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Old August 17, 2005, 08:54 PM   #1
shooter_john
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Possible EBAY Scammer

Does anyone out there know who ebay member biochem007 (Brownsville, TX) could be. This guy had 6 new Aimpoint Comp M2's up for auction, and I won one of them and immediately paid for it with paypal. That was three days ago, and I haven't heard from him since. Does anyone know who this person may be, or did anyone else buy one of the M2's. Thanks for any help, and be careful of this ebay seller!
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Old August 17, 2005, 09:33 PM   #2
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contact E-bay. see if you can get info from them on the seller. can you find out where the pay-pal went? maybe cancle it or something? (honestly i dont really know how pay-pal works). good luck to you. hopefully they are just busy or out of town or something. have you tried emailing the seller? if it is a big seller with multiple listings maybe you just got lost in the shuffle.
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Old August 17, 2005, 11:15 PM   #3
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I am willing to give the guy another couple of days in case he is out of town, but if I don't hear from him soon, I will begin the process to get my money back through paypal, and I will go through the proper channels at ebay. I should be able to resolve everything, but all I really want is my friggin' Aimpoint!!!
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Old August 18, 2005, 12:12 AM   #4
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i wouldn't call him a scammer and put his name out for people to avoid after 3 days. give the guy a break man. maybe his computer crashed and he is fixing it. who knows what could have happened. maybe he has already shipped it and is not just one of those "chatty" type of sellers.
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Old August 18, 2005, 12:34 AM   #5
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Did you check this guys positives and negatives on ebay before bidding? If he has a decent rep, you are probably safe. With paypal, you are safe anyway, just relax, take a deep breath and give the guy a few days.
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Old August 18, 2005, 04:15 AM   #6
Byron Quick
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I just recently had the same thing happen. The seller was out of town. For longer than three days.

If he had decent feedback then I wouldn't start worrying yet.
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Old August 18, 2005, 12:32 PM   #7
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That's the scary thing, this guy has no feedback at all, he is new to ebay. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed right now.
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Old August 18, 2005, 12:50 PM   #8
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no feedback and no response? okay, i might be a little worried also.
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Old August 18, 2005, 01:37 PM   #9
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Check the rules of e-bay and see how many days the seller has to reply to you first.

If no reply by the end ot that period.....call Paypal and file a case with them. If the scammer is a regular paypal customer they will whip him into shape...

had a ebay seller go spaz on me....sent all his e-mail to paypal and he gave me a refund..hehehe
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Old August 18, 2005, 11:08 PM   #10
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Ebay = rip off

I trust ebayers for nothing. I won't go there anymore for anything. Ordered a router once. It came in a brand I'd never heard of, and the funniest part was the owners manual--it was written in broken english!
Also bought a demolition hammer that I never got. Eventually the guy gave me my money back, but I'm pretty sure he was just scamming UPS for the shipping insurance

Ebay has some restrictions on exactly what you can sell to. Try selling even a working muzzleloader on there...
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Old August 19, 2005, 03:43 PM   #11
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I just got ripped of $824 on a leupold scope on ebay. Guy never got the scope in he says after i paid through paypal. He has sent me one paypal payment that pended and never cleared, then sent me a personal check that never cleared his bank. Now i'm out $824
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Old August 19, 2005, 05:58 PM   #12
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It's sad that people ruin it for the rest of us... I am a Ebay seller only and I get people asking me questions all the time I'm generally prompt with my answers and I even offer my phone number because I'm not afraid of them thinking that I'm going to scam them, because I'm not.

There are good people out there, and some that are not so good.

I've had issues before when I wasn't able to ship something right away but I generally contact the buyer and they are pretty forgiving as are most people when they are informed about things.

Ebay is like owning guns, some of them make the sport and the online experience great... some make it not-so-worthwhile.
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Old August 19, 2005, 08:29 PM   #13
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E-Bay Scammers

I saw some pretty bad deals on E-Bay when I was looking for a motorcycle. Some of the guys just went out and found a picture of a bike and then posted the add for a few days, then wanted people to deal with them directly. These people are very good at spoofing E-Bay adds and auctions and everything else. I had a guy try it on me, so I know these things happen, however I didn't buy the cycle.

On your scope deal, this guy could be on the level and is just a little slow or he could be a dealer and is going to drop ship the scope to you from his distributor. It seems a little strange that some individual would have six of these things unless he was dealing in that product line. The other warning is the old saying that if the deal seems to good to be true, then beware.
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Old August 19, 2005, 10:05 PM   #14
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I had a seller take my money but not deliver the goods. I got his name and address from eBay and called the police in his town and had him charged with theft thru deception. I got an IMMEDIATE refund.
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Old August 19, 2005, 11:52 PM   #15
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I was browsing for an ATV on ebay and found 4 different sellers from four different parts of the country using the exact same background for their photo's. They wanted to deal direct etc. and had a "Buy it now" posted at about 1/3 the value of the item. When I sent them email asking for details, (I was certain right away they were scammers) like where they lived and where I had to go to pick up the ATV's (ATV too big to ship unless using special arangements and crating etc.). I was told that the items were in a forign country and I pay something cheep like 90 bucks for shipping....Yea right. A new $7,000 item, delivered to my door for $2,900? And there were several availible they told me. :barf:

I contacted ebay through their formal complaint process (I delt directly with their fraud department) and they looked into this. They kept sending me vague progress reports and thanking me, as well as assuring me they are taking this very seriously.

Now for the best part.......(Remember, I was only browsing and not buying).

