Read: The Binocular Thief Blog!

[Pileatus]

Please read:
http://bincrooks.blogspot.com/

[Tero]

Yes, fleabay has a big job.

My ID got stolen once to post dirty pictures as for sale items.

[elkcub]

Amazing! Thanks, John.

[ceasar]

Yes, fleabay has a big job.

My ID got stolen once to post dirty pictures as for sale items.

Hope they didn't steal your avatar too!3:-)
Bob

[etc]

I've seen a high-end binocular for sale and the seller wanted funds sent to some european country like Romania. Typically such auctions included an email address and some unreasonably low price.

Compact, expensive and identically-looking items like binoculars, laptops and such are particularly vulnerable to fraud. A dozen of them can be sold before the account is frozen.

Make sure the seller has a consistent track record of selling the same item previously. Not 1,000 mouse traps.

But ebay fraud is getting more sophisticated all the time. Awesome deals can be found for sure, but have to be super careful.

[Sancho]

Thanks John, I think that's a shot across the bows for all of us. I'd generally be very suspicious of buying anything on e-bay (being paranoid!), mind you I did buy my rickshaw through it, but from a bike dealer's in the UK that I spoke to first by phone and reckoned were sound. The scam you describe above is phenomenal, I still don't quite understand how it works, much less how the guy came up with it. But thanks again.

[Robert / Seattle]

Thanks for the warning John,

I've seen these postings on ebay a number of times, sometimes under a different name but operating by the same strategy - so I suspect a skilled single source behind many of them. Each time, I report it to ebay on the fraud alert email function, and invariably it is shut done almost immediately - only to re-appear under a new seller name within a day or two. Often he'll usurp someone elses for-sale item, and give instructions how to purchase "offline". Needless to say, in this scenario no merchandise is even received by the duped consumer. Backtracking to the scammer's email address often reveals an East European address.

Robert / Seattle

[Pileatus]

One additional note:

Since the binocular was purchased illegally, some manufacturer's WILL NOT honor the warranty. Legitimate dealers simply report the theft along with the serial number and the manufacturer refuses any and all service.

Unfortunately, the hapless buyer did nothing more than try to save money. However, the scammer stole the binocular using someone else's credit card and delivered the stolen property to the unsuspecting customer.

Customers should be aware of these scams and avoid them at all costs. Legal hassles and loss of warranty should be all the incentive one needs to buy only from folks we know and trust!

It's time to bird,
John

[Pileatus]

Thanks John, I think that's a shot across the bows for all of us. I'd generally be very suspicious of buying anything on e-bay (being paranoid!), mind you I did buy my rickshaw through it, but from a bike dealer's in the UK that I spoke to first by phone and reckoned were sound. The scam you describe above is phenomenal, I still don't quite understand how it works, much less how the guy came up with it. But thanks again.
The Blogger mentioned in post 1 (it's not my site) should have all the details of the scam. I found the Blog while researching a similar problem.
http://bincrooks.blogspot.com/

Now, I have to go birding!
John

[etc]

I got a Leica off Ebay. The seller had 0 feedback. One of the unwritten rules of Ebay, you should never purchase from sellers with 0 or low feedback.

It's very scary to send that much funds to a basically anonymous address. What's to prevent him from disappearing, and closing the account?

But, the seller was close, so I arranged to meet in person for the payment. That worked out well actually, he didn't have to worry about shipping. Everyone else was afraid to bid it seemed.

So you can get Trinovids off Ebay for under $700 sometimes. That's what they are worth anyway - you get no warranty with used units.

Ebay can work but you swim in shark-infested waters, and have to be careful. Fraud is getting more sophisticated by the hour as the economic conditions decline.
Not just for the buyers - sellers get defrauded just as often.

[Leif]

Since the binocular was purchased illegally, some manufacturer's WILL NOT honor the warranty. Legitimate dealers simply report the theft along with the serial number and the manufacturer refuses any and all service.


I think it's even worse in the UK as the 'purchaser' of stolen goods has no right to keep them, and they are returned to the supplier.

You seem to be keen on locating scams these days.

I must admit to being wary of ebay, but my experiences have all been at worst okay and at best brilliant. A word of warning. It is not the best source for loose green tea ...

[ikw101]

Perhaps the most amazing thing is that SUPERSTORE8407 (http://stores.ebay.com/SUPERSTORE8407) is still trading on ebay with a Feedback score of 404 of which 98.6% have been postive.

[Sancho]

A word of warning. It is not the best source for loose green tea ...
Or fresh cappuccino.....

[thenorthernmonkey]

my wife went into her fleabay one evening to discover someone had hacked into her account and was trying to sell a couple of electrical goods priced at a couple of thousand pounds each by using the buy it now option. i assume they used her account as she had 100% feedback. luckily she noticed it in time and fleabay did manage to sort it out (eventually).i bought a hand held anomometer on fleabay a couple of days ago to measure the wind etc for my birding records and its the first transaction i've made for months. i've never had a bad transaction but i try not to use it.

[ksbird/foxranch]

What you are describing here is the classic definition of Interstate Wire Fraud, "using the telegraph, telephone or other electronic means to defraud across state lines". The FBI has access to all the telephone traffic records for this superstore8407 seller plus the credit card bank holder and so a quick little visit to the FBI (or maybe even a call with some way to mail copies of your invoice etc.) would get this seller arrested in easy fashion. Since you have real numbers on your invoice it should be 1-2-3 and done. Of course you would be required to return the binoculars and most likely Paypal would give you back your money or you could have your credit card company stop the transaction on your payment.

Now if the store that shipped the binocs to you is also in Florida then there is a much more difficult route. That store would have to go to the state attorney general and show fraud against the superstore8407 who is a Florida retailer. But if the person whose credit card number was used joins the suit then things move faster. Sometimes (unfortunately) the guy whose card has been "stolen" is in on the scam and "let" the number get stolen knowing they could claim the charge was 'fraudulent" and then the store shipping the binoculars gets stuck.

Start with a call to the FBI if the store shipping the binoculars is not in Florida and you heard enough of the relevant details to give the FBI a complete picture of what happened.

I have bought over 100 pairs of binoculars on Ebay over the past 6 years. I have 6 or 8 horror stories because idiots were unable to pack a "glass" item properly and it got trashed. Generally I find Ebay to be a great source for collectors of fine binoculars. I just bought a pair of Nikon Mikron 7x35 binoculars in perfect condition and razor sharp for $45 including shipping. Even if I have to write off the idiot-shipped damaged binoculars I am still way ahead. The Olympus refub store on Ebay selling 8x40 aspherical-eye-lens fully coated (and partially multicoated) binoculars for $24 + $5 shipping ($5 is what anything ships for with Olympus factory refurb store on Ebay), is such a great deal that my large extended family can count on nice travel binoculars whenever they need them as gifts from me.

Optics Planet is a very large internet retailer and they sell allot on Ebay. They recently mispriced an item on Ebay but honored it for me when I bought a regular priced item (and then corrected the incorrect Ebay price). That is customer service with a capital "C". Another great seller is the simplysoldshop. I buy for outrageously low prices, my tritium-tube-hand-watches from them and in spite of shipping 3000 packages in Decmeber 2007 they will call you if there is a problem that you email them about. Then they sort out the problem by sending the replacement item with a prepaid return shipping envelope.

Ebay has become the greatest way to turn junk sitting in your closet into cash that has ever existed. I buy binoculars and cameras from England, Germany and the Czech Republic all the time on Ebay, not counting all the stuff I get from North American sellers who can ship to me with ease here in Kansas. It has become a real marketplace for the world.

And it also produces real-value estimates or what an item is worth, because the real value of something is what people will pay for it. So while used Fujinon FMT binoculars may show very high prices in retail stores, on Ebay you find out what they are really worth. As well there are many closeout retailers who sell exclusively on Ebay. It allows you to buy last years model for an enormous discount. I know Cargo Largo does a gigantic business on Ebay and they sell new stuff that got lost in truck transit and then replaced by sellers before they were eventually found (after the truck insurance company paid the insurance payout). That is their only business and 80% of it is on Ebay. I know because I buy directly from them since they are only 40 miles away from me. The stuff is almost always new and perfect. So tarring all of Ebay with a broad brush is pretty unreasonable.

[Pinewood]

I suppose that one should regard that electronic auction site with as much trepidation as seller in Petticoat Lane. This vendor shows how the unscrupulous can game any situation.

[Vectis Birder]

I know a few people who were scammed on fleabay (non receipt of goods, or non-receipt of payments etc) and personally I wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot barge pole.

[Robert / Seattle]

What you are describing here is the classic definition of Interstate Wire Fraud, "using the telegraph, telephone or other electronic means to defraud across state lines". The FBI has access to all the telephone traffic records for this superstore8407 seller plus the credit card bank holder and so a quick little visit to the FBI (or maybe even a call with some way to mail copies of your invoice etc.) would get this seller arrested in easy fashion. ...

Ksbird,

I trust this strategy would not be viable if the perpetrator is operating from a foreign country. Any ideas if that is the case?

Robert