Beware

Madman

Madman

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Once again a Chinese seller is on Ebay. I've been looking for a set of Lionel 2343 Santa Fe F3s. Normally, in good condition, they go for around $350.00. This guy has or should I say had a pair listed in very good condition for less than $20.00 plus free shipping, from China! I went back to look and see if the listed was still there, just now, and it is not. I suspect Ebay has removed it. These are the beasts in question. Not his listing however.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LIONEL-2343-SANTA-FE-AA-DEISEL-ENGINES-Postwar/282638992334?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649

You may recall that I bid on and won the 2095 LGB whizzy cranks, $14.00, about a week ago or so and then Ebay sent me a message that the seller, with a rating of 0, was removed from their site.

I am waiting just a bit longer before I ask for my money back.
 
Greg Elmassian said:
are you warning us about:

  1. ebay
  2. Chinese seller (un-named)
  3. or just being careless? (buying from an ebay seller with a bad or no history)

Greg
Click to expand...


Perhaps all three, Greg. This is the second time in as many weeks that I have run into a seller based in China, that is selling something extraordinarily cheap. Both times the seller has had a rating of zero, meaning he is a new seller. Both times Ebay has removed him from their site.

I'm sure there are or have been sellers plying their wares in categories other than toy trains. I'm just not aware of them. I would suspect that by setting up an Ebay account and pretending you have an item that is sought after and not inexpensive, and you list it at a ridiculously low price, someone will bite. You'll get your money. The buyer gets nothing. If the buyer is in good standing with Ebay, he will be refunded by them. The seller, in the mean time, has his money. He's then asked to leave Ebay, only to return a few days later to open up a new account and start the same thing all over. If he does this enough, he could make a fair amount of money.
 
I would have thought EvilBay could block his IP address?? - Perhaps the 'cost' of doing this is more than the cost if reimbursing Customers?
 
I am pretty damn sure they get their money back from the sellers account. You have to hand over all your bank account details to get a Paypal account. And closing the account (Paypal or bank) wont stop them.
But of course some of these scammers are pretty thick - so they wont know that until later.
 
It all comes down to if it looks too good, it is too good.
 
dutchelm said:
It all comes down to if it looks too good, it is too good.
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So true. But once in awhile you can get hooked. Particularly when it's on a site like Ebay, where you know the buyer has protection.
 
PhilP said:
I would have thought EvilBay could block his IP address?? - Perhaps the 'cost' of doing this is more than the cost if reimbursing Customers?
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If you have separate computers can your IP address vary ? Maybe the seller is operating from more than one location. In that case I'm pretty sure the IP addresses would not be the same.
 
stockers said:
I am pretty damn sure they get their money back from the sellers account. You have to hand over all your bank account details to get a Paypal account. And closing the account (Paypal or bank) wont stop them.
But of course some of these scammers are pretty thick - so they wont know that until later.
Click to expand...
If I remember correctly, new sellers cannot access their funds until positive feedback has been received for the sale. I think this is for at least the first five transactions. Gives you an added protection where there's no history or you have some doubts.
 
Madman said:
If you have separate computers can your IP address vary ? Maybe the seller is operating from more than one location. In that case I'm pretty sure the IP addresses would not be the same.
Click to expand...
You can get software that invents a different IP every time you log on.
 
These are my rules.
Don't buy if:
1, Zero Feedback.
2. Price Seems too Low.
3. Chinese Seller. For the record, I used to try to buy from Chinese sellers. The last time, I ordered a dozen LM338K voltage regulators which were market TI (Texas Instruments) They were fake and I had to get my money back from PayPal.

I'm sure that there are some good sellers in China, but you are taking chances.

The largest issue is, however, the zero feedback seller, wherever they are located. Sure, everyone has to start sometime, but often a fraudulent seller will have multiple ID's and will open an account just to fool a buyer with a good price on a rare item. I never bid on a zero feedback seller.

Cheers!
 
Madman said:
If you have separate computers can your IP address vary ? Maybe the seller is operating from more than one location. In that case I'm pretty sure the IP addresses would not be the same.
Click to expand...

You can also change the Country as well as the IP address, my anti-virus has an add-on that allows me to turn on hidden browsing and not only does it use a different IP address every time I can be any where in the world if I want :) it's turned off now I am in the UK.
 
I have been refunded by Ebay. They didn't waste any time in doing so either. On the issue of zero feedback, I recall when I was selling my first item on Ebay. A potential buyer asked me why I should be trusted. I simply replied that I am a retired carpenter, who has been in the hobby most of my life. He bought the item and the rest is history. I now have a rating well into the two thousand range. That accounts for selling and buying mind you. I can count on one hand the number of issues I've had with buyers, all settled equitably. I sold a beautiful Lenox ferris wheel based on a Disney theme to a lady in California. When she received it, she knew something was amiss, because when she picked up the package from her front porch she heard what sounded like glass falling though itself in the box. I thought I had packaged it well and shipped it via UPS. I refunded her of course.

I have sold items to places as far away as Australia and even South Africa and Japan. All train related items. I still keep in contact with the Aussie.
 
This sounds like it may have been another instance of what was noticed a few months ago: chinese sellers cloning other people's completed listings. They can look VERY genuine except for the cheap price and seller zero feedback. I was hooked by one purporting to be from a well known model shop, but was cancelled and refunded by ebay/paypal. I'm sure we discussed on here, and definitely on an N gauge forum I also frequent, as once we were aware we were turning up several each day and notifying ebay immediately (it was quite easy to locate the original listing as the title was an exact clone). I' also found it going on in other sales categories unrelated to hobbies.

I'd thought it seemed to have died off, as if ebay were now spotting these fake listings being put up.
 
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