# Ebay



## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

I read cheaper on Ebay. How can folks sell on Ebay cheaper then any other Internet store? 

Makes me wonder if most of the items for sale were stolen.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

Are you referring to brand new merchandise only?

Some scenarios can include overstock, "damaged box", or discontinued items. Those are typically not able to be sold as "new" by retails (even though the product is essentially still new)


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

There are a lot of ways to sell cheaper products on eBay, but yes eBay is without question the largest fence for stolen and replica goods in the world. We busted an ebay seller with a feedback rating of 20,000 positives. All of which were stolen goods. eBay did not cooperate (but they did pretend to), most buyers did not respond to us and he only got a few months in jail. He moved and started up again in a new community. I have several other similar examples.


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## k0xxx (Oct 27, 2011)

It's also easier to sell cheaper when you don't have to pay for a storefront and the associated utilities, insurance, etc.


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## Boomy (Mar 17, 2012)

I use it all the time for industrial parts. Steam valve cost $4k at the counter. I find a guy in Canada who has had one on the shelf for years and just wants to get rid of it for $1k. He got some liquid cash and I saved my company $3k. Win win...


Sent from my iPhone using Survival Forum


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## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

Ebay is a HUGE marketplace. Most people have not a clue just how much stuff is sold on Ebay. Many regular companies (like Dell for instance) sell on Ebay. I buy and sell alot on Ebay. I may be mean but I am not a crook! 
With millions of vendors there is bound to be many bad ones. So I have no doubt that Sentry is speaking the truth. On the other hand I am quite sure the large percentage of sellers are good folks. I have never had a problem buying or selling. I do not really like the anti-gun liberal company of Ebay but that is just the way it is sometimes.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

I buy AND sell on ebay. When you see new items for less than other retail outlets it is usually damaged or store returns. If you don't mind damaged packaging or an item that MAY have been used but there is no promise it wasn't then you are getting a deal. 

Retailers also use ebay to sell their seconds or defective items so they don't lose the money having to return it to the manufacturer for credit.

Sometimes you are getting a counterfeit item.

Often times it is as simple as someone buys something thinking they will like and use the item but find out it doesn't work for them. This is how I got K's shaving soap. I got a lot of 48 bars for $20 with free shipping when they are $1.50 at the store. The seller bought a case of 50 bars thinking they would like the soap but after 2 bars they realized they didn't. I got a deal at the seller's expense.


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

I bought a new pair of shorts off of eBay a couple weeks ago (I love to buy things out of season). They were brand-name khaki cargo shorts that I only paid $10 for delivered. When they arrived they still had the tags on them as well as numerous mark down stickers starting at $29 and ending with $1. Still a great deal for me and an easy $6 profit for the seller who had 25 pair listed. 

In my dealings with eBay's crime prevention department I have discovered that they are well aware of the volume of criminal activity that goes on at their website and they are deeply committed to do nothing about it. Doing so would cost them far too much money in terms of lost sales and profits. While there's no doubt that the majority of sales on eBay are from legitimate sellers, buying things (especially electronics) is indeed a gamble. 

An associate of mine had a high-end iPod stolen out of his gym locker only to see it on eBay a week later, by pure luck I might add (along with some stupid decisions by the seller, like listing his actual location then taking photos of the actual device). It was engraved with his nickname there was no question that was his. eBay would not help us in any way to track down the seller of this stolen product so I had the guy buy it and offer an additional $10 if he could pay by money order. The seller agreed and we used the name and address provided for the money order to track him down and make an arrest. He had more electronics in his apartment than a pawnshop, many of which were stolen items from lockers and cars. Had the buyer been from a different part of the country it would've simply been lost forever. Had he paid by PayPal it's simply would've been lost forever. Both eBay accounts and PayPal accounts are extremely easy to set up with fake names, addresses and phone numbers. In fact I'm almost convinced that PayPal was created to help add profits and limit the ability to track down unscrupulous sellers. And all of this is why eBay is such a wonderful place to fence stolen property.

