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249 Comments
- uofmpike, on 10/12/2007, -10/+279ebay needs some competition, they're customer service has been falling for years.
- DidntYouHear, on 10/12/2007, -4/+147Maybe Mark Erickson should call up Google and see if they want to enter the market. Google Auctions anyone?
- Dradis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+116That really sucks for that guy.. if I were him, I would've pulled the "P-P-P-P-Powerbook Prank": http://www.zug.com/pranks/powerbook/
- angelleye, on 10/12/2007, -9/+86Articles like this make me mad. I sell nothing but computer hardware/software and have roughly 3000+ auctions listed at all times. Of course we get our share of those fake emails, but you know what, it's NOT difficult to avoid problems.
First, you can avoid these people buying your auctions by simply setting the preferences in eBay to not allow people with a certain feedback level to bid on your auctions. For instance, your first example there, the guy has a single feedback. You could have avoided him being able to bid on your items in the first place if you weren't ignorant about eBay's features to begin with.
As for eBay not giving you back your Final Value Fee...file a Non-Paying Bidder and the problem is solved. You'll get your money back because the scammer won't respond to the dispute. It's really not that difficult.
So, get your preferences setup correctly and you won't have to deal with it at all (other than the bogus emails, which again, are easy to ignore.) And if/when you do have to deal with it you can get your FVF back without a problem.
We do $500k in sales on eBay each month. Without eBay we wouldn't have a business. eBay is NOT the problem. It's the end-user. - warped, on 10/12/2007, -3/+70No kidding. I can't believe the scammer auctions that when clicked on display a page that appears to be an ebay login but is really a hacker hijack attempt. eBay has failed terribly at policing their own domain.
- just_chris, on 10/12/2007, -0/+45Yes this can happen, but there is an easy solution.
Go to your ebay account preferences > "buying requirements"
Block buyers who:
-Are registered in countries to which I don't ship
-Have a feedback score of -1 or lower
-Have received 2 Unpaid Item strikes in the last 30 days
Problem is solved. - Black913Hole, on 10/12/2007, -0/+41its all fun and games until the guy in that story is NEVER HEARD FROM AGAIN!!
- sp1keNARF, on 10/12/2007, -3/+44there's a very easy solution to all this... DISCONNECT NIGERIA FROM THE INTERNET
- Fedge, on 10/12/2007, -4/+45Craigslist is a great alternative. I've used craigslist to buy and sell a ton of crap and have never had a problem. As long as you know who you're dealing with, and you have half a brain, buying and selling on craigslist is a joy.
- antiduckyfuzz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+34I had my cell phone stolen on New Years Eve in NYC. After filling out a police report and canceling my phone, I received an IM from someone a few weeks later. They bought my phone on eBay and they were contacting me with the persons user name as they believed the phone to be stolen. I contacted eBay and have yet to hear back. It's been 2 weeks now.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -4/+37I think it's time for the Internet version of a naval blockade go up around Nigeria. No internet access in or out. ***** them.
- tardmongerster, on 10/12/2007, -0/+29Call the police, they can subpoena eBay.
- oneiroi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+23Then ignore them and don't ship internationally.
Also people should know by now Nigeria = scam. - DidntYouHear, on 10/12/2007, -0/+22Even if you put that you don't ship internationally though, I've still gotten emails from people asking to do so.
- meshman, on 10/12/2007, -1/+23"(sorry, Canadian people... costs too much for me to ship up there)"
If we (Canadians) pay all shipping costs, why does it cost you too much? - BESTenemy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+22 E-bay receives the incentive through fees they get to keep when transactions are canceled.. Same with PayPal. The house always wins. As a middle-man they risk nothing, but benefit every time.
Retail's an alternative for buying. Costs are higher, but the risk of getting scammed is low. E-bay's just a place that offers a tradeoff. One has to decide whether the savings are worth taking the risk and assume that every transaction, be that purchase or sale, might result in disappointment.
There are alternatives such as Craig's list, but the place also has its share of scams. On e-bay money and merchandise are the only things at risk. At least you don't put your life on the line, meeting god knows who, god knows where.
The risks are known. Whoever chooses to act upon the impulse to make a quick buck has to be prepared to face possible consequences.
I'm not justifying e-bay. I'm just saying that it acts upon its own incentives and there's little we can do about it but complain and hope someone takes notice. Someone who sees more profit in resolution than in the problem itself. - jumanji69, on 10/12/2007, -12/+29Same thing happened to me. I was trying to sell 2 PS3's on e-bay but both of them got hijacked by Nigerians. E-bay proceeded to tell me that they would not be refunding any of my fees, because "e-bay is like a classified ad, and it is not their fault if the bidders have no intention of buying the product."
It took me about 13 separate live chat sessions, but I finally got a full refund. My advice for anyone who is trying to get their full fees refunded would be just keep bugging the ***** out of them until they give in. As the old saying goes: the squeakiest wheel gets oiled first.
