Another E-Bay Scam?

[Rich G.]

Item #2464495616 1966 corvette buy it now for $16K. Start bid $100 no reserve. You must e-mail the seller before you can bid. His location is secret. It's a 3 day auction. Reading the seller's feedback indicates he deals in sports trading cards. I have seen this car listed before, but last time it seemed legitimate.

Anybody else think this is fishy?

Rich Giannotti

[Tracy C.]

Re: Another E-Bay Scam?

Yup, fishy is about right.

If "Pay before See" is in the equation it's a scam.

You know the saying....When it's too good to be true, it probably is.

tc

[Sydney G.]

Re: Another E-Bay Scam?

Rich,
It might be a tuna. But, it also might be a quick steal!
There was just a '63 roadster up for auction about 2 hours ago. Silver Blue/Blue with what looked to be a NOM. Overall from the pics, it looked good and clean.
I mention this because it had a starting price of I think $8,890.00.
It also had a "buy it now". The buy it now price was $9,000.00!!!!!!
My finger was twitching!
The seller just stopped his auction saying there was a mistake in his entry.
NO KIDDING!

Now I ask you all, what if I did not hesitate and I pressed that "Buy It" option? Was this seller obligated to fulfill his end of the contract? Did I just miss out on a cool $10,000 + profit on the flip?

Maybe your card dealer is just that, just a trading card dealer and he does not know.
Maybe I was gun shy?
Would this guy have had to sell me the pretty Vert for $9,000.00?
Syd

[Richard G.]

Re: Another E-Bay Scam?

Rich

I emailed the seller with a substantial request list, I'll let you know what he had to say. Sometimes its worth spending a few minutes to check it out. I'll get back to you as soon as he gets back to me. I agree with the notion if you have to pay before you see, then it's not worth the risk. I had a friend buy a 69 camaro convertible from an ebay add after I advised him not to and Although he appears happy, it wouldn't be something I would buy.

Rich Grant

[Tracy C.]

Re: Another E-Bay Scam?

Actually, eBay really doesn't go after anyone for dropping their end of the deal. The seller would not of "had" to sell. After a few complaints logged against them, eBay "might" kick them off.

I think they can start all over with a new user name.

If a person bought this car and refused to pay the seller until he saw the car and/or checked the title with the DMV, the most he would be stuck with would be a negative feedback.

The eBay "Legally binding" contract disclaimers are an overstatement in my opinion. If you dig down into the eBay policies, it becomes obvious.

Don't forget, this car may have a rust problem or something else prompting the seller to try and dump it.

tc

[Sydney G.]

Re: Another E-Bay Scam?

T.C.,
Great points. But at 9 G's I was actually tempted!
The sellers feedback was good, pics good, vin seemed to match up (very late production car) except for the presence of an early mirror and at that price I did not care about a rusty frame.
Was it a scam? I'm not in Vegas only sitting at my desk. When you smell fish... Also, can't handle that negative feedback.
Syd

[Michael W.]

[Sydney G.]

Re: Hey Syd!

I wrote it!

[Dave Suesz]

I've seen both...

I work summers for a restoration shop, and I've seen ebay cars that were OK or better, and also some real crap I'd refuse to ride in. Just like any other used old cars, except it's hard to look them over first.

[Charlie P.]

Re: Another E-Bay Scam?

Sounds like the same guy that had the '67 with two different hoods. I found two '71s, an LS-6 and an LT-1- both low mileage, beautiful cars at ridiculously low prices that included shipping from Portugal (so his email said). Looks like he is lifting pictures and descriptions from other sources and then trying to bait buyers into sending a down payment, which will be the last you hear from him . The auctions seem to mysteriously come and go. All three of the listings I have seen either had phony or missing VINs.

For what's it's worth, I sent a notice to ebay, but I would guess they have precious little control over outlaws like this. They'd probably nail you or me if we made a back door offer on something, though.

[Mark J.]

Invalid Item

It's been yanked.

[jordan grant]

Re: Another E-Bay Scam?

Hey guys;Before the car was removed abruptly from its allready short 3 day listing,I contacted the seller and asked where the car was,and if I could see it?.This was his response (see below).Did he remove it because the "heat" got to be too much(i.e.too many intelligent people asking questions?)or did somebody "buy it know".and he somehow "stripped" it from its ebay listing through some obscure ebay rule?.

I say,whoever sends any money to Portugal for a car that is described like this one,under these circumstances,should have a "checkup form the neck up"!!!!!.Just one guys opinion.

From: "Born To Be Wild" Add to Address Book
To: glm06854@yahoo.com
Subject: 1966 Vette
Date: Wed, 03 Mar 2004 22:15:12 +0000

Hello there,
Thank you for your interest in purchasing my item .
First of all I must inform you that currently I'm in Portugal and the
machine is here with me .My faher, who died two keeks ago was the first
owner of the car; He bought it directly from a local dealership in
Ohio.
The machine is in great condition ,only 79147 miles on it,no damage,no
scratches or dents, no hidden defects,keept in our own garage.
The machine is an US model with US specs,it passed the test
emissions and comes with all the documents you need to register the
item.
It has a clear title and it can be registerd into your name.
I recently ordered a new car from a dealer down here and i
need the cash in the next few days to pay for it.
The price I hope to obtain is $16,000 USD (this price includes the
shipping and insurance) and if you agree with this price we can start
to
complete the transaction. I have to tell you that I have other serious
offers that I
have to consider and I will make a decision regarding this sale
function of
time of payment and price.
i will shipp the car using KLM 5-7 air days delivery, and i will cover
all
taxes.
We can make this COD, but if you want to keep the car for you,
then you have to make a down deposit with 3,000 USD.
So email me back if you ae intersted and you have the cash.
The car will be shipped from Portugal and i will cover the shipping
costs and insurance.You will not have to pay additional taxes,just only
the
price for it.
Let me know!

[Charlie P.]

Re: Another E-Bay Scam?

Low mileage LS-6 convertible, item #2464544829 is on now. A one day auction. Different e-mail, location than before. Picture looks to be a coupe. Fake VIN. Send him some emails- you'll see the same m.o.

[Les Jacobs]

The Deal

Seller responded to an email saying he and the car were in Portugal. He needed cash, and would send car to US buyer at his expense. All he wanted to seal the deal was 3000. After wiping the drool off the keyboard, I sent another email saying I had a friend there who would inspect the car for me prior to finalizing the sale. (this may not be exactly true BTW). No response yet. After buying the car, Im planning to handle it like a time share. Red week in Spring is going for $2000. Let me know if your interested.

[Mike Cobine]

Re: Another E-Bay Scam? - More - ID theft

I got a note back from eBay on one I turned in several days ago. They stated that the account had been hijacked and that is why you see real feedback. The account was now closed and the matter under investigation.

When the auction is gone and the error message "Invalid Item", then eBay pulled it. If the seller pulled it, you'd simply see an end of auction notice.

Remember for neat emails that warn you to update your eBay info or that there is a problem with your account? If you filled one out, you may have given some guy like this the info he needs to run the scam from your account.

A good idea is to go out to eBay itself and update your info including the password. Change userid and password is a good idea if you have responded to any questionable emails.

And keep turning these guys in.