Chiff and Fipple Forums

fraud.

already withdrawn by ebay.

Wow, that was quick.

Maybe it was a set under the name "Alan, From Aunt".

Where ?

Piobairi Uilleann Inis Fa wrote:already withdrawn by ebay.

That recently happened to an item I sold on eBay. My auction item was for around $2200. It was sold and shipped to a guy in California to a fellow Irish musician who happened to be a friend of some friends of mine. About 3 weeks later, the same instrument (with my same pictures I'd taken--and the exact same description in my auction) came up again for sale. Some eBayer (a new member) located in England had copied the photos and description off my auction and had tried to list it again. Same starting price with no reserve...everything just the same. He apparently watches tradtional Irish-like instruments on eBay and then tries to resell them.

It was a fraud. And there were three bids on it already with 3 days left by the time I discovered it!

Both me and the guy who bought it from me reported it to eBay. Within a day or two the item was off the auction and you ended up seeing the same message you now see on this eBay item:

Invalid Item

The item you requested ( 3772654633 ) is invalid, still pending, or no longer in our database. Please check the number and try again. If this message persists, the item has either not started and is not yet available for viewing, or has expired and is no longer available.

Lorenzo,

In the real estate business, that's actually a fairly common practice - ASSUMING that the seller (this fellow in England, in your example) is trying to 'flip' the instrument.

To my knowledge, there's nothing illegal about it, and as I say, this happens in real estate all the time.

Example: I offer to sell to you a 10-acre parcel of land, and we agree upon a price. The offer, however, is contingent upon my getting title to the land in time for our deal to close. I then buy the land and then sell it or "flip" the land (or building) to you. Obviously, if I've done my homework, I'll have made a profit in the transactions.

Now, with an open auction - this is where things can get dicey... if the seller didn't make clear that any deal was contingent upon his 1st buying the instrument, then I've no doubt that a potential buyer could get nervous about where his money was heading. For this reason, it's no surprise that Ebay shut this down.

He wasn't the owner nor did he have access to possesion of it. If it was a fraud auction, he'd do exactly what he tried: He'd use MY exact same description, MY exact same photos of MY instrument, and MY selling policy.

If he had one like it of his own, he'd either have to say so or he'd be using his own description and photos. Think of the negative feeback he'd receive if the one he delivered wasn't the one pictured.

This newbie had no record. The reason I reported him was because the instrument he was trying to sell was mine.

Was it my 4 reg set

Lorenzo:

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

I certainly can't defend the person if they indeed are engaging in fraud; but allow me to play the devil's advocate here:

Suppose you were about to close a deal on an article of value... be it a can of Coca Cola or a Mercedes 500 SL or, say a set of pipes. If you thought you could make some money on selling them (assuming you had already decided to sell), wouldn't you do so?

I don't claim to know what the intentions are of this individual in England, and I don't fault you for being suspicious of it... it certainly does sound as though the intentions are less than honorable.

That said, unless your photos and description of the instrument are copyright protected, then you don't have much of an argument.

Again - I'm just playing devil's advocate here.... surely if you sold this set to someone in Ireland, and if they aren't discussing the sale of them to this fellow in England, then something is surely amiss here.

Ben: I sure hope not, for your sake.

benwalker wrote:Was it my 4 reg set

Sorry Ben, mine was an 8 stringed Gibson Mandocello.

I wouldn't worry about your deal. Even though your seller has only one transaction in his feedback, it was positive. Besides, Jim says (page 3 of the other Froment thread), "The seller is solid, so there is no difficulty on that end. The set is in marvelous condition and, with Alain's long wait list of 8+ years, an opportunity to get something that will never turn up again." And the eBay seller is probably using his own name, daveymuldowney. Also, you should have already traded personal contact information before payment. His phone # and residence can be found in your transaction. Somewhere in the final confirmation emails from eBay, there is a place for requesting contact info. Call him and see how things are going.

brianc wrote:That said, unless your photos and description of the instrument are copyright protected, then you don't have much of an argument.

Well, eBay had no trouble comparing his auction (photos, description, policy) with mine, and after comparing the two...taking his off the market. My auction (although closed) is still available for viewing. Auctions stay on for 3 months after they close.

Here is the link on EBayhttp://cgi.ebay.fr/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie ... eName=WD2V

Yup, these are Ben's new pipes!



Do you suppose there is a 'glitch' in the system? Or is this more of a fraudulent nature?

"Here is the link on EBayhttp://cgi.ebay.fr/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=308&item=3772702511&rd=1&ssPageName=WD2V" says BH29Z

This is confusing - is someone else apart from the English guy that ebay stopped, offering the same 4 reg Froment set again, in French, apparantly located in New York? for a buy it now price of 6600 USD?

Has Ben got the set from the Irish seller, that he I assume has paid for, or not? Who is alexpop@yahoo.com ?