can a person use ebay as a third party to broker payment of a product even if it isnt sold through ebay?

[terryb85]

I have been offered a product located far away and the seller claims it will be brokered through ebay and I have 7 days to inspect while money is held by ebay and if Im not satisfied I can cancel the deal, it is not listed for sale on ebay?

[heidilynn0_3]

Hi terryb.. Absolutely NOT.  You are in the clutches of a SCAMMER and should cease communication. Report the ad to the site where found as fraud.

This is a common scam . Ebay has nothing to do with other sites. Even here , eBay is not directly involved in transactions between buyers and seller. Does not hold funds or merchandise etc.

Any emails looking like eBay would be fake.

Never use Western Union or MoneyGram etc to wire funds to someone you do not know.

[femmefan1946]

Ah! The Kubota Tractor Scam!

It got that name because it was first reported as offering the deal on expensive construction equipment.

It has since morphed into cars, motor homes, houseboats, RVs and many more.

As you suspected eBay only works with its own sellers. Report the scam to the site where you found it. They are trying to clear these scammers out, but it is an ongoing battle.

And don't send any money. Change your passwords and run an anti-virus program too. The scammers often will do a little identity theft while they have you on the hook.

[scifan57]

If you receive any messages that appear to be from eBay,they are also fake and should be sent to spoof@ebay.com

[ok_so_im_50]

When you buy gas for your car at gas station A, do they ever tell you to complete the transaction at gas station B, their competitor? No? Same thing here. Wherever you saw the fake ad, the site is a competitor to ebay and two are not in business together but against each other. Only scammers found on other sites tell you to complete the transaction on ebay. The reason they do that is because of ebay's reputation and they hope that you, the potential victim, are not wise enough to found out the truth before forking over your hard earned money for an item that does not exist. Fortunately, you sought out information about the questionable transaction before becoming a victim.

[dmil8030]

Hello 'terryb',

It sounds so reassuring, doesn't it. 🙂  It is supposed to, and that is how scammers and theives can fool decent honest people.

You don't say what the product is, but if you don't see it for sale on ebay in a listing with an ebay item number, - ebay has nothing to do with it.

If you would like to read a bit about these sorts of things, - as it is indeed a problem, - the following link is good:

http://forums.ebay.com/db1/topic/Ebay-Motors/Craigslist-Scams-And/520091495

And if you have time, do an internet search for "kubota tractor scam" you'll finds all sorts of material on it.

Best of luck.