What's the catch?

sc_curtis · Post by **sc_curtis** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 12:42 pm

And the conclusion to this epic tale of suspense and drama..............(drum roll, please)

The following has been cut and pasted from an email sent to me from ebay regarding the auction:

-------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Steven C Curtis (sc_curtis@sbcglobal.net),

The following is a notice from eBay Trust & Safety regarding:

Item Number - 7374435392

Item Title - Professional VMI Culbertson Neptune 4098 Tuba.

Our records show that you placed a bid on this item. We removed this
item from the Site and cancelled your bid because it appears that the
seller's account has been compromised and used by an unauthorized third
party. The seller's privileges to trade on eBay may be temporarily
suspended while we investigate this matter further. Due to privacy concerns
we will not be able to share further details related to this seller.

If the seller asks you to complete this transaction outside of eBay, we
strongly recommend that you do not proceed with the transaction and do
not respond to the seller. Transactions for items listed on eBay but
then completed off of the eBay platform are not covered by buyer
protection programs offered by eBay and can be highly indicative of fraud. For
more information on Offers to Buy or Sell Outside of eBay, copy and
past the following Help Page link into your browser:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/rfe ... -sale.html.

If you have already paid for this item but have not received it, you
should take all possible steps to receive reimbursement.

1. Stop payment with your bank if you paid by check.
2. Contact the Security Department of your credit card company to file
a chargeback if you paid via credit card.
3. If you paid via Western Union or MoneyGram, contact the company
directly (Western Union 800-325-6000 or MoneyGram 800-926-9400).
4. If you paid with PayPal, you may be eligible for up to $1,000 USD
coverage at no cost. To file a claim with PayPal, login to your PayPal
account and copy and paste the following link into your web browser:
/csg/p?www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/gen ... er-outside.
Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the File a Claim
link. PayPal claims must be filed within 45 days of the close of the
listing. It may take at least 30 days to complete the investigation and
resolve the dispute.
5. If you did not pay with PayPal and would like to file a claim with
eBay, please initiate the Item Not Received Process online directly from
the Security and Resolution Center at the bottom of the eBay.com page.
6. eBay claims must be filed within 60 days of the end of the listing.

Our goal is to ensure that your eBay experience is safe so that you can
buy confidently. It is rare that something goes wrong with a
transaction on eBay. However, in the event it does, we would like to provide as
much assistance as possible to help resolve the issue.

Please do not respond to this email, as your reply will not be
received.

Regards,
Customer Support (Trust and Safety Department)
eBay Inc

--------------------------------------------------------

Its been fun!

Ed Jones · Post by **Ed Jones** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 1:04 pm

Who would have thought that my old horn would have caused such a ruckus?

Chuck(G) · Post by **Chuck(G)** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 1:21 pm

Simply emailing the seller and requesting an additional photo is usually enough to smoke the fakes out.

sc_curtis · Post by **sc_curtis** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 11:50 pm

I thought my intentions were clear, but some of you seem confused. I bid to see if it was a scam. If it turned out to be a scam, no way was I gonna pay. Since ebay has alerted me that it is a scam, I would have to be a complete idiot to just send money, wouldn't I.

It will be interesting, however, to see if the "seller" emails me back after I forwarded that email.

BTW, since ebay yanked the listing, the seller cannot post negative feedback on my account. It is as if the auction never took place.

As clear as I can say it: I WILL NOT send money to this person, since the existence of this tuba is in question.

SplatterTone · Post by **SplatterTone** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 11:57 pm

since the existence of this tuba is in question.

Well ... but ... but ... if it doesn't exist, then how did they take the photographs?

Oh gosh! This just blows my mind!!

Chuck(G) · Post by **Chuck(G)** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 2:28 am

sc_curtis wrote:I thought my intentions were clear, but some of you seem confused. I bid to see if it was a scam. If it turned out to be a scam, no way was I gonna pay. Since ebay has alerted me that it is a scam, I would have to be a complete idiot to just send money, wouldn't I.

Respectfully, I think you have too much faith in eBay's ability to respond to a situation. Requesting escrow or more information that only someone in physical possession of the instrument is a better road that trusting the good folks at eBay to be on the ball, IMOHO.

It's funny; on the classic computer list, folks use "second chance" eBay auctions frequently with no problems. Of course, it's rare to see something going for much more than $50 there--and the folks buying know the right questions to ask

sc_curtis · Post by **sc_curtis** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 12:10 pm

Something like that....I have a month to waste, why not?!?!

Tubaryan12 · Post by **Tubaryan12** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 12:11 pm

bloke wrote: but just a bit amused that someone would waste time bidding on an obvious scam auction.

Actually, this gentleman performed a public service. By winning the auction, he made sure that some unsuspecting tuba player with a limited budget didn't make a costly mistake. Why, just the other day, the credit card company called me and told me someone had been making charges on my card just under the $500 fraud threshhold. I answered a few questions and then that nice young man even took the time to confirm that I was actually the card holder by asking me for the security code number off the back.........uh....gotta go.....I seem to need to make a phone call......

windshieldbug · Post by **windshieldbug** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 2:50 pm

What's the Catch?

Is that like "catch of the day"?

windshieldbug · Post by **windshieldbug** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 8:49 am

Hello?... I've fallen... and I can't get up!