Yet another scam lathe sale on ebay to be aware of

I have found this forum after googling scam sellers of model engineering stuff.

So I joined to tell you I was a victim of this con man a few months ago. He is very polite and appears to be a "very nice chap", all through the transaction. Please don't bother telling me I was stupid ect. I already know that.

The trouble is I reported it to Action Fraud, they said I should have used Paypal. I reported it to my bank, they said I was negligent. I reported it to ebay, they didn't even reply to me. This is even after providing bank account details, names etc. So you really are on your own and these people have virtual immunity to prosecution.

Message me if you want his details.

Please learn from my stupidity.

Dunoon - a good choice for him - I think you have to take a ferry from Greenock to get there. Unlikely anyone will come and view - unless in the mood for an adventure.
Meanwhile, I think, anyone who buys a lathe without seeing it, AND pays with cash by bank transfer before collecting would be trying hard to be screwed. I did say I THINK.

Item has just been relisted!

24hrs auction as well?

Definitely looks dodgy

Sold for £1220, someones got a bargain. Sorry no it's now been relisted?

Tony

Edited By Tony Pratt 1 on 06/01/2021 10:33:55

All very peculiar

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... now waiting for ebay to send me some stupid message saying how sorry they are that I missed-out, but here’s another chance [or some-such twaddle generated by their algorithm]

MichaelG.

Interesting and precautionary thread. Once one looks carefully at the different elements of the advert one can see how cunningly the scam works, though without this thread I would not have noticed the trap.

I wonder if he/ she really lives in Dunoon or chose to represent him/ herself as being based there because it is so remote?

I do buy things off Ebay but only low value things and, so far, I have not been stung, perhaps it's not worth the effort for scammers to bother with small items.

I am surprised that eBay has not taken action because they have a reputation for taking the buyer's side in most disputes, which suggests they are keen to protect their overall reputation for running an honest market.

I notice the lathe is on sale again with a single £400.00 bid.

Rod

Edited By Rod Renshaw on 06/01/2021 11:23:59

Hi, well I don't use ebay much these days, but when in the past I've bought such thing's to collect, I was only interested in anything that would accept cash on collection, that way you can always walk away if it wasn't what was described, and yes I bought my Boxford from Glasgow without viewing it first, 6 hours there and 6 hours back but the price made it worth it at the time, but that was nearly 20 years ago when there wasn't as much scamming going on. Not likely to buy much machinery now off ebay.

Regards Nick.

P.S. never got unlucky with anything that I collected.

Edited By Nicholas Farr on 06/01/2021 11:24:35

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I see he's also selling a Diesel Generator, looks to be an identical scam as you can see the same generator and same pictures that was sold on ebay in October by a genuine seller

Alex

Hi, I've had a couple or more things that were sold from one address and I collected from a different address, nothing new about that.

Regards Nick.

br

Buyer beware, I suppose.

Perhaps Ebay can improve their algorithm to watch out for postings with a remote location, a 24 hour listing, little feedback, a note of urgency and mention of bank transfer etc ( rather than Paypal) If a single posting has all of these elements then perhaps a warning to potential bidders could be added ( like Facebook, or was it Twitter, has apparently been adding to President Trump's postings ) Just dreaming.

I will certainly look at postings in new light now!

Rod

I think this is the same guy who was supposedly selling a Haas CNC milling machine that was listed as being in Orkney in the north of Scotland. The listing mentioned my friends post code as the location. When I said my friend would have a look at it, the listing was withdrawn as "sold" and that was that, but during the next month the machine was listed in Spain, Germany, Canada and twice in the USA with the same photos and details.

The company in Colorado who actually had the machine on their premises and on their website (and whose photos were used) but not on Ebay were contacted by a company who offered to list their machine on Ebay and other selling sites!

He obviously gave up on expensive machines and went for cheaper machines in the hope that someone would fall for his ploy.

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Most likely a good idea to all be aware and report on this thread any listing for sale on any media that has all the signs of being a scam, if the item offered is genuine the seller can provide details to support his/her claim if made aware of the reported scam.

Emgee

I think we should all give a big thank you to Lily Pup for having the decency [& guts] to bring this to our attention,it's certainly made me a lot more cautious now.

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Amen to that ^^^

MichaelG.

I did not start this thread to put anyone off ebay. It is a fantastic resource if used sensibly. I've bought and sold literally thousands of times with only minor issues. I've also bought or sold perhaps 20 items in the £1k - £2k range unseen with no real problem. (Sellers being a little economical with the descriptions of condition is as bad as it gets).

I was a police officer most of my working life. Like most police officers I can be overly suspisious and cynical and I don't believe in coincidence!

A new seller selling a high value item is not in itself a reason not to buy but with all the other contra indicators; recent feedback for low value items, short duration auctions with the item in a remote location (How many people reading could get to Dunoon to view within the time constraints of a 24 hour auction?) BACS as payment, refusal to accept paypal and the biggest one, plagerised description and photos.

Ask the seller an awkward question or for a photo of an obscure part, something he won't be able to get from the net, say, the underside of the tail stock. A genuine seller won't mind. I've run down the garden to my workshop in the middle of the night with a camera and tape measure in order to answer questions before now.

All that being said, I've had some real bargains from new sellers, just be carefull, go with your head not your heart. If it lookslike a duck, waddles like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck.

I can not take credit for starting this thread.

I just want people to be aware it can and does happen to normally sensible, cautious people. perhaps I was being greedy, or just could not believe my luck with this "bargain".

The best way to combat this fraud is to make others aware through a shared platform like this.

Have the moderators considered a catagory for highlighting this sort of thing. It maybe open to abuse and malice though.

Well said Gaviar - totally agree.

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