making a large purchase

[5784ok]

I have made a purchase to acquire a backhoe for approximately 35,000 dollars. I realize there are many scams out there and I am trying to protect funding while making the purchase. I have read the E Bay guarantees however I am not convinced they are complete. Ebay says they guarantee the amt if funds are wired to ebay acct. I also read where others have purchased their items, sent funds through ebay and have not received their items or refunded their monies. Does anyone know how I can pay a co or someone to verify the backhoe is at that location. They are located in Ocala Florida.  The seller shows they have been on ebay for several years however when I look at their sales it looks like misc dollar items.I saw on the forum where someone else had purchased from a like co. and not received their product and it might be the same co. It seems difficult to talk with someone in ebay to verify the co.is legit. Can anyone give me their advice as to how to confirm the co. is actually at the location they describe on address ? Thank You

[lakefor94]

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@mtgraves7984 wrote:

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@soh.maryl wrote:

Interesting, isn't it, the way countless folks here are floundering around trying to find the correct listing, figure out whether it's actually in Florida, making sure that it's actually listed on eBay, etc, etc, etc, while the OP remains strangely silent? 

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@soh.maryl 

Isn't it funny that I was just about to type nearly the same words.

Why do we feel so obligated to assist a buyer willing to throw that kind of cash around so willy-nilly? It's his money, after all...

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We are a bunch of suckers for some free entertainment.....

I mean, I shipped, listed several items, placed them in inventory and this is what I call takin' a break, lol.

[12345jamesstamps]

So, sometimes we have a buyer asking questions but it could really be a seller trying to figure out how to sell something they might not have. Not saying that here, of course.

[tinsoldierunderground]

It looks like far away higher ground to me... but my eyes aren't young anymore.

[5784ok]

I'm not throwing cash around. That is why I am inquiring. I read where someone else lost funds possibly to the same person. My concerns go out to him. He was thinking he was doing the purchase correctly[like myself] and has possibly lost all his money which for most of us is hard to come by. My interest is if this seller is continuing to list fraudulently  why isnt ebay taking an effort to take the seller off the listing. I feel its ebays responsibility to put in place safeguards against this fraud especially if it happens with the same person continuously. So are you assuming by purchasing on ebay and believing I'm following the correct procedure that I'm ignorant for even considering buying on ebay? For some of us this is a new experience making a large purchase on line. For those of you who offered some good advice and pointers , I thank you for your time. I believe in helping others who are honest  no matter who they are. Thanks again

[albertabrightalberta]

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@soh.maryl wrote:

Interesting, isn't it, the way countless folks here are floundering around trying to find the correct listing, figure out whether it's actually in Florida, making sure that it's actually listed on eBay, etc, etc, etc, while the OP remains strangely silent? 

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I found the correct listing but I think we're all trying to figure out if the seller stole the pictures from another source.

[mtgraves7984]

@5784ok... Welcome back!

"My interest is if this seller is continuing to list fraudulently..."
We would welcome hearing the outcome of your experience as it would be great knowledge that many of us don't have.

"So are you assuming by purchasing on ebay and believing I'm following the correct procedure that I'm ignorant for even considering buying on ebay?"
Not at all. My kneejerk reaction (and post) was, "You could go there and check the equipment out before dropping $35K on it. I know I would." << That is the correct procedure for buying here or anywhere, IMHO.

"I'm not throwing cash around."
^^^ My apologies to you for this. It was where my mind went when I realized it was purchased before inspection. Besides... throwing cash around and throwing cash away is two different things. 

For what it's worth, I had an uncle that had loads of that kind of machinery. He threw cash around but never threw it away. 

[albertabrightalberta]

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@5784ok wrote:

I'm not throwing cash around. That is why I am inquiring. I read where someone else lost funds possibly to the same person. 

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We are trying to help you. 

Since it's a huge amount of money, we're trying to figure out if your seller is showing pictures of the actual item. 