I still buy things on eBay and from time to time sell things on eBay, but I do so cautiously and demand transparency.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Sentry18 said:


> I bought a new pair of shorts off of eBay a couple weeks ago (I love to buy things out of season). They were brand-name khaki cargo shorts that I only paid $10 for delivered. When they arrived they still had the tags on them as well as numerous mark down stickers starting at $29 and ending with $1. Still a great deal for me and an easy $6 profit for the seller who had 25 pair listed.
> 
> In my dealings with eBay's crime prevention department I have discovered that they are well aware of the volume of criminal activity that goes on at their website and they are deeply committed to do nothing about it. Doing so would cost them far too much money in terms of lost sales and profits. While there's no doubt that the majority of sales on eBay are from legitimate sellers, buying things (especially electronics) is indeed a gamble.
> 
> ...


I am currently dealing with a seller who sold me a pair of discard shoes under the label of "new with tags" which they indeed do have. They hare remainder marks in them and the retailer that sold the shoes ONLY does that when they donate items to Goodwill when they will not sell at super low clearance prices. I would not have paid has high as I did had it been known these were discards. I paid almost the same price as they sold in the retailer for but I thought I was getting NEW shoes.

The seller thinks I don't know anything about the remainder marks and why they are used but having worked in film and buying lots of items from thrift stores I an very aware of these things. I opened a case because the seller wants ME to lose money shipping them back to her for a small refund (not a full refund!).


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

A lot of stuff on ebay can be had cheap because the alternative was to write it off. I know of businesses locally that have written off thousands of dollars of inventory simply because they had no other practical way to sell it, they have tried to sell "lots" at an auction and literally lost money with commission and hauling etc. So the alternatives were "writing it off" (dumpster) or selling on Ebay :dunno:


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## CulexPipiens (Nov 17, 2010)

Another angle I haven't seen mentioned yet is the shipping charges. I've seen, for example, $10 items selling for a $1 or $2 but then has $17.99 in shipping listed. You end up paying quite a bit more then it would have cost to just go buy it locally.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

CulexPipiens said:


> Another angle I haven't seen mentioned yet is the shipping charges. I've seen, for example, $10 items selling for a $1 or $2 but then has $17.99 in shipping listed. You end up paying quite a bit more then it would have cost to just go buy it locally.


Originally that practice was done to avoid the fees ebay charges on the selling price of an item. Now ebay charges their fees based on the total the item sells for. So if you charge the actual shipping costs you are still paying a fees on that amount and losing some of the money. For this reason I charge a handling fee of $2.00 on all items I sell. I use that $2 to cover ebay fees or other misc that may come up.

This is why you'll see a lot of sellers offering free shipping (but the overall cost for the item is higher). Ebay has been offering fee discounts to sellers offering free shipping.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Since this thread was started as a way to question and rant about ebay I thought I'd use it for my most recent rant.

I mentioned in another thread I sold some original paintings to help pay for Roo's birthday. I had some last minute things I wanted to get her and money was short. I sold the paintings to get the money and to make sure they got a home that would love them. Two paintings went to a buyer that was looking for those paintings since I bought them back in 2010. (The buyer I was bidding against back then) The other 3 went to another buyer who claimed to be a great fan of this artist's work.

These were original paintings with all the texture flaws and color variations that come with original artwork and not digitally touched up prints. The second buyer did not like that they were not perfect like a print. She demanded a refund and I gladly offered it to her once the paintings were returned to me. She opened a case with ebay to get her money back and again ebay told her to return the paintings to me first and put a hold on my account.

She sent them out with tracking a week later. Yesterday they were suppose to arrive but it turns out they were sent to some random address that was not mine. Seems she tried to pull one on me knowing ebay would give her the money once the tracking said 'delivered'.

I called ebay and sat on hold for 45+ minutes yesterday to ask for an extension on the refund til the paintings could be located and returned to me. Ebay looked at all the tracking info, the return address I gave the buyer and her past history for this type of behavior. They sided with me saying she did not return the item to the correct address and closed the case in my favor. The hold on my account was lifted and I did not have to give her the refund since she never really returned the paintings to me directly.

