eBay

martichun_9 · ‎03-20-2018

I was browsing computers and laptops section of the flash sale section. I soon discovered laptops that normally price around $300 like Dell Inspiron 3160 or HP Stream being listed for $30~50 and says that item is brand new. (I was just looking for deals) Feeling that it seems something too good to be true, I feel something fishy because of several reasons:

1) The sellers listed such items for $30 - 50 were quite new sellers (Accounts were created about a week ago). They didn't have any feedback either. (Their feedback score was 0)

2) Items are listed as "brand new". Usually, these laptops price around $300 brand new. It is huge price gap between $30 - 50.

3) There are multiple listings with same name. It could normally happen for computer shops but there are too many same listings. (When I selected "Buy it now" buying format and sorted listings by "Price + Shipping: Low to High", almost a page is filled with these listings.)

4) These listings are also listed with multiple accounts. There were identical listings on different accounts that seems like same person (Formatting was also identical).

Be careful if you can suspect one of these issues.

2nd-time-around-jewelry · ‎03-20-2018

Beware! If it sounds too good to be true it usually is. I remember something similar happening with some laptops a few years ago. My friends & I bought a few of them as the deal was so good. Next thing we knew the transactions were cancelled & eBay removed the listings & seller.

momcqueen · ‎03-20-2018

Go with your gut on this.

mcrlmn · ‎03-20-2018

"$300 like Dell Inspiron 3160 or HP Stream being listed for $30~50 and says that item is brand new"

Brand new knock-offs... Sanctioned until the the tide of complaints roll in.
There are umpteen threads in this forum of deals to good to be true that went awry.

And for the umpteen time... Only buy electronics from certified distributors.

momcqueen · ‎03-20-2018

Yes.

I think most sellers could explain exactly the reason these “deals” surface exactly the way they do, but in doing so, we’d inadvertently be providing a How To Create 100 Fraud Listings and Maybe Get Away With One.

So we can’t.

But, report it. On the listing itself. Report your suspicions.

reallynicestamps · ‎03-20-2018

tyler@ebay

@happy_pigeon

happy_pigeon · ‎03-21-2018

Hmm... for flash sales that are applied to specific items only, the sellers and/or items are usually hand-picked by either our Marketing team or our Business Development team, and we usually have an established relationship with the seller (to make sure that they have a good reputation, are able to fulfill a large number of orders, etc.).

It's funny how the world of computers has changed in the last ~two decades--it's very brand-driven now: shoppers, myself included, generally shop with a specific brand in mind. HP, Dell, Apple, etc. But back when dinosaurs roamed the earth/computers were less common and more expensive, it was all about the "IBM compatible"--i.e. comparable to an IBM computer, which was generally thought to be the ne plus ultra of home computers--but a 'generic' version, if you will.

I think that's probably all these are, although you don't really see them around any more because computers have become much more affordable and have a greater spectrum of value in general. However, I can't make a final judgement unless I see the listing. It's probably still active even if the sale is over, so if anyone has saved the URL, toss it to me and I'll have a look.

afantiques · ‎03-22-2018

Happy pigeon has been pecking too many poisoned grains.

The OP clearly describes at least 4 huge red flags that indicate these sales are vapourware.

The price is absurd, if I had these items and they were real I could sell them for much more money to local retailers and not use ebay to get less money and pay fees.

It is easy for ebay to spot these items as fraudulent , the contact information is always false. Around about 1998-9 when ebay was awash with nonexistant high value items I'd bid on them, get the contact information, check it out and report them to ebay. Those were the days of the vigilantes, doing a job that ebay seemed incapable or unwilling to do.

Waffle about IBM compatability seems to indicate that not much has changed. The major reason why these imaginary items have become much fewer is the PayPal hold on funds. Back in the day, payment was usually by Western Union cash transfer. I can't really see how the sellers hope to walk away with any actual money, although the stupidity of greedy criminals is not to be under-rated.

ypdc_dennis · ‎03-22-2018

@happy_pigeonwrote:
Hmm... for flash sales that are applied to specific items only, the sellers and/or items are usually hand-picked by either our Marketing team or our Business Development team, and we usually have an established relationship with the seller (to make sure that they have a good reputation, are able to fulfill a large number of orders, etc.).

Red herring.

The original poster was probably talking about the flash sale on almost everything -- but, the message did promote certain categories in the email, so OP was perhaps was thinking that eBay was recommending all the sellers in that category.

...

So it's not a flash sale issue but the usual fraudulent seller listing problem.

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