This is a warning to all about a scan I almost fell into (cause man did I really want the product).
Lately I've been looking for a new laptop, and found the one I'd like to have for about $3800 *sign*. But behold, I found it on eBay for $800! Something must be wrong to be that cheap. And it seems everyday there are dozens of these floating around for $800. So I decided to contact one cause his info seemed complete:
- The user had > 200 positive feedbacks, so seemed creditable.
- The user had been a member for more then 5 years, wow.
- The user was in OH, claiming he had them in stock.
The things that tipped me off something was wrong was:
- One day only auction (24h)
- Claiming I must email them to get the laptop for $800, and bluntantly providing their email right on the Auction.
- Very slight issues in description not quite matching (got to be a geek to spot it, but I did).
So I emailed them (from a spam email account, that I don't care about getting out), asking for some extremely specific questions. I get back a generic response:
"HI
First I want to tell you that my unit is brand new, unopened box
all accessories included and also an international warranty.
The invoice will come at the same time with the package.
My price is the best you could get: 800USD / unit including the
shipping and insurance taxes. We will pay them because the package
will be delivered from Europe.
As delivery service we use UPS2days air service or overnight (with insurance and
15 days return policy), because it's the faster. And if you will have
a quick payment, we must also have a quick delivery. So that's why we
use as a payment method Western Union money transfer, the fastest and
also very secure way of sending money.
So, if you agree with my terms I'm sure that we can close the deal as soon as possible.
Waiting your quick answer right now, "
Western Union and Europe, two major keywords are that big no no at eBay it seems (after reading several complaints on the Internet and on eBay's site). Here's a link to making sure you protect yourself from purchases:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/confidence/isgw-buyer-tips.html
To report these jokers was no easy task, as it seems eBay is a bit hard to navigate. But I did find this link within it (about 1/2 way down), you can report them:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/rfe-spam-non-ebay-sale.html
Hope that helps you guys.