Now she is throwing a fit because ebay made the call to close the case and side with me. Here is the email I got this morning from her:



> We have a very serious problem now, of which I've reached out to EBay. You already stated you would refund my money and EBay told me to mail the paintings back to you, which I did 2 days ago and they've either made it to you today or it will Mon.
> 
> I sent them to you by Priority Mail!! I am pretty upset that I'm out additional money sending those back to you (as advised), yet now you asked EBay after the fact- to reconsider their decision??
> 
> ...


I am upset by her email because she is trying to guilt me with the single mommy entitlement card. Like K said after reading the email...

WHY THE HELL are you spending almost $100 on artwork if you are a poor single mommy?!

:brickwall:

I was just trying to make some money for my 3 year old's birthday and she is pulling this BS on me!


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## ETXgal (Jul 12, 2014)

Almost all of my transactions with Ebay have been very positive. I guess it depends on what you are looking for. The cases not positive were handled appropriately by Ebay. Sometimes Ebay is more expensive than Amazon. (well a lot of times) You have to know your prices, and look heavily at the seller ratings. It isn't 100% it will be a good transaction, but it has been good for me almost all of the time. I have saved a lot of money at that place over the years.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

ETXgal said:


> Almost all of my transactions with Ebay have been very positive. I guess it depends on what you are looking for. The cases not positive were handled appropriately by Ebay. Sometimes Ebay is more expensive than Amazon. (well a lot of times) You have to know your prices, and look heavily at the seller ratings. It isn't 100% it will be a good transaction, but it has been good for me almost all of the time. I have saved a lot of money at that place over the years.


I use ebay for selling rare and one of a kind type items and buying things after I have done my price comparisons. All handmade items I get from Etsy instead. Sellers there are more willing to work with a customer when there is a problem and even make custom orders.

I may not agree with all of ebay's decisions in cases but I respect the decision and not harass the other party because I didn't win.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

The world is full of scam artists, isn't it Grimm? The guilt trip has probably worked for her most of her life. I think it is a matter of time before anyone who sells on ebay, Amazon, Etsy or any of these places meets someone who spends their life getting over on others or trying to and now it is our turn for them to try to get over on us. 

I have never sold anything in an Ebay auction, but I have purchased some things. 

I do however sell books on eBay's book site, half.com and have sold 100s of books there. I also sell on Amazon and Etsy. Most of what I sell is stuff I pick up for free from Craigslist. I have gotten free books and sold them for $35 and less. The money I have made doing this has helped with my daughter's college fees and some travel. I got 3 BIG boxes of sewing patterns for free and am amazed that people will buy them on Etsy. It all adds up.

I did get some pavers for my yard once from Craigslist. The man had a two story barn full of antiques and stuff he had collected from sales and auctions for years. He told me he had list some things on EBay and didn't have much luck. He listed the same things for sale on the local Craigslist and had much better luck.

I have had a couple people try to scam me, and one person who was just blatant about it. When someone tries to tell me they are unhappy about a $5.00 book, (completely different than $100 painting!), I am quick to refund after the book is returned. This has only happened a couple times. 

I had one man (account in someone named David so assume it was a man, but could've been a woman with a fake account), order a book. The book was tracked and they were just horrible, said they never got the book and several other nasty remarks. I tried to look at their account history, and guess what? They had blocked me. This was 8 or so years ago, so I don't even remember the outcome. This is my only ding in 100s of transactions. Without this, I would have had a 100% rating for my history. Now ratings are only kept for the last year, so my score is still 100%.

I have done business with a man who wanted a refund, said it wasn't the correct book. He had a fit that I wouldn't refund before I got the book returned. It took him more than a month to return the book to me. Turns out, he was a drop seller, someone who never has merchandise, but lists, sells, and buys from someone else who then ships. After my encounter with him, I told him I would not do business with him again. He kept trying to order from me and I kept reminding him we were not going to do business together.

