Ebay Scam

[DCLI]

Dear All

I recently bid on a very nice MM 14 Star Bar trio. I gave up at £900 (it was worth a pop). The winner got them for £1120 - still very cheap.

Then I got an email telling me that the winner had pulled out of the deal, would I be interested? Yes, I said £900.

He comes back, OK, send the money Western Union to Greece, his daughter will handle the mailing etc.

Yeah right!

I saw a news item on the TV in Cornwall recently and it was similar, Greece, Western Union blah, blah, blah. I reported it to Ebay.

Beware - the medals were very nice too: See pic and words

Private Thomas MacDonald landed in France with the 1st Battalion Gordons on the 13th of August 1914, by August 23 The Gordons took up their position near the Mons-Beaumont road and became involved in the fighting shortly after noon when the Germans, totally unaware of their presence, came into line of fire and were shot down in their hundreds by the accurate British fire. Later in the afternoon they were able to spring a surprise on the advancing Germans with the same result. The early success for the first Battalion were short lived when together with the 2nd Royal Scots and the 2nd Royal Irish the Gordons failed to receive an order to retreat and were surrounded by vastly superior German forces, after heavy casualties and a gallant attempt to fight a way through the whole Battalion less one company were forced to surrender. The Military Medal was gazetted on 30.1.1920 for "gallant conduct and determination displayed in escaping or attempting to escape from captivity, which services have been brought to notice in accordance with the terms of Army Order 193 of 1919". Comes with MIC and copy of London Gazette entry. Full guarantee of authenticity and satisfaction, payment in Pounds Sterling only please, feel free to email with any questions

I wonder if anyone has been caught.

[NIGEL]

I am not into collecting anything, and as regards this stuff, i would only be interested in my familys bits and pieces.

But when i spend time bouncing around the net typing in names etc, one thing i have noticed very recently is that postings that i have made on this forum, come up in my searches, why this has recently started happening i dont know.

The point is that anybody with the smallest bit of info can arrange a scam using the info supplied on the forum about individual items, i cant see how you can stop it, as they could even join the forum to find info. These people are out there and always will be, and this forum is a ready made data bank for such conmen.

Your only choice i am afraid is to buy stuff only at fetes fairs and shops where you can veiw what you are buying, and steer clear of places like ebay--------shame but there you are

[Max Poilu]

But the deal DCLI is describing is one 'outside' eBay with none of the (admittedly limited) controls and protection procedures that ebay offers. eBay itself warns against just such deals as this on it's own pages. For all ebay business Paypal is the best payment option, never use Western Union. This despite the fact that Paypal is owned by ebay which is all very cosy and the fees are bordering on criminal for small eBay sellers like myself.

However, eBay is an incredible trading platform - I have successfully conducted well over 1000 eBay deals to every corner of the globe. The only problem I have ever encountered was one rare deal as a buyer 'outside' ebay where the goods were blatantly not as described. A few stiff emails, some legal threats and a fax and personal call to the other party from my friendly local Police Officer managed to resolve things.

[eviltaxman]

Then I got an email telling me that the winner had pulled out of the deal, would I be interested? Yes, I said £900.

Unfortuantely, what DCLI has stated, happens very often and is part of eBay.

When an item has been sold and the winner either doesn't cough up the cash or says they bid in error (it happens!), in the section marked "My eBay", under "Selling", the item will have the option of being offered to the next highest bidder.... called "Second Chance Offer".

However, I do agree that PayPal & eBay are in cahoots to get the cash out of the seller as many ways as possible and I always say never use Western Union. You have no control over your payment, rather like send cash through the post.

Les.

[Chris_Baker]

But when i spend time bouncing around the net typing in names etc, one thing i have noticed very recently is that postings that i have made on this forum, come up in my searches, why this has recently started happening i dont know.

Google and other search engines trawl the forum for perfectly legitimate reasons. When you type in many military or WW1 subjects, among the links that will be found are those to this forum.

Nigel's point is well made. As more and more good information becomes available on the web, instant expertise is easy. Putting together such an advert from your poolside laptop in Greece would be a piece of cake.

[Michael]

I've had a couple of such experiences lately. Seconds after the auction finishes I receive an email telling me that I have a second chance becasue the item hasn't been sold to the top bidder.

I've never responded because I thought it was dodgy ie. How do you know that the highest bidder isn't going to buy the item when the auction has only been closed a couple of seconds ?

Mick

[Guest Ian Bowbrick]

Two years ago I was offered the 14/15 Star trio of my great-uncle - I had put the word around that I was looking for it and would pay 'above the going rate'. As my family had gone their own ways in the 1930s, I had no way of knowing who had the trio or whether it had been thrown out after my great-uncle died in the early 1970s. Anyway after some exhaustive searching on the web, I managed to find one of my great-uncle's grand-daughters through a company website who confirmed that said trio was still in their possession. This scam was very similar to the one above - send money through Western Union.

My advice to anyone after this episode is be very careful if you have any wants relating to your family. This experience did encourage me to do one thing and that was to trace the wherabouts of medal relating to family members, and I am very pleased to say that they are with direct descendants as full entitlements ie where they should be.

Ian

[eviltaxman]

Mick,

If you receive something like that, so quickly after the auction, simply click on the "winners" name and then the "contact" button. You can then email him/her via ebay.

Also, as a precautionary measure, you could look at the sellers previous feedback and see if "winner" ever won anything.

Les.

[Terry Denham]

As a seller on occasions I have used the Second Chance Offer facility with great success.

It is not only used when the top bidder has pulled out but also when the seller has two or more of the item in question (not speaking of medals etc!) which are identical.

[Guest Ian Bowbrick]

Then why not use the multiple button when you are listing the item?

[HarryBettsMCDCM]

I've had a couple of such experiences lately. Seconds after the auction finishes I receive an email telling me that I have a second chance becasue the item hasn't been sold to the top bidder.

I've never responded because I thought it was dodgy ie. How do you know that the highest bidder isn't going to buy the item when the auction has only been closed a couple of seconds ?

Mick

The example you give is an example of "Schilling" ie A Friend or even the "Seller" trading under an alternate Nom de Guerre bids on their own item to raise the end hammer price to a level higher than it might otherwise make,having raised the price by ensuring the Real bidders have bid more,they then offer the Item with a Sob story about the "Buyer" backing out/being unable to pay etc & would you like to accept the offer @ your highest bid*{*Which is quite legitimate under E Bay rules & in genuine cases can be adventageous}What is illegal under E bay rulesis the Schilling part,Anyone found "Guilty" of Artificially raising prices on e Bay will be De~registered.& Barred from e bay & it has happened.@ the end of the day you have to make judgements as to the credibility of offers & exercise caution wherever one trades~Caveat Emptor @ all times,that said if approached sensibly a great deal of fun & some extremely nice items can be found on e Bay.{I always consider "How come an MM trio would end up in Greece~ similarly with a Rebounding MC that was being continually sold from Eastern Bloc Countries a couple of years ago @ £100 "Pliz Send Cash to......"You have to engage Brain Gear!!