Risking eBay Auction INterference

[unclejay]

Here's an auction where the text clearly implies the seller is an authorized egway dealer: 7218837416 however he is not. SO, I noticed there is one bidder with feedback of one - a new user. I emailed the bidder and warned him about the possible deception. This is 'auction interference' according to eBay rules. Know what ? I dont care. The seller did not post my question about his dealership on the auction listing.

[arlemalm]

Dear members

I signed up at ebay just two weeks ago just to buy a cheap and maybe a used Segway. My first and only bid was at a Segway that was very cheap. I was just a couple of hours from sending $1400 to a hoax person in Romania. But ebay stopped the bidding. Now I know that ALL the cheap Segways at ebay are fake auctions and ebay doesn’t care. I tried to alert them and warned them. But their only response is that “we are a market place and we don’t take responsibility for the goods”.

The “winner” should be glad if you ever got a phone book of Rumania after the auction!!!

I think that sucks and I had tried alert ebay more than 50 times of suspicious auctions the last two weeks. You can see a fake auction after a couple of days, because it is the same text, the same pictures but with different usernames. Probably a kidnapped account! My “friend” charlesrall@aol.com is still there from time to time, but with different accounts, of course…

When I saw the auction that you are mentioning I finally found what I was looking for; a good Segway model and NEW. He even have a small shop at ebay: http://stores.ebay.com/Edge-Extreme-Sports

I sent him a message about my concerned about fraud and this was his response:

“Finally I am not aware of any particular Segway scams as I'm not very involved with what's going on with eBay but I'm sure they are out there. I really can't understand why someone would sell a $3000.00 segway for a scam when they could sell a 1961 Ferrari 250GT California which is worth aprox. 5 million. Maybe I shouldn't have given anyone any ideas about the Ferrari.:) “

Another thing a mentioned in my message was that he was an authorize dealer. (I couldn’t find his company at Segways site.) He responded:

“In the listing I said we are a powersports dealer, not an authorized segway dealer (there is a typo on the xt auction).”

BTW!
I couldn’t find his web site either and I asked for the address. But I never received an answer of that question.

Judge for your self, but after this two weeks at ebay, I prefer a REAL authorized dealer…

Your new member

[wwhopper]

Buyer Beware. If the deal is too good to be TRUE - no doubt it is a fake.

People fall for it all the time, then get upset that they are not getting the buy of a lifetime....

Know what it is you are buying, and research who you are buying from. eBay makes researching a seller an easy process, the feedback system, the ME postings, etc. You see a seller with no feedback, beware!

Will W Hopper
DCSEG Member
SEG America
The Premier Gliding Organization!

Rooting for the BAY AREA SEG TEAM at the World Cup of Segway Polo in New Zealand later this month.

GO Silcon Valley Aftershocks - Now just to pick my favorite player - will it be... Alex - he is quick, Woz, he has his game on, George, That glider knows how to shoot a goal - or someone else!

[unclejay]

Just to clarify - feedback has little or no significance, because usually these are being sold thru stolen accounts which of course have good feedback. As far as eBay making research an easy process - I dont understand that. They do everything possible to hide true identity of sellers (even if you WIN, they will still not divulge the selelrs registered address). eBay requires no ID of a new seller, you just sign up and start selling. terrible situation. They wont tighten up the process because they want the listing fees.

[kaufmanb]

Well, there is an end to this saga. ALL The ads from edgeextremesports were supposed to be removed Friday Evening. This guy couldnt possibly have the products that he was advertising for the prices he was quoting. His ID leads back to a scooter shop in Wilkes Barre PA, and with a little searching, you can find his true company and a phone number. It seems like everybody was watching this one, he has several postings. According to eBay, he wont be selling soon. I just checked this morning, and his ads are still there.

Brian Kaufman-Butler
Segway of Cleveland
-- Super Green!
216-252-0200
www.GoSegway.Net

[arlemalm]

I think his auctions ended friday, but he is back on Ebay with more Segway acutions.

If this is a fake auction, why don't Ebay do something about it? He had alredy had 5-7 auctions with "brand new Segways". And people are bidding on them...

[CriticalMass]

quote:But their only response is that “we are a market place and we don’t take responsibility for the gods”. Now we're really in trouble. No responsibility for the gods? Jeesh.

[wwhopper]

There was a movie that talked about the "gods" it had a coke bottle drop on the head of a young tribesman somewhere in the wilds of africa. He was sure it was a sign from the gods.

This should be a sign, to only buy from someone you trust. - Like on of our regular SegwayChat dealers, or a private owner selling here. No one is going to give you a Segway for little or no money, so stop wasting your time wishing!

Will W Hopper
DCSEG Member
SEG America
The Premier Gliding Organization!

OK Who WON the WOZ CUP? The World Cup of Segway Polo Held in New Zealand, who needs the Olympics when there is Segway Polo!

