ebay alert

[kermit]

So I've been looking for a "deal" on a mountain bike. I am basically a roadie but have had the yen to get dirty and had sold my Jamis. Looked at the Specialized Stumpy, yup, exactly what I want, of course it's 2 grand. Well closeouts are around and the 2010's are coming so I surf. Find what I think is a deal and get this "message" from the seller. "Act now and this outrageous Buy It Now Price" it can be yours... just send me the money Western Union to some guy in London. The price was too good to be true, and I knew I smelled a rat but wanted to see where it took me. This guy gives a sob story on the ad, selling due to loss of job, bike is new, ridden by a 50 year old guy on paved roads, etc... I get an e-mail saying that he will bypass ebay to give me a better deal, however, they use an e-mail page with the ebay logos so you are still "following all ebay rules" and everything is covered. I go to my ebay account and there is no record of this "second chance" offer. Once you go to a bank and send the money, POOF it's gone and no bike. I am so discouraged that people can suck so bad. Beware of this, if anyone is asking for a check from a bank via Western Union or whoever, it's not right! Back to the LBS! I have sucessfully bought and sold on ebay but there's a scammer out there everywhere.

[ttaylor508]

So if I am understanding you correctly, you found the bike for sale on Ebay and started the purchase process through Ebay and then the guy asked you to go around the Ebay payment methods and send $$$ to him directly? Did you contacted Ebay to notify them of this seller/scam. Even if they can't do anything about it, they may be able to add this scam warning to their site so others don't fall for it as well. So are you out the money or do you have some recourse through your bank to track the "rat"?

Update:
Here is a couple of links showing this is a pretty common scam:
http://www.scams.flipshark.com/westernunion.html
Also, if you scroll down through this message board, this scam has been going on a long time. The last post on the message board has a link to the IC3 where you can file a complaint against cyber crime: http://www.scam.com/showthread.php?t=2483

Hope this helps and very sorry this happened to you. Hopefully your warning will help others avoid the same scam

[kermit]

The first bike I bid on was sold for a higher price. The "seller" e-mailsand stated he will accept my bid and will start the "Second Chance" process through ebay if I want the bike. I ask him very specific questions, where is the bike coming from and fresh photos. He provides photos and leads me to believe he is in Tennessee. I get a second e-mail with the ebay logo on the page stating that the seller has accepted my offer and here are the payment rules. This tells me to pay with a Western Union check and he will provide me with tracking information. Thats when I see the bike is coming from London. When I check my ebay account on their home page, there is no record of this second chance offer. I did notify ebay. Very clever with the ebay logo e-mail. Never sent any money, got too suspicious too quickly when he told me he'd sell me an 08 Stumpy pro for $1100 dollars. There are alot of people who also post in the ad "e-mail directly for an outrageous Buy it now Price". Thats how they circumvent ebay but you will never see a bike and loose the money. It really ruins the legitimate seller because the ads start out like it is coming from real people. I am also a police officer so unfortunately suspicious about anyone that tries to change the rules.

[ttaylor508]

Glad you didn't send the money!!!!! Sad how many people got taken by this particular scam. You would think Western Union would try to do something to stop these guys from using them as a gateway for their crimes.

[uforgot]

Change your password immediately. That ebay screen was likely fake and if you had typed in your password on that screen or even linked to it from their email, to find the 2nd chance offer, they now have it.

[Mr. Bloom]

This is a classic ebay scam. I am a frequent (and satisfied) ebay buyer and I only bid on items I can buy with PayPal. PayPal's protection is very "Buyer" oriented...