Is there a possibility of being scammed and if there is, how would the scammer scam me in this case?

[radz3714]

I have been back and forth on this for the risk to reward so here’s the juicy cliff notes: seller is (not surprisingly), 0 feedback with 1 month account. They are selling an item in healthcare (NOT business and industrial category), in an auction that no one is bidding on but the item has 1800$ shipping. If I got the item at current auction price, it would be around 15% of what this item would be worth new. Only 1 stock photo so I message the seller and ask for actual photos. They ignore my message. I call eBay support asking if there is any way I can end up getting burned since despite all the red flags, if it was legit, the deal is too good to not at least try. eBay support says if the item doesn’t come or is damaged I will get a full refund (including shipping). So far my only concern would be that if the item comes damaged, it is around 1000 pounds so I don’t know how to return it since I don’t have a forklift or truck to move it back to the delivery station. Interested in your opinion on this. (Red flags (item way too cheap, stock photo, no seller communication, seller account newly created with 0 feedback vs eBay support reassuring me I won’t lose my money if something goes wrong plus it’s not business industrial plus the deal if legit is too good to pass up on). What do you think? I am just trying to think of any angle I could get screwed over. (And what I have thought up is if the item is broken but so heavy I will have a hard time figuring out the logistics to ship it back). Thank you all and especially experienced buyers who can give me some insight on any angles that I could get burned in this transaction.

[radz3714]

Thanks for the tip Mudshark! I'll look into the shipping situation you spoke of. I did not know that. the shipping is usps priority mail. Dimensions are quite large (roughly 8 feet x 6 feet x 4 feet). The item will not be able to fit through a normal front door and has to be tilted at an angle because the height is taller than a normal door frame and wider as well. And over 1000 pounds after being packed.

[radz3714]

Update: I have found old clips of the owner giving talks. Compared to the phone conversation, the voice from the video clips online possibly sounds a bit different. Same pitch but different tonage.. According to other family members, different voice.. If this is true then its a scammer hijacking this person's identity online since they even knew the details of their personal life as we bid our goodbyes on the phone (won't go into a person's personal business but let's say the videos of this person's private life found online match what they said offhandedly on the phone at closing). Only way to be sure is to initiate another phone call at a later date and compare the voice frequencies..

[mudshark61369 · Accepted solution]

@radz3714,

Twice now you mentioned having contacted ebay's customer support.  If you did that by calling a number you looked up online, you were not connected to anyone having anything to do with ebay.  If you used Chat support, the reps replying to you can only respond with answers provided in their playbook, which does not cover the fake tracking scams and other scam that are out there.

If what the rep told you about ebay investigating,  was that easy, there would not be as many topics on these boards about the scams and ebay finding in favor of the seller/scammers. eBay cannot access shipping label information due to shipper's privacy policies.

There are other popular scams out there, that involve people getting realistic looking invoices and people calling phone numbers that actually go back to scammers.  Your social media/online contacts with the seller could just be a ploy by a scammer. You did mention some things not matching up with the contact you had with them.   If I were you I'd do some reverse photo look ups to see if the photos you received outside of ebay, weren't culled from other sites.

FYI, USPS Retail Ground, max dimensions are 130 inches, combined length and girth, and 70lbs maximum weight. So there is no way they can use any USPS service for delivery.  UPS has a max length of 108" and 150lbs weight, as doed Fed-Ex, so those services are out as well unless a special Freight option is used.   You would think that someone at the clinic would know that or would have looked that up.

If the auction has bids, the seller will not be able to change the shipping option.  If you win and end up having to change the shipping service, your MBG protections will be nullified.  They only protect you for items shipped via the given shipping method shown on the listing.

More and more there is a fishy smell to this transaction. 

[radz3714]

@mudshark61369Thank you very much. I will look into all of this that you mentioned: the delivery methodology that enables pickup, ebay agent (called them through ebay "have agent call you") to confirm which which delivery services will do pickup at residential address. Will also follow up with another phone call and compare the frequencies of the call with online videos.

Ps. For reference, the photos sent seem legit since they have pictures of the unit from multiple angles with the website's logo (not watermark) but an actual physical logo in the picture on the wall of the seller's company name which matches the website they gave.

Keep the popcorn flowing. Will update with further developments.

[soh.maryl]

Am beginning to get the feeling that you're so dazzled by the price etc that you are refusing to heed the warning signs.    

[ckimodog]

@radz3714 

Here are some red flags for scammers:

Here are some red flags to watch out for.

1. Buyer asks for your email address, Paypal address
2. Buyer sends you a phone number to text/call him/her
3. Buyer asks you to buy gift cards to go with the order
4. Buyer asks you to send the item to a different address after paying
5. Buyer wants you to send the item overnight/express and will pay you a lot extra to do this
6. Buyers says that they cannot pay through the eBay website and sends you a link to click on so that the payment will go through
7. Buyer offers more for your item than the price you have it listed for

Also, remember the holidays are coming.  Here's something that was posted last year and can be very helpful:

Happy Selling!

[radz3714]

@mudshark61369Did the reverse photo look up and you were right a picture of that unit is in the exact same room as the room displayed by the manufacturer instagram (couldn't click in to see since I don't have an instagram). But without the logo on the side. (only 1 matched up partially with reverse photo google trace. however the other 2 custom photos sent could not be found on google using reverse trace). I'm now more confused than ever.. Is this seller's clinic partnered with the manufacturer of the device?? hmm.. I also reverse looked up the phone number provided by the website's "contact us" phone number and it lists some random guy's name that isn't affiliated with any of the team members from what I can see. But when i type the website into the "scam or not a scam" website indicator, this website comes back with 99/100 safety rating (as in very high in reliability which tells me its legit and matches with the linkedin profile of the seller). So now basically there are new red flags but also new positives.. Running a tight race.

[radz3714]

If the website is legit and not some shady website made by a scammer based off the reliability rating, then calling that number provided by the website should lead me to legit team members and I could further get hold of the seller through the phone number provided by the website to confirm if they are indeed the same person I spoke with on the phone today (but tactfully).

[radz3714]

I feel like there is an easier way to get to the bottom of this if only I could do a face to face video call with the seller in question. But this seller doesn't have iphone (shown by green text). Any ideas on how to do an easy to set up video call would be appreciated. I can only think of zoom unless anyone has a better idea.

[mudshark61369]

@radz3714,

No ebay call back or chat rep will have any info about door to door shippers. They aren't even real ebay employees but work for a 3rd party call/chat center, and are limi9ted to giving out info from the playbook they are given.  They are also known for telling a person what they want to hear to get them off the phone/chat.

The only shipping option for an item as large as this one, is usually Freight which the buyer has to arrange on their own most often.  Some sellers who list items that need to use Freight, (treadmills, appliances, industrial machinery...) will provide the contact info of freight services in their area.  However, they do not give a shipping cost on those listings.

I know the price of the item excites you, but you cannot let that stand in the way of what your gut is telling you. You have given us enough information that not one of us very experienced members who deal with transaction issues on a daily basis thinks that you should continue with this transaction, ebay MBG protections not withstanding. 

You have already written the most important thing in your first post. TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE. 

That alone should be warning enough. You may get lucky that this is the one TGTBT item in a thousand that is not a scam, but do you really want to take that chance?  

If you do, I'd love to sit down at a poker table with you. You would have better odds, but not great ones of walking away a winner. 

[ittybitnot]

 I doubled checked with ebay support prior to this and ebay support agent said that they would do internal investigation should that scam be run, which would uncover the exact address and said I didn't have to worry about that scam.

@radz3714 

You do realize that statement made by a CS agent ^^^^^^^ is not even remotely true?????

Does that listing even display the Money Back Guarantee? 

[frankenhobbit]

Notwithstanding the fact that I personally would walk way, if this is still an active  auction and the price is currently low, are you aware that most auction activity is in the very late stages of the auction?

Many people, myself included, put in my one time maximum bid at the very last second. 

[ittybitnot]

But when i type the website into the "scam or not a scam" website indicator, this website comes back with 99/100 safety rating (as in very high in reliability which tells me its legit and matches with the linkedin profile of the seller)

@radz3714 

You are not buying from the website.  This is eBay....what happens if you put 'eBay' in the "website indicator"? Since none of us can see the listing without knowing what the device is or a link to the listing, we have to rely on what you have told us.  i.e.   "Red flags (item way too cheap, stock photo, no seller communication, seller account newly created with 0 feedback"

You also said you talked to this guy on the phone?  How did that come about?  Sharing contact information on eBay is not generally allowed.  With a ZERO feedback score, do you know how to find the "country of registration" for the seller?  You have already been told that what eBay CS tells you means NOTHING.  Don't know the starting price for this listing either, but are you aware the new sellers have "listing limits"?  Do you how a newbie seller can get by those limits and sell some expensive item right out of the gate?

You got the money to play, and want to go for it, that is up to you.   While your enthusiasm nothing new for a 'to good to be true' scenario, the price is known to be the "hook" for you to taken along with the proverbial "line and sinker".   

Do come back if you are the winning bidder and let us know how it is going!!!  

Tips:  
If you get a letter after your "win" that starts out with "Dear Friend" come back here. 

If you get a notice of some sort of "tracking" that says delivered, and there is nothing at your door, come back here before you do anything. 

[buyselljack2016]

P. T. Barnum had the correct outlook.

[6al_4v]

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@buyselljack2016 wrote:

P. T. Barnum had the correct outlook.

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i think due to the world's population that at least TWO are born every minute now.

If not more....