Posted by John W. Wall on June 13, 2007 at 4:38 PM
Jeez, once you've been scammed on ebay, a whole lotta stuff starts to look like a scam. There are three auctions ending on D200s today that I have on my Watch list, and they all look fishy to me! I don't know what to think about ebay anymore. You can do just enough research on an auction to give you doubts about its veracity....
I have been fortunate to have ordered 8-10 times without issue. I have also sold on EBay successfully.
However, lately it seems more and more that I don't trust the source of the items. I bid on a light meter a few months ago. The seller said he was liquidating all his equipment and was getting out of photography. The bid went up to what I consider an unrealistically high - $190 for a used meter that sells new for $250! Well, I quit biding at $125. After the auction was over I got a second chance notice which I ignored. My assessment was that either the seller had friends bidding the price up for him, or there was really more than one meter and the seller was not really a private photographer liquidating his equipment.
In any case I am really sceptical lately. It was a good thing at one time that has now seemingly been corrupted by the unscrupulous.
I've bought and sold a number of items on Ebay, approaching the 200 sales mark, including buying some very high ticket items suchas some big Nikon lenses. I've bought a lot of camera equipment. I've never had a single problem. One thing that I do when buying is to email the seller and ask him for a phone number so I can call him. If I don't get an answer, I don't bid. When I've sold on Ebay I always get top dollar. Sometimes way more than I think the item is worth. Good camera equipment always brings a high price as you have a lot of competition. Everyone wants that D200 right now. Just recently the Nikon 70-180 macro lens I was looking at sold for $1600.00. They were only 8-900 dollars new, but now they don't make them anymore so everyone wants one of course. Second chance offers are almost always some scammer, I just ignore them. If you pay only through Paypal, or use a credit card you have some protection for your purchase. If the sellers wants a wire transfer as payment it is probably a scam. Sometimes I only search for items within 50 miles or so. That way I can go and pick up the item in person and then pay in cash.
Most of my transactions on e-Bay have been very good and I have bought 2 enlargers at what I thought were good buys.Buy I was low bidder on a Gralab 300 dark-room timer,at what I felt was a fair deal for both of us.when I e-mailed the seller for the shipping charges she came back with a shipping charge of 1 million dollars.Need less to say that transaction didn't go thru and she is no longer selling on e-Bay.Bill Baird
Posted by Sharon Menke on June 14, 2007 at 1:42 PM
They had a story on the local here about how people bought things from E-Bay and either didn't get them or didn't get what they had paid for. I am very leary about E-Bay, so I don't use them. Some people swear by them.
I have both bought and sold items on E-Bay with pretty good results. However, there are quite a few scams going around and you have to ve careful. One of the biggest is involving Wester Union. Under no circumstances should you ever send payment for an item through Wester Union. That is one of the largest scams going, and E-Bay nor YAHOO will help you in anyway. Most second chance auctions are usually a scam. You should not respond to them.
I sell things on Epray and always verify funds before I ship anything out but I never buy anything on Ebad that costs more than $20.00 including the shipping. I figure I can lose $20.00 on a chance. I do look at Espay as a good market for selling unused photo items. You really do get top dollar, especially if one or more bidders get into a bidding war. I've sold used lenses for more than what they cost me new because of bidding wars. Caveat emptor! I always verify funds though and will immediately move payment money from my Estray PayPal account to my regular account before funds can be cancelled by the buyer.
Posted by John W. Wall on June 14, 2007 at 4:29 PM
When I was scammed, I had received the funds through Paypal and even transferred the funds to my bank. Someone had hacked a member's account and bid as them, eventually winning. It was quite a hassle to deal with the aftermath. I'd been buying and selling on ebay since '99 with good results, but I closed my account after that incident. I opened another account, though, because it was the only place I could get the 105mm micro AF-D that I wanted.... Incidentally, one of the fishy D200s I was looking at was removed before close of auction. Another sold for $2,500 (very fishy again!). The third fishy one ended normally and may actually have been okay -- but I'm glad I didn't go for it.
I have had excellent experiences with ebay. I've bought and sold $1000s of photo gear, bicycles, audio and electronics, car parts, woodworking tools, computer stuff and never had a problem. I have had more problems with the shippers, who have mangled some of my stuff in spite of it being extremely well packed. Most recently I sold a Stanley No7 woodworking plane which is made of cast iron, and I packed in a 300 lb test box lined tightly with 4" of foam and peanuts all around, only to arrive in two pieces at the destination. Luckily it was insured and they acknowledged their improper handling.
As I mentioned, I have purchased camera lenses, and prayed each time that when I opened the box I would not see a pile of broken glass. Whenever possible I try to purchase items that are packed in their original shipping containers. It shows that the owner was meticulous and cared for his gear, and that he in fact is an owner/user of the gear as opposed to an auctioneer parting out individual items out of a large liquidation.
Most importantly, I only deal with people who have verified paypal accounts with confirmed shipping addresses.
Some good rules to follow to avoid being scammed,. Refuse to deal with anyone with an address different from the one in ebay. Also, anyone who offers to pay with certified check or money order, both of which are easy to counterfeit. Second chance offers are usually ok, as long as they come through ebay email and not from a sellers direct email. I have scored some fairly nice deals - most recently a nikkor 80-200 AF-ED in mint condition for $580. If anyone requires a money order or teller's check for payment there is a good chance its a scam.
Most recently a seller with excellent feedback had a number of items, including some nice camera equipment, with a short auction period. It was sort of fishy because all the items were $1000, regardless of what they were - cameras, lenses, lawn tractors, fork lifts, etc. If you only looked at one item it looked legit, but looking at the sellers other items it became evident that something was up. I looked at the sellers history and found that the feedback was excellent but looking at the items sold showed none that were above $30 in total value - not at all consistent with anything in the current auctions. So off went an email to ebay fraud - and within the hour the entire range of listings from this seller were removed. My guess is that the seller was hacked.
Another close call involved a bicycle for sale somewhere domestically, maybe it was the Boston area. But the listing showed international money order as the only acceptable form of payment and the pay to address as somewhere in Italy. Another email went out to ebay and the listing was discovered to be fraudulent.
The moral to all of this is if you want to avoid being scammed, you have to follow your gut and do the research. Communication with the seller is important, and the quality of his responses to your questions should give you a clue as to how legit the deal is. But then again, that applies to all business dealings, doesn't it.
On a related note, living near NYC there has always been a temptation to consider some of the Brooklyn-based camera wholesalers because of their low pricing - but I have found that for the most part, their businesses are not legit, and have a long history of horrible dealings with customers, either with the local BBB or on an extremely useful website - www.resellerratings.com - these guys are total scheisters and should all be in jail. Word has it that there are just a few of them, but with many different web presences to make it look as if there are many Brooklyn camera dealers. Bottom line, these guys are all about bait and switch selling, or offering a camera at a rock bottom price, then offering to sell you the battery, the instuction manual, the warranty, lens caps, body cap, etc for extra money. Or they will offer a product with a US warranty, but after you've paid with your credit card, you are sent an import item. Or they will call you to ask you why you ordered the import item and attempt to sell you the item you ordered. Often these slimely dealers require a confirmation call after you have ordered on line, during which they try to upsell you with carrying cases, cheap tripods, lens cleaners, memory cards, filters, horrible lenses (quantaray) and numerous other junk items at 300% to 500% margins to try and pad the sale. If you refuse they get nasty and hang up.
For entertainment, look for an item on resellerratings, find the cheapest price, then go to that dealer's ratings page and check out the comments. There seems to be no end to the tactics they will employ to get your money, and a seemingly endless supply of suckers motivated by cheap prices to feast on for them. The user comments are completely hilarious - but somehow I don't feel any pity for these buyers - they get what they deserve in most cases.
Posted by Tom Webster on June 15, 2007 at 11:25 AM
Nice reply, Gene. The only thing I disagree about is requesting payment with MO or cashier's check. This does not necessarily indicate a fraudulent seller. I demand US Postal money orders, US cashier's checks, and US bank money orders for payment for itmes over $500.00 with the provision that the auction item is held until my bank verifies the funds, however long that takes. I have done this because of fraudulent buyers using fake PayPal accounts. So seeing a request for payments to be made through US bank cashier's checks, US postal money orders, and US bank money orders isn't necessarily a sign of a fraudulent auction.
Nothing but good results with eBay. I always research the seller and anything over $1000 I email the seller and ask questions about condition etc and also ask for his/her name and telephone number in case I have questions. All reputable sellers will give out this info. Then call them with a specific question.
I bought my Canon 500mm/4 lens on eBay. Saved a few bucks as the photog was going out of business. When talking with him about the condition of the lens, he told me his name and that he was a former moderator on NPN. After looking at his work, it is too bad he dropped out. BTW, the lens arrived in immaculate shape, with all original, pristine accessories including the hard case.
I also bought my 1DM2 through the equipment forum on NPN. Again from a moderator at this site. Once again, the camera was in great condition.
Discussion
12 repliesHowever, lately it seems more and more that I don't trust the source of the items. I bid on a light meter a few months ago. The seller said he was liquidating all his equipment and was getting out of photography. The bid went up to what I consider an unrealistically high - $190 for a used meter that sells new for $250! Well, I quit biding at $125. After the auction was over I got a second chance notice which I ignored. My assessment was that either the seller had friends bidding the price up for him, or there was really more than one meter and the seller was not really a private photographer liquidating his equipment.
In any case I am really sceptical lately. It was a good thing at one time that has now seemingly been corrupted by the unscrupulous.
As I mentioned, I have purchased camera lenses, and prayed each time that when I opened the box I would not see a pile of broken glass. Whenever possible I try to purchase items that are packed in their original shipping containers. It shows that the owner was meticulous and cared for his gear, and that he in fact is an owner/user of the gear as opposed to an auctioneer parting out individual items out of a large liquidation.
Most importantly, I only deal with people who have verified paypal accounts with confirmed shipping addresses.
Some good rules to follow to avoid being scammed,. Refuse to deal with anyone with an address different from the one in ebay. Also, anyone who offers to pay with certified check or money order, both of which are easy to counterfeit. Second chance offers are usually ok, as long as they come through ebay email and not from a sellers direct email. I have scored some fairly nice deals - most recently a nikkor 80-200 AF-ED in mint condition for $580. If anyone requires a money order or teller's check for payment there is a good chance its a scam.
Most recently a seller with excellent feedback had a number of items, including some nice camera equipment, with a short auction period. It was sort of fishy because all the items were $1000, regardless of what they were - cameras, lenses, lawn tractors, fork lifts, etc. If you only looked at one item it looked legit, but looking at the sellers other items it became evident that something was up. I looked at the sellers history and found that the feedback was excellent but looking at the items sold showed none that were above $30 in total value - not at all consistent with anything in the current auctions. So off went an email to ebay fraud - and within the hour the entire range of listings from this seller were removed. My guess is that the seller was hacked.
Another close call involved a bicycle for sale somewhere domestically, maybe it was the Boston area. But the listing showed international money order as the only acceptable form of payment and the pay to address as somewhere in Italy. Another email went out to ebay and the listing was discovered to be fraudulent.
The moral to all of this is if you want to avoid being scammed, you have to follow your gut and do the research. Communication with the seller is important, and the quality of his responses to your questions should give you a clue as to how legit the deal is. But then again, that applies to all business dealings, doesn't it.
On a related note, living near NYC there has always been a temptation to consider some of the Brooklyn-based camera wholesalers because of their low pricing - but I have found that for the most part, their businesses are not legit, and have a long history of horrible dealings with customers, either with the local BBB or on an extremely useful website - www.resellerratings.com - these guys are total scheisters and should all be in jail. Word has it that there are just a few of them, but with many different web presences to make it look as if there are many Brooklyn camera dealers. Bottom line, these guys are all about bait and switch selling, or offering a camera at a rock bottom price, then offering to sell you the battery, the instuction manual, the warranty, lens caps, body cap, etc for extra money. Or they will offer a product with a US warranty, but after you've paid with your credit card, you are sent an import item. Or they will call you to ask you why you ordered the import item and attempt to sell you the item you ordered. Often these slimely dealers require a confirmation call after you have ordered on line, during which they try to upsell you with carrying cases, cheap tripods, lens cleaners, memory cards, filters, horrible lenses (quantaray) and numerous other junk items at 300% to 500% margins to try and pad the sale. If you refuse they get nasty and hang up.
For entertainment, look for an item on resellerratings, find the cheapest price, then go to that dealer's ratings page and check out the comments. There seems to be no end to the tactics they will employ to get your money, and a seemingly endless supply of suckers motivated by cheap prices to feast on for them. The user comments are completely hilarious - but somehow I don't feel any pity for these buyers - they get what they deserve in most cases.
I bought my Canon 500mm/4 lens on eBay. Saved a few bucks as the photog was going out of business. When talking with him about the condition of the lens, he told me his name and that he was a former moderator on NPN. After looking at his work, it is too bad he dropped out. BTW, the lens arrived in immaculate shape, with all original, pristine accessories including the hard case.
I also bought my 1DM2 through the equipment forum on NPN. Again from a moderator at this site. Once again, the camera was in great condition.