Drop sellers are fairly common. There is special software that they use to track what is for sale, what prices there are and what they should list at so they always make a profit, simply by a few computer tasks.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

weedygarden said:


> The world is full of scam artists, isn't it Grimm? The guilt trip has probably worked for her most of her life. I think it is a matter of time before anyone who sells on ebay, Amazon, Etsy or any of these places meets someone who spends their life getting over on others or trying to and now it is our turn for them to try to get over on us.
> 
> I have never sold anything in an Ebay auction, but I have purchased some things.
> 
> ...


I use a tool called Toolhaus.org to look up trading partners on ebay. You can look up their feedback history past that one year and see how common it is for them to leave negative or false positive feedback.

Also, if you don't already use your blocked bidders list start. It will prevent bidders/buyers from bidding without you having to keep a list and delete bids/sales.

2 years ago I got royally screwed by a buyer. I sold a vase that was a designer item (got it as a wedding gift). I shipped it out and no sooner was it delivered the buyer claimed it was broken. No pictures or proof. Ebay sided with them even though I asked for it to be returned before I sent a refund. It was insured and I wanted to file a claim with the PO. Three days later they were reselling it on ebay.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

My entitlement Moo-mmy buyer emailed me again to whine some more.



> This is absolutely horrible. I'm out over $80.00, I have no pictures and now they're missing, delivered to an address you provided on your invoice. I'm bawling right now, this has ruined my day and weekend!


The address I gave her both in the ebay case twice (my address was even given to her by ebay directly when she opened the case making it a total of three times she was given the correct address) and the original shipping label are my current address.

What makes her think that just because they got lost I deserve to get screwed and not her? She thinks she deserves everything her way and everyone else should get the shaft because she is a single moo-mmy.

I'm a mom too. I live on a very limited income and can't afford to buy art like this since having my child. HELL! I was selling it to buy my daughter a birthday present!

If she was really unhappy by the item she could have turned around and resold it rather than return it and maybe made a profit! I even contacted the artist for her about the paintings. I sold the other two paints for more than she paid so I'm sure she could have gotten more for them as well.

To be 100% honest, she either didn't really ship them or damaged them before shipping. I don't think she is being forth right and trying to manipulate the situation to get her way be it the paintings and the money or screwing me out of either.


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## ETXgal (Jul 12, 2014)

Wow, that is terrible Grimm. Did you bring that up with Ebay?


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

ETXgal said:


> Wow, that is terrible Grimm. Did you bring that up with Ebay?


Ebay closed the case in my favor. This is why she is acting this way. Since I never got the item back they said I did not have to give her a refund. They closed the case and that is that. She really thinks she is something special so she deserves special treatment above other buyers/sellers.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

What I wondered is if she mailed it to someone she knows and she is working with to pull off a scam on you? People sometimes think they are smart and get over on others. She may be upset because it didn't work for her to get the painting AND the refund.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

weedygarden said:


> What I wondered is if she mailed it to someone she knows and she is working with to pull off a scam on you? People sometimes think they are smart and get over on others. She may be upset because it didn't work for her to get the painting AND the refund.


Who knows for sure.

I just needed to bitch about this since I didn't ask ebay to close in my favor. I had no issues giving her a refund once the paintings were back in my hands. Since they were not delivered to me or my home she was found at fault by ebay.

She tried every thing she could after ebay closed the case to guilt me, screw me whine and cry so she could be made whole in her eyes. It upsets me but is proof that our society thinks they are entitled even if they f*ck up!


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

I buy a lot of stuff from eBay to resell. Most people are honest. An ever increasing number of people are dishonest. Some will claim the item is new when it's clearly been used. Others will sell counterfeit items. For example, it's very difficult to buy a new copy of Windows 7 unless it's an upgrade. 

Some sellers will try all kinds of tricks. Such as telling you that you can return the item but then they don't send you a refund. Some will claim that they're having trouble with Paypal. Some will try to stall you along past the refund deadline.


