How does this scam work?

Response to dkahn400:

Quoted message said:

You'd be surprised how many off-the-shelf items, or even used items, go
for above the retail price.

You're right, and I forgot about that - as witness the Aldi/Tchibo stuff
which comes up regularly. ISTR a couple of years ago seeing a cheapo
trailer, with an easily-checkable retail price of £60 or so, going for
about £240; and I'll bet examples abound.

It's amazing how irrational people can be sometimes. [Written just
before I nip to the corner shop for some [censored], because I'm bloody smoking
again... <sigh>]

Quoted message said:

For example, say you are after a particular computer chip.
You look through the auction histories and see that on average the
final price is £40. About once every 4 weeks someone pays as much as
£60 or as little as £20. It's possible to get one for £20, and that
is therefore your maximum bid. You set up snipes for £20 in every
auction that comes up and sit back. On average you will win an auction
after 2 weeks.

Now, *that's* a good idea. I've never sniped, because I don't use Ebay
very much; also, I'm still not on broadband, and I had a confused idea
that one more-or-less needs to be - which isn't true, from what you say.

--
Mark, UK.

"I worry that the person who thought up Muzak may be thinking up
something else."

MartinM said:

I don't doubt that there are bargains, but scams and rip offs put a lot of
people off.

I do wonder what attracts some people to scams and rip-offs, and not
others. I've bought quite a range of items, including a high-spec laptop
and several other ~$100 cameras and stuff, and never had any real problems.

James

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The feedback looked legit. I wondered how that was done. A hijacked
account I suppose. Perhaps a phisherman got a bite.

Well, it's all thanks the people who use the same password for everything.
See, think about this example.

Joe "AOL user" Bloggs, has a pretty safe password, "P4sSw0rd!:", for
example. He uses it for his ebay account, AOL account and Fred Smiths
cycling forum website. Nobody could guess that password, right?

Now, the security of AOL and Ebay are pretty tough, so the scammers wouldn't
even try to break into it. However, Fred Smiths cycling forum is pretty old,
and the forum software is easily exploited to give out the
usernames/password of all it's users.
The bad people now have Joe Blogg's AOL and Ebay account.... hey imagine if
he used the same password for online banking too!

Anyway, just a little story to encourage you all to have different
passwords.

Treefrog said:

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The feedback looked legit. I wondered how that was done. A hijacked
account I suppose. Perhaps a phisherman got a bite.

Well, it's all thanks the people who use the same password for everything.
See, think about this example.

Joe "AOL user" Bloggs, has a pretty safe password, "P4sSw0rd!:", for
example. He uses it for his ebay account, AOL account and Fred Smiths
cycling forum website. Nobody could guess that password, right?

Now, the security of AOL and Ebay are pretty tough, so the scammers wouldn't
even try to break into it. However, Fred Smiths cycling forum is pretty old,
and the forum software is easily exploited to give out the
usernames/password of all it's users.
The bad people now have Joe Blogg's AOL and Ebay account.... hey imagine if
he used the same password for online banking too!

Anyway, just a little story to encourage you all to have different
passwords.

If someone guesses my ebay password, it is hardly likely to cost me any
money. Anyone who contacts a seller on a different address and sends the
money to a different person is probably beyond help anyway.

James

James

MartinM said:

in years to come ebay is going to be up there with pyramid selling as
a joke from the past; sorry to appear cynical but the only thing I
ever sold on it was privately after it ended and most of what have I
bought was faulty or the wrong colour.

eBay is massively sucessful because it works. There have been no problems
at all with the vast majority of my 200+ transactions (buying & selling).
In fact I find it more convenient and reliable than any other kind of
online buying/selling/advertising. It might depend on the type of goods.
Most of my stuff is small bike parts. Perhaps mobile phones are a bit
more dodgy.

And if you "almost never" win auctions, it's because you're not bidding
enough!

~PB

MartinM said:

most of what have I bought was faulty or the wrong colour.

Did you ask what colour it was and wether it was faulty?

I've bought electronics components (surplus and new), lego and several
popcorn poppers. All have been as advertised and I'm very happy with
every purchase, so I guess you've either been unlucky or not
discriminating enough.

regards, Ian SMith
--
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|o o|
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Quoted message said:

But my OP was that if enough scams, fakes, rip offs etc find their
way onto ebay it will go downhill and people will stop using it.

Fortunatly most scams seem to involve the buyer doing something silly, like
completing the transaction off ebay, or sending payment to a different
address than is listed.

"Pete Biggs" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

MartinM said:

in years to come ebay is going to be up there with pyramid selling as
a joke from the past; sorry to appear cynical but the only thing I
ever sold on it was privately after it ended and most of what have I
bought was faulty or the wrong colour.

eBay is massively sucessful because it works. There have been no problems
at all with the vast majority of my 200+ transactions (buying & selling).
In fact I find it more convenient and reliable than any other kind of
online buying/selling/advertising. It might depend on the type of goods.
Most of my stuff is small bike parts. Perhaps mobile phones are a bit
more dodgy.

And if you "almost never" win auctions, it's because you're not bidding
enough!

Yes I absolutely agree. If I need something that much I buy it elsewhere. If
I don't, or just fancy a bargain, I put in a lowish bid and hope. I've just
been sufficiently unimpressed that I look at ebay only occasionally. And you
are all right, I don't really know how to bid. Others have been more lucky
and experienced.
But my OP was that if enough scams, fakes, rip offs etc find their way onto
ebay it will go downhill and people will stop using it. BTW are there other
auction type sites out there? never actually looked.

MartinM said:

But my OP was that if enough scams, fakes, rip offs etc find their
way onto ebay it will go downhill and people will stop using it.

That worries me as well but hopefully eBay will keep on top of the
situation, or enough buyers will have enough sense to spot the scammers
for themselves.

Quoted message said:

BTW
are there other auction type sites out there? never actually looked.

There are, but they're pathetically small compared to eBay--hardly any
items to choose from, last time I looked. It amuses me when TV presenters
use the phrase "an internet auction site" (to avoid giving a free plug)
when everyone knows there's only one worth bothering with... so far, at
least.

~PB

"Pete Biggs" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

MartinM said:

But my OP was that if enough scams, fakes, rip offs etc find their
way onto ebay it will go downhill and people will stop using it.

That worries me as well but hopefully eBay will keep on top of the
situation, or enough buyers will have enough sense to spot the scammers
for themselves.

to be fair one thing ebay does extremely well is to sell cheap itmes at low
profit for much less than shop prices eg LED headlights, Gameboy
accessories, CD boxes. There is no way private individuals would be able to
sell these things online at the price any other way, and it keeps the
general prices down. I tend to go for the Buy it nows as well for the same
reason, if I want something and it's cheap why chance it? (but usually make
sure it doesn't go for much less on similar items)

....several popcorn poppers...?
what are you doing with them?
:-)
peter

"Ian Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

MartinM said:

most of what have I bought was faulty or the wrong colour.

Did you ask what colour it was and wether it was faulty?

I've bought electronics components (surplus and new), lego and several
popcorn poppers. All have been as advertised and I'm very happy with
every purchase, so I guess you've either been unlucky or not
discriminating enough.

regards, Ian SMith
--
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|o o|
|/ \|

In message <[email hidden]>, MartinM
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

BTW are there other
auction type sites out there? never actually looked.

There's QXL, which a friend of mine used to buy and sell beanie babies,
or whatever they're called, when they were the rage. With that and boot
sales, and doing swaps on hard to get beanies, with overseas sellers he
made over 30 grand one year.

But ebay is the daddy.

--
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