scammed on ebay by vinney2787

steven_garner

Reminds me of The XBOX scam years ago.

item title "XBOX BOX USED BUT MINT"

Loads sold when the original Xbox was released but what people were actually buying was the empty xbox box, everyone just believed what they wanted to, assumed the title was a typo.

stone7

Interesting link

stone7

gialloblu wrote: »

I paid £356.99 the item was listed in the mobile and home phones > mobile phones category. The title was " Apple Iphone 3gs 16gb" description.
my item includes all of the following- i phone 3gs 16GB (black or white) please state what colour when paid for by attaching a note to paypal payment, stereo headset with mic, dock connector to USB cable and usb power adaptor. this phone is fresh in a unsealed box as my phone in my item has been unlocked to all networks and a brilliant purchase. lucky buyer please enjoy as my item features are the best and most popular in the mobile phone world, this truely is a piece of art. PLEASE NO TIME WASTERS, I WILL NOT SEND PRODUCT OUTSIDE THE UK, SO NIGERIAN SCAMMERS DO NOT BID!!!! I HAVE HAD 3 DIFFERENT ACCOUNT HOLDERS BUY THIS PRODUCT WHOS BOYFRIEND LIVES IN NIGERIA AND THE PERSON BUYING (HIS GIRLFRIEND) LIVES IN ASIA. PLEASE PAY FOR THIS ITEM WITHIN 24 HOURS OF BUYING OR THIS ITEM WILL BE RELISTED AND YOU WILL BE REPORTED TO EBAY MANY THANKS Item specifics - Mobile Phones Brand: Apple Type: -- Model: -- Condition: New Network Standard: -- Simlock: -- Camera: -- Bundled Items: -- Features: Bluetooth, USB See reviews Detailed item info Key Features Form Factor Smartphone, Touch Screen Design Mobile Display Display Size 320 x 480 Communication Wireless Capabilities Bluetooth, WLAN 802.11b, WLAN 802.11g Multimedia Built-in Digital Camera Built-in Digital Camera Technical Features Operating System Mac OS X PC Interface Bluetooth, USB 2.0, Wi-Fi Antenna Type Integrated Connectivity Bluetooth, USB, WiFi Input Method Microphone, Touch Screen Talk Time 10 Hours Standby Time 300 Hours *this is a photo only* 3 Megapixels Digital Camera Resolution Other Features Messaging Formats SMS Phone Features Integrated speakerphone Other Features Vertical and Horizontal Display Multimedia Features MPEG4 video playback Dimensions Depth 0.48 Inch Weight 4.8 g

Did the photo show the headphones, and other accessories. If not, you could have filed a SNAD dispute.

peter_the_piper

No wonder 18 fell for it. You did not just miss it, it was deliberately hidden in the end of the text where most people would have given up reading by then.

pitkin2020

jamespir wrote: »

its fraud gaining money by deception and that is a police matter

sending empty boxes to someone is totally different to this case, the auction stated that you were bidding on a picture of an iphone, it may not have been all the clear but it was still there, and the seller did exactly as what he advertised he sent a picture. I agree the seller set out to defraud people no mistake, but the police will say its a civil matter. Yes maybe the OP should report him and who knows he may have done something like this before but i very much doubt they will pursue him now for selling an item as described!!!

pitkin2020

stone7 wrote: »

Did the photo show the headphones, and other accessories. If not, you could have filed a SNAD dispute.

i ahve to agree you do have a claim for item not described, for each item he has mentioned note what is not in the photo, headset, unsealed box, bluetooth etc

I like the little speech about the nigerian scammers what a cheek the scammer not wanting to get scammed himself

mikey72

stone7 wrote: »

Interesting link

Seems a good result.
Report it to the police, they might like an easy conviction to keep their figures up.

Ddraig

Ebay however states that you are not allowed to charge excessive fees for items.£7.00 for a photo is excessive,so maybe room there.

pitkin2020

Ddraig wrote: »

Ebay however states that you are not allowed to charge excessive fees for items.£7.00 for a photo is excessive,so maybe room there.

he hasnt charged a fee for the item he put the price and people decided to buy it, ebay can not govern the selling price of any item that is listed. You may have a photo that could worth a thousand pounds (famous dead star or something) some may think its only worth a fiver but if someone is prepared to pay 1k to get it thats upto the buyer and not ebay

RHemmings

Looking at the description, it is clearly misleading. The description says that it includes a phone, the headset, etc. While it does say "*this is a photo only*", that's a long way down in the listing, and I don't think it reasonably counteracts the description further up.

It would be like if I made a listing:

FERRARI F40 CAR. Blah blah blah about the car. *this is actually an auction for a walnut*.

While I've said that it's actually a walnut on sale, I've already described a car and all its characteristics. I don't think it's reasonable (nor legal) to start describing one product, then at the end of the description say that it's actually something else being sold. The walnut is clearly a

I don't know what ebays policies are. Nor do I know the legal precedents. But, if our UK law is based upon what is "reasonable", as it's supposed to be, then I'd expect a court to rule that sufficient details of the physical phone were given that it was actually an offer of a phone. And therefore the seller is in breach of contract.

I'm sure that some people will reply here saying that the description "quite clearly" states that it's a photo only. Well, it does. But only after it quite clearly describes an actual physical phone.

PS: Judge Judy (American of course) covered a similar case, where she went utterly psycho at the scammer: http://www.jerseysmarts.com/2009/07/12/judge-judy-goes-ballistic-on-an-ebay-scammer/ EDIT: Sorry, this link has already been posted.

If I remember correctly, Judge Judy's decision was based upon the description of the product including dimensions, size and weight, and the photo not matching these dimensions. I wonder if the same argument would hold weight in a court here.

As for the police prosecuting? What percentage of fraudsters on ebay are actually investigated by police? I'd bet it is a vanishingly small number.

Edit: The other thing I just thought about is that if ebay/paypal are forced to take a decision about this, then they might be very hesitant to come down on the side of the scammer. Let alone any legal complications, the bad publicity they might get could be very damaging to them. Certainly I believe that the original seller is a scammer out to deceive, and it would strongly affect my opinion of ebay/paypal were they to back up the scammer.