eBay Warning

[Jonathan B.]

I'm sure that nobody who is a regular contributor to the forum would fall for it, but some of you will have noticed a number of Swarovski ELs offered for as little as $500 on eBay in the past two weeks. The person posting the listings is asking buyers to contact him directly at various e-mail addresses, and in some listings he says not to bother using the "ask seller a question" feature. There are other bizarre features of the listings, but all of them are consistent in style.

All of these have been posted by a person who has accessed accounts of legitimate eBay users. I suspect that the eBayers whose accounts are being used responded to some type of bogus e-mail requesting them to "update" their eBay registration information. There have been many of those lately, sent even to e-mail addresses for which there are no eBay accounts (I know this because we received several where I work).

I am sure that many people have already made payment to the crook, who is also posting listings for all sorts of high-end electronic equipment.

By describing the situation, I hope to save somebody from losing their money.

[xenophobe]

It's been discussed a few times actually, though I could only find this one thread:

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=39322

I hope not too many people have fallen for that, but I haven't heard a single one here that has.

[Bubbs]

Buyers really should be aware of the US seller selling Swarows. Go to e-bay and have a look at the sight.

I simply cannot believe the high prices some people are paying for old Leicas and Zeiss on e-bay. Some of the models have gone for double their original purchase price......WHY?

John.

[Blincodave]

It is amazing. There is a dealer from Scotland who simply buys most of his stock on E Bay's German site ( You can see this via his feedback) and then re-sells them successfully for 100% mark ups on the British site. These old Leicas and Zeiss models seem to command high prices despite the fact that they are not phase corrected.

Dave

Dave

[Bubbs]

Buyers really should be aware of the US seller selling Swarows. Go to e-bay and have a look at the sight.

I simply cannot believe the high prices some people are paying for old Leicas and Zeiss on e-bay. Some of the models have gone for double their original purchase price......WHY?

John.

I dare say that my Zeiss Bgts bought in 1981 for £315 would easily fetch a couple of hundred pounds.

I don't mean to be rude but people must be mad buying old leicas and Zeiss from the seventies for twice the original price.

Sadly/ Happily, I will never sell my old faithfuls, they've taken me around the world and I could never part with them.

Does anyone else get attached to their birding gear?

John.

[Swissboy]

Does anyone else get attached to their birding gear?

John.

It used to be that way with me. Until I realized that modern advances were more important than nostalgia. That became particularly apparent when I changed my 25 year old B&L Balscope for a Leica APO77 years ago. I felt like birding had started all over again.

However, the attachment to my old gear usually prevents me from trying to sell it. The excuse being that I would not get much for it anyway. Maybe I should start using e-bay?

[FrankD]

On a related note, and probably how individuals such as this are getting Ebay registration information...I have been getting emails over the last month or so titled "Ask Ebay Member a Question" or some such thing. In these emails the sender is saying such things as "I just bid on your item and want to....blah...blah...blah" or, "I sent you payment but have not received the item. I am going to report you to Ebay". In both cases it appears to be an actual Ebay form complete with a link for you to check out the auction. However, when you click on the link it asks you to log in first. Doing so would then provide the sender with your screen name and password.

Just a heads up. Hope it helps someone.

[cbushme]

[ In both cases it appears to be an actual Ebay form complete with a link for you to check out the auction. However, when you click on the link it asks you to log in first. Doing so would then provide the sender with your screen name and password.


Exactly Frank. And then once they have your password they can hijack your account and start ripping people off in your name. To the unsuspecting buyer it looks like a legitimate seller with a long history and good feedback. They like to target accounts that have been inactive for some time figuring the actual account owner is less likely to look in and see the illegal activity taking place in their name. Of course if someone does notice, the thieves have already changed the password so that the legitimate owner can no longer access their own account.
One day auctions, requests for wire transfers, and "email me at "ripoffartist@lol.com" for more information", are major red flags to avoid that auction like the plague.

[xenophobe]

They like to target accounts that have been inactive for some time figuring the actual account owner is less likely to look in and see the illegal activity taking place in their name.

Actually, many of this scammer's auctions have been with sellers who even had items currently listed.

There is no way they can target people who have been inactive for some time. The spoof email that gets sent to you to 'login to your account' because of suspicious activity, needing to update your info, because your account has been inactive and will be deleted, or because your cc info will expire, or any number of other excuses to get your username and password from you are mass mailed to email lists hoping to stumble across someone who both has an ebay account and are stupid enough to fill in such information.

This guy has gone through over 2 dozen ebay screen names in the last few months. Many times his auctions are cancelled, sometimes within a few hours, though a few have gone full term.

Regardless, ebay doesn't really care if a buyer gets ripped off as long as the seller pays their listing and final value fees. Ebay is supported by the sellers, not the buyers and they won't do much to protect you. Being smart and only making purchases that you are comfortable with is your primary protection against fraud.

[Blincodave]

A pair of 'mint' 7 x 42 B T* P* Zeiss binos made £576 this evening on E Bay!

Dave

[Otto McDiesel]

A pair of 'mint' 7 x 42 B T* P* Zeiss binos made £576 this evening on E Bay!

Dave

Yep, the world population is growing, while the number of brain cells remains constant.