Mike Gets Mail: Ebay Scams

I received the following from a TOP reader who goes by the handle El Inglés. He had posted it on his Facebook page:

Ebay—A CAUTIONARY TALE

My friends, I have bought and sold photographic equipment on Ebay for several years, all very smoothly and without problems. Until now.

Yesterday, an Ebay member with no purchase history—always a warning sign—bought my Canon 5D II at the 'Buy it Now' price. London-based, she wanted me to post the camera as quickly as possible as it was a present for her boyfriend. I said I would be in London at the end of next week for a meeting, and could take the camera, but she said that would not be soon enough. Anxious to pay, she said she did not receive the eBay-generated link to PayPal, although I sent it three times in the course of a couple of hours. I said not to worry, and sent a payment request directly from PayPal. Lo and behold, I then received an email from 'PayPal,' advising that payment had been received but, following a 'new regulation' would not be released to me until up to 21 days afterwards. Nevertheless, the email implored, I should still send the goods! The alarm bells started to become loud. And, although, the email looked very authentic, I noticed a couple of very small spelling mistakes. Then the pièce de résistance—the buyer asked me to post the camera to her boyfriend...in Nigeria!

I told her politely that the con was far better than the usual 'help me launder $15 million' solicitations. But it was still a con.

Of course, I have reported all to Ebay.

Did you know that the "Cameras and Photo" area of Ebay is the number one category for fraud? More than any other category on the world's garage sale website. The only time I've ever been defrauded on eBay was for a camera. I came away $500 lighter, having ill-advisedly sent cash via Western Union. I've forgotten the details now; I try to put things like that out of my mind. Life's too short to cry over spilled milk. As the old saying goes.

My mistake in that case was that a succession of identical listings didn't set off alarm bells. Just so you know—in case you don't—if you see five identical listings posted in succession for the same item from the same seller, it's probably a scam.

Beware motion blur!
Another, more subtle Ebay scam: blurry pictures. Seriously. A little motion blur will cover up all manner of cosmetic irregularities, and our brains tend to supply a bit of "content-aware fill" such that we believe we know what the blurred object really looks like. Don't be fooled. A seller with 1,000 sales whose other listings show clear pictures didn't suddenly become incompetent with the digicam like some inpecunious grandma bravely making a go of selling a tchotchke or two.

I have on one or two occasions requested clearer pictures from sellers. The good ones will provide them.

Of course you should always check out a seller's feedback. My personal rule is never buy anything from anyone with less than 98% feedback. My reasoning is that a) everybody makes a mistake occasionally, and b) some people out there are crazy. So if two buyers out of 100 aren't happy, maybe there's no help for that. But I won't buy anything from anyone with less than a 98% rating.

One of the posts I keep meaning to write is called "The Photographer's Bedtime Prayer." I haven't finished writing it yet, but one of the lines in it is, "Lord, please keep me from rummaging around on Ebay late at night...."

Mike
(Thanks to Stephen Russell)

Original contents copyright 2013 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Arthur: "The motion blur trick (and overexposure) is popular on dating sites too. Don't ask how I know."

Comments

[John Camp]

Three or four years ago, I was out on a golf course with a friend who'd been taking banjo lessons for a couple of years. He confided in me (his wife didn't know, and he wanted it to stay that way) that he'd just sent off money for a banjo advertised on e-bay that he'd lusted after ever since he started taking lessons. It was some exotic handmade thing that in the states would cost $3,000 or more, but he'd found a guy in Budapest who apparently didn't know what he had, and was selling it for only $700. My jaw almost dropped on my shoe-tops. I said, "Please, please tell me that you just didn't send $700 of to Budapest for a rare banjo." He had. The banjo, of course got lost in transit.

[Jonathan Morse]

Here's where I get philosophical about my own experience with an eBay scam.

http://theartpart.jonathanmorse.net/2012/12/marcel-duchamp-for-secretary-of-the-treasury/

But at least the ending was happy for me. eBay refunded all my money.

[Ed]

I always check the credentials of a buyer or seller on EBay....if I don't find an adres I like (using Google Earth) no sale. If I sell pro stuff and I don't find a professional website (using Google) no sale. If I find an adres in Nigeria (no sale and I'm sorry for all the legit Nigerians who are co-vitimized).

Greets, Ed.

[Dan]

you should know that for new sellers e-bay (in fact paypal) does retain the money in escrow for 21 days. This is clearly explained in their rules and it is to ensure buyer protection, at least from first-time sellers; then it's up to the seller to build good feedback. I did sell a lens a few months ago and I only got my money after 21 days. However this only happend for the first sale, second time I sold something I got my money right away.

[Jock Elliott]

Mike,

One of my favorite scams is:

"Double your IQ or none of your money back."

[Judith Wallerius]

I would like to extend the words of caution regarding the seller rating, and recommend to also check if what they sell fits with their usual merchandise.

A friend of mine almost got scammed when she wanted to buy a used (but of course like new, and of course with 1 year warranty) camera from a seller in England (we're in Germany). He'd taken the camera off the site shortly after she'd mailed him with some questions, because he claimed he hadn't been sure if he wanted to sell it after all, but proposed to send it via a shipping company. They would send the camera to her after she sent them money, and if she was satisfied after seven days the shipping company would release the money to him. When she asked him to relist the item on Ebay, or said friends of her could pick it up, he ignored that.

At that point she asked me what I thought of the deal. The seller's shop had a very high approval rating, and her husband, who sometimes deals with overseas business, said it's not totally uncommon to do it that way, but it still felt a bit weird. When I looked at the Ebay page of the supposed seller, it turned out to be a small business that otherwise dealt in plumbing fittings and the like, and had a different email-address when I googled them than the one she'd been mailing with, even though it had been part of the listing. Also, at that point none of the camera and electronics listing she had seen earlier were on there anymore. It seemed like a scam to me, and she declined his offer.

It turned out that the shop's ebay-page had been hacked somehow, and a few listings for cameras had been made and taken off after a short time, presumably after enough contacts by interested buyers were collected. The camera models were kind of current, but not easy to find models (a Nikon D3s in her case), so people wouldn't have many offers to choose from, and of course had a good price. It took place in the evening, so the owners of the ebay-shop wouldn't notice anything amiss with their listings and couldn't be contacted by inquiring buyers, while the deal with the shipping company sounded just believable and kind of safe enough that some people might go through with it. The shop was, after all, rated as very reliable and safe.

So, words of caution: don't just check how other people rated a seller, but also if what they sell is consistent with their usual stock. And if anything of the deal seems slightly weird, or they try to propose a different way of business than is usual (especially after the fact, like what was an ebay-auction turning into some kind of relay-shipping-deal), step back and save your money.

[Barry Reid]

My current gripe on eBay is about 85% of buyers seem to have lost the ability to leave feedback, no matter how much you do for them as a seller, it used to be a much nicer, more couteous, place a few years back.

[john robison]

I find e-bay best for all those little adapter things. Just got 3 step rings from China. The quality was good and they fit perfectly and the whole amount was about $11, a good deal. With the disapperence of the camera store there is little choice anymore for us old film dogs.

[Dave]

I apply the same maxim to buying on Ebay as I do everywhere else in life: if it seems too good to be true, it definitely is. I've bought pretty much every piece of gear I own via Ebay and gotten some great deals. (Including an 800 dollar Sigma lens the seller threw in on a body purchase because they thought it was broken...it wasn't.) But when I see something so cheap it can't possibly be legit, or someone wants to pay me "extra" outside of PayPal, I just move on.

[Michael Meyer]

As a seller, too, E-Bay has become a less secure place. I just recently sold a lens, or tried to. A week after completing the sale, payment received, item delivered and funds transferred to my bank account, the buyer called their credit card company to dispute the charge. I should have cancelled the transaction when the buyer asked me to ship to an address that wasn't her confirmed Paypal address (because it was a gift), but after confirming with the buyer through E-Bay messaging the request appeared genuine.

E-Bay was good enough to remove the charges for the auction, and PayPal is disputing the chargeback as I would seem to be in the right. The CC company is conducting an investigation and will have it completed in 70 to 90 days. For the moment it is siding with the buyer.

E-Bay now seems to be both buyer beware and seller beware.

[Bryce Lee]

I simply don't do online auctions. First living in Canada means dealing with Revenue Canada at the international border and secondly often the eBay price oftens ends up being a stupid high price after shipping costs
are added. Being within an hour's drive of the international border, many friends who purchae motorcycle parts, photo gear and similar on eBay and in the USA use a drop box service
and drive there to collect same for a US$5.00
fee. BTW most drop box addresses are commercial as many couriers can't
deliver to a post office box number.

Fill your car with cheaper US fuel, have some Buffalo Wings, and come back across.

Am amazed at the number of people who share
and use such a service usually out of the Buffalo NY area; understand similar operations are in Port Huron in Michigan.

[David Keenan]

Beware authentic-looking Second Chance Offers too. The tip-off here is that communication is expected via direct email, not through eBay.

[Ross]

A few eBay things:

Sellers who say they have not tested an item because they don't have a battery, or whatever. I have seen this said when another listing by the same seller featured the same camera with battery and charger. Either lazy or it doesn't work; either way not a good sign.

Lenses with "a few cleaning marks" need to be evaluated very very carefully. Same with "a little haze."

Any seller who has an email address in the listing and says to contact before bidding. These are inevitably frauds who have hacked into someone's account. You contact them, they offer an irresistable buy it now price off of eBay, but you must pay by wire transfer or whatever--and there goes your money. Often if you look at the "seller"s record you will find that they have specialized in antique buttons or something, then suddenly listed a whole raft of expensive tech and photo items, all with hotmail, yahoo, google etc disposable emails to contact before bidding. The new listings are from the hacking fraudster.

[ronin]

I've used eBay since the 90s, but as a seller do not bother anymore.

The 10% charges by eBay and their mandatory use of only PayPal is bad enough. They charge a fee even on your shipping costs.

I recently had a buyer keep and use a lens for about a week, and decide it was not as described, although they could not elucidate the discrepancy. I offered a full refund, but instead they logged a case with eBay.

I sent detailed proof to eBay that they had used my lens for some purpose for some extended time, damaged it, and tried to return it. eBay ignored everything I said and rules in favor of the buyer.

The buyer returned the damaged lens, eBay took the money out of my credit card. eBay completely ignored my arguments, and ruled for the buyer without any explanation.

Now I have a damaged lens, am out both eBay and PayPal fees (they refused to refund them) and out my original shipping costs.

I will go out of my way to avoid selling on eBay again. Buying- maybe. But selling, no.