[arlemalm]

Sometimes it can be hard to spell in English. It isn’t my first language, but I can assure you I try my very best… Sorry…

About the Segway dealers, you are right wwhopper. I’ve already found two authorized dealers here on Segwaychat that I will contact as soon as the snow melts where I live… Can’t wait another day…

[singman]

Edge-Extreme-Sports is still very much alive on ebay tonite. I appreciate the heads up. I was a little surprised when I was the first bid, and it came back that I have been out bid.

I too complained to ebay on Sunday and no response yet.

[kaufmanb]

It seems that all he did was rewrite the ad and repost, now he has at least 5 more. here are his stats: Buyer Beware

Go-Ped A Go Go
28 S. Main St.
Wilkes Barre PA 18701
Phone 570-821-3400

[Madsegs]

Segways retail here in Spain, Portugal, France and Italy (yes I checked them all) 7951.35 USD. A 12.0 bag 154.76 USD (do they overnight-express individually for stock?), its a rip-off. This may explain why we in Europe sometimes take our chances with ebay, but yes I agree there is a lot of fraud and bogus sales online, be careful. We don’t have the opportunity to safely use a dealer in the USA and like most off you, we too enjoy Segways. Fantastic piece of equipment.

Along for the Glide.
www.madsegs.com

[arlemalm]

Hmmm, Edge-Extreme-Sports are gone from Ebay now. All the auctions are gone and the shop is closed. Earlier today there where several days left for a couple of his auctions.

[slide4less]

Segwayjunkyard on Ebay is Segway of Oakland. Segway LLC says its Ok for me to sell under that name.But I can only sell used segways and Custom parts.I am a Segway dealer .I sold 30 used I67 and I70 this year on Ebay and Everyone got a great deal and Im not a Ebay Scammer When you buy from me you Get what you pay for Fast with no problems.Ebay is safe if you are smart Dont buy outside the USA and use goggle to check out who you are buying from call 510 832-2429 of cell# 510 414-8429

slide4less

[singman]

Interesting how sights can go from the US to oversees, change sellers names, and then disappear as fast as they showed before the end of the sale.

It reaffirms my commitment to only do business with reputable dealers such as the ones here!!

Ebay for some things may be fine, but for bigger ticket items it's too big of a risk.

[Gaye]

[quote]Originally posted by arlemalm

Dear members

I signed up at ebay just two weeks ago just to buy a cheap and maybe a used Segway. My first and only bid was at a Segway that was very cheap. I was just a couple of hours from sending $1400 to a hoax person in Romania. But ebay stopped the bidding. Now I know that ALL the cheap Segways at ebay are fake auctions and ebay doesn’t care. I tried to alert them and warned them. But their only response is that “we are a market place and we don’t take responsibility for the goods”.

The “winner” should be glad if you ever got a phone book of Rumania after the auction!!!

I think that sucks and I had tried alert ebay more than 50 times of suspicious auctions the last two weeks. You can see a fake auction after a couple of days, because it is the same text, the same pictures but with different usernames. Probably a kidnapped account! My “friend” charlesrall@aol.com is still there from time to time, but with different accounts, of course…"

Hi

Here are my guidelines; having been the near victim of THREE eBay frauds I advise everyone to approach with caution.

Escrow is apparently a safer way to transact but it is a concept relatively unknown in parts of the world including UK

I use extreme caution or don't bid if any or all of these apply........

the seller has little or no track record

the seller is registered in a different country from the goods

the seller is selling in a currency other than that used by his country of registration

the seller hasn't used his account for a considerable period

the level of English used in the ad isn't good

the seller has a track record of buying only

the seller invites emails to a different identity and not through the eBay "ask the seller a question"

I send a question to the seller and get no or an inadequate reply

the seller will not confirm their identity and or the serial number of the product (if applicable)

seller sends documents apparently from eBay about safe buying and selling; check out ALL documents with eBay by simply forwarding them to spoof@ebay.co.uk .
Don't add anything at all even in the subject box.
eBay documents sent by sellers are often frauds as it is quite easy to 'lift' a logo.
eBay will get back to you and confirm if the document is real or not.

the seller says he wants funds 'wired' and then will send buyer an email with the shipping reference. I am also aware of folk who have received genuine shipping references and the parcel arrives with a heavy value free item within!

You offer to pay cash when you or your representative goes to collect but the buyer wants prepayment. No real seller would turn down cash and collection

All the above sounds as if I am paranoid and I assure you I'm not. I have made some excellent purchases via eBay and got to know some nice folk along the way but there is always that con-man that spoils it.

Hope these guidelines I set for myself help you and save you trouble
and MONEY!

Gaye




Segway - LITERALLY revolutionising my life!

