assure you that "International" or "World-wide" warranty IS gray market. As such, Nikon USA won't touch the equipment for repair, even for a fee. You'd be forced to try and send it back to Japan for service.

I have had good results with eBay camera sales, but I usually stick to listings from REAL camera dealers like Cameta Camera (Nikon's "preferred" seller of refurbished equipment, eBay store name: cametaauctions) or other outfits like Roberts Imaging (eBay store name: Roberts Distributors).

Good advice... I might add that when you're thinking of buying from a brick and motar seller like Cameta or Canoga, etc.... you should check the seller's web site. Most of these outfits have a retail we site. Just today I was going to bid on a lense from Canoga camera - and 15 minutes before the auction ended I checked their regular web site. I noted that the current bid with 15 minutes to go was nearly at their REGULAR web price! As the auction entered the final minute the bidding added another $15 and in the end the lense sold for slightly MORE then their regular web price. Who would have figured? :confused3

So- if getting a good deal is your objective (duh) - then you can obtain all sorts of deals (good - middlin' and bad from crooks). Exercise good judgement and enjoy the shopping adventure!!! :rolleyes:

[captaincrash]

Well...

... obviously they pulled down the last listing that was using a stolen account. AND today I have come across another 46 fraudulant listings including one for an EOS 1Ds Mk II for $1200. This seller has taken over the account of a person from the UK with a 100% positive feedback rating of 188. The feedback ID stated they are in the UK (that could have been changed IF the thief were not so lazy) - and the visible feedback on items purchased implies they've transacted primarily from the UK... plus most transactions in the feedback history were paid for with british pounds... another indication of a resident of the UK. However, the current 46 sales listings state the item location as various places in the USA! Some locations say La Canada, California (about 40 miles from where I am sitting now) and another of their listings humorously termed their location as Yankdale, South Dakota.

So - I turned them on my discovery with 18 hours til they close - so they've been up for a little under 6 hours before I found them. It may take Ebay 1-6 hours to catch up with my complaints and shut them down. Not bad considering it is a regular weekday. I've seen greater fraud activity on holiday weekends as the purpetrators assume correctly that most of the ebay security staff is proabably off for the holiday weekend. I've seen a far slower response rate to my security complaints on holiday weekends.

So - I emailed the purpetrator asking how to take advantage of their "too good to be true direct bargain deal for $1200" ... below are quoted copies of their email responses minus their email and complete personal address... take a look and enjoy the snickering...



<EMAIL COPY FROM SUSPECTED THIEF OF AN EBAY ACCOUNT WHO IS TRYING TO GET US TO WIRE THEM MONEY>

HI THERE sIR,
The item is BRAND NEW, have international warranty provided by the factory
and come with all accesories that you need .my best price is $1200 including the shipping taxes.
I shipp via UPS (air service) , in max 2 days this item will be in your home.
i prefer to pay me via Western union bc is the faster.I am legit with
ebay also i have insurance in case something happens you will get full
refounds from ebay.( i have a buyer protection )
Thanks and mail me back
Best regards

<AND HERE IS A FOLLOW UP EMAIL WITH INSTRUCTIONS ON WHERE TO WIRE THE FUNDS>

Hi there ...
this is my payment info for western union money transfer :
To arrange the transfer, you must go in person to a Western Union office and
send the money from your name and address to my name and adrress

First Name: V...(I deleated the whole name)
Last Name: P... (I deleated the whole name)
address: Str.Chisinau Nr.4 Bl.H Sc.3 et.2 (APT # deleated)
city/zip/country: braila/6100/romania :rolleyes:


tell me when you can make the payment because i must to know when i start the shipping

<THIS THIEF IS IN ROMANIA>



Oh well... I imagine this fellow must eventually catch a few unlucky ebay folks with money plus little common sense or practical experience. As such - even experienced ebay people are having their accounts stolen - as the original eBay history shows that the victim had 188 feedback entries at 100% positive. Too bad.

So - I just sent them a request for multiple units - and they happily declared they have 10 units for sale! Imagine ... buying TEN EOS 1Ds Mk2 for $12,000? SHippED TOO... 2nd day express from Romania???! :p I sent an email to the Braila police - in case anything might amount from it however unlikely as it may seem. Below is a map of Braila from the police department web site for Braila, Romania.

