Ebay and scams

[Eagle43]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/07/technology/07ebay.html?th

Apparently phishers love Ebay; it's one of the top five targets. It's so bad that the company has offered Windows browsers users a toolbar that flashes when it's pointing at a fraudlent url.

I've never used ebay, but I bet some of you have. You might read this article and beware.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I ebay a lot less now that its loaded with scammers, and since I've gotten to the point where I refuse to use paypal...that sort of limits ebay usage to the point of unusability as almost every auction I run, festooned with large capital "I do not take paypal" warnings ends with the winner asking "Can I pay with paypal even though the auction said no?"

Fortunately we have an occasional fun story like this one, the infamous "powerbook scam"...
http://www.zug.com/pranks/powerbook/

 

[JohnP]

Eagle - In late January, I got an email from what looked like Ebay entitled "Unable to verify or authenticate your credit/debit card information on file..." asking me to redo my credit card data -

The first thing that went through my mind was that Ebay doesn't have ANY information concerning my (or anybody's) credit cards - Paypal has that info and is separate from Ebay - Ebay just handles the auction part of the transactions.

I make it a practice to NEVER NEVER NEVER respond in an email to this kind of request. I emailed Ebay from their site with this request attached asking for the status - they replied that it didn't come from them. I use Ebay a lot for purchases and have always been quite satisfied with their services.

The NYT article is a good reminder to take care with any email asking for personal/financial information. Simply never directly respond to them.

JohnP

 

[retire@40]

So is it time to short ebay?

 

[John Galt]

I have never used Ebay, although I have seriously
considered it many times. I do know quite a few
people who use it extensively, in one case it represenst
a major part of their income. I have not heard any
"horror" stories.

JG

 

[73ss454]

Basically most buyers and sellers are OK.
I was involved with one scam artist who screwed me.
EBAY will do nothing to assist you!
"BUYER BEWARE" is the best rule.
I suggest that if you can't pay with Pay Pal don't buy anything.
Regards,
JOE

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Dont think for a moment that paypal will offer you any sort of protection either.

Check out www.paypalsucks.com for details. I've had several of the "usual bits" the site highlights performed on me.

As long as nothing really weird happens, ebay and paypal work fine. But as I've said before, I define an organizations service quality on how they handle problems and exceptions, not how happy I am with them when nothings gone wrong.

 

[BUM]

I've bought & sold lots thru ebay. Its saved my bacon more than once. I needed a very unusual $2000 part for a piece of obsolete electronic gear. Astonishingly there was one on ebay for $40.

However, on a crummy $6.00 purchase for a gift for DW I got stiffed by a sellerwho got kicked off ebay the following week.

Best advice...deal with sellers with longstanding records. It was only six bucks. Cheap education.

Anybody got a pair of lace undies for sale?

BUM

 

[rapoole]

"Anybody got a pair of lace undies for sale?"


Used or new?

Nevermind.

 

[yelnad]

My husband and I do a lot of business through ebay and paypal and have never had any problems. We are very careful and I ignore any emails I receive from them.

JohnP - ebay owns Paypal now, so they do actually have your info. But you're right -- any email you get from either party asking for additional or confirmed information is fake.

 

[JonnyM]

The significant risk is for the buyer. The seller doesn't have to do squat until the money is in the bank. We have been purchasing items thru Ebay for many years, approaching 1000 transactions, mostly small stuff but a wide variety including, vintage wrist and pocket watches, clocks, jewelry, even heavy tube guitar amplifiers. Total problems: One and that was quite recent, after Ebay acquired Paypal. I contacted Paypal, they applied pressure to the seller. Seller instantly shipped the item I'd already paid for, end of story. Ebay is about knowing and weighing the risk, something you do in any deal with anyone, including face to face deals.

Responding to any unsolicited email, anytime, anyplace: Just Wrong. Don't do it.

 

[Roger_R]

Several months ago I got an email on eBay format asking me to reverify my user name and password. I know it was dumb, but it was just when all these phishing things were getting going, and I filled out the information. Next thing you know, someone in Italy is trying to sell computers using my eBay account. It took forever to fix, as eBay help desk seemed at the time to be in India and I don't think they could give a hoot.

For me, eBay is a decent place to sell things, but a very rotten place to buy things. I've been burned twice on defective camera gear. Unfortunately, PalPal is the second almost neccesary evil when doing eBay business.

 

[John Galt]

I have posted before about my friend who does a thriving Ebay biz. Don't recall any real trouble, or if so
he never told me. I love auctions, flea markets and etc
and have considered following his lead. Decided it would turn into "work" pretty quickly, so I opted not to
get involved.

JG

 

[MJ]

I love auctions, flea markets and etc and have considered following his lead. Decided it would turn into "work" pretty quickly, so I opted not to
get involved.

JG

JG,
Since we are of the same generation, did you ever watch "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis"?
If you did, remember the beatnik character Maynard G Kreps (played by Bob Denver), when anyone would mention the word "work", he would kringe and instinctually in a slight hysterical tone, repeat "WORK!"

I guess I watched it a lot, as I still remember the music theme.

Gee, no guns no politics, how sweet it is.....

MJ

 

[BUM]

JG,
Since we are of the same generation, did you ever watch "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis"?
If you did, remember the beatnik character Maynard G Kreps (played by Bob Denver), when anyone would mention the word "work", he would kringe and instinctually in a slight hysterical tone, repeat "WORK!"

I guess I watched it a lot, as I still remember the music theme.

Gee, no guns no politics, how sweet it is.....

MJ

And that tramp Samantha from Bewitched stole the "twichy nose move" from my love, Zelda Gilroy.

Bum

 

[MJ]

And that tramp Samantha from Bewitched stole the "twichy nose move" from my love, Zelda Gilroy.

Zelda, what a good lookin man I mean woman

MJ

 

[BUM]

Zelda, what a good lookin man I mean woman

MJ

Gender confusion? Say, you're not that "maybe I'm gay, maybe I'm not" Chatsworth Osborne Jr.??

 

[MJ]

Gender confusion? Say, you're not that "maybe I'm gay, maybe I'm not" Chatsworth Osborne Jr.??

Certainly not my "dear" BUM!

No confusion when it came to Thalia Menninger (aka Tuesday Weld) a greedy but definite teen knockout.

MJ

 

[BUM]

Certainly not my "dear" BUM!

No confusion when it came to Thalia Menninger (aka Tuesday Weld) a greedy but definite teen knockout.

MJ

SCHWING


BUM

 

[Mr._johngalt]

Hey, they named a clinic and a day of the week after
her. Show me another person so honored

JG