Let's get proactive about LEGO scams on eBay.

[redcell]

Sorry if I am not posting this in the right place but I think I might have just fallen for a scam on ebay. I was looking to buy a used jabbas palace to build and decided on just buying a new one instead. I found a great priced one at $90 and free shipping. I thought it was a pretty good deal so I went ahead and payed with it with my Paypal account. Now I'm afraid the seller might be a dropshipper and I really do not want to have an item that was payed with from a stolen credit card or whatnot. So what do you guys think? Is there anyway I can cancel my order that has already been payed for? I didnt suspect anything fishy until i had already payed....go figure. Here is a link to the item: http://payments.mobileweb.ebay.com/pay?cmd=ORDER_DETAILS_MY_EBAY&itemId=300929556376&nFB=true&trxId=840965810020

 

Even if this is a dropshipper, it's not something to worry a great deal about.  If it was a dropshipper, the set would still show up at your door for the price that you paid.  If it was dropshipped from Lego, you would have to explain what happened to them at some point down the road, but if you're honest with them about what happened, it shouldn't be a big deal.  I had this happen last year and the customer service rep I spoke to didn't hesitate to lift the hold on my account when I explained what happened.

 

And on the fraud end of things, you don't have to worry about an individual getting stung by this...the credit card issuer would eat the loss and has already factored it into its cost of doing business.

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

Even if this is a dropshipper, it's not something to worry a great deal about. If it was a dropshipper, the set would still show up at your door for the price that you paid. If it was dropshipped from Lego, you would have to explain what happened to them at some point down the road, but if you're honest with them about what happened, it shouldn't be a big deal. I had this happen last year and the customer service rep I spoke to didn't hesitate to lift the hold on my account when I explained what happened.

And on the fraud end of things, you don't have to worry about an individual getting stung by this...the credit card issuer would eat the loss and has already factored it into its cost of doing business.

I mean no offense at all but in my opinion this is a very short sited way to look at things. If you take an item that you are pretty sure is drop shipped because it was a great deal, you are indirectly enabling and encouraging fraud. The card issuer may have factored that into business but that doesn't mean it isn't theft and that we don't all pay for it. Why do you think all these fees are so high?

If you receive an item you should require the person about it and return the item. Saying well I got a great deal or they are gonna just do it to someone else makes you part of the fraud to begin with.

Would you accept something from a friend if you thought they stole it? Maybe it is just my moral view but if everyone just sits back and says "I'm covered" then no one is taking any responsibility for anything.

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

Wow - they really jumped on the new sets fast:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221264472938?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

 

You think a retailer is already clearing house of a unit 9 days after it is released? Give me a break!

 

They admit to drop-shipping it, under retail, low feedback. Pretty obvious if you ask me.

[Quacs]

I saw that one - it was funny. We might send wrong type of Lego...

 

 

This is the most obvious one ever:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Brand-New-LEGO-Monster-Fighters-Haunted-House-10228-/161081102720?pt=Building_Toys_US&hash=item25812e9180

 

Look at the feedback. 5-6 people have left negative saying he is drop-shipping a more expensive item with their name on it.

 

Did you see the last negative feedback comment?  It claims the seller was trying to buy positive feedback after receiving a negative one!

[beartrapper]

I found this feedback to be pretty suspicious from a potential buyer. This was left on the buyer feedback for someone who won an auction for a Technic 41999 "Buyer was so amazing and let me keep the item." Something seems a little fishy to me.

[Fcbarcelona101]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/9-Lego-Star-Wars-Sets-incl-Imperial-Shuttle-75-Minifigures-Plus-4-Books-/221267004724

[hepcatpunk]

Why scam?  Underpriced, yeah, but doesn't scream scam to me.  Somebody agreed.

[justafrog]

I'd vote great deal - I know the low feedback and no recent feedback is a little iffy, but he has a lot of specific photos. The scammers we as buyers have to worry about are the dropshippers with stolen credit cards - if this guy doesn't ship the goods or they're not as described, eBay buyer protection will kick in nicely.

[TheDarkness]

It seems to be ok. The big question is why, if the seller knows what they are worth at retail, not bother to do the follow up research to find out their pricing?

[Fcbarcelona101]

Why scam?  Underpriced, yeah, but doesn't scream scam to me.  Somebody agreed.

 

I did lol....just wondering other's opinions.

[beeblet65]

i think this is great to whoever got it!

[justafrog]

Sometimes people just literally want fast cash. I am super-disciplined about putting stuff up for the price I want, generally on the high side, and waiting it out... online that is. At our occasional garage sales, however, I'm the nutcase seller shouting at the end of the driveway, "Take the entire house! 5 Bucks! I just want it GONE!" (My husband is now in charge of all price negotiations at our garage sales. I have to sit quietly and smile and wave at the buyers.   )

[Fcbarcelona101]

I guess.... We'll see, I'll keep you guys updated on how it turns out.

[boxofcorey]

i think this is great to whoever got it!

 

Look who created this topic... you KNOW who bought it.

[TheDarkness]

Look who created this topic... you KNOW who bought it.

 

I figured that out the moment the thread started

[joelfinch]

One of the simplest ways to detect scams is to take a couple of the photos used in the auction, upload them to Google Images, and see if they're used anywhere else on the web. Since scammers don't have the sets they're scamming on, they have to get images from somewhere...

[JoshTX]

Wow...once again FC scores a ridiculously incredible deal by seemingly knowing exactly when this stuff goes on Ebay. Are you on ebay, like 23.5 hours out of day? Or are you just consistently lucky? Congrats.

[Fcbarcelona101]

I make a point to spend around 2 hours per day when I have the time. Having my phone with me all the time also allows me to check every now and them for newly listed items. With this purchase and another pretty big lot, I'm done for a while. I won't even spend a minute on eBay other than for listing sets or answering questions. Last semester starts next week and want to focus on that

[justafrog]

Congrats on the great find - I don't spend near enough time browsing the newly listed BINs and the about-to-close auctions at weird hours, but when I do, it sure pays off!

[Fcbarcelona101]

I basically stopped driving to local stores and dedicate that time to check for online deals. So far it has paid out.

[JoshTX]

I make a point to spend around 2 hours per day when I have the time. Having my phone with me all the time also allows me to check every now and them for newly listed items. With this purchase and another pretty big lot, I'm done for a while. I won't even spend a minute on eBay other than for listing sets or answering questions. Last semester starts next week and want to focus on that

I'm just finishing up a tough philosophy class and have a math class (I'm awful at math) coming up next so I feel the pain in that respect. School has kept me from being as productive as I'd like to be in pretty much all aspects of life due to the time it consumes. I have an "A" average right now but it comes with the cost of not participating on this site as much as I want to (I don't have the time to write reviews) and not patrolling ebay or CL nearly as much. I still score on CL sometimes with an awesome deal but I haven't been able to score anything on ebay in a great while. Hopefully a degree and higher paying job will negate these kinds of losses.

[Fcbarcelona101]

I'm just finishing up a tough philosophy class and have a math class (I'm awful at math) coming up next so I feel the pain in that respect. School has kept me from being as productive as I'd like to be in pretty much all aspects of life due to the time it consumes. I have an "A" average right now but it comes with the cost of not participating on this site as much as I want to (I don't have the time to write reviews) and not patrolling ebay or CL nearly as much. I still score on CL sometimes with an awesome deal but I haven't been able to score anything on ebay in a great while. Hopefully a degree and higher paying job will negate these kinds of losses.

Same here. I made a point of buying as much as possible during this last month of summer knowing I won't have nearly the same amount of time once school starts other than for selling and such.

[RunnersDad]

That's a fantastic deal, congrats. I would have absolutely no issue pulling the trigger on that one. 

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

People forget how amazing Ebay is. I have 7 helms deeps that were 90, 90, 90, 93, 94, 95, 95 on Ebay. 3 Tower Bridges, 210, 200, and 170. 

 

A bunch of people have bought all these Unexpected Gatherings at $49 clearance prices - I have seen several on Ebay for $45. Just have to know what to look for!

 

Hint: Read my blogs on Ebay searching.

[MartinP]

Looks real to me.