The very first thing ebay did was to freeze all of these sellers accounts and all of their auctions! Once they froze everything, it was like these sellers never exhisted. I had the auction/item numbers and searched everywhere for them. Even bookmarked them, they were gone! Completly disapeared!!!

I later found several other auctions selling brand new ATV's with the exact same garage door (with rust spots and broken handle) in the background of their photos. I blew them all in! Takes just one email (as I recall) of complaint and they get blasted right off ebay.

So I am thinking that if you are believe you are being scamed, contact ebay and they will shut them down.

In my case, I had not made a purchase. In your case, they should assist you in getting your money back and/or filing official charges against the seller. I do know for a fact, ebay will work with local, state and federal law enforcement.
I do have memory problems, but this is how I remember most of it from about a year ago.

I have heard something like ... Ebay is bigger than microsoft and all 3 US auto makers put together... .. I think? Also, paypal is an ebay company? They need to run a tight ship to stay on top.

If you used a credit card through paypal, call Visa or whoever you used and they will also go after these bottom feeders.

Computer fraud is huge business...Beware!

And again, as someone stated above, your problem could be just a simple mistake or communications problem.

Good luck and keep us advised.
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Old August 20, 2005, 08:21 PM   #16
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The seller contacted me today, said he had trouble getting the item shipped. So now I have actually heard from him, and feel somewhat better. I will let everyone know for sure when I actually have the item in hand.
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Old August 21, 2005, 08:12 AM   #17
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E-Bay

Good to hear that you have had some contact with this guy. It still sounds like a drop shipping deal from his distibutor, but as long as you get the scope it doesn't matter where it came from. I drop ship a lot of my tactical gear, but at least get back with my customers. As far as E-Bay goes, there are some good deals out there and some very questionable ones. The Internet can bring out the worst in some people.
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Old August 21, 2005, 09:34 AM   #18
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Be advised that PayPal only allows a 30 day window for you to request a refund. If you feel he is stringing you along, you'll want to act before the window closes.
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Old August 21, 2005, 09:46 AM   #19
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I have been dealing with ebay for over 5 years. I had to sort out plenty of problems with both buying and sellers. Give the guy a break, you should wait at least 10 days before you file an 'item not recieved' claim. Usually, the seller will immediately give a full refund, once paypal gets a hold of them. Chances are he is just not checking his email, don't worry, wait a while... you'll get this sorted out.
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Old August 21, 2005, 12:00 PM   #20
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I have had deals on E bay that I never heard from the person after the deal goes thru but within a week the package is delivered.I have been on E bay since 1999 and got the shaft once I ordered some CDRs and never got them but then watching his feedback some others did get them either.So I was out $15.00, but don't think I have ever bid over a $100.If someone has no feedback not sure I would take the chance have passed on a few items because of no feedback.But then if the item is cheap why not go for it
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Old August 29, 2005, 06:16 AM   #21
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Scammed!

I have had several of the other buyers contact me these last few days, we were all had! biochem 007 has been kickred off of ebay, and I am in the process of working everything out through paypal. I have received word that one guy only got about half of his money back, and that is just not gonna fly for me. Will keep updated.
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Old August 29, 2005, 10:21 AM   #22
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My ex girlfriend got ripped off for $400 for a really nice camera on ebay, and paid through paypal.

Paypal's response was "Well he doesn't have any money in his paypal account right now, sorry". It was a horrible experience at the time, and i avoid paypal, if not for its horrible customer service, then for its anti-gun stance.
I've been thinking about giving them a second chance, because hey, $400 is a better "gotcha!" than i ever got to give my ex-girlfriend as a parting shot.

No really though, check out www.paypalsucks.com
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Old August 29, 2005, 06:33 PM   #23
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E-Bay Rip Offs

For what it is worth: It doesn't take much to open up an E-Bay account, so these guys just get another e-mail address and are back in business again under some other name. There are some very honest people out there, but people can be cheated and E-Bay and PayPal are out to make a buck. I wonder how many people get ripped off everyday and nobody hears about it? I never trusted the system and saw some unethical things done the few times I listed some tactical gear on E-Bay. There are bidders out there that are also trying to make a fast buck and sometimes bid things up that they have no intention of buying for themselves.


Sorry to hear about your problems and hope you can get it worked out.
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Old August 29, 2005, 07:35 PM   #24
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Ebay...5 Basic Rules of Purchase.

I use ebay all the time.
1) What I have learned is buy nothing from anyone with less than a 25 score. Most all scammers change Seller ID before they reach a score of 25.
2) Nothing from anyone with more than one negative feedback per 100 of his total score. Business owners change hands and use the same ebay Seller ID.
It takes a long time for buyers to notice that this seller has to high of a percentage rate of unhappy buyers. Pay attention to negative feedback and actually read the feedback on your seller for several months previous. The most common thing I have found is that most negative feedback is the same complaint several others made in previous months.
3) Always do a Google search for the item before an ebay purchase. That will tell you what it actually sells for.
4) Always confirm shipping and handling before buying.
5) Never and I mean never ...buy from an arrogant seller. Do you really think he will suddenly become a nice guy if a problem comes up?
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Old September 11, 2005, 09:14 AM   #25
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I got scammed out of $50 once from a seller in GA. I bought After effects and it wouldn't work with the key she provided. I was advised to look around for a valid key but no refund offered. Funny how you can become unregistered just after you get the money. Why did I buy this program if I have to ask for the key from someone else???? I sent it to Adobe and let them deal with this crook. They have lawyers for something so let them get more than my $50 out of her.
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