Is this an Ebay scam?

[gijoecam]

I've been looking for a specific (discontinued early this year) model of GPS on EBay for a while now. I found a listing for a used one with a buy-it-now price that's very reasonable. However, a quick search of completed auctions shows the exact same listing to the letter by the exact same seller that sold just two days ago for 25% less than the current listing. It's the exact same seller with the exact same listing, but still no transaction or feedback history.

Does this smell like a scam? Is it just a new seller with two identical used setups to sell? Did they fail to send the buyer the unit the first time around? With no feedback history and no short-term auctions, this one seems to have red flags all over it... am I being overly paranoid, or should I just go ahead and buy the thing with PayPal and my credit card company as extra insurance? Even at the higher price, it's still a decent deal...

edit: He's got a lot of random stuff he's sold since October 1st, but no transaction feedback to refer to at all. Several of the items have been listed and sold two or three times. The GPS I'm looking for (or two just like it) has actually been listed and sold twice before, once Oct 11th, and once Oct. 13th. Isn't that a little weird??

 

[kert0307]

Does he say in the listing it was for his own "personal" use? I could see selling multiples if he bought them from a company auction or something like that.

 

[gijoecam]

I think it may be legit after all... He posted a real fast response to my inquiry (literally 3 minutes later), and sounds as honest as one can sound over e-mail...

Here's what I asked him:

Dear ecom-autosports,

I was wondering if this is the same unit you've sold twice before, or if
this is a completely different unit? I'm interested, but you have no
transaction feedback to refer to... Just looking for some reassurance that
this isn't a scam.

-gijoecam

Hi,

Excellent question. The first time I had ended the auction myself due to an error with the category; then 2 days ago i had someone who did a best offer which we accepted and then he didnt understand that having the best offer accepted meant he won the item and he had buyers remorse. - here is a copy of his email / ebay message -

Eric

At this time I am having significant buyers remorse. I did not
fully understand the "make an offer" option when I clicked that option. I
had hoped it would begin a conversation regarding the unit rather than be a
committment to buy it..?

I guess I made a bad choice under the impulse
of what I thought would be a good choice if things worked out...

At this
time I would rather not complete the transaction however I do understand
that this could affect me negatively on the ebay community and I would not
want that either.

If you could release me from my offer, without
thinking ill of me or giving me negative feedback, I would sincerely
appreciate your consideration.
_________________

So, as you can see, this guy was clueless and backed out..

While I understand there is 0 feedback, we have sold a number of items and just awaiting feedback from people.. This is a new seller account as i didnt want to use my personal account for selling. I did utilize the ID Verification program through ebay in which they verify my information against credit file using my social security # and ask a slew of questions relating to info on my credit report. There is a small circle with a red "check mark" next to my username which indicates I successfully completed the process. I am also verified through paypal and hold a business account with them in which they verify the business / personal information separately from ebay.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

thanks

Eric

 

[BrooklynBay]

He could be bidding on his own items under a different user name, then if the item is sold (to him), he will relist it until he gets the price that he wants. Were those winning bidders in the same state as him?

 

[gijoecam]

He could be bidding on his own items under a different user name, then if the item is sold (to him), he will relist it until he gets the price that he wants. Were those winning bidders in the same state as him?

I can't seem to view the buyers' usernames.... I thought you could do that after the auction closed unless it was a private auction??

 

[Blee1099]

You can report it to Ebay and tell them you suspect it as shill bidding. If they determine it to be true they will kick the guy off.

 

[gijoecam]

You can report it to Ebay and tell them you suspect it as shill bidding. If they determine it to be true they will kick the guy off.

Wouldn't I need to have some shred of evidence to do that though? (In good conscience, I would want it.... I wouldn't want to report someone erroneously without some concrete evidence of wrong-doing)

The response contains all the right answers, and it would seem that since the seller accepts PayPal, it's probably a legit account, just a new one. The response was well-written, clearly expressed, no mis-spellings whatsoever.... Again, leading towards confidence.

The auction doesn't end for another few days... Maybe I'll jsut wait and see if some feedback starts trickling in. I always thought that the little number next to the username included all the transactions you've made, not just feedback items that have been left.

 

[Joe Dirt]

The response contains all the right answers

Another reason to be very careful... There are a lot of new accounts popping up, because of eBay's new ratings- where if you get anything less than all 5 stars, your rate goes up. Lots of questionable sellers are just reopening new accounts.

 

[gijoecam]

Another reason to be very careful... There are a lot of new accounts popping up, because of eBay's new ratings- where if you get anything less than all 5 stars, your rate goes up. Lots of questionable sellers are just reopening new accounts.

The account was originally set up in August, but the account name was changed at the beginning of October. Ebay doesn't show any transactions prior to early October under either username, so it's possible he established the account, but didn't sell anything...

 

[Dannyboy]

Easy enough, give the guy your phone number and tell him to call you or send you a text. Most scammers won't give up a phone number and do a reverse phone lookup to prove the area code matches his location. Although there are a lot of scams, people who are up to no good have nothing to lose by making themselves seem real and legit.

 

[gijoecam]

It was all for naught.... The item was listed as a BIN or best offer... It sold for the BIN price before I got home.

But somehow, feedback mysteriously appeared last night...