eBay Scammers

[Hawnjigs]

Older forum members might recall I once got burned out of $1,200 by an eBay jig hook scam, with both eBay & Paypal dodging their so called Buyer Protection.  Just noticed this guys not so subtle attempt targeting, well, I dunno.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/powerdrags/...VlsAAOSw0fhXlEuR&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562

Also shopping for a dvd of Ben Afflecks "Live by Night" noticed many seller IDs in CA flagrantly offering bootlegs.  eBay of course has a long history of allowing sellers like these a pass despite customer complaints.  At best, a seller ID may be suspended only to pop up again under a different name.

 

[Uncle Grump]

Hawn - I guess I is ignorant - can you explain in more detail?

UG

 

[Hawnjigs]

I got stung when an eBay seller started selling single boxes of Gamakatsu jig hooks of which I won 2 auctions at super bargain prices and the items were delivered OK. The seller then upped his quantities to 16 box lots which I got outbid on for several cycles and they were delivered OK to other buyers who posted + feedback. Noticing the selller eventually had an impressive 100% perfect + feedback record I went all in and was the winning bidder on 2 of the big lots which were never delivered after I paid up around $1,400. Eventually after months of runaround eBay-Paypal gave me a partial refund of $200 as the best they could do. Turned out that the hooks were stolen and when the seller ran out of product to deliver he continued posting auctions with no intention to.

It appears that the seller mentioned currently has simlarly built up a 100% + feedback record selling small lots and is using the #sold small lots for price boosted listings of the same items, giving the impression that many buyers were satisfied paying outrageous prices. A reasonable person might think that no one would pay those inflated prices, but yah never know.

 

[Kdog]

His rating go back past 6 months. prices ave gone up and down a few times. He has a number of repeat buyers. But one thing I have seen, some sellers have a way of banning you and it seems like your negative feedback cannot be seen. Not sure but I've had few problems with vendors and usually get them resolved to my satisfaction. But I have been banned by 4 sellers thus far.

 

[JUNGLEJIM1]

I think I bid on some of those auctions as well but fortunately didn't win them. Unfortunately, those things do happen on ebay quite a bit, especially with foreign sellers. Several years ago when US silver currency was around $45 an ounce a seller from China was offering them for $12 per oz. selling just a few in the beginning.He built up his feedback and then started offering lots of 20 for $240. Buyers went crazy , some buying 10-20 lots at a time. I was suspicious and put a watcher on it to see what would happen. And of course he didn't deliver and I watched as people started leaving negative feedback about not getting their goods. I'm sure the seller got rich off that one listing, took the money and ran. Since it was overseas you have to allow extra time for items to arrive which was plenty of time for the seller to cash in. I've left negative feedback once to a seller in Florida because I didn't get my item in full, only six treble hooks instead of 25. Seller said I could return it but I would have to pay the return shipping even though it was their fault with listing. I just wanted the item in full or a refund of the difference but was told they couldn't do it. More like they wouldn't do it. When I said I was going to leave negative feedback they didn't even care. After ebay finally let me leave negative feedback it disappeared the next day because the seller was a power seller. I'm still mad about that deal.

 

[Hawnjigs]

eBay has been a good source for older Do-it molds not available retail and jig hooks in quantity below wholesale. One hard lesson I've learned is that the site can be used as a dumping ground for mfg reject product and a venue for bottom feeding scammers. One seller appears to be a Mustad dumpster, tho he vehemently denies it, and I've gotten stuck with defective product by waiting too long past the return period to test. Altho I've gotten some great deals over almost 20 yrs. of eBay shopping, averaging out those with the burn jobs not so much.

eBay is a giant soul-less money making machine giving a pass to unethical & sometimes illegal selling activity. Some Power Sellers can have hundreds of negative feedbacks and still generate enuf sales to stay in bizness. Paypal has a practiced system of stalling filing on big $ claims past the allowed time limit. But with no better choice the thrill of a bargain keeps me coming back.

 

[hookup]

I got hosed once buying some DVD's of old shows. Looks like some kid taped them in front of the TV and slapped them onto a DVD

1/2 the DVD's didn't even work - we emailed them our complaint and they had another batch out but still they were POS recordings