Brick Classifieds and Fraud

[jimmajenga]

Hi guys, thanks for taking a second to read this.  Short and to the point, any advice you can give for someone looking to buy from Brick Classifieds. There have been a few times that I wanted to pull the trigger on things... almost bought a Taj Mahal for cheap and later realized it was fraud. After noticing that, I almost completely ignore good deals I see on there... but damn, there have been some deals I've wanted to take advantage of! Any advice or wisdom... is there a lot of fraud on there? I hate the internet!

[whoisbiggles]

One I hate the most - at the end of a long eBay listing disclaimer, lego compatible in font size 8.

[jimmajenga]

That's annoying. bogus bricks is taking over!
The Taj Mahal I almost pulled the trigger on was like $1200 CAD!... which I knew seemed to good to be true but I'm sometimes overly trusting! I later went on Ebay and found a listing for the Taj Mahal... The exact same picture was used (Picture of the box on a table)  by a different seller, only they were selling for like $4000 or something, which seemed more like it! Was I glad I passed!

[jimmajenga]

Bogus bricks! It's like avoiding saying Voldemort!

[Kenxxx]

5 hours ago, jimmajenga said:

..... any advice you can give for someone looking to buy from Brick Classifieds. ...

Like anywhere, look for some seller feedback history (though my feedback history on BC seems to be "broken"... I have some feedback from sales over a year ago, but more recent buyers swear they've left feedback, and I don't get any).  Beyond that, I would just have to open a dialogue with the seller... see if he/she sounds legit... I would be very interested in knowing if they participate here in the BP forum... ask them their BP username, and look for a good history of participation here... or ask if they have any "references" from buyers here.

[KShine]

Like anywhere, scams can happen. On the positive side, this site does a good job. If a new listing seems suspicious, it seems to quickly get noticed, looked into, and often taken down.

In general, you could check their selling history (on brick classifieds, and see if they have selling experience elsewhere). Very often, you could also see that the seller is a fairly active member on the boards (which also adds some credibility).

Also, if a steal of a deal is spending any continued length of time (not being purchased), the consensus is likely that it looks dangerous (and in cases like this, the herd is likely correct). 

[Kenxxx]

... and of course, when you buy through BC, you do have general Paypal buyer/seller protection ...up to $750?...(I think?) For purchases less than that, worst case, your money is tied up for a couple weeks, but you'll get it back eventually. (disclaimer: DO scrutinize "great deals" and DON'T send money thinking, "Well... it's probably a scam, but that price is worth taking a chance... if the item never arrives, Paypal's got me covered  "  Taking that approach is giving money to criminals - you are acting as an accessory to fraud.)

[jimmajenga]

2 hours ago, Kenxxx said:

... and of course, when you buy through BC, you do have general Paypal buyer/seller protection ...up to $750?...(I think?) For purchases less than that, worst case, your money is tied up for a couple weeks, but you'll get it back eventually. (disclaimer: DO scrutinize "great deals" and DON'T send money thinking, "Well... it's probably a scam, but that price is worth taking a chance... if the item never arrives, Paypal's got me covered  "  Taking that approach is giving money to criminals - you are acting as an accessory to fraud.)

Oh trust me, I'm stupid cheap. If there's any suspicion that it's fraud I won't take the chance!

 

5 hours ago, KShine said:

Like anywhere, scams can happen. On the positive side, this site does a good job. If a new listing seems suspicious, it seems to quickly get noticed, looked into, and often taken down.

In general, you could check their selling history (on brick classifieds, and see if they have selling experience elsewhere). Very often, you could also see that the seller is a fairly active member on the boards (which also adds some credibility).

Also, if a steal of a deal is spending any continued length of time (not being purchased), the consensus is likely that it looks dangerous (and in cases like this, the herd is likely correct). 

There were only a few times I was looking into buying something and each time I checked their history it showed that they had never posted before... :/
Definitely a gamble.

Thanks for the feedback! I appreciate it!

Jamie

Edited May 8, 2017 by jimmajenga

[jerryherb]

anyone think BrickDe is a fraud? 0 sales/ 0 reviews/ fire brigade for $250 and other modulars heavily discounted?! 

Edited June 29, 2017 by jerryherb