Ebay Auction Rip Off

[omgb]

Well, I stumbled onto a situation yesterday where I could have gotten burnt badly if i hadn't had my brain working. While looking for a spare progressive press, i stumbled on a listing for a Dillon 650 with case feeder and lots of accessories. It was a short time auction (15 hours) with free shipping. There was no reserve and no starting bid. Now common sense tells you that promising free shipping without a minimum bid on something that heavy and bulky smells wrong. The short time span of the auction further tipped me off. I watched it for a couple of hours and saw no bids so I figured what the heck and bid $70. I was willing to risk up to $200 since PayPal backs that amount with out arbitration. Any way, 5 minutes after I bid, there was a string of bids right up to $300. of course, Ebag now hides the bidder's I.D.s so I can't be too sure who was bidding but in the interest of safety, i refused to go higher. Around 6:00 PM last night I was notified by Ebay that the auction had been halted, and the seller and all of his listings removed. Ebay cited privacy issues and would not elaborate but they indicated that there was disreputable activity associated with the seller. That was a close call. Still, the old adage rings true... if somethings seems to good to be true, it most likely is a rip off.

FWIW, I found a second progressive press right here on the board and am finalizing negotiations right now. Truth be told, I'd rather see my money going to a fellow shooter on this board than to a nameless soul on Ebay.

[dubber123]

Glad you didn't get taken, I have only bought a mold off fellow members here, but it's a good one and was a pleasant transaction.

[Scrounger]

Probably shill bidding. Live auctions have that too.

[BruceB]

Yep, a feller really needs to look for sharks when swimming in Ebay waters.

In fairness to the auction concept, though, I'll point out that we (the B clan) have amassed about 140 successful purchases over there, with no problems at all to date. A lot of the transactions involved bullet moulds and brass.

The key is to check the seller's feedback. I suspect there may be ways to diddle that feedback, but if so, I haven't found out about it yet. Another factor to watch for is excessive shipping charges.

[piwo]

BruceB, that's a good point. Sooooooo many transactions are made by folks just like us, but it only takes one rip off to get everyone soured, or talking. Not unlike the gun issue, where a fraction of one percent get the world believing EVERYONE who owns a gun is untrustworthy...

I'm a relative newcomer to the ebay world: made 6 purchases over the past year, and if this one I made yesterday comes through, it will be 6 for 6 good experiences. I know there are sharks in the water, and just keeping that in mind is essential. YES, you might still get a bad deal, but lets face it, we're buying stuff based on a picture of what MIGHT be the product we will get, and betting that the seller (by his feedbacks) is honest enough..... My daughter got ripped on a neklace one time, but she did the paypal thing and got her money back. So it was inconvenient, but she didn't lose any money............

I also limit my purchases to small dollar items: not sure if I'm willing to spend any serious money in those waters!

[felix]

The only time I BUY off ebay is from dealers having a license to do so. I bought my cars using ebay. My sons sell quite often using ebay and have had good luck doing so. They typically buy high volume electronic stuff they know from folks they know, and sell at a profit using ebay. They typically cash in 500 to a 1000 profit around christmas time. Been doing this for several years now. They take advantage of last minute buyers. ... felix

[Leftoverdj]

Sure, the feedback can be diddled. Anything in life can. The way to avoid that is to look at the seller's other auctions and compare to the feedback. The scam is set up an account, do a high volume of honest low value sales over a short time to build a rating, and then do a number of high value auctions at the sale time before vanishing. Feedback mentions the item purchased often enough to get a good idea what the usual dealing has been. I'd avoid buying a high dollar item from someone with a short ebay history who was running several auctions of expensive stuff with no indications of normally dealing expensive stuff.

I buy brass and moulds without qualm from people who have been at it over a year and sometimes from newbies whose other items show obviously that they are selling off a reloader's accumulation. $50 sales are not worth the effort and risk of interstate mail fraud.

[leftiye]

Not only check the seller's feedback, but check how many feedbacks. It takes a while for a newby to get "copesetic" with eBay (fleabag) practices. So, as many as possible (say min of 100) and at least 99% good. Higher % as number of feedbacks increases. If anything about the guy suggests that he doesn't really care one way or the other, get nervous. Seller's politeness means a lot. There are some "megalomaniacs" on fleabag don't ya know.

[madcaster]

Also watch for say,fewer than 20 feedbacks,that could be a tipoff.

[doc25]

I just watched something on tv where the person didn't win the auction. Someone contacted them by e-mail and gave them a song and dance about not selling the item to the other party and scammed them. Be wary!

