Ebay (Fraud.)

[Darth Elektra]

I bought a guitar off ebay, but I was outbid by one person, well I was emailed and told that the higher bidder had a problem (his daughter was sick) and he said that ebay was making him sell it too me. Well I recieved a email from the seller(he had a 98%+ and he had been on since 2001) giving me some info to buy it, I agreed and sent him the money through 'Western Union'. The guy lives in Romania(nothing against any of you guys who live there), and anyways the guitar cost a little bit less than I expected, so anyways Im wondering should I be ok or am I probably screwed? lol. Im suppose to recieve a email tommorrow with the tracking number, so Im just a little nervous and I was wondering if anyone can back me up and say that Im probably in a safe position.

Also, Im wondering if he does rip me off what can I do?

And one more thing, is there any way to be sure if in the future I buy European items off of Ebay to check the legitimacy of the seller.


Thanks to everyone who responds!

 

[ComicChick]

be sure that the mailing address and the address on the items page are one in the same.

i've seen on some item pages, it'll say ship to :california for example, but they want the payment sent to Minnesota

those are the fishy ones

 

[The Apatow Crew]

be sure that the mailing address and the address on the items page are one in the same.

i've seen on some item pages, it'll say ship to :california for example, but they want the payment sent to Minnesota

those are the fishy ones

I bought a poster from ebay. I sent the money to florida and on the package it said New York.

 

[Victor Creed]

Here's a suggestion. Use Paypal. My wife had won an item and paid with PP, and the guy who had been around and had thousands of sales, a high rating, etc. was gone before the item was received. Weeks passed and we got no item so we disputed it with Ebay and our PP account was refunded a few days later.

 

[ang_hulk]

DONT USE PAYPAL NO MATTER WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DONT DO IT!!!!!!! look around on the net,youll find paypal hate sites with horro stories,ive got one up to.DONT USE IT! googles working on there own version,just wait for it.Anyways,ebays pretty good about things like this,him being in romanias no big deal,Ive bought stuff from the far corners and had no issues.just wait and see.

 

[Victor Creed]

DONT USE PAYPAL NO MATTER WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DONT DO IT!!!!!!! look around on the net,youll find paypal hate sites with horro stories,ive got one up to.DONT USE IT! googles working on there own version,just wait for it.Anyways,ebays pretty good about things like this,him being in romanias no big deal,Ive bought stuff from the far corners and had no issues.just wait and see.

Never had any problems here with PP. It's just like any other thing online, you gotta use it with caution. Saying there are horror stories online concerning paypal is no surprise, everyone has a problem with something and considering how many users PP has there are bound to be many horror stories I am sure. Some of the *****ing is from people who don't know what the hell they are doing. Also, just one question: Why would you say don't use Paypal (something that has been around and does work) and then suggest to use something that isn't even out and not tested?

Im not saying Google won't have a better one, but you go ahead and take a shot in the dark with your money and I'll keep mine with a source I have never had an issue with.

Anyways, to the thread's starter: Hope all goes well with the transaction.

 

[Danger Mouse]

I had a similar experience with a Romanian seller who listed a very cheap cellphone which caught my attention. Mode of payment was Western Union as well.

To cut the story short, money was sent but I have yet to receive my cellphone. Attempts at communication have failed. I have even resorted to ask a member here (who's a Romanian) to lodge a police report on my behalf.

Now, with the humblest of apologies to my Romanian friends here, your situation sounds suspicious as it mirrors mine exactly. I would never purchase anything from a Romanian (or anyone, for that matter) who asks for Western Union.

And I disagree totally with ang_hulk. I have been a loyal user of Paypal for 4 years now and it is by far the most reliable mode of online payment. I have been on both sides of dispute resolutions and Paypal has been very fair. And their insurance plan works. Several times I have been cheated by sellers and I have managed to get my refunds without fail and quite expeditiously.

Use paypal.

 

[Dew k. Mosi]

I am reading screenplays for a writing contest, and every batch I send a voucher for gets money sent into my paypal. I have never had an issue.

 

[Darth Elektra]

Here's a suggestion. Use Paypal. My wife had won an item and paid with PP, and the guy who had been around and had thousands of sales, a high rating, etc. was gone before the item was received. Weeks passed and we got no item so we disputed it with Ebay and our PP account was refunded a few days later.

Thanks. I normally buy all my stuff from paypal, this is my first time and probably last time using Western Union.

I had a similar experience with a Romanian seller who listed a very cheap cellphone which caught my attention. Mode of payment was Western Union as well.

To cut the story short, money was sent but I have yet to receive my cellphone. Attempts at communication have failed. I have even resorted to ask a member here (who's a Romanian) to lodge a police report on my behalf.

Now, with the humblest of apologies to my Romanian friends here, your situation sounds suspicious as it mirrors mine exactly. I would never purchase anything from a Romanian (or anyone, for that matter) who asks for Western Union.

And I disagree totally with ang_hulk. I have been a loyal user of Paypal for 4 years now and it is by far the most reliable mode of online payment. I have been on both sides of dispute resolutions and Paypal has been very fair. And their insurance plan works. Several times I have been cheated by sellers and I have managed to get my refunds without fail and quite expeditiously.

Use paypal.

THANKS man. I've learned my lesson.

 

[Darth Elektra]

Just wait for it. Anyways, ebays pretty good about things like this, him being in romanias no big deal, Ive bought stuff from the far corners and had no issues.just wait and see.

I hope your right, I hope I get a email from him tommorrow.

Anyways, to the thread's starter: Hope all goes well with the transaction.

Thanks man.

 

[black_dust]

Never trust anyone asking for Western union transfer

When i was bidding to buy my camera i kept getting loads of fake emails and people saying "Send me the money (by WU) and i will send you the camera"

And the person that was above you probs does want the guitar, what these people do is go down the list and say the same thing to everyone offering them a second chance offer, i bet if you messgae the person below you in the bid history they will have the same thing. (also happened to me, but i didnt fall for it)

 

[Showtime]

Paypal is still the safest way to complete a transaction on EBAY. I have been using it for years and never had a problem.

 

[Kyalesyin]

Sounds like you're gonna get screwed. A similar thing happened to us when we were trying to buy some bits and peices for the house. Seller declared a 'personal emergency' once the payment had gone through, we never recieved the item, and for some reason we didn't get refunded either. Annoying, but luckily we didn't use too much.

I'd stick with paypal though. We never use anything else and we've never had a problem.

 

[Erzengel]

I've only had one issue using paypal. But this was a long time ago, I overpaid the seller by typing in the wrong amount. For a few weeks we went back and forth, and I felt like getting the runarround, so I contacted paypal. Unfortunatelly, they were only able to return some of my money.

While I would have liked all of it back obviously, it was my fault for rushing and putting in too much money. But paypal is really the way to go.

Since you paid with a money order, there is more of a chance with the guy getting off scott free. The only thing you could do is contact Ebay if the seller doesn't send your item.

 

[Darth Elektra]

I still havnt received a email, so you guys were right. Well I learned my lesson guys. Im going to try and get my money back but I probably won't.

Thanks for the responses, guys.

 

[The Spawn]

I thought you were waiting till tomorrow?

 

[Erzengel]

DE before you do that. Was this a 2nd chance offer bid he gave you? How long ago did you send the check? Did he say he recieved it? If he said he was going to give you a tracking number today. I'd at least wait til tomorrow. I would give him at least a couple of days. Then follow up with a stern e-mail saying that if you don't respond to this, I will be contacting ebay.

 

[Sugarculted]

Good ol' Ebay. Buying two Marvel figures from Poundstretcher for £6, to make a £50 profit on Ebay. I've had a few problems with buyers and sellers, and I've only had Ebay since Oct/Nov. Paypal is pretty secure.

Recently had some guy win my Gamecube auction, this is what I got;

'hi. i just purchased your phone. can u send to my lovely wife in nigeria as a present?'

Yeah, you won a GC...a games console, and why is your wife in Nigeria

So obviously, I didn't bother. All in all though, paypal is the safest way. I love getting money into my paypal account quickly and securely.

 

[huskerwebhead]

Off the subject a little, I'll throw in my approval of PayPal here as well. I've used them for years for all kinds of different transactions and I have never had a problem. I've used other online payment companies (SafePay, AlertPay, E-Gold, etc.) and I've had problems with all of them. PayPal is by far the most reliable out there currently.

 

[Malus]

I am reading screenplays for a writing contest, and every batch I send a voucher for gets money sent into my paypal. I have never had an issue.

I've bought and sold on eBay for almost 10 years and have never had any problem with Paypal (other thah their ever-rising fees for merchants.)
I've never had my account hacked; I've never had a problem.

BUT - Scams and fishing e-mails are out there, and they look like real e-mails from places like eBay or Paypal!

One sure tip-off: Paypal will always address you by name if they contact you.
Do not EVER verify your account info on a link from an e-mail.
Close the e-mail and type Paypal directly into your browser. If there's a problem with your account, you'll see a notice when you log in.

Otherwise, the "fishing" e-mail will direct you to a site that looks just like your account page and that's where most suckers go ahead and enter all their credit/debit card info or bank routing numbers...

But me personally: Almost 10 years with Paypal and never a problem.

 

[Malus]

I bought a guitar off ebay, but I was outbid by one person, well I was emailed and told that the higher bidder had a problem (his daughter was sick) and he said that ebay was making him sell it too me. Well I recieved a email from the seller(he had a 98%+ and he had been on since 2001) giving me some info to buy it, I agreed and sent him the money through 'Western Union'. The guy lives in Romania(nothing against any of you guys who live there), and anyways the guitar cost a little bit less than I expected, so anyways Im wondering should I be ok or am I probably screwed? lol. Im suppose to recieve a email tommorrow with the tracking number, so Im just a little nervous and I was wondering if anyone can back me up and say that Im probably in a safe position.

Also, Im wondering if he does rip me off what can I do?

And one more thing, is there any way to be sure if in the future I buy European items off of Ebay to check the legitimacy of the seller.


Thanks to everyone who responds!

98% since 2001 is pretty good. What was his total feedback number? If it's over 500, I wouldn't be worried just yet.

eBay provides purchase insurance up to $200, I think, but that may have changed and may be subject to conditions - like buying from Romania.

I'd stay in contact with this guy consistently til you receive the merchandise.

 

[Malus]

That'll teach me to read the whole thread first.

Check to see if he has any current auctions, what type of items these auctions for, etc...
Check his recent feedback comments.

If this guy is a longtime seller with 98% positive, it should turn out okay. Why would he start screwing customers now?

UNLESS this account is a hijacked eBay account.
That happened to me once. Within a few hours this tool in Greece (supposedly) had listed "too good to be true" deals on motorcycles (I've never sold a mototcycle) and was asking potential buyers to wire him the money.

Tahnkfully a guy in my area was looking at the auction, and looked up my contact info which the hijacker had neglected to change.

Otherwise I would not have known what was up til it was too late and my eBay account was ruined.

Hmm- Sounds like a hijacked account. If so, just remember it's not the REAL eBay seller's fault, and take up the fraud with eBay directly.

 

[CyberFaust]

I had a similar experience with a Romanian seller who listed a very cheap cellphone which caught my attention. Mode of payment was Western Union as well.

To cut the story short, money was sent but I have yet to receive my cellphone. Attempts at communication have failed. I have even resorted to ask a member here (who's a Romanian) to lodge a police report on my behalf.

Now, with the humblest of apologies to my Romanian friends here, your situation sounds suspicious as it mirrors mine exactly. I would never purchase anything from a Romanian (or anyone, for that matter) who asks for Western Union.

And I disagree totally with ang_hulk. I have been a loyal user of Paypal for 4 years now and it is by far the most reliable mode of online payment. I have been on both sides of dispute resolutions and Paypal has been very fair. And their insurance plan works. Several times I have been cheated by sellers and I have managed to get my refunds without fail and quite expeditiously.

Use paypal.

well you didn't as ke, so i can guess who
i never use ebay, cause i know a lot of people got ripped off

 

[AndThePickles]

well I was emailed and told that the higher bidder had a problem (his daughter was sick) and he said that ebay was making him sell it too me.

This sounds super suspicious to me

 

[Darth Elektra]

DE before you do that. Was this a 2nd chance offer bid he gave you? How long ago did you send the check? Did he say he recieved it? If he said he was going to give you a tracking number today. I'd at least wait til tomorrow. I would give him at least a couple of days. Then follow up with a stern e-mail saying that if you don't respond to this, I will be contacting ebay.

He received the payment Saturday afternoon. I am, I sent him a email today asking if he had sent it, I havnt recieved a email back from him. I'll send him probably one more tommorrow and then I'll contact ebay and see what happens.

Check to see if he has any current auctions, what type of items these auctions for, etc...
Check his recent feedback comments.

If this guy is a longtime seller with 98% positive, it should turn out okay. Why would he start screwing customers now?

UNLESS this account is a hijacked eBay account.
That happened to me once. Within a few hours this tool in Greece (supposedly) had listed "too good to be true" deals on motorcycles (I've never sold a mototcycle) and was asking potential buyers to wire him the money.

Thankfully a guy in my area was looking at the auction, and looked up my contact info which the hijacker had neglected to change.

Otherwise I would not have known what was up til it was too late and my eBay account was ruined.

Hmm- Sounds like a hijacked account. If so, just remember it's not the REAL eBay seller's fault, and take up the fraud with eBay directly.

That's what Im guessing because he has 137 feedback comments. Do you think I'll get m money back?