Ebay scam on STC-8 : disgusting. BEWARE

[ISedlacek]

First time ever I seriously participated on ebay auction http://cgi.ebay.com/Crane-Song-STC-8...em330076516553

And luckily and surprisingly I won it and looked forward to STC-8 for a great price.

I contacted the seller and asked him for settling the details. Although 0 feedback and payment just by money order was already quite suspicious.

During the following correspondence it was not that difficult to find that the person (obviously not a native UK citizen) is a disgusting cheater and he just copied the photos and description from somewhere else and wanted me just to send money. When I wanted some simple proofs and guarantees
he wrote me: i'm not here for rube you or anything else...i have a family and 2 childrens and i'm not a scammer...i want only to sell
this product as soon as posible because i must go in USA for 2-3 weeks
and i want to finihs this deal till then...
I understand you but like i told you i'm a word man and you will receive
this item imediatly after payment...

When I suggested him that a friend of mine from Edinburgh (where the seller is also from) would fetch the unit from him and pay him cash and also asked him to tell me from which dealer he bough it and also to write me more about his studio and also what other gear he has and how he used his STC-8. he wrote me:

I am very sorry but i don't have time to meet with your friend i work till night at my company...let me know if you want for payment bank transfer(bank account) is safer...
i bought the unit last year from ebay brand new in the original box. (although he first stated he is the original owner)

Since he was stupid enough to put the photo of the rear side with the serial number, it was easy to contact Cranesong and ask about the details. I learned about the original owner.

I wrote that person, if he tells me from whom he bought it on ebay, I will send him money immediately

He replied: Dear Ivo, I bought it from Dave Hill

Of course, I reported that on ebay and also to Police of Edinburgh (he sent me some name and address to send the money by money gram ...

These type of people are beyond my understanding. They simply don´t mind to steal money from others (who could have spent their big savings on the thing they never get) .... They must infiltrate ebay with thousands such items. And for sure, many people can get caught.

For me this experience means: never more I want to have anything to do with ebay ...

[Lynn Fuston]

I'm not sure which there are more of: deals or scams.

I recently (last summer) bought the most beautiful RCA 77DX in mint condition from a very nice, very honest gentleman in Indiana. It was a great transaction and a good price.

But I agree that the scammer/honest seller ratio is dismally high on ebay. Just watch for red flags and remember two things.

1) Buyer beware.

2) If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

[Barilla]

Ivo - we've spoken via PM in the past, so I thought I might chime in. That is incredibly bad. I'm just glad you didn't get stung - that's a lot of money.

[ISedlacek]

Yes, buyers beware ... Use your common sense and don´t believe anyone. Make as much safe arrangements as possible ...

[ISedlacek]

Originally Posted by Barilla

Ivo - we've spoken via PM in the past, so I thought I might chime in. That is incredibly bad. I'm just glad you didn't get stung - that's a lot of money.

Fortunately I am very carefull person ... (learning from some past experiences).

But the most incredible thing is - that about half an hour after dealing with that today, I was suddenly contacted by my local dealer telling me that a REAL STC-8 is for sale for quite an exciting price ... So most probably I will have it in the end for even cheaper

End good, everything good ...

[Aearth]

Fortunately I have had great success on eBay (so far), but nothing too expensive. But buying here on Slutz has proved to be a big winner especially from over seas sellers and buyers.


Nic

[d_fu]

Sorry to hear that, Ivo...
Personally, I've mostly had god experiences with ebay, but I never practically bought and sold outside Germany (once bought a laptop LCD screen from the US, I think that's the only one...).
A seller from Austria sold me something else than he had advertised, and staunchly refused to even acknowledge the fact. After several months of exchanging emails and letters, I eventually got partial compensation from ebay and the seller got kicked out good and proper. And unfortunately, I was screwed again with an item I bought on Christmas eve. Will try and have the seller kicked out as well...

Other than that, I've made some great bargains... I mostly look for microphones, and bought some of the best pieces of my collection on ebay, partly at ridiculous prices (pair of Neumann KM 131 for € 800... Three excellent Beyers at € 160 each... Etc.)

I avoid sellers with too much negative feedback. And I still feel that since what I'm looking for is not a "mass market", the chance for scammers trying to rip off people here are less than elsewhere, e.g. mobile phones or computers. The way an article is presented also tells one something about the seller. I prefer sellers who know what they are dealing with.

There was one other bad experience, but ebay as such wasn't to blame... Bought an MTG M940 for something like € 300,-, but had to give it back because the seller had nicked it. Got my money back, though.


Daniel

[taturana]

i have bought and sold a lot of stuff on ebay and never had a problem... still, you have to be very careful...

[Reptil]

oh man, I had offers for complete consoles.
very convincing emails, pictures, references, serials everything short of schematics.
it's their job to play on gearlust.
latest is paypal spoofs asking you to log in quoting your ebay name. (hint: don't do that) nobody is linking emails directly to secure pages.
also set your spamfilter to filter anything out that has .gifs
nobody uses gif except for scammers for some strange reason.

did you check the "warning ebay scam" thread? lots of examples. always helps to share.
thank you for sharing this!

some things I stick by:
-never reveal full name, or email adress when contacting something spooky.
-never bid on anything above 1000 bucks offered by "wendy49393" with zero feedback. or go bananas and spoil the auction by bidding 3 million on a microphone.
-question the rationality of something. nobody is going to offer a neve console in Nashville shipped only to europe.
-pictures can be crappy. sometimes it rains. request more pictures, of the inside or of the serial number. if they are funny about that, forgettaboutit.
-take some risk, but something that is too good to be true, usually is.

The only trouble I have is with shipping. Usually good, but sometimes they've been employing laurel and hardy. that sucks really hard, because I love gear.

[Animus]

Yeah you have to be cautious. I am always paranoid. But ebay can be a great thing for selling and buying things. In fact just recently I scored a Lexicon PCM80 for 200 bucks! Well, the catch was that the seller said it needed "repair" and referred prospective buyers to Jim Fabiano. So I bid on it factoring another 200 bucks for the repair. Won it for $219. Got it yesterday. Took it out to inspect and to see what exactly was wrong with it as the seller said it was "looping" in the startup tests. Well after some brief fidgeting I figured out it was the power cable socket causing the problem; it was loose. I rigged it up, wedging some cardboard between the plug and socket to make sure it stayed snug and it works perfectly now. My best score yet. thumbsup

[Astrain]

Im sorry to hear this, but at least you didnt lost your money. I actually posted about this auction in the ebay scam thread in here

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/showt...=30437&page=11


I recomend that everyone that is intending to buy something on ebay read before that thread.

Im buying some equipment this year and I cant believe how many scams are in the pro audio related auctions.

0 feedback + Bidder ID kept private + no paypal = tutt

I hope they get him

Man my english is going worst and worst.

[Haydn]

Glad to hear you didn't get scammed in the end.

I agree with previous posts that a seller needs a lot of good feedback for me to purchase something expensive.
It is also worth looking at the people who have bought from that selller too;
e.g. if the seller has 30 feedback but they are all from ebayers with less than 10 feedback - I would get suspicious.

[ISedlacek]

Originally Posted by Haydn

Glad to hear you didn't get scammed in the end.

I agree with previous posts that a seller needs a lot of good feedback for me to purchase something expensive.
It is also worth looking at the people who have bought from that selller too;
e.g. if the seller has 30 feedback but they are all from ebayers with less than 10 feedback - I would get suspicious.

Yes, but on the other hand - everybody has to start somehow. Even if you are a honest genuine seller, if you are selling your first thing you may never sell it because you have no feedback and you will not get any feedback because you will never sell anything.

[Reptil]

OK, but then, start small. I bought lots of small items from beginner sellers.

If a seller has no prior history and is selling big items on the first go, it's only logical that buyers won't trust him. They just can't.

[d_fu]

Originally Posted by ISedlacek

Even if you are a honest genuine seller, if you are selling your first thing you may never sell it because you have no feedback and you will not get any feedback because you will never sell anything.

One would have to start with smaller items. And things will sell if the starting price is low. That way, one can slowly build a reputation and then go on to sell more expensive gear...

Daniel

[The Byre]

Well that saves me going down to Edinburgh for you !!! (Though it was a very obvious scam!)



But NEVER EVER bother to even bid or ask a question from someone with zero feedback - even if they have a website and seem otherwise completely ligitimate.

Here are some scams that are not listed on the usual websites, but are new -

Fishing - put up a really sexy product like a vintage tube compressor. Then wait for the questions. Then you email them directly using the email listed in their profile. If they reply, send them the details they requested as an atachment (usually a doc file) containing a Trojan Horse. This Trojan Horse will allow you to crack their account and use it to sell more scam items - but this time from a legitimate account holder with a proven record of having bought or sold similar items!