[voiceguy]

For ANY American "eBay.com" suspicious emails: spoof@ebay.com

"Every journey of ten thousand feet ... begins with but a single lean forward..."

[markedman]

this guy has $800.00 USD of my money I talked to him on the phone he seemed legit I dont know what to think now ebay emailed me directly and said it was safe to deal with him after the fact that they ended all his auctions I have his cell phone number now what should I do Im worried here should I make a complaint through paypal again I ended my dispute once ebay said he was safe to deal with i havent heard back from him in days he was saspouse to email me about my shipment on my goped

[kaufmanb]

Here is something I received from eBay Security:

-----Original Message-----
From: moreinfo@ebay.com [mailto:moreinfo@ebay.com]
Sent: 02/23/2006 10:05 PM
To: brian@gosegway.net
Subject: SP NOTICE: eBay Ask Seller a Question or Contact eBay Member Alert

Dear kaufmanbk (brian@gosegway.net):

Our records indicate that you recently sent an email to or received an email from edgeextremesports through the eBay email system (for example, you may have sent an email to this member through Ask Seller a Question or received an email from this member through Contact eBay Member).

Sometimes eBay accounts are used to send email solicitations for transactions outside of eBay, or to send unrelated questions in hopes that you will respond so that the other party can obtain your email address. We wanted you to be aware of the potential fraud risk these solicitations pose and encourage you to be cautious about the email you received from this member.

Please keep in mind, sales that take place outside of eBay are not eligible for any eBay or PayPal protective services and you run the risk of losing your money or your item if you complete these transactions. We would encourage you to review the eBay pages related to Fraud Protection at the address provided below for information on steps you can take to ensure that your transactions are successful:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/tp/isgw-buyer-protection-steps.html

If you have already sent the item or sent payment for the item, please reply to this email and we will send you additional information about how to protect yourself.

Regards,

Trust & Safety Department


Brian Kaufman-Butler
Segway of Cleveland
-- Super Green!
216-252-0200
www.GoSegway.Net
http://www.gosegway.net/sitebuilder/images/LogoHiRes-600x168.jpg

[markedman]

the guy is a true con artist he sent me a spoof message from ebay saying it was safe to deal with him so i stop my dispute trough paypal because he asked me to I thought hey if ebay says its ok im sure it is anyways when i tryed to reopen the dispute after not hearing from him in days paypal sent me a message saying once you close a dispute you cant reopen it well this guy surely knows what he is dooing but he pleeds hes legit everyone swamp ebay with fraud emails lets get this sick bastard off ebay for good I have his cellphone number if anyone wants it email me at eboxen@hotmail.com the phone number on his ebay account has been disconected so dont bother calling it I talked to this guy over the phone so I have his real number and the area code is the same as the one for his so called power sports store

[arlemalm]

Thank’s Gaye for your guidelines.

Markedman, I found this link about edgeextremesports before I made my bid:

http://cgi.ebay.com/RENOIR-PIERRE-AUGUSTE-ORIGINAL-OIL-ON-CANVAS-SINGED_W0QQitemZ7371589330QQcategoryZ20129QQrdZ1QQ cmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

That’s why I didn’t bid on his auction. He is selling a Renoir at ebay for $ 20.000.000. Fake or the real thing???

Let’s hope everything turns out well for you and hopefully you will get your Segway. Let us know on this thread...

Best regards

[singman]

One of the sellers has a location of Eden Prairie Minnesota so I sent an email inquiring if I was the winning bidder could I pay the $800 in cash and pick it up in person.

Any bets as to what the answer will be?? The price is right and allegedly it's only about 45 minutes away from me.

[singman]

The following is the reply I received this am:

Hi there.
The item is BRAND NEW have international warranty provided by the factory
and come with all accesories that you need .my best price is $800 including the shipping taxes.
I shipp† via UPS (air service) , in max 2 days this item will be in your home.
i prefer to pay me via Western union bc is the faster.I am legit with
ebay also i have insurance in case something happens you will get full
refounds from ebay.( i have a† buyer protection )
Thanks and mail me back
Best regards

This is used only as a way to show others how sneaky these sellers really are, and how they want to bypass ebay's security systems. If the transaction isn't done thru proper ebay channels you have no buyer protection.

[singman]

Odd situation, since I replied about 3 1/2 hours ago and asked why so reasonable and how come the ebay ad said the item was in Eden Prairie Minnesota all of his ads have been disappeared. ZIP, NADA, ZILCH!!!!!!!

Can you imagine that????????????????? And for $650 if I paid within 24 hours, BOO-HOO, or "B" as in B-- and "S" as in S---!!!!!!

I do have his personal email address and will notify ebay of this situation.

[singman]

Received an email from the gent today and he is now in Europe opening a Seway dealership and has shipping included free from there for $800. Let me know if you want to buy is his reply. You have to laugh, at their determined attitude!!