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

Grimm said:


> Since this thread was started as a way to question and rant about ebay I thought I'd use it for my most recent rant.
> 
> I mentioned in another thread I sold some original paintings to help pay for Roo's birthday. I had some last minute things I wanted to get her and money was short. I sold the paintings to get the money and to make sure they got a home that would love them. Two paintings went to a buyer that was looking for those paintings since I bought them back in 2010. (The buyer I was bidding against back then) The other 3 went to another buyer who claimed to be a great fan of this artist's work.
> 
> ...


I think you should take high resolution photos of your work and post them with the listing. Say that no returns are allowed. That would seem reasonable to me if I was a buyer. I wouldn't expect you to allow a return just because I decided I don't like how it looks over my couch.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

BillS said:


> I think you should take high resolution photos of your work and post them with the listing. Say that no returns are allowed. That would seem reasonable to me if I was a buyer. I wouldn't expect you to allow a return just because I decided I don't like how it looks over my couch.


I did take high resolution photos of each painting and added those to the listing. You could see the damn brush strokes in my photos. I also don't take returns due to the nature of the item (original paintings). That doesn't stop many buyers from demanding refunds and ebay from requiring I give them one without getting the item back.

I opted to just give the buyer a refund upon return but as it turns out she sent the items to the wrong address and ebay told her she is SOL. If I fought the case from a buyers remorse angle ebay would have taken the money from me and she could have kept the paintings and I'd be SOL. I'd rather give her her money back once I got the return and just relisted the paintings at a higher price. I had a buyer lined up once she said she'd return the paintings. The buyer was willing to pay double my asking price.

vract:


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## Jim1590 (Jul 11, 2012)

Sentry18 said:


> Both eBay accounts and PayPal accounts are extremely easy to set up with fake names, addresses and phone numbers. In fact I'm almost convinced that PayPal was created to help add profits and limit the ability to track down unscrupulous sellers.


Not sure how it was before but it is not that easy now with Paypal. I have been on paypal for about 11 years. I recently set it up for my employer. We were not allowed to have a business name be the only name on it. We had to send in a copy of the bosses social security card, a utility bill, drivers license and so on. Took us weeks to get it all done.

Also, ebay owns paypal now cause they bought it. I do not know if they had common founders before the purchase, but I doubt it.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Jim1590 said:


> Not sure how it was before but it is not that easy now with Paypal. I have been on paypal for about 11 years. I recently set it up for my employer. We were not allowed to have a business name be the only name on it. We had to send in a copy of the bosses social security card, a utility bill, drivers license and so on. Took us weeks to get it all done.
> 
> Also, ebay owns paypal now cause they bought it. I do not know if they had common founders before the purchase, but I doubt it.


Paypal was founded by Peter Thiel, Luke Nosek, Elon Musk, Ken Howery, Max Levchin.

Ebay was founded by Pierre Omidyar.

Ebay is 3 years older than Paypal and Paypal was only accepted by ebay in the early years. It was a way to help ebay increase sales since many buyers did not want to give a seller their credit card number or mail them a check/MO. Now all sellers on ebay must accept Paypal as one form of payment.
Both ebay and Paypal still take a cut of all sales. So as a seller you are getting hit twice with fees.


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## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

Grimm said:


> ...She tried every thing she could after ebay closed the case to guilt me, screw me whine and cry so she could be made whole in her eyes. ...


Sounds like my sister-in-law!

Whoa is me and whine.

If that doesn't work, cry.

And if crying doesn't work then attack verbally.

She is so predicable. And when it's direct towards me I just smile and make no comment! Drives her nutter!

Anyway.

I was looking for a ATV to plow snow. Found a like new unit on Craigslist. Several quality pictures and the VIN number were posted too. Asking price was a lot less then what it was worth.

Emailed the Poster, "Jennifer".

Jennifer is recently divorced, can't afford payment so it's for sale, children, working all the time, needs the money and no free time. Shucks being a gentleman I'd sure like to help the Lady.

