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June 06, 2005
Buyer Beware . . . .
There is a new growing trend sellers are using that misleads people into thinking they can get something for nothing. This article is not a "how to rip people off column," it is meant to be informative and bring light to an issue that eBay doesn't seem to (or be able to) enforce.
One rendition of the scam has been known to the unlucky few as the "White Van Scam." These sellers have entered a new market, eBay, and are using the same street tactics on-line. The typical white van scam starts with a "I was going to build this sound studio and brought to many speakers with me. They are very high quality (this is where they show you a brochure that they printed at their local Kinko’s that shows the same speakers with a price tag of like $2,ooo). I need to sell them, before I go back, so I'll cut you a deal at $4oo."
This may seem to be a great deal, but in actuality they are $1oo speakers that you're buying at $4oo. The way they manage to flourish on eBay is to post the stereo on-line telling you all the specs. The professional pictures look nice and then a link reads, "These same speakers sell on other websites for $2ooo dollars, you can get them on this auction for a fraction of that price." The link will send you to a site that looks legitimate, but in actuality, it was made by the seller in order to inflate his price. They (the sellers) really make a big haul when they nab two . . . . let's call them . . "suckers." That's what they call them in this industry, so why not here? So in this scenario, you have two people bidding up an item that they believe is a steal and it only costs the seller $1oo. They final price is 5oo and even $6oo plus shipping and the seller walks away with money in exchange for a conscience.
Don't believe me? See for your self HERE. This is just one example of people to look out for on eBay, and if this article saves just a few people from spending hard earned money on something that will only wither and break in a few months, then we here at eBay News have done our jobs.
