Ebay viper scam

[Mike Adams]

I recently had the unfortunate task of helping a future viper owner try to get his car or money back from someone selling a viper on ebay. Unfortunately it does not look like he will recieve anything back.

Here is how the scam worked. This guy had someone build a web page for him. He liseted cars on ebay. Did some false sales sales to and gave himselg a good rating ( as he simply sold them to himself of course) The listed 4 cars for sale all top of the line cars Viper, BMW. ETC. He did this by going around to Toronto Dealers taking all kinds of pictures and getting VIN numbers. Cars which he didn't even own( this is the onelisted below). He then procede to sell the cars. When they sold he would contact the buy and get his deposit saying the car would be deliver on such and such date. Answered all calls for 2 to 3 weeks then just quit answering. The money would be wired to a bank account in Company name that didn't exist. But being a company it is easier to open a bank account. This person lost his deposit. Still allot of money, I heard some other people lost upwards of $38000. Dollars.

The nice part it this gentleman is still wants to get a Viper. Sad to see someone loose when the are so excited about getting their dream car.

I did find who really owns the car and contact the police etc. But this really doesn't help this person. I wish their was more I could do. He is still trying to buy this car.

COVER your a$$ when buying on EBAY no wired money only Credit Card that way you have the credit card company on your side or no money till you get the car!!!!

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[Toby]

all my ebay purchases are through PayPal and they charge my credit card. Both services offer protection.

Lots of scams going on at eBay.

 

[Mike Adams]

EBAY's fraud protection only offers $200 worth of protection rest is your responsibility

 

[LETHAL GTS]

That's good to know Mike.
Never do feel comfortable dealing big $$$$ over the Net!

The Viper I just bought was an interesting deal.
I bought it a week or so ago and my wife and I became friends with the couple that sold us the car. We spent a week prior to dealing getting to know the car and the people.
It's like we had to qualify to buy the car.
They could have sold it three times before I bought it, but they didn't like any of the other buyers.
Sat night we're all going out for sushi and good bottle of Opus 1 '97.

That's what I call a sweet deal.

Sorry to hear that people are getting screwed, it's a shame that there is people that will doing anything for a buck!
TJ

 

[ewave]

You can get screwed on ebay as easily as you can get screwed in person, or ordering parts over the phone. The one good thing about ebay is the reputation system, but you have to do your own research on this too. A plus 4 of feedback doesn't mean anything if the people leaving the feedback don't look genuine. It is not unusual for me to spend 30 minutes following the feedback links to check them out prior to placing any bid. And just as with any business, you want to see how long they have actively been selling stuff. JonB has a well deserved good reputation because he has been around for years.

 

[snowmann]

Hey Mike was this seller located in Texas? I won a Viper on Ebay a while back and something looked fishy so I didn't buy. I wonder if this was the same group. Do you have an Ebay url for the seller?

 

[dansauto]

I made the mistake of thinking my purchases were protected by pay pal. THEY ARE NOT!!!! All they guarentee is the money gets transferred, NOTHING ELSE. I even had to supena pay pal in order for them to release the info on the **** bag that took my money and never sent the items. All I was able to do is write the unclaimed judgement off on my taxes. Pay Pal *****!!! worthless pricks.

 

[Makara]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by dansauto:
I made the mistake of thinking my purchases were protected by pay pal. THEY ARE NOT!!!! All they guarentee is the money gets transferred, NOTHING ELSE. I even had to supena pay pal in order for them to release the info on the **** bag that took my money and never sent the items. All I was able to do is write the unclaimed judgement off on my taxes. Pay Pal *****!!! worthless pricks.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Doesn't the credit card offer protection?

 

[2charmed]

JF5...

Is this the Viper that you were desperately trying to get someone
on this board to buy since you felt so bad about not buying it?

You said you didn't buy it because you decided to save your money for a second house instead? And you "might" buy one next year.

Seems buyers and sellers can be fishy!

 

[andymo1972]

ewave is right, you can get screwed in person just as easily. Although in person you at least drive away with a car, although it may only get you 1 block from the dealer before dying on you.

I helped my dad buy a car off of ebay and it worked out very well. It was a dealer and they allowed me to give them a deposit via credit card directly (no paypal, billpoint, etc) so I knew even if things went bad I had recourse. They were straight shooters all the way and agreed (in writing) to fly my dad back home and release us of our obligation to buy if the car was not as they described it.

Obviously millions of people buy and sell things legitimately on ebay and there are many who use the anonymity to take advantage. When making a big purchase like a car, first get totally comfortable with the seller, ask as many questions as you have to before you bid. Have the car inspected by an independent mechanic or someone YOU know/trust...this way you know the car exists. Most sellers will not give you the car or allow it to be shipped unless they get their money. So somebody has to trust somebody or the deal won't happen. If you have doubts, don't bid and forget about the car. There will always be another deal. If you win a auction, before sending any money, ask for a copy of the title (some banks need this before releasing money for a car loan anyway). Just my .02

Andy
97 GTS

 

[dansauto]

With pay pal you can post the $ direclty from your savings, checking or credit card accounts. If you use a credit card and dispute the charge thru pay pal (as they are the ones billing you) They will arbitrate the charge and suspend the transaction as they only guarentee the funds transferred. NOT that the product shipped or was misrepresentated.

 

[snowmann]

I don't care what the auction says, if you wire the money without the car that's not very smart. He shouldn't have put himself in that position. Didn't his mom teach him better?

 

[EXECMALIBU]

WE HAVE BOUGHT AND SOLD AROUND 25 HIGH END CARS ON EBAY WITH NO PROBLEMS!!

THE BUYER SENDS THE MONEY AND WE SHIP THE CAR OR VISE-VERSA LIKE WHEN WE BOUGHT OR 01 RT-10. WE SENT THE $59K AND THEY SENT US THE CAR..NO PROBLEM!!!

IF A SELLER IS ARE SCAM ARTISTS THEY DO NOT NEED TO USE THE INTERNET!!..

THEY CAN RENT ANY CAR,HOUSE OR OTHER EXPENSIVE ITEM, LIST IT FOR SALE AND TAKE NUMEROUS CASH DEPOSITS FROM DIFFERANT PEOPLE. THEN COME UP WITH ANY EXCUSE AND REFUSE TO SELL AND/OR RETURN THE DEPOSIT, OR THEY JUST LEAVE TOWN.

HOW MANY TIMES HAVE CONTRACTORS TAKEN MONEY FOR WORK THEY NEVER DO!!

 

[Miles B]

From everything I have read, PayPal are pretty useless to both parties. If it is soon after the transaction a complaint arrives, I hear they reverse the transfer to the seller, seize his paypal account, effectively stealing all of the money out of it. They also refuse to "get the money back" for the buyer.

A real 3-thief-transaction. I still use them, but only for sending small amounts. I wouldn't use them for receiving or sending large amounts. Once you click "send", count on that money being GONE, and hope the goods show up. There really isn't a whole lot of benefit over just sending cash.

It's silly to send a large amount of money to a stranger. If you do that, you deserve what you get.

<FONT COLOR="#ff0000" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">This message has been edited by Miles B on 10-28-2002 at 07:30 PM</font>

 

[jpa99acr]

I bought my 99 ACR on eBay, but was very thorough and did NOT make any kind of deposit.. flew out to Boston, had the car inspected, bought it and had it shipped back home... got a sweet deal on it, but you have to be careful. I paid $48K for it (has 22K miles)

 

[Snake Bitten]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by jpa99acr:
I bought my 99 ACR on eBay, I paid $48K for it (has 22K miles)

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

<FONT size="4">SWEET...BLACK RULES!</FONT s>