Oh well, I guess thats what I get for scalping PS3's. - NinjaBoy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+18I used to sell linux cd's on ebay. I had written contracts with most major distributions to do so. But still Ebay pulled my account for "possibly, potentially, selling copy righted items". And told me I had to hand write them a two page apology letter to get my account back. Needless to say I never got my account activated again.
- Chrissilvanet, on 10/12/2007, -22/+37I really dislike this guy's use of "hacked accounts", most of the accounts in question dont even look hacked...they are just new...and why is he getting so pissed off at the oldest scam in the book? Just ignore them. Every seller has the right to cancel bids if they seem fake.
eGay is the last place I'd try to sell a laptop. That place is like the Wal-mart of the online bidding/selling world. Take it to craigslist for local faster results. - surfmadpig, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13that's actually a lot better than the posted article.
- mletto157, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13I won an xbox 360 with a bunch of extras. I sent the payment via paypal. I received a full refund with a letter saying that they can't accept paypal and I forgot the reason so they wanted a money order. Being very guillable I went out and got the money order and sent it to them. They said they'd ship the xbox right away. After a couple weeks I e-mailed them asking where it was and they said they just got it out the door today. Another couple weeks I ask the same question. They tell me that they accidentally sent it to the wrong person and probably will never see it again - they then say they will send me a full refund. A couple weeks go by and nothing - I e-mail them and they tell me they mailed it yesterday. Another week or two and I e-mail them again and it comes back saying that address isn't valid. The phone number and address have also been disconnected and their ebay account cancelled and whiped out. Gone.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12Ever try selling items through Amazon.com via their z-shops? The exact same problem with the Nigerians occurs at Amazon as well.
We need to figure out who these Nigerians are selling these items to and castrate them. - mabba18, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12And if everyone did that how would anyone get to +10?
- audioslavery, on 10/12/2007, -2/+14Still beats NigeriaList
- Hoov, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12I know you can still get scammed in the U.S., but this is why I don't ship internationally. I'm not looking for a hassle with tariffs and customs, and obviously the Nigerian scammers. I just want to get the crap off my hands.
- hobbers, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11Seriously, does anyone know the guy personally? Has he gone missing or something? That would be crazy.
- mandarin, on 10/12/2007, -3/+13Blame Canada dude...Blame Canada
- MrSkrilla, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11I have had the same problem with E-Bay. I was trying to sell a laptop and the first FIVE times that it was won it was by ***** Nigerians trying to pay with some ***** method. I had to keep reposting the item again and again until finally it sold to someone legit. I kept getting messages like the following (this is an actual one):
Hello Seller
Did you got my payment and sorry for not informing you before i made the payment just that the item is needed urgently and i want you to send the item fast to him and this the shipping address
Ray Moore
# 16 Adebiyi Street Off joyce-B Ring Road
Ibadan
Oyo-State
23402
Nigeria
Hope to hear from you soon when you have send the item
I kept replying to these Nigerian e-mails with a picture of a guy ***** a girl in the ass with the text "You think you can ***** me in the ass? ***** YOU" written on the picture. One time the bidding for the laptop with a value of maybe $500 got up to $4500... It's total *****. E-bay sucks... They have no motivation to fix any of the problems because when something like this happens and someone gets scammed they profit. On the $4500 laptop they were going to charge me about $150 in seller fees. ***** them. - LoadStar, on 10/12/2007, -5/+15I follow these rules, plus in my auction I:
- REQUIRE PayPal (no other choice provided... sorry, Nigerian "I'll send you a check" people)
- Must receive payment in 24 hours (if you're paying via PayPal, you have no reason you can't pay quickly)
- Only ship to PayPal verified address (again, if you're using PayPal, you have very little reason you can't do this)
- Only ship to US (sorry, Canadian people... costs too much for me to ship up there)
Am I probably cutting out quite a few people, including people who hate PayPal? Probably. Don't care. Besides, you can pay via credit card through PayPal without opening a PP account.
I don't sell much, but I've never had a problem with any of my buyers. - s14sh3r, on 10/12/2007, -5/+15Niger please!
- codyman, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10Maybe there is horror stories of eBay, but I've been very lucky and haven't had any big problems... I've sold / bought close to a thousand items and have had few problems with dealing with buyers / sellers on there
- killthepoodle, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10I've relisted an item 3 f-ing times, and had deadbeat bidders three times in a row. This one's excuse? "I can only afford to spend $245 plus shipping". Then why the hell did you put a proxy of $401 in you idiot?!?!?!?!?!?
Meanwhile ebay lets these people with terrible feedback continue to bid and win auctions without giving us sellers the ability to restrict bidding to certain feedback scores.
Lets not even get into people bidding who you wont even ship to......... - nomadxx7, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Yeah the Powerbook story was funny but weird at the end that Jeff can no longer be contacted. I mean WTH happened tot he guy? That is a little weird and/or scary if it was retaliation
- mletto157, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9E-Bay can kiss my ass. I've lost over $700 on eBay, and even if you submit a claim on eBay and WIN, you only get $125 back. The ONLY acceptable way to buy something on eBay is over PayPal - and that's only because if you do get scammed somehow, PayPal secures you up to $1000 or so.