Her email states Virgina, which is a different state then what is posted on Craigslist and a search on her email address gives me a 3rd state.

Interesting.

Below is communication I had with "Jennifer".



11/17/2010

Is the 750 still for sale? If yes, would you please advise:

1.	Why it is being sold? 
2.	Any know mechanical problems?
3.	From the pictures and description I understand a winch and snow plow are included. If this correct?

11/18/2010

Hi, First of all I want to thank you for your interest for my ATV ( 2005 Kawasaki BRUTE FORCE 750 Automatic ). I sell it at this price ($ 2100 ) because i just finished the divorce with my husband. It has only 362 miles!!!The ATV is paid off,clean title,i have title in hand.Has only 81 hours,great condition and it runs and drives like new,has a automatic transmission with HIGH,Low and Reverse.The ATV comes with a Snow PLOW! The divorce has finished 6 months ago and the ATV is mine now. After the divorce I was forced to buy a new house. Following the financial crisis I can't afford to pay the bank and I decided to sell the ATV. It has only been adult ridden and garage kept. As you can see by the pictures it is in excellent condition. I just had it serviced and put in a new battery a couple of months ago. This atv runs as good as a new one and has no dings, dents, or scratches. The ATV is located in Roanoke,VA, if you want to buy it. I'm very busy with my job and I'm out of town so I can't meet in person with you so this is the reason why I chose to sell my ATV over the Internet. From the beginning you have to know that for the payment I request only secure pay, I prefer the payment to be done using eBay services (I will receive the payment only after you receive and inspect the ATV and only if you agree to buy it). We will use a safe payment method because I am affiliated at eBay and I have a purchase protection account. The last price for this ATV is $2,100. I will pay for shipping and handling(the loan of my previous buyer didn't get approved) so there won't be any additional shipping costs). If you are interested in buying it please provide me your Full Name and Address for shipping so I can initiate the deal through eBay. I will wait your answer (if you are interested to buy) very soon. Jennifer Nipper PS:don`t forget to send me your full name and address in order to go forward.



11/18/2010

Cragslist states ***** so the Roanoke, VA location has me concerned (20 hour round trip for me). But then you state you'll pay for shipping. So are you saying to will transport the ATV from Roanoke, VA to ***** for me to look over?

Assuming your description and pictures are accurate, I would pay cash for the ATV, clear title and bill of sale.

From: Jennifer Nipper [mailto:[email protected]] 
Sent: Friday, November 19, 2010 5:51 AM
Subject: atv

Hi,
I have just been informed by eBay and they have told me that they have sent you details about how we can complete our transaction. Have you received any email from them? Please let me know.If you need any help regarding our transaction please reply at the invoice you got from ebay.
Thanks, Jennifer

P.S. If the email from them haven't arrived in the Inbox folder, please also check the Junk/Spam folder. Maybe the email from eBay went there.

On Sat, Nov 20, 2010 at 8:01 PM, wrote:
I haven't received an answer on how you propose to ship the ATV to me.

I've withdrawn the cash from the bank but until shipment and my visual inspection I'm unable to proceed further.

From: Jennifer Nipper [mailto:[email protected]] 
Sent: Sunday, November 21, 2010 3:26 AM
Subject: Re: atv

please read the informations from ebay. the ATV will be delivered by DAS shipping company and you will receive the ATV only after you send the payment. If you don`t accept ebay terms and conditions please let me know so i will cancel the deal

On Sun, Nov 21, 2010 at 8:25 AM, wrote:
You don't want to accept cash?

From: Jennifer Nipper [mailto:[email protected]] 
Sent: Sunday, November 21, 2010 12:04 PM
Subject: Re: atv

you will pay with cash but you will send the payment to ebay



11/22/2010

Good news!

My brother-in-law is headed out your way for the Thanksgiving holiday. I'll send the money with him, he'll look over the ATV and if all is on the up & up he'll bring the ATV back with him. Save you the shipping costs, that will leave you more money for your house payments!

Please give the street address of where you live so he can come and look at it.