[omgb]

I just concluded a deal with a member here to by his very lightly used Hornady L-N-L progressive press (I needed a second one). I had bid on one on ebay but backed off as it went over $200 plus $40 for shipping. A member here contacted me and we reached an agreement for his press, complete with all of the accessories plus dies and 13 of the locking bushings for less than the cost of a new L-N-L and shipping was only $28 by FedEx. Capping this, I sent him the money expecting him to wait until he received it before shipping. Instead, he shipped as soon as he heard I sent the money. That kind of trust is severely lacking today. I've yet to be burned by a poster to this forum. Buckshot and I have done several deals all without a hitch. TxPete and I have done business and he has shipped before receiving funds. I've bought brass from a couple of guys here and each time, the count exceeded what I had agreed to. You can't buy that kind of good will and trust. To be treated honorably inspires a reciprocal response each and every time.

[DLCTEX]

I have hundreds of sales and purchases on EBay, so far the only two negatives. A seller who didn't list shipping charges and I was too green to inquire, got burned for about $5.00 for handling (now I know or I will not bid), and two occasions where a Texas seller didn't say he was a dealer and would charge me sales tax. That chaps me and makes me wonder if he is a dealer or just adding 8.75 % to his profit. I use PayPal when possible, but have a lot of transactions with MO with all positive results. DALE

[Shiloh]

:roll: I'm always astounded at what folks bid for stuff on E-bay. Used gun, reloading and shooting related items often go for the same or even more than they can be purchased for new. Then there is the shipping factor, geez !!:roll:

I lose a lot more items than I win. I won't pay close to what I can get it new for,
and I won't get into bidding wars. As stated in a previous post, I would truly rather do business with the folks on this forum if and when the oppertunity arises.

Shiloh :castmine:

[PAT303]

I can see were alot of people shake there heads on some of the prices but you guys must remember that outside the USA things can be imposible to get.For molds I pay more than there worth because you cannot buy them in Australia and the savings I get from them more than makes up for it.Us$45 for a mold is nothing when a box of J bullets is thirty dollars for 100. Pat

[doc25]

I've been screwed twice. Once on an x-bow and once on some traps. There won't be a third time! It seems they delay you until the time is up for feedback. As soon as you have a problem leave them negative feedback and adjust it later!

[buck1]

I have been lucky so far. I have a seprate credit debt card for anything online. Its free from my bank , I keep only enugh in the acct to pay for what I am going to buy.

[montana_charlie]

I won't get into bidding wars.
Me, too. I'm a 'sniper'. I watch the item for 6 days (or whatever) while deciding the highest price I'm willing to pay. If it hasn't gone above my limit at the 10-seconds-left point, I put in my maximum.

Only occasionally do I come up empty, and only about half the time do I have to pay the full amount I bid. If I do get outbid there are no hard feelings...and it usually happens because the (hidden) maximum bid already on file was higher than mine.

Bidding early, or raising in small increments, is just a sure fire way to increase the final price.
CM

[lar45]

A couple of years back my wife was bidding on some herb seeds at a different auction site. There had been some rumors that the owner of the site was friends with one of the sellers and would feed her classified info sometimes.
Anyway, my wife bid $2.50 on the seeds(5 packets of seeds), but finger fumbled on the key board and mistakenly entered $250. She went back later in the day to check on the auction and saw that it had been bid up over $100 and she had the top bid. There was a new bidder bidding against her. She emailed the seller to tell her of the problem and ask for her bid to be cancelled, but didn't get any help. She then emailed the site owner to ask about getting her bid cancelled. She was told no that her bid was a legal obligation. It became quite clear that the seller was bidding the auction up and new where to stop. It went up to around $240 and the wife was still stuck. So she made up a new bogus name at a hotmail account, bid $270 to get her in the clear.

It's nice with Ebay to be able to look at sellers feedback. If a seller has 40,000 feedbacks, it's most likely that you won't get an answer to a question.
I bought some lathe tools from 800watt on Ebay. My first set of tools showed up fine. I then bid on some more and it took 3 months to get them. I had to file a claim with PayPal to even get a responce from the buyer. I asked for a refund, but they sent the tools anyway.
I wish there was a different gun friendly place like Paypal to do online payments.
I wonder how much money it would take to get setup like Paypal?

[leftiye]

Montana C.
Bidding before the end of the auction- isn't that called "bidding against yourself?" Always know (a) what you can buy the item for outright at conventional sources. (b) as mentioned what YOU are willing to pay for one a them.

[ovendoctor]

I have 44 transactoins so far,and 1 bad transaction

got a bad batch of .223 brass[100 pieces]

other thain that doing ok

finding most of the replacment parts for my 1983 suzuki samuari


:castmine:


:redneck:

[Scrounger]

Lar45, I don't think it takes a huge amount of money because you're always working with other people's money (and keeping part of it). You need the electronic software plus the knowledge and connections to work with the financial organizations.