There are several red flags: 

• Pictures don't appear to have been taken in Florida where the seller claims to be located
• Seller has NO selling history yet suddenly has a $30K sale
• All feedback is as a buyer and even the most recent feedback that the seller received was from 2-6 months ago. Previous feedbacks are all over a year old. 

Personally, this isn't the type of item I'd recommend buying online. I don't know where you're located but round-trip airfare would be a small investment to go look at the backhoe, test drive it aND verify that the title is available.

[shipscript]

@5784ok 

We were trying to determine if the listing is fraudulent, so thank you for returning. Each listing has a "report" link, and if it is fairly clear this is a fraudulent listing, any of us can use that link to report the listing. Since you are the buyer, and know more about it, it is best if you report it, based on your own experience. I assume you have not yet paid, due to your suspicions.

Because big-ticket industrial items are difficult to purchase, eBay has added a payment option where the buyer can send a wire transfer to eBay.

https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/paying-items/paying-items?id=4009

I'll need to find out how eBay escrows that payment, since they normally recommend https://escrow.com.

We have, unfortunately, seen some instances where buyers have reported that eBay blocked the wire option, so the buyer went around the block and wired money directly to the scammer.

There are some questions to ask.

1) The seller is not normally a seller and the account is somewhat dormant (red flag).

2) The photos don't look like the Florida location described in the listing (red flag).

3) Is the price too low? I don't know this, but perhaps you do.

4) Have you communicated with the seller to ask for an inspection? Refusal is a red flag.

5)  A key buyer trick is to ask for one more photos of some part of the vehicle or equipment that is not shown in the listing. Refusal is a red flag.

If you agree this is a faulty listing, any or all of us can report it.

When reporting the listing, select these options:
1. Listing practices
2. Fraudulent listing activities
3. You suspect that a listing is fraudulent

We can also use the Help page for a Hacked account to contact customer support to report a hijacked account, if it appears that is what has happened.

https://www.ebay.com/help/account/protecting-account/get-help-hacked-account?id=4196 

So there are pathways, but we needed to know from you if all the red flags were in place.

[5784ok]

Thank you so much for your help. As you have brought to my attention there are several red flags. I did ask for more specific photos and suggested I might have someone who inspect the equipment. I also saw in the previous forum a buyer mentioned he had sent the same co. a payment of 28,000 dollars and had yet not recd his equipment. I want to make sure others dont have this happen to them. Again thank you for your reply, very grateful!

[shipscript]

@5784ok 

While it is easy to assume a company is fraudulent, it is also quite easy for a scammer to suggest they represent a company, and then provide contact information that leads elsewhere.

Therefore, I hesitate to indict a company directly.  However, it seems that your contact with the "seller" was unfruitful, so I will assume the account was compromised and taken over for fraud. I would encourage other posters to report the listing, and I'll attempt to report the account as a takeover.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/226035105061

Since the eBay wire transfer option is new to me, I'll seek out further information when eBay employees resume business after the weekend.

[tinsoldierunderground]

I believe OP Iis in Arizona.   

[tinsoldierunderground]

Ebay is a fickle entity... sometimes they are spot on  dealing with fraud,  other times they flounder  hopelessly.   The fact that you alluded to someone else possibly losing money to this seller is a huge red flag to me.  

[gator08041971]

I did notice part of the name on the building...

Maybe that can tell us something.

[soh.maryl]

Thank you for your reply.  You probably know that no actual eBay employee inspects every single listing here for accuracy and honesty.  All of us were concerned about the possibility of your being scammed big time.

You yourself pointed out some serious issues with this listing which made us concerned that you were even considering it.  No one called you "ignorant for even considering buying on ebay".  

Personally, I see this as a no-go from the beginning.  If I were about to purchase a large and expensive piece of equipment, I would shop locally where I could actually inspect it first.  

[soh.maryl]

Exactly.  Did we take an oath or sign a promise that we will always knock ourselves out to help someone who appears determined to make a 35K error and, up to a certain point, had not contributed much in the way of helpful info.  (But now has done so, thank goodness).