11/29/2010

Jennifer,

I gave my brother-in-law the cash and he pulled his trailer all the way out there waiting on my email with your street address that you never sent.

Since you reneged on the sale I have notified Ebay and Craigslist of your failure and have instituted legal action.

I'm sorry about your recent divorced and financial troubles but when you post and item for sale you need to follow thru will your obligations.

Sincerely,

For some strange reason I never heard back from Jennifer. Do you think it was something I said or because every time I did another search for the ATV and found it, I reported her scam to the Hosting site?


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

My Moo-mmy buyer is really trying to get her way! She made a formal request from ebay for my personal contact information. As is their policy if one trading partner makes this request both are given this information for the other. This is the following email I got from ebay:



> This message is an automated reply to a contact information request made by eagerlyeclectic. This request is related to item #231338264942.
> 
> Important Usage Guidelines:
> 
> ...


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

Looks like some cool cat pictures in that eBay listing ...


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

NaeKid said:


> Looks like some cool cat pictures in that eBay listing ...


Yeah. I really liked them. Now it looks like they are lost to the world as who knows what will happen to them since they were sent to the wrong address.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

TheLazyL said:


> Sounds like my sister-in-law!
> 
> 11/18/2010
> 
> Hi, First of all I want to thank you for your interest *for* my ATV ( 2005 Kawasaki BRUTE FORCE 750 Automatic ). I *sell* it at this price ($ 2100 ) because i just finished the divorce with my husband. It has only 362 miles!!!The ATV is paid off,clean title,i have title in hand.Has only 81 hours,great condition and it runs and drives like new,has a automatic transmission with HIGH,Low and Reverse.The ATV comes with a Snow PLOW! The divorce has finished 6 months ago and the ATV is mine now. After the divorce I was forced to buy a new house. Following the financial crisis I can't afford to pay the bank and I decided to sell the ATV. It has only been adult ridden and garage kept. As you can see by the pictures it is in excellent condition. I just had it serviced and put in a new battery a couple of months ago. This atv runs as good as a new one and has no dings, dents, or scratches. The ATV is located in Roanoke,VA, if you want to buy it. I'm very busy with my job and I'm out of town so I can't meet in person with you so this is the reason why I chose to sell my ATV over the Internet. From the beginning you have to know that for the payment I request only secure pay, I prefer the payment to be done using eBay services (I will receive the payment only after you receive and inspect the ATV and only if you agree to buy it). We will use a safe payment method because I am affiliated at eBay and I have a purchase protection account. The last price for this ATV is $2,100. I will pay for shipping and handling(the loan of my previous buyer didn't get approved) so there won't be any additional shipping costs). If you are interested in buying it please provide me your Full Name and Address for shipping so I can initiate the deal through eBay. I will wait your answer (if you are interested to buy) very soon. Jennifer Nipper PS:don`t forget to send me your full name and address in order to go forward.




When I look at emails and other posts I get from people, I allow for the possibility of some misspellings. I have highlighted all the instances of misuse of grammar. I know everyone makes some errors, and this could be worse, but the highlighted grammar says to me that the seller is not a native English speaker, not that you have to be to be honest, but given that many scammers are African and most Nigerians, it is a red flag for me. I know that not everyone who speaks and writes correct English is honest and 100% trustworthy, it is a red flag for me.

A couple years ago, someone listed an Airstream on my local Craigslist. The trailer was a newer model with a ridiculously low price. There was some story about someone who needed to get rid of it quickly, and I think it was due to the death of her husband and needing money. I responded to the ad, and it devolved in a similar fashion. Ebay would blah blah, paypal, blah blah.

That was all it took for me to say no thanks. It was quickly removed from Craigslist listings and my guess is that I certainly was not the only interested party.


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

Do you have the address that they were sent to?


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

Jim1590 said:


> Not sure how it was before but it is not that easy now with Paypal. I have been on paypal for about 11 years. I recently set it up for my employer. We were not allowed to have a business name be the only name on it. We had to send in a copy of the bosses social security card, a utility bill, drivers license and so on. Took us weeks to get it all done.
> 
> Also, ebay owns paypal now cause they bought it. I do not know if they had common founders before the purchase, but I doubt it.