Spoiling - you spot something you want or could sell quickly for a good profit, lets say for the sake of argument, a vintage Hammond C3 with Leslie. It's right at the beginning at $2,000, but it will go to $5,000 easily if you don't do something. You put up another C3 with a Leslie, but this one is with a starting price of $0 and has some faults. The auction finishes just hours after the real Hammond! Of course you don't have one, but you list one that has simple faults that any Hammond lover would be able to fix in minutes - some drawbars and the volume pedal do not work and the Leslie sounds but does not turn - that kind of thing. All the bottom feeders will want a bargin and bid for your fictional Hammond and leave the real one alone. You put in a real bid for the real Hammond and 'win' your item at a far lower price and then take your fictional Hammond off (no longer available!)

[nandoanalog]

Originally Posted by Lynn Fuston

I'm not sure which there are more of: deals or scams.

I recently (last summer) bought the most beautiful RCA 77DX in mint condition from a very nice, very honest gentleman in Indiana. It was a great transaction and a good price.

But I agree that the scammer/honest seller ratio is dismally high on ebay. Just watch for red flags and remember two things.

1) Buyer beware.

2) If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is a lie.

[Conz]

Sorry to hear you experienced this, but THANK GOD you didn't part with your cash. I did once to a guy advertising online in the Readers Ads of the Sound on Sound website. I never saw my money or item bought as didn't MANY other people it was revealed. We estimate he got away with 10s of 1000s of pounds, maybe more.

I recall seeing a Fairlight auction on eBay, with no pictures, but there were pictures upon request. I suspected this as a dodgy auction, I so I started to ask questions and it became even clearer this guy was as dodgy as hell. I asked for the photos and guess what... They were pictures of a Synclavier and the pictures are the regular pictures you see on the synhouse website. That made my day that did.

Cheers,
Peter

[jsvalmont]

That is terrible news, it is ridiculous what people will do to hurt others sometimes. It is good though, to hear that you did your homework and didn't lose your money.

However, eBay is certainly not all bad, as I have gotten some very good deals on gear through them. I also sell through there rather frequently, and know that I am not going to scam you if you see an auction from me.

[Astrain]

what I meant in my previous post was that if a seller has the combination of those 3 things for me its a scam.

Why someone that haves 0 feedback uses Bider ID kept private? that doesnt sound like a newy to me(is this the correct word?) , plus to my knowlege its easier to scam people using money transfer so that is why they dont accept paypal.

Well, in fact I dont bid if the seller is using Bider ID kept private.

I really really hate these people, Im from Mexico and have found a lot of equipment on ebay that I need or want to buy and the auctions are closed to international bidders because of the fear of being scamed..

Again, Im glad that he(the scamer of course) didnt get away with it.

[Conz]

Originally Posted by Astrain

Well, in fact I dont bid if the seller is using Bider ID kept private

I was the same with this too, but now eBay no longer give you the option to keep your history Private :D

[Reptil]

oh yes they are keeping that option open:

[CorkyTart]

well, you got lucky. Last year I saws a copy and paste the EXACT auction for a mixing board I put up in Aug 2005.

[yareck]

Originally Posted by ISedlacek

First time ever I seriously participated on ebay auction http://cgi.ebay.com/Crane-Song-STC-8...em330076516553

And luckily and surprisingly....

I had the same situation with Manley Slam on ebay.co.uk. I wanted to go and pick up personally (as it was mentioned in auction) but the guy obviously wasn't so interested. Instead of this he sent some colour emails looking like from ebay (but the server in email header was yahoo.com) and proposed Money-Gram.

[duaneadam]

Since those pictures are of MY old STC-8 which I sold more than a year ago, and since that's my flippin dining room table it's sitting on (I took those photos), I can say with 100% certainty that this is a scam.

[duaneadam]

In case you missed it, read the above post!!!!

[duaneadam]

Wonder how much this putz is asking for my dining room table?

[digitalM]

Just came across another STC-8 auction that smells kinda fishy..
Posted the E-bay link in the E-bay scam-warning thread.

[Reptil]

yeah never mind the electronic gizmo on top of it, how much for the table? LOL

in a way it's a cool thing, even photos get recycled

[ISedlacek]

Now I found that cheater dared to write me a negative ebay feedback ("no payment")

Just wanted to try again to buy very cheap spl vitaliser - but got a reply from the seller with high positive feedback to change the shipping possibilities also here: "no way man, with your feedback ... " ...

So now I am totally unreliable ebay person - just one negative feedback ... No one wants to deal with me ...