eBay

chezpeay · ‎07-24-2017

I got caught in this SCAM too. I was blinded when I saw Ebay. i had a price consistent with NADA and a VIN number, email looked legit.

I am on Ebay all the time --the Security Center was hard to find and there were no warnings about the things you know scammers are doing until I found that site.

Ebay, be more proactive in protecting those of us who rely on your good name. Ebay, you need to post the simple language message where all can see it upfront when we sign in.
something like

Ebay does not have agents.
Ebay does not have a warehouse.
Ebay is not a shipping company, they ship nothing.
Ebay has nothing to do with other sites.
Ebay does not condone the use of Western Union, Money Packs, Vanilla Cards, Gift Cards, MoneyGram or any other method of paying outside of your account.
Ebay is not an escrow company, they do not hold anyone's money.

rixstuff · ‎07-24-2017

Ebay has been saying all this repeatedly for the last 15 years or so. Craigslist even says it (I hate them but at least they are trying to deal with the problem).

My family has bought SIX cars on Ebay and any time I hear about a problem with a "car sale on Ebay" I find about 75% of the time that the sale wasnt even ON Ebay and on the rare occasion it was, the buyer tried to get around the rules or the seller tried to weasel out of the fees by taking it off line (which of course also removes it from Ebay protections). There is a way to do it and it CAN be done but you need to do some homework first. What is the listing number of the car you were buying?

legitimate_bidder · ‎07-24-2017

If you Google "Ebay Vehicle Protection Program" and click on the link to Ebay, it says all of that right at the very top of the page.

But C'mon...

Price was consistent with NADA? I doubt it. What kind of vehicle was it, and for how much? (Probably around $2K, while a real mint low-mileage car of that variety would probably go for at least 5 times that...)

Didn't the paying with gift cards FOR A CAR seem odd? Free shipping? Really? Would a legit seller spend a thousand dollars or two out of his own pocket- essentially giving you the car for free- because it's your lucky day? As if he couldn't have sold that car locally in 5 minutes for such a price if it were real?

These scams work by having a redonkulously low price, which causes the "buyer" to be blinded by greed and toss out all common sense. If it was "consistent with NADA price", why would you have tried to buy from someone far away, when you could have just found one within a reasonable distance?

chezpeay · ‎07-27-2017

I appreciate the comments however the situations described do not reflect my situation. That's why I wrote the note to Ebay to put simple straightforward warnings on the general site where I have visited almost weekly for many years. The scammers are amping up their game. If Ebay helps even one potential buyer avoid a scam, these warnings would be worth it. That's really it.

rixstuff · ‎07-28-2017

But also as I stated, Ebay HAS been dealing with this forever. After all it is THEIR reputation that gets damaged when these things happen when really they had no part of it. Buying on Ebay clearly has a good reputation if the scammers are depending on that reputation to help them along in their scam.

On a related note, it is very common around the holidays for buyers to be just as blind/ignorant when scammers come here offering "pre-orders" on the movie that just hit the theater last Friday or the PS5 that doesnt exist. They dont bother to check if there is such a thing or think why would there be a DVD this soon when it just came out? And that Pokemon Plaid pack...my kid has never heard of it and he knows ALL things Pokemon. Hm. Let me look into this some before I buy...

bryanschrode0 · ‎03-28-2020

DOES THIS SOUND LIKE A SCAM? I just sent an email to some lady selling a motorcycle. (janelarsen437@onemarketnow.com) She said she moved out of State to Omaha, and ebay motors is handling the sale. The motorcycle is at a shipping company ready to be shipped, but the delivery process is managed by her. I have 5 days to go see and inspect the motorcycle. Once she gets my info. she will forward it to ebay motors they will proceed with order, I should receive a email from ebay motors with info. on how to pay, where to go inspect the motorcycle. She said they will confirm this deal is conducted through them and she is a legitimate seller. WHY WOULD I NEED IT DELIVERED IF I'M ALREADY THERE TEST RIDING IT? Unsure about this. Its an easy $7,000 used bluebook price, she selling it for $1,000. Any thoughts? Thank You

outdatedrecreated · ‎03-28-2020

It is not eBays responsibility to ensure a buyer or seller protects themselves. There are certainly some very sophisticated scams these days, but the vast majority have red flags from the start. If you don't have money to lose, then the instant you wonder if it's legit, move on. Its always easier to walk away than live the loss. What exactly do you expect eBay to do? The instant they create a policy to stop a scam, another one will pop up. And that goes for everything, not just ebay.

atikovi · ‎03-28-2020

@bryanschrode0 wrote:
Unsure about this. Its an easy $7,000 used bluebook price, she selling it for $1,000. Any thoughts?

IBTL. Dude. You can't be serious?

Anonymous · ‎03-28-2020

What do you mean when you say, "I was blinded when I saw ebay?" I am not real clear what you mean. Was the vehicle on eBay? Was it on another site and if so, which one? And did the seller then tell you that the transaction would be handled through eBay? Your post is vague and we are guessing at what actually took place.

eburtonlab · ‎03-28-2020

@bryanschrode0

That is not how eBay works.

eBay does not rely on users sending emails with contact information prior to a sale. eBay does not "broker the deal" or have warehouses, or ship vehicles or ask for gift cards as payment or hold payment for five days or allow an inspection period.

You have no reason to trust someone who you only know from a throwaway email address or a one time phone number. You have no reason to believe anything such a person says to you or sends to you, even if it has an eBay logo on it.

Anyone that asks you to purchase gift cards or to send card codes to them to complete a transaction is trying to take advantage of you. Anyone asking for a gift card is looking for a gift at your expense. Once anyone else knows the code, your money will be gone and you will have no recourse.

See here for some info:

https://pages.motors.ebay.com/buy/security/index.html

https://www.fbi.gov/scams-and-safety/common-fraud-schemes/online-vehicle-sale-fraud

If you encountered an ad on another site, contact that site to have the ad removed. eBay is not involved with any ads listed on sites other than eBay itself.

nkmipgolf · ‎03-28-2020

To good to be true = scam, but all people see are dollar signs ($$$$$) because someone is desperate to sell because of a family issue. Red flags waving like for a winner on a race track but $$$$$ blinds buyers and scammers live off it.

mrdutch1001 · ‎03-28-2020

Absolutely 100% SCAM!

These kinds of scams always have the same red flags. eBay has nothing to do with ads found on other sites.

If the vehicle is not listed on eBay by an eBay seller with an eBay seller Id with the transaction handled directly between seller and buyer, you bet it is a scam!