eBay eDiots

[Darius Wey]

Every morning, I read the newspaper, and occasionally, there's an interesting "eBay Idiot of the Week" column worth spending a bit of time on. So the other day, I decided to check it out for myself (on eBay, of course).<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/wey-20041211-eBay.jpg" /><br /><br />The latest development of eBay stories can be seen in this interesting piece of deformed Nutri-Grain cereal, which managed to snag A$1,035.00 merely because it beared resemblance to ET. Now this story follows on from the well-known <a href="http://i21.ebayimg.com/02/i/02/d7/9f/32_1_b.JPG">Virgin Mary in Grilled Cheese Sandwich</a> story in which the seller pocketed US$28,000.00! Of course, we also cannot forget the person who successfully bade US$127.50 for a US$125.00 Wal-Mart Gift Card. So what are your thoughts on these extravagant eBay stories, and do you have any to share yourself? Enjoy your weekend. :p

[Jason Dunn]

I sell stuff on eBay now and then, and I always look forward to the people who bid more than the item is worth... :lol:

[mr_Ray]

I don't know what you're laughing at.

You're just jealous because I now own an ET Nutri-Grain and you don't. I got quite a bargain, imo.

:mrgreen:

[bigkingfun]

The online casino that paid $28,000 for the Virgin Mary grilled cheese also just paid $65,000 for a ghost and walking cane (http://www.indystar.com/articles/7/200851-9517-009.html). Now the lady who put the item up for sale is concerned by all the press and publicity. Maybe it's me, but if I put something like this up for bid on eBay and it went past $1000, I would kind of be expecting that.

I think I'm going to clean up my basement and see what kind of religious and/or supernatural artifacts I can find. There must be something in all those old boxes that will bring me fame and riches... :wink:

[Kathy_Harris]

How about the 2 used gameboys I just sold for about $70 each plus shipping... new they are $79 at Fred Meyers.

Or the original ipaq I got for $500 and sold for $1025 back in June of 2000...

[Paragon]

Or the original ipaq I got for $500 and sold for $1025 back in June of 2000...

....btw, thanks Kathy, it's still working fine for me.....seriously though, I'm wondering what a NutriGrain cereal that looks like a Lego man with a cap on would go for. :-)

Dave

[emuelle1]

As Jay Leno said during his "Stuff we found on Ebay" segment, "This is why poor countries hate us".

[SassKwatch]

As Jay Leno said during his "Stuff we found on Ebay" segment, "This is why poor countries hate us".
JL's right. But P.T. Barnum made the consumate consumer buying habits statement a LONG time ago.....

"There's a sucker born every minutue."

[Sven Johannsen]

I've got a jelly donut that looks like Elvis. Let the bidding begin ;)

[Darius Wey]

seriously though, I'm wondering what a NutriGrain cereal that looks like a Lego man with a cap on would go for. :-)

What an interesting idea! I'm going to the shops to buy myself a box of Nutri-Grain cereal. Excuse me.... 8)

I've got a jelly donut that looks like Elvis. Let the bidding begin

I'd *love* to see a picture of that... :lol:

[SoAlive]

One of my first eBay sells was an old Panasonic VCR that had three separate issues--bottom line: it didn't work. I listed all the problems in the description thinking that someone might pay a few dollars for parts. The modern equivalent sold new for $75. The auction ended at $67, plus $10 shipping.

I tried to talk the winning bidder out of it. She threatened me with bad feedback for not following through with the sale, so I went ahead with the sale, giving her free shipping.

[Paoac]

Wow, people will buy ANYTHING on ebay... pretty stupid if you ask me :lol:

Oh yah, I also want to sell my underware which got a stain bear an image of Bruce Lee, OMG!

Hurry, starting bid @ $377.99 Great for stocking stuffer :)

[bjornkeizers]

Ebay is a giant magnet for all the criminals and retards on the net it seems. That's why I stopped using it - nowadays, I use a dutch second-hand goods site called Marktplaats. Yes, you can bid, but it's not an auction. You can put up ads for free except for expensive items or things like houses and cars. It's very popular.

The only problem is...

Ebay bought the damn site a while ago!! I'm very much worried it'll turn into another Ebay.

[Albegor]

Here's a wonderful one, appeared at the beginning of September on the Italian eBay:

Nothing for € 1.00!!!!!!!!!!!! (http://cgi.ebay.it/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&amp;category=30995&amp;item=6320666157&amp;rd=1)

It was actually a smart provocation for eBayers thinking to be able to get mobile phones or PCs from not-so-clear auctions.
The 95 comments are a really pleasant reading if you have the patience to translate them. :D

[dean_shan]

You gotta love the revenge (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&amp;item=4935177329://) items.

[Jorlin]

I don't know what you're laughing at.

You're just jealous because I now own an ET Nutri-Grain and you don't. I got quite a bargain, imo.

:mrgreen:


Pics ... pics... :D

[dma1965]

As l always tell my coworkers when they ask me if something they have will sell on eBay; "You can always depend on the kindness of idiots " ! :D

[Ravenswing]

Or the original ipaq I got for $500 and sold for $1025 back in June of 2000...

Yeah, but back then ipaq's were gold dust. They regularly sold for over a $1000 because Compaq underestimated the production requirements. I had one of the first few in Europe, picked it up cheap through an offer at a Microsoft techy event. I actually had people at the event offering to buy it off me and I also could have sold it on eBay and made a killing. However, since I'd gone to a fair amount of trouble to get it, and I'd have had Hell's own job replacing it, the idea of selling it was just not on.

I'm told by a friend that people regularly overbid on things on eBay. He does his research on an item and stops before the price goes over what he could get it for online from a retail outlet. Then he watches the price continue to rise because the bidders don't bother to find out how little they could be paying. Must make the sellers happy though... :lol:

[brihyn]

[quote="Albegor"]Here's a wonderful one, appeared at the beginning of September on the Italian eBay:

Nothing for € 1.00!!!!!!!!!!!! (http://cgi.ebay.it/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&amp;category=30995&amp;item=6320666157&amp;rd=1)


This must be a repeat. About a year ago Nothing went on sale. I tried to get my coworkers to bid against me to get the price up. No one would. I ended up winning Nothing for around 1.31.
Obviously, i decided on the negative feedback.

[DaleReeck]

My most annoying eBay story is last month when I put up a Canon DV camera for about $300. And of course, I got the usual scammers from Asia and Africa asking if I would ship to them. But one scammer took it a step farther. He actually bid - and won - the item, taking it away from an established eBay bidder. THEN he asks me if I would ship, after bidding. I said "no" as it says on my eBay page, bids from the US only etc. Then he tries to strongarm me into it, telling me "look, since I already won it, do this". Then he goes into the Western Union scam with BidPay. He wanted "shpment immediately" upon receiving the confirmation email from Western Union, which is a huge warning sign. He probably had a fake email from Western Union or had a way to spoof their site. The victim gets the fake confirmation email and, thinking it's legitimate, sends the product off and gets scammed (if you're familiar with BidPay, you know what I mean).

Of course, it had all the other warning signs too. First time bidder with brand new account from Singapore wanting shipment to Africa. In the end, that a$$hole cost me time and money having to repost the item and all that. He probably figured that by winning the bid, I wouldn't feel like going through all the bidding again for such a small amount and would just do what he wanted. He was wrong :) Unfortunately, none of the legitimate bidders wanted the camera anymore so I had to repost and, in the end, actually made a little more money. But still, damn annoying.

But the balls of that guy to actually bid and win my item. I hope this isn't going to be a new tactic by these scammers - derailing auctions by bidding in order to get their scam in. If it is, that will be the end of eBay as any sort of useful tool.

[fishfuzz]

Actually, there are a lot of tools available for eBay users to eliminate scams. First, if you actually win an item that you think might be shady, do a contact info request. This will provide you with a location and phone number - CALL IT. If you don't get who you expected, or the phone number is wrong, start filing with eBay and notify the seller.

Sellers, you can do the same with your buyers. And if you get ripped like the last poster, you have the ability to file for a credit (for the final value fee). I can't tell you how many scam accounts I've gotten deleted by just reporting them to eBay. Plus, if they leave you negative feedback, and the user is deleted later, the feedback goes with it.

Make sure you do your research, me peeps. eBay can be the bane of your existance, or a real joy (I recently sold two heroclicks that I got free at a Con for $60 and ended up shipping them to Spain to a legit buyer *grin*).

[daninnj]

Remember when someone bid 425 bucks on a PLAYSTATION 2 box?

Article (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/02/02/empty_playstation_box_sold/)

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

Everyone always focuses on the how lame the winning bidder was in paying such an outragious price, but what people forget is that it takes at least two "eDiots" bidders to drive the price to such ridiculous heights (assuming the seller started at a legitimate price).

so for sellers, you'll never profit much from just having one ignorant bidder. You have to hope to attract two.

[thadrool]

Remember when someone bid 425 bucks on a PLAYSTATION 2 box?

Article (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/02/02/empty_playstation_box_sold/)

$425? I sold one of those puppies on ebay for $880.

[bjornkeizers]

Remember when someone bid 425 bucks on a PLAYSTATION 2 box?

Article (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/02/02/empty_playstation_box_sold/)

$425? I sold one of those puppies on ebay for $880.

Haha! Read the 'fine print' my man - a PS2 *BOX*

[ghostppc]

You gotta love the revenge (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&amp;item=4935177329://) items.

:rotfl: That was awesome!!

[Darius Wey]

Haha! Read the 'fine print' my man - a PS2 *BOX*

I was hoping to read the actual comments on the eBay site yet unfortunately, the link at The Register leads to an invalid item. Oh well. ;)

A thumbs-up from me for another eBay eDiot story. :way to go:

[daninnj]

Here you go. (http://www.whattheheck.com/ebay/ps2box.html)

[Darius Wey]

Here you go. (http://www.whattheheck.com/ebay/ps2box.html)

Thanks. That is pretty funny. :lol:

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

Here you go. (http://www.whattheheck.com/ebay/ps2box.html)

Thanks. That is pretty funny. :lol:
It is a funny story, I won't deny that. But I do sympathize with the buyer on this one. The seller didn't lie outright about what he was selling, but the title of the auction "Playstation 2 Original Box and Receipt" can easily be misconstrued. I mean, how many people do you know would ever just sell a box with a receipt? In the same token, I've never known anyone to go online shopping for just a box with original receipt.

In any case, I'm willing to bet there were multiple bidders going after the same item not knowing the catch.

Early in the year, I was bidding on a Nokia 6600 phone. I actually put in a bid at about $250, then decided against going any higher when I promptly outbid. Lucky for me, I reread the auction information and in small print, it clarified that this auction was for information only (no phone).

I was never more glad to have been outbid (the phone finished at higher than $300, so there were obviously a lot of bidders who hadn't read the fine print either).

[Darius Wey]

It is a funny story, I won't deny that. But I do sympathize with the buyer on this one. The seller didn't lie outright about what he was selling, but the title of the auction "Playstation 2 Original Box and Receipt" can easily be misconstrued. I mean, how many people do you know would ever just sell a box with a receipt? In the same token, I've never known anyone to go online shopping for just a box with original receipt.

That's why people owe it to themselves to be *very* wary of what they see on online marketplaces such as eBay. Day in, day out, you hear about scams and whatnot. It's quite sad really, yet it can be quite funny when you're just a spectator. ;)

[emuelle1]

Last summer ('03), I decided that I needed to get a Pocket PC. I didn't know much about them at the time. I found one that was going for about $50, and figured that was a good deal. The seller said that he had access to a site where you buy ebooks and get put in a matrix where your name eventually comes up and you can buy things like an Ipaq for really good prices. I was using my wife's Ebay account, figuring that I'd drive up her numbers since she was selling a lot at the time, and I used her tactics of coming in at the last few seconds and stealing the auction. I won, transferred the payment through PayPal, and waited. The seller sent a URL. I said "What the heck!?" and emailed him back. It turns out that I hadn't read the print well enough. I thought that I would give him the money and he'd enter himself in that matrix. Nope, I paid $50 for a LINK! I was fuming, and started writing him back and forth. I finally calmed down and told him that I what I thought he did was unethical, but buyer beware. I was going to contact Ebay and if they thought it was a legitimate use of their auctions I would honor my failure and let him keep the money. He promptly issued a refund. I guess Ebay didn't agree. When he told me the he refunded the money he said "I guess I won't be dealing in this type of product anymore". I said "You're darn right you shouldn't be dealing with this kind of thing. Sell a legitimate product!"

That day I found out a guy I work with was willing to sell an Ipaq 3765 for $120, and I took it. I'm still using it.

Oh, yeah, make sure to carefully read all the fine print. There are a lot of unscrupulous people on Ebay.

[FrozenIpaq]

I still can not get over the Virgin Mary Chesse sandwich, man people could have bought better stuff, like a NEW PPC, or even a 3,000 laptop w/ dual trays, 3.8 GHZ, and PCI-Express,

[Darius Wey]

I still can not get over the Virgin Mary Chesse sandwich, man people could have bought better stuff, like a NEW PPC, or even a 3,000 laptop w/ dual trays, 3.8 GHZ, and PCI-Express,

Apparently, it was a casino that purchased it. Now I'm sure they could easily afford it. :roll:

[FrozenIpaq]

What does a casino do with a sandwich? its probably on display and i wonder who was the previous bidder, was that a casino too, or did the casino just over price so they would win? O well if a casino wanted a virgin mary face on a sandwich they were better off making one, can' t be that hard.

[KimVette]

I hope this isn't going to be a new tactic by these scammers - derailing auctions by bidding in order to get their scam in. If it is, that will be the end of eBay as any sort of useful tool.

Actually, eBay's assimilation of PayPal marked the beginning of the end of eBay as a useful tool. Since they bought PayPal, transfers take much longer and customer disservice is even more difficult to contact. I won't deal with anyone who uses PayPal, including Abit. It's too slow and introduces major headaches when attempting to conduct business. I'd hate to think how long it takes to receive shipments of items won on eBay. I used to be a regular buyer on eBay until PayPal began to suck.

[GadgetGirl]

Here you go. (http://www.whattheheck.com/ebay/ps2box.html)

OMG, that is so mean, yet funny.

Wow, I definately need to pay closer attention to my food, to spot the eBay-worthy jems of cultural or religious value. :twisted:

Since others are sharing some of their eBays experiences, I think I'll share my lesson-learning experience.

I bought a cell phone a few years back on eBay. I thought I was being careful when I verified the seller was from a legitimate business (the business was legit), that he had tons of positive feedback, the phone was unused and still manufacturer sealed. I corresponded with him through emails, got pictures, etc. I paid a reasonable price and received the phone just fine. I activated the phone and used it for about six months.

Well, one day I receive a call from a police department about 4 states away informing me that my phone is stolen!! Naturally I confirmed that it was actually a policeman from a real police department. I spoke with the station, spoke with folks from the district attorney's office. They made me send the phone to them as evidence, and asked for all my email correspondence with him (I gave it). Apparently, the guy worked for a legit cell phone shop, and was pilfering the phones and selling them on eBay. Argh. So they nabbed the guy, he went to court and pleaded guilty, and didn't have enough money to pay back all the people. That was the last I heard about it. No more phone, no money. Shortly after that, eBay instituted their fraud protection policies to get money back.

Moral of the story: only buy stuff that cannot be easily traced back to you. I tend not to buy things from eBay with electronic serial numbers any more. I am also a lot more wary than I was before of scammers.

[Darius Wey]

Here's another story...

Man Fired for eBaying Queen's Pudding (http://www.betanews.com/article/Man_Fired_for_eBaying_Queens_Pudding/1103302762). :wink: