Is this a scam?

[Teddy O]

I'm sorry in advance if this has already been covered here.

I came across this eBay listing, which at first was exciting, but then started to seem odd. It states there is only 1 set available, but then says there are multiple sizes and colors available. It also states that the listing is for "demonstration purposes only". The "new sealed in box" wheels also ship from Dubai, with a shipping charge of $500.

http://m.ebay.com/itm/162122805622?_trksid=p2141725.m3641.l6368

It all seems too good to be true, and I can be a lil naive and gullible sometimes, so I wanted to know what you guys thought....

 

[Voltwings]

"Please dont place order without contacting us first, this listing is for the purpose of demonstration only and payment is placed through a Paypal safe transaction sent to you after agreement."

You can do paypal through Ebay so the fact that they dont want you going through Ebay would make me nervous, or at the very least slightly skeptical, because you basically cant go after them through Ebay.

 

[STAMPEDE3]

"Please dont place order without contacting us first, this listing is for the purpose of demonstration only and payment is placed through a Paypal safe transaction sent to you after agreement."

You can do paypal through Ebay so the fact that they dont want you going through Ebay would make me nervous, or at the very least slightly skeptical, because you basically cant go after them through Ebay.

Most likely it is still through ebay.
You contact them, discuss which ones you want, make agreement, then click buy it now after details are worked out.

 

[Voltwings]

You could be right, but that's just not what the language looks like to me since it says that listing is for display purposes only. It sounds like they basically have a ton of stuff listed in that add, then you contact them with exactly what you want and pay off site.

 

[thehunterooo]

I wouldn't touch it myself.

 

[Teddy O]

You could be right, but that's just not what the language looks like to me since it says that listing is for display purposes only. It sounds like they basically have a ton of stuff listed in that add, then you contact them with exactly what you want and pay off site.

After rereading the listing a few times, I think I agree with this interpretation.

Keep in mind these wheels are typically $1K to $3K per wheel.

If this is bogus, it's the first time I've seen a scam this blatent on Ebay.

 

[Tylerc]

I've bought from legitimate ebay sellers that do this, they are just trying to reduce amount of eBay listings. When I encountered it they created an eBay listing when I contacted them and told them exact order details.

 

[Voltwings]

I've bought from legitimate ebay sellers that do this, they are just trying to reduce amount of eBay listings. When I encountered it they created an eBay listing when I contacted them and told them exact order details.

That makes sense, because you get charged per listing right? That sounds legit because the entire transaction still takes place through Ebay.

 

[Tylerc]

just make sure you eventually go through PayPal and do not gift a payment

 

[Tylerc]

sorry meant to say ebay

 

[MysticRob]

That makes sense, because you get charged per listing right? That sounds legit because the entire transaction still takes place through Ebay.

No, the listing is free these days. Ebay makes its cash by charging 10% on whatever the sold price and shipping charges are.


If they sell something for $1000, and ships for $500, Ebay gets $150 total off the top from that sale, IF the transaction is actually completed thru ebay.


My guess is the seller is using the listing simply for the advertising and trying to cut ebay out of the 10% fee.

I personally wouldn't buy anything from a seller with so few feedback ratings, not to mention a negative feedback rating with less than 10 items bought/sold, AND most of the items being rated by one person "****c" with 125 feedback. Looks way too sketchy.

 

[Teddy O]

All very good opinions and explainations. Thank you guys for checking out the listing. I'm going to pass, it's definitely too sketchy.

Although I am curious about the hustle here. Just take your $ and run? Or do they actually ship a cheap knock-off wheel? Are they fishing for credit card #'s? I guess we'll never know.

 

[thehunterooo]

If they have no limits on the account and an old CC on paypal they can sell the rims and get the money out while not shipping a thing. The feedback is also odd as well, one user bought a bunch of CS GO crap, then there is a random negative feedback and then that same person months ago who bought all those stickers then bought some rims, that is fake feedback to me. As much as ebay bends over for the buyer now a smart seller can still scam people. You would also have to wait well over a month to even open up a case due to the shipping time as well. Will be fake if they do ship. Not worth your time or the chance to find out.

Actually this is not even blatant, people sell laptop guides for about half the price of what the laptop is going for, very common for Alienware computers. The people make it look like it is the actual laptop but it is just in fact some online BS. Pretty much a bait and switch but those listings usually get taken off. Buyers fall for it all the time as no one reads on ebay, I have sold barebones computers and the people get mad at me when they get it in and it does not boot, even though it is priced much below fully working ones and clearly states what it is multiple times people just buy it because they see that awesome price and don't read a thing.

Also all ebay account get quite a few free listings a month, auction style and buy it now. No reason not to have all of the listings on there.

 

[GloomySVT]

General rule. If you have to question whether it's a scam or not, more than likely it is indeed a scam.

 

[WhiteFaleen2001]

Another thing to look at is the seller's feedback. Almost all of the feedback posted is by two accounts and the description of said feedback is identical. The only "real" feedback posted seems to be negative.

 

[Steve1578]

You definitely don't want to buy from this seller. I've been selling high volume on ebay for years, and there's a number of things that throw you off:

1) The feedback. Definitely suspicious. Same buyer for 99% of the feedback. The same account that posted all the feedback(username is "sacorp") also "sold" to this ebay user as well. As the purchaser, their username is blocked out and just shows "****c", but as a seller, you can see their name is "sacorp" Both have 125 feedback, no coincidence, so definitely the same account. So whoever created the account, created 2 accounts and is just "purchasing" merchandise from each other to boost feedback ratings.

2)You can add color/size, etc., etc. options on ebay. There really isn't a reason for anything to be handled outside of ebay. It's true that PayPal is still safe, but ebay also adds an additional layer of protection. Ebay will actually refund you regardless of the paypal transaciton, if you have issues. They will then seek reimbursement from the seller. Don't do anything outside of ebay.

Both accounts have the same profile picture.

 

[Teddy O]

I didn't even think to look closely at the feedback to see if it was suspect. I just saw that it was mostly positive, which made it seem legit, and led me to scratch my head even more. But after you guys poked all these holes in the listing, it becomes very obvious this is bogus. I would never have made the purchase outside of eBay as the seller requested though, so the hypothetical transaction would've ended there for me.

General rule. If you have to question whether it's a scam or not, more than likely it is indeed a scam.

Well said.