eBay/Craigslist This ebay item looks fishy

DieselPower · Mar 17, 2007

flusher said:
How did you identify that seller? Is there a quick way do do that?

I went to one of the listing's that was started at $10 then within in that listing clicked on view sellers other items. He had something like 1,580 listing's going, all high dollar items starting at $10. Also had in the listing to NOT contact him using the "ask seller a question" link and that you must email him at the email address he had in the listing.

Builder · Mar 17, 2007

It's a scam. The Kubota scams are infamous on Ebay. I had mine for sale and my pictures got hijacked 3 times. If the price sounds too good to be true, or if you must "contact the seller through email" just walk away.

Amazing these azz-clowns are still trying to trick people and people are even dumber to fall for it.

DieselPower · Mar 17, 2007

Yep, use a little common sense when buying on ebay and all should be fine. If it looks to good to be true then it probably is.

California · Mar 17, 2007

flusher said:
did you check all 200 listings individually, or is there a faster way

I saw a pattern that looked impossible. So I checked a little more to verify my hunch. (Retired government auditor - I just think this way!)

Details if you are interested:

I keep a 'Saved Search' in My Ebay. When I click it, I see Ag&Forestry category, everything, but limited to a 200 mile radius. (Maximum distance I would drive from the North Bay to look at an implement before bidding.) This normally returns 150 to 250 hits.

Yesterday it returned 1900 hits. My distance-based search lists distance from me, which was identical distance for every auction down through the first several screens. Scrolling down I saw identical premium formatting (blue box), identical $10 starting price, and identical starting times. I scrolled down about 10 screens before I saw a variance from this pattern.

Looking into 3-4 of the blue-box auctions I saw the same seller, identical formatting, and the note 'don't click AskTheSeller', instead contact me at this offsite email address for a special Buy It Now Price.' So as a minimum they will scam ebay out of the sales commission. And using email they can sell one machine to several buyers. Clearly bogus.

So I reformatted my search to sort by Time Started and show nationwide in case there were more, and posted that search here for others to see.

flusher · Mar 17, 2007

California said:
I saw a pattern that looked impossible. So I checked a little more to verify my hunch. (Retired government auditor - I just think this way!)

Details if you are interested:

I keep a 'Saved Search' in My Ebay. When I click it, I see Ag&Forestry category, everything, but limited to a 200 mile radius. (Maximum distance I would drive from the North Bay to look at an implement before bidding.) This normally returns 150 to 250 hits.

Yesterday it returned 1900 hits. My distance-based search lists distance from me, which was identical distance for every auction down through the first several screens. Scrolling down I saw identical premium formatting (blue box), identical $10 starting price, and identical starting times. I scrolled down about 10 screens before I saw a variance from this pattern.

Looking into 3-4 of the blue-box auctions I saw the same seller, identical formatting, and the note 'don't click AskTheSeller', instead contact me at this offsite email address for a special Buy It Now Price.' So as a minimum they will scam ebay out of the sales commission. And using email they can sell one machine to several buyers. Clearly bogus.

So I reformatted my search to sort by Time Started and show nationwide in case there were more, and posted that search here for others to see.

CA:
Thanks for the info.

My eBay searches are much narrower than the one you describe. I'm looking for tractors so I search on keywords like "deere tractor" or "international harvester" and limit the price range to $500-10000. I do that to keep from picking up the less expensive stuff like tractor parts and manuals. Not surprising that I miss the ones listed for $10.

California · Mar 17, 2007

Flusher - I like the very broad search terms because they sometimes show items that others don't see - maybe misspellings, or maybe the guy bought some land and it came with equipment or implements that he can't describe and doesn't want much for. Limited exposure = fewer bidders = lower price.

I limit the number of hits to a manageable number by the distance criteria, and also by sorting the hits to put Newly Listed on top so I only need to review 1-2 screens.

And maybe it will find something I didn't know I needed!

That's how I found a 14 ft orchard ladder ($25) and the guy threw in a nearly full 50 lb box of 6011 welding rod for $5. I'll be using those for years.

Nightrain1 · Mar 18, 2007

There is a hacker that is messing with eBay. This was'nt the first time he has compromised their security. You won't hear much about it as eBay has alot to lose here.

Digg - Scammer Lists 57,000+ Fraudulent Listing on eBay - Simultaneously!

Vladuz Hacks Ebay Once Again: Security Crisis Continues

California · Mar 18, 2007

Yep.

I posted about Vladuz a while back. Some references I cited said he has been selling an ebay hack program for a year now, so anything is possible.

My thread generated replies from two TBN'ers who had auctions hacked in the previous couple of days.

This isn't phishing (bogus emails). It is someone with the ability to do automated listings that goes right through ebay's security barriers. It also includes the ability to add a new paragraph 'email me for a special buy-it-now price' into hundreds of other peoples auctions. See:

Ebay hacked - (TBN 2-23-07)

I think Dan Goodin is the primary reporter tracking the Vladuz story, and many other news articles are reprints of his work. Here's his most recent article:

The Register: Dan Goodin in San Francisco

On that page click 'more by this author' to see his updates as they appear. Also the 'skyrocketed' link on that page shows a yo-yo pattern of 1.75 million bogus auctions posted and quickly removed, four times, on a single day. The ebay security crew must really be hopping!

California · Mar 20, 2007

Here we go again.

Seller 99must. offers a 66 Mustang located in Tennessee. Mustang.

However he has 2220 additional auctions going! eBay Seller: 99must. : listings

They are for Segway scooters, pro cameras, paragliders and paramotors (personal flying stuff), bass boats and everying you can imagine.

All those I saw are located in London (U.K.) and are listed in US Ebay's category: Coins & Paper Money > Coins: US > Quarters > State Quarters (1999-Now) > 2007-Now

All those include the following:

PLEASE DO NOT BID AS I WILL CANCEL YOUR BID !!!
CONTACT ME FIRST AT MTCN10@CS.COM !!!
BUY IT NOW PRICE FOR THIS ITEM IS 1000 GBP

and

Seller's payment instructions
EASE READ CAREFULLY : I WILL ONLY SELL THROUGH BUY IT NOW, I WILL NOT SELL THROUGH THE BIDDING!!!

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Edit: Wow! 10 minutes after I posted this, and now there's only the '66 Mustang.