http://www.politiaromana.ro/Engleza/images/jpg/braila.jpg

After waiting for 4 hours to see if Ebay security would respond to my email I grew impatient at the inaction. So, I got a tech live at their "live help" chat (click the Ebay logo at top left for the home page, then look for the tiny "LIVE HELP" hot link at the top right corner). I explained to the tech how I had waited 4 hours and the suspected listings were still up and starting to draw several bids... the tech stated he/she was going to check it... then they said they have confirmed my claims and were kicking it up to someones' attention. At this point I thanked them and added that I had just uncovered a new twist. The suspected thieves had sent me a new PISH... it was an email pretending to be Ebay security and asking that I click through a link to identify myeslf and register on their link!!! Creative... eh? I had received many emails from ebaby security in the past - and I even know how they invite real law enforcement folks to step forward to interface - and this clearly was NOT a proper link or method. I suspected that clicking the link would download a virus, data miner or simply a PISHING page for identity theft. FYI... the address to send PISH reports to is spoof@ebay.com AND they need the email forwarded with no changes to the header, subject line or hand typed explanation by you. Just forward the thing w/o ANY typing and they will handle the rest. At this point ... less than 5 minutes after I closed communication with the LIVE HELP eBay tech - the faked listings started disappearing as eBay was removing them! :cool1: Below is a quoted copy of ebay's response to my PISH report ... it's a form letter, but it is informative just the same....

Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to write eBay with your concerns. My name
is Renata, and I'm happy to help you further.

Emails such as this, commonly referred to as "spoof" or "phished"
messages, are sent in an attempt to collect sensitive personal or
financial information from the recipients.

The email you reported was not sent by eBay. We have reported this email
to the appropriate authorities.

In the future, be very cautious of any email that asks you to submit
information such as your credit card numbers or passwords. If you are
ever concerned about an email you receive from eBay, simply follow these
steps:

1. Open a new Web browser and type www.ebay.com into your browser
address field to go directly to the eBay site.

2. On eBay, sign into your account and click the "My eBay" button at the
top of the page.

3. Check the My Messages section located at the top of the My eBay page.
If an email affects your eBay account, it's now in My Messages. Any
email sent to your registered eBay email address from eBay or from
another eBay member via eBay's member-to-member communication system
will now appear in My Messages.

Just remember, if you get an email to your registered eBay email address
that looks like it's from eBay about a problem with your account or
requesting personal information, check My Messages first. If it's not
there, it's a fake email. (* my note.... THIS ONLY APPLIES FOR messages from the eBay system claiming to be FROM eBay as opposed to individuals sending PISH or SPAM links! Also, whats' to stop a PISH or Data miner from creating a page that mimics the home page of MY EBAY with automated active links to your account?n That is why they say 1st off to enter ebay through a new wndow starting with www.ebay.com... ya gotta be careful folks when dealing with these Bad identity thieves.... )

If you still have any doubt about whether an email message is from eBay,
please forward it immediately to spoof@ebay.com. Do not respond to it or
click any of the links. Do not remove the original subject line or
change the email in any way when you forward it to us.

If you have already entered sensitive personal information, financial
information, or your password into a Web site based on a request from a
spoofed email, you should take immediate action to protect your identity
and all of your online accounts. We have developed an eBay Help page
with valuable information regarding the steps you should take to protect
yourself.

http://pages.ebay.com/help/tp/isgw-account-theft-reporting.html

To review eBay's new tutorial about Spoof Emails, please see the
following Web page:

http://pages.ebay.com/education/spooftutorial/

To help you better protect yourself from fake eBay and PayPal Web sites,
we have developed a feature for the eBay Toolbar called "Account Guard."
Account Guard includes an indicator of when you are on an eBay or PayPal
Web site or a known spoof (or "phishing") site, buttons to report fake
eBay Web sites, and a password notification feature that warns you when
you may be entering your eBay password on an unverified site.

To learn more about the eBay Toolbar with Account Guard go to
www.ebay.com, click on "Downloads" at the bottom of the page, and then
click on the "eBay Toolbar" link.

Once again, thank you for alerting us to the spoof email you received.
Your efforts help keep eBay a safe and fair place to trade.

Regards,

Renata
eBay SafeHarbor
_____________________________________________

Whether you're new to eBay or an experienced buyer and seller, the eBay
Security & Resolution Center can help you protect yourself on eBay and
online. For more information, please click the "Security Center" link at
the bottom of most eBay pages.
_____________________________________________

For our latest announcements, please check:

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/announce.shtml
_____________________________________________



Original Message Follows:
-------------------------

Good deals can be had... I have bought and sold over 600 or so "sides" of a transaction (I sort of lost track) using several IDs. One was mine but my spouse keeps taking over and crowding me out with her tracking and purchases... and her sales! Plus I use one ID for just tracking and reporting fraud... that one hides as much of my identity as possible..., IE... everything but my URL which only eBay can see. O well... have a great weekend folks. If anyone has actually read all the way down to here and finds it constructive, helpful or even better... ENTERTAINING.... then post a reply so I know my bit of insanity in posting so much detail was worth at least a chuckle or appreciative nod from someone?!? :surfweb:

TTFN! :wave2: