When we were looking, I bid on one that seemed too good to be true. Never lost a cent and learned quite a bit.
It turns out that they were able to hijack the account of a very reputable seller.
The text of the scammer's and real eBayer's emails follow.
63GT
<<< SCAMMER >>>
Dear Sir ,
I want to be honest with you and I inform you that i stop the listing because i have 2 buyers interested in this trailer , they are willing to pay the buy it now price .To be fair with all possible buyers I will sell the trailer to the first buyer that will arange the Square Trade first payment . If you are able to make the first payment today or tomorrow you will be the next owner of this trailer .
First I will like to tell you that I am in United Kingdom and the trailer is stored at ebay warehouse in San Jose , CA , the trailer will be shipped from there on my expence.
The trailer is like new , in perfect condition . I am selling this trailer because the shipping to Europe will cost me to much.I have this trailer from my father in law .The Buy it now price is $5,100 . I will sell the trailer to the first one that makes a 2,800 $ deposit through Square Trade .
Terms & Conditions Shipping and handling:
The shipping address must be provided before sending the payment. The trailer will be shipped through JC MOTORS or DAS Shipping Company . The trailer will only be sent after receiving the payment. I agreed with eBay Square Trade to send my trailer to its warehouse since I am not in US .
This way, both sides (seller and buyer) are insured by eBay.
Payment:
If you will offer the buy it now price I will suport all the shipping from the warehouse to your address .
For the payment i would like to use eBay Square Trade as a third party . They will keep your money until you get the trailer and will release it to me upon delivery .
Here are my name and address you need for the payment in case you decide to buy the trailer .
[Name Withheld}
187 Edgware Road
London
W2 1ET
United Kingdom
The trailer is ready for shipment, i just need the payment confirmation from Square Trade with the transfer's details and the trailer will be delivered to your address.
REFUND-After the trailer arrives, you have a 7 days period for inspection. If the trailer is different than the way i've described it, 100% refund - transfer fees and the trailer will be shipped back to the warehouse on my expence. Anyway, i don't think it will be necesary, you'll love this trailer from very first moment you'll see it.
Buy with confidence!
I will have pay for an insurance to eBay Square Trade as proof my trustworthiness.
Thanks for the conceded time .
I am looking forward to your reply.
[Name removed to protect the real eBayer]
<<< Here's the email explanation from the real eBayer >>>
YES !!!
It has been a LONG DAY trying to resolve all of this and resetting all my passwords, etc. I have gotten lots of questions re: items that were NOT ever mine...and they had reset my email address too...UGH.
Thanks for the Head's up though, I really appreciate it.
I think that I have successfully secured everything though without any serious damage...
Unfortunately for most honest people, ebay had their security system compromised long ago. It is really too bad because ebay now is a billion dollar company that can afford prime time television advertising. Ebay has never adopted a responsible position as a facilitator of the purchase and sale of goods. Ebay has refused to make an investment in keeping its' members accounts secure; instead ebay invests in other companies such as Paypal. This may seem hard to believe but simple craigslist, a grass roots marketplace started in a San Fransisco townhouse, has better security. And the service is completely free for buyers and sellers. Perhaps this is why ebay tried to buy craigslist out. In the end it seems big business increasingly asks more of its' customers while delivering less and raising costs.
I think Craigslist is better because there is no illusion of security like there is on eBay. eBay encourages newbies to get on and trade, as if they were somehow looking after their best interests. Yet notice that even when you see an obviously fraudulent auction, there's no easy link to 'report this auction'. They don't want to hear about it.
At least on Craigslist you deal directly with each other, buyer to seller, and most likely deal with someone local. I buy and sell on Craigslist all the time, and so far I haven't had a bad deal yet.
Good job buying it, 65GT. Worst that could happen is it's for real and you have to come up with $5600!
Ebays Philsophy (If you want to call it that) is to let the bidders and sellers self police themselves via the feedback system. I have though seen sellers and buyers with multiple negs ... with no action from ebay. They figure we will get the message out to each other about stupid, scamming, lying, cheaters.
They do review what is posted ... to make shure it is "decent".
Really a great business idea .... complete hold harmless from any judgements.
Shoot thats better than the best malpractice or liability insurance around!
I buy alot off of ebay and have sold a few things. We always use paypal. Kinda scary about what could happen to all the info in my paypal account, is it really that secure.
I stopped using Paypal after a buyer charged back $500.00 on the credit card he used to make a purchase from me. You have NO protection against these charge backs. You can dispute the charge back but Paypal will do absolutely nothing to resolve the issue but to pass the loss on to you the seller. I accept only Postal Money Orders or personal checks ( that must clear before goods are shipped).
65GT, let me know if you would like me to pickup and store this fine trailer for you, I'm only 50 minitues from its so called location. I emailed the so called seller again, as to get an actual address in San Jose, and his reply was the same brew ha ha, about two other interested buyers, but would cut me a great deal on the John Gator listed. I wonder where he might have this stored?
On ebay, buyers and sellers do not keep things in checks and balance. That is originally how feedback was designed to serve. Today, hackers are so sophisticated that responsible businesses have no choice but to stay one step ahead of them. Stop and reflect on what is happening on ebay. Ebay Seller accounts have been compromised on a wide scale basis. Paypal accounts have also been accessed. Ebays' position is to have their members, members who pay around $100.00 a sale (in the case of a travel trailer), police their own accounts. That is irresponsible. A Seller and Buyer should have reasonable protection from fraud. It is not unreasonable to expect your account be safe from hackers. Instead, ebay advises you that it is your fault, that your password needs to be constantly changed to protect you from hackers, etc. If anyone on the Forum has encountered a problem with ebay, it is days before you receive an email reply from the Security Center. Has anyone ever received one of the standard computer generated responses in which ebay compares itself to a newspaper classified ad? What newspaper does not have a contact telephone number for their classified department? What newspaper ad charges $100.00 for a seven day ad if you sell your travel trailer? If you have ever placed a free ad on craigslist, you will notice upon completition of your ad composition that you have to type in a code before your ad is uloaded in a shaded box. That is encription technology to ensure a person and not a computer program is placing the ad. The policing for possible fraud is done with a system of flagging by users to remove spam and scam ads. Postaroo is trying to break into the format in select markets. Why do you think ebay tried to buy out craigslist? Why do you think Postaroo is making such a heavy investment in this format? It is the future. When hurricane Katrina hit, craigslist users gave millions in the first few days and served as the single largest message post for those affected and those who were wanting to help. Craigslist is the future. Check out the homepage. The coverage is international. I may sound like an advertisement for craigslist. I am just a little guy trying not to get screwed.....
Okay, the last time this was listed, along with the John Deere tractor, and a purse, in seperate ads, I called the people with the WBCCI number. They had sold it over a year ago, and the auction has popped up three times since, all SCAMS.
BTW, here is what you get when you click the link to the auction now: This listing (#8373069047) has been removed or is no longer available. Please make sure you entered the right item number.
__________________
Terry Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine
AIR#2611
65GT, let me know if you would like me to pickup and store this fine trailer for you, I'm only 50 minitues from its so called location.
I'm on a few other forums, so I'm not sure where I saw this, but someone played a few of these scammers for about a week each. All I remember is that he made them send photos of themselves in certain poses, with cardboard signs in front of themselves so he would know they were real. I think he was referring to them as monkey men or something. I read a good deal of a thread and these guys are just in sweat shops somewhere working on scams all day.
If you find my trailer -- let me know -- I'll call of Ebay security... (all I hear is crickets when I call them -- what's up with that?!)
This listing (#8373069047) has been removed or is no longer available. Please make sure you entered the right item number.
Hey! I didn't know that and I was the buyer!! Okay so I hadn't checked my email since I bought it -- but low and behold, here it is...
The following is a notice from eBay Trust & Safety regarding:
Item Number - 8373069047
Item Title - 2002 Airstream Classic 34’ trailer with dinette slideou
Our records show that you placed a bid on this item. We removed this item from the Site and cancelled your bid because it appears that the seller's account has been compromised and used by an unauthorized third party. The seller's privileges to trade on eBay may be temporarily suspended while we investigate this matter further. Due to privacy concerns we will not be able to share further details related to this seller.
If the seller asks you to complete this transaction outside of eBay, we strongly recommend that you do not proceed with the transaction and do not respond to the seller. Transactions for items listed on eBay but then completed off of the eBay platform are not covered by buyer protection programs offered by eBay and can be highly indicative of fraud. For more information on Offers to Buy or Sell Outside of eBay, copy and past the following Help Page link into your browser: http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/...ebay-sale.html.
If you have already paid for this item but have not received it, you should take all possible steps to receive reimbursement.
1. Stop payment with your bank if you paid by check.
2. Contact the Security Department of your credit card company to file a chargeback if you paid via credit card.
3. If you paid via Western Union or MoneyGram, contact the company directly (Western Union 800-325-6000 or MoneyGram 800-926-9400).
4. If you paid with PayPal, you may be eligible for up to $1,000 USD coverage at no cost. To file a claim with PayPal, login to your PayPal account and copy and paste the following link into your web browser: /csg/p?www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/gen/protections-buyer-outside. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the File a Claim link. PayPal claims must be filed within 45 days of the close of the listing. It may take at least 30 days to complete the investigation and resolve the dispute.
5. If you did not pay with PayPal and would like to file a claim with eBay, please initiate the Item Not Received Process online directly from the Security and Resolution Center at the bottom of the eBay.com page.
6. eBay claims must be filed within 60 days of the end of the listing.
Our goal is to ensure that your eBay experience is safe so that you can buy confidently. It is rare that something goes wrong with a transaction on eBay. However, in the event it does, we would like to provide as much assistance as possible to help resolve the issue.
Please do not respond to this email, as your reply will not be received.
Regards,
Customer Support (Trust and Safety Department)
eBay Inc
...By the way, when I talked with the WBCCI owner, he said it was listed in October. Maybe he was talking about the 1st fake listing? I was under the impression that HE listed it in October...
I should add -- notice there is no way to contact Ebay security about this. What if I had paid for it?!
Quick Links
7000+ Airsteam families having fun! 
Linear Mode