I have an ebay account using no valid information at all. My shipping address is a generic PO Box that my department uses for unsolicited mail. My name is fake, my phone number belongs to a Google-Voice account, my email is fake and just forwards to my real account, my attached bank account was set up online using a pre-paid Visa card, etc., etc. My PayPal account is the exact same way using the same false information. And by the way these are my official department accounts for investigating fraud.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

NaeKid said:


> Do you have the address that they were sent to?


Some place called Valley Falls. But no actual address.


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

mike_dippert said:


> This is the primary reason I refuse to use my paypal account. I won't use eBay b/c of how easy a seller can be scammed by the buyer (like the earlier vase anecdote). I refuse to participate in that scam. I also avoid Craigslist and similar sites. The whole thing just seems like a waste of time. Maybe it's b/c I don't need them to make or save a buck.


There are a lot of good deals out there if you're smart and you know what you're doing.


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## rhrobert (Apr 27, 2009)

Sentry18 said:


> In fact I'm almost convinced that PayPal was created to help add profits and limit the ability to track down unscrupulous sellers.





Grimm said:


> Paypal was founded by Peter Thiel, Luke Nosek, Elon Musk, Ken Howery, Max Levchin.
> 
> Ebay was founded by Pierre Omidyar.
> 
> Ebay is 3 years older than Paypal and Paypal was only accepted by ebay in the early years.


The company now called Paypal was around before fleabay. They started as x.com and offered real paper checking accounts. I've been with them since that time.

They were created in 1993, Ebay was created in 1995. I remember the name change from x.com to paypal. Customer service at PP always asks me about when I've called because no one currently working there has ever heard about it, and it's listed on my account.

x.com redirected to paypal.com when the change over happened, now it directs to ebay. In between, it redirected to a paypal dev site


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

mike_dippert said:


> This is the primary reason I refuse to use my paypal account. I won't use eBay b/c of how easy a seller can be scammed by the buyer (like the earlier vase anecdote). I refuse to participate in that scam. I also avoid Craigslist and similar sites. The whole thing just seems like a waste of time. Maybe it's b/c I don't need them to make or save a buck.


We've bought our last 5 cars on Craigslist. There's no better way to find a cheap older low mileage vehicle. One of the cars turned out to be a bad deal. The other four were good.

I keep Craigslist pages open for multiple areas. Refresh every 15 minutes. I live in NE Wisconsin but I've bought cars as far away as Chicago. I keep cash on hand so if an ad pops up on a Saturday I can be the first one there with cash.


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

I search Craigslist here every day. Some great furniture deals in Clarksville(near me) because of Fort Campbell soldiers and families moving out unexpectedly.
I love this CL because it's obviously legal to post SCAM ALERT that tells of what and who to watch out for and stay clear of.

I have found some great deals too on CL.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

I have gotten many great things for free from Craigslist as well as some purchases. 

I know that there are many scammers out there and I have seen a few attempts to get over on people. I was looking for a laser printer due to the amount of printing I can do for my book sales. One woman posted that she had an older one for $30.00 and it worked fine, she was just updating. Back and forth about a few things. Then I told her I did want to see it plugged in and printing. End of the conversation. I know she would have been happy to have my $30 to take away her broken printer.

I got my last car from a Craigslister. Because I have had to do so many things by and for myself and have had people try to take advantage of me, I am very cautious about buying things like cars. Very! Years ago, during my separation and dealing with a sick premie, someone sold me a car that was junk and in a couple months, I was looking for another car. He was a liar and a user. I looked at another car a couple decades ago that someone wanted twice its value for, and it was a high mileage piece of junk. His strategy for making it more sellable was all cosmetic. Now, I always have a mechanic check out cars I am interested in. 

Scammers abound anywhere and everywhere. We all just have to be careful and protect ourselves.


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