- robdiggity, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Well it did cost the guy $83 in fees that have yet to be refunded. I have a feeling that would even piss you off too...
- Fragalishus, on 10/12/2007, -3/+11Buried as inaccurate.
Not 2 weeks ago I attempted my first sale on ebay, and the winning bidder turned out to be a Nigerian scammer. The first email I got from them was a dead giveaway that it was a scam. Forwarded the email to spoof@ebay.com and spoof@paypal.com. Had plenty of support from both ebay and paypal, including live chat at ebay. Told me to file a friendly dispute on the bid and get my seller's fees refunded.
What they're doing is hijacking old, unused accounts. Now while I agree ebay needs to tighten up security a little, the article makes it sound like ebay's sole purpose is to screw you out of money. If you got scammed on ebay, it's very likely your own fault. Granted, they're getting better at spoofing ebay and paypal email addresses, but the horrible grammar and craptacular formatting of the emails should be a dead giveaway.
That's not to say the occasional deal doesn't go bad, like some ***** rescinds payment after you ship the item, or some jerkoff doesn't ship to you after you made your payment. But by and large the majority of transactions go off without a hitch, and there are plenty of steps you can take to assure your own success. And if you got scammed by a Nigerian scammer of all things, you most likely deserved it, because they are not good at it at all. - Barnolde, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Look at it from eBay's perspective, why should they fix it when they so clearly control the online auction market? eBay sucks, but it's pretty much the main auction website, so until Google steps up to the plate, eBay is going to continue raping us with high prices, which they keep raising and ***** us with ***** service.
- robdiggity, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Unfortunately, Nigerians have figured out how to use free proxies.
- banditski, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10As a Canadian, I refuse to buy anything from the US on eBay anymore. I've bought a couple of books and the tariffs at the border is ridiculous. I generally only buy on Craigslist now, but if I do eBay, it's Canada only.
Not eBay's fault per se, but crap nonetheless. - edstate, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7The few people I know who got burned by this all thought the money orders HAD cleared... and they "did". The money showed up in the account for the people without overdraft protection after five days, and the little asterisk was removed from the amounts of those who did have od protection. It wasn't until weeks later the banks figured out they were fakes, and took the money back. And then said oh so sorry, there's nothing we can do!
- aliengoods, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Absolutely. I would have no problem restricting to people who had less than 50 feedback and 95% of it being positive. This seems like a bit much, but I would happily lose 10% of the final price to not have to deal with scammers time and time again.
Also, eBay needs a pre-bid escrow service, where a buyer can force the seller to have the money in escrow before they can bid. And none of this Western Union crap or phony bank transfers either. Then I would consider selling on eBay again. Until that day happens, they'll receive no business from me.
Also, why doesn't eBay just block all IPs from Nigeria? How many legitimate auctions originate there anyhow? - flipjargendy, on 10/12/2007, -6/+13i've been scammed on ebay three times by buyers with the aid of ebay. The last time it cost me $313. No more ebay, ever again.
CraigsList.org is the way to go. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7LoadStar: That doesn't stop the scammers. They ignore your instructions and bid anyway.
- ultrasonoro, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Yeah Ebay and PayPal seriously need some competition. I sold a Wii and a PS3 on Ebay and got my account suspended on both Ebay and PayPal for no apparent reason. My Ebay account is back up now, but PayPal is still holding my money. I used the Buy it Now option with immediate payment necessary which worked good, only problem is that now almost $2,000 of my money is being held by PayPal. I've complied with all the additional verification steps that they've asked me to do but they said that because of the risk to them that they're holding my money for 180 days.
Moral of the story: Lack of competition = Mafia business practices - iceperson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7As long as it's someone else's items it's not a problem right? Oh, and if you think there are only 2 stories like this then you're deluded.
- edstate, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Unfortunately, they've found a way to hack the feedback ratings so it seems like they've had a lot of good, legit activity.
- picaro, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9Digg should sponsor a team to cut Nigeria's phone lines.
- Corneliusm, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Craigslist isn't safe either.
My roommate and I advertised a room for rent, and have received a couple suspicious proposals involving refunding a difference in deposit with cash (the check would likely bounce too late) to someone overseas.
Another time, I was selling an $1800 laptop and the guy wanted me to ship it to Nigeria. I told him that I wouldn't send it, and he responded with a virus. I had three other (suspicious) emails containing really badly-translated english that I didn't even bother responding to.
Both times, I was dealing locally (St. Louis area), yet these bottomfeeders somehow managed to contact me anyway. - mattmcm, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10@IEatHamburgers
It sounds like a decent idea, but when the scammers defect from eBay to this new auction site, all hell will break loose and we'll be back to where we started. -
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