08-01-2005, 07:00 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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PDA Fraud on eBay: How Do You Protect Yourself?
Review team member Stephen Beesley recently went through an ugly experience on eBay. Here's a quote:
"Chasing the best value for my money I bought a Dell X50v from a wholesaler in the US. The seller was (still is I guess�) an ebay power seller with plenty of positive feedback and, going off the comments, lots of happy customers all around the globe. The price was good so in I went. Now to start with everything went just fine with lots of communication from the seller, but then my first hurdle: he used Bidpay as his payment method and unfortunately Bidpay does not take Mastercard (I had never thought to check before bidding � bad me). So that only left me a direct bank transfer � I know I know, and yes all my instincts told me that bank transfer might not be a good idea. But, there was all that positive feedback and he did seem to have a good track record etc., etc� Well as you have probably already guessed that is where everything came unstuck on the deal..."
I've been using eBay for buying and selling since 1999, so I'm an "old timer", and in general I've had good experiences. One thing I have to keep remembering to do is to look at the feedback details of the seller before buying, rather than just the percentage value, because many of these guys build up positive feedback over time then defraud a dozen people simultaneously while they still have loads of positive feedback. What kinds of strategies do you employ on eBay? And have you had any horror stories like Stephen's?
And in case you're curious, the unscrupulous crook that ripped off Stephen is Gurinder P. Singh of Frisco, Texas, also known as Clearcost. Stay clear if you see that name and location on any future eBay auction!
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08-01-2005, 07:07 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,183
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I stay away from anyone that takes BidPay. BidPay seems to be set up just for fraud - it sends a cash money order for goodness sake!
And who on earth does not take Mastercard?
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08-01-2005, 07:18 PM
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Magi
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 2,386
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Hindsight is always 20/20 I guess, but for major purchases, I'll always ensure that Paypal is there with buyer protection enabled (only available with certain sellers of a specific standing). Feedback is, of course, very important, but I'll also check if the seller has solid experience selling the type of item that I am buying from them (or at least, check if they have experience selling items in the same price range).
For example, a few months ago, I spent over $300 on a new cellphone. In this case, I bought the phone specifically from a seller who has a positive history of cellphone sales.
Understanding who the seller is is pretty key as well. How reachable do they make themselves? Do they have their own website where contact information and purchases are often made?
I could be mistaken about Stephen's experience, but if indeed all the things Stephen is mentioning is true (seller unreachable, bad email address, no answers to anyone including eBay, etc.), then I would think that eBay would move to ban that member... and if that seller has been a long-time eBay seller, than a ban would be sufficiently painful punishment as they would have to start from scratch (under a different name) to re-establish their reputation.
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08-01-2005, 07:23 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 429
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I just plain stay away from Ebay. If my wife is adamant that I use Ebay, I tell her to do the research and handle the auctions.
It just seems that more and more, Ebay is turning into a den of thieves. People now seem to be charging ridiculously high shipping fees, and any item I'm interested in already seems to be bid over the price of what you've pay in the store.
Something that really ticked me off the last time I went on Ebay is people using "not" in their item description. I was looking for the Nokia 6620 cell phone, and I got returns like "Nokia 3320 NOT 6620, 6230..." How much of a scumbag do you have to be to do that?
__________________
Current devices: iPhone 3G. Previous devices: Samsung Epix and 1st gen 32GB iPod Touch BlackJack II, iPaq 6945, iPaq hx4705, Dell Axim x30 high, iPaq 3765.
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08-01-2005, 07:28 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by emuelle1
Something that really ticked me off the last time I went on Ebay is people using "not" in their item description.
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Yeah, that drives me nuts as well. :evil:
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08-01-2005, 07:40 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 218
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This is why I've never used eBay to buy or to sell. It's a pity; I'm sort of a PDA collector, and have tons of stuff to sell, but I'm scared to do it. I might use the UPS store to do it for me, but I lose lots of money paying them off that way. (the commission is pretty high) Sad, sad fact. There's just no good way to deal with used stuff. I hate that my really nice stuff I don't use anymore just gathers dust when someone could use it. :cry:
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08-01-2005, 07:44 PM
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Neophyte
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 1
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I was talking to my brother about buying a pda on ebay and mentioned to him about watching for "positive feedback". (He's in marketing and sales) He told me that he doesn't believe all that much in the feedback. He's been approached several times with the opportunity to "buy" positive feedback on ebay.
I'd never heard of that before. But it would answer how "rip off" people get positive ratings.
Has anyone heard of this before? I quess it could be possible now days.
just my 2cents.....
Scott
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08-01-2005, 07:54 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 217
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A good resource I use all the time now is Craigslist. I bought my PSP from a guy and sold some other things here. This gives you a face-to-face contact with someone, payment methods are direct and flexible at times, and there are no fees. I was very surprised how fast people respond to Craigslist ads and how much stuff is available.
I also have sold all my PDAs in the last year using the discussion forums on sites like Pocket PC Thoughts to avoid some fees and give buyers a better deal. Plus, I can generally count on my old devices going to good homes when sold to someone who geeks out on these sites like I do 
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08-01-2005, 08:05 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,264
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Scotty
I'd never heard of that before. But it would answer how "rip off" people get positive ratings. Has anyone heard of this before? I quess it could be possible now days. just my 2cents.....
Scott
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You can buy positive feedback. There are bunches of auctions for items that go for like a dime with the product being just an e-mail of some document or other. Both sides leave positive feedback on the transaction and thus positive feedback is purchased. A tip I use is to actually look at the transactions for some of the recent feedback. If they are all for really cheap items and you are buying something expensive, watch out.
I also look at how long they have been a member. For example, my feedback is in the 70's, but someone can see that I have been a member for like 7 years and I think that gives a certain peace of mind.
Finally, I see if they are all buys or all sells. If they are a balance of each or mostly buys, you probably have someone acting as an individual. If they are all sells, you have someone running a business. So I take this into account when evaluating them on the above.
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08-01-2005, 08:13 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,183
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Let's keep this in perspective though.
Yes there are people out there running nusinesses through eBay - good for them (and us) if they do it right.
Yes there are crooks out there - but there are crooks everywhere.
eBay have shot us in the foot by increasing their charges, 'forcing' the unscrupulous to boost their post and packaging fees to stupid levels. I probably spend more time checking out postal costs on items I might bid for than anything else now.
There are still great bargains to be had, in spite of the less than scrupulous leeches that have sprouted over time.
I have been using eBay for a few years and, so far, have had no bad experiences. I even bought a motorbike through eBay! between us my wife and I have easily spent $10,000 on a total of around 200 items. So far so good.
Yes be careful out there, but it ain't as bad as people are sometimes painting it - buying on eBat really is a matter of applying a little wisdom, and (sadly) a bucket of mistrust